f*$*ing insomnia, blighting all our lives, not had more than 3 hrs a night for months, I'm at breaking point

[MissChief]

tried sleep hygiene basics - bath, lavender, good bed, no caffeine etc etc, tried all natural sleeping pills, been to GP for proper sleeping pilss - they don't work on me. I@m now truly and absolutely shattered and almost incapable of getitng through the day. been like this for months. seeing GP next week but wtf can they do for me now?
can't sleep, can't rest, can't think straighth, can't remember anything, can
t' have civil converaaiton with dh, can't tolerate my kids' noise. It's ruinign my life. If anyone reocmmends lavender pillows/sprays, valerian, bananas, meditation.I shall scream. signed off work atm anyway but due back very soon, god knows how.
needed to vent.

Jigsaws

Seriously - instead of going to bed, go to a quiet room and do a jigsaw. The repetitive activity doesn't require enough brainpower to get you excited, but does require enough to stop you worrying about getting to sleep, which is often what keeps you awake

pls seomone? right now, I'm so fucing tired, I could top myself with thedesperaiton - not partiuclarly cos I want to but becuase I cna't carry on like this, noth after month and yet somehow i'm meant ot hold it lal togehter. and i get advice from people who "can't sleep" when they only get 6 hours, I could strangle them. Sleep deprivation is surely a form of torture and it's twisting my moind.

Hi Misschief,
offering sympathy, my dh has suffered with insomnia on and off for the last year and I can see that it is terrible.
Not really sure what has helped him to be honest. At worst he was given sleeping pills but like you said, he only got a couple of hours on them!!
I think for him it has helped to try to clear his head. sorry if that sounds really unhelpful, don't think he actually was aware of doing it.
for him, being outdoors and spending quality time with our kids was what truly relaxed him.
REally am sorry if no help at all, just to let you know that for him at least it just suddenly stopped.
good luck and thinking of you
xx

thank you, nice to know someonined is there!. I have bought one, but not done it. wil try to find./

ps, he was on about 2 or 3 hours a night so do know what you're talking about. will ask him when he comes home.

thank yoiu, bonnie, you're right I guess - look at cause of it all, not symptoms, but there seems to be so much to sort out inside my head, don't know where ot start. I've had cbt - crap and expensive to be honest. now going the rather lonely, tough route (but free though) of consulting sle-fhepl/positive psyhcolocy books and doing online cbt a bit - lving life ot the full (I wihs).

thank yoiu, bonnie, you're right I guess - look at cause of it all, not symptoms, but there seems to be so much to sort out inside my head, don't know where ot start. I've had cbt - crap and expensive to be honest. now going the rather lonely, tough route (but free though) of consulting sle-fhepl/positive psyhcolocy books and doing online cbt a bit - lving life ot the full (I wihs).

my dh refused to see anybody about it, but i tried to get him to talk about stuff!!!
but it's wierd like you said, cos when i asked him what was bothering him, he always said he wasn't thinking about anything!!

i'm the opposite - so much thinking going on inside my head, mostof it irraitonal crap! I feel i need to root thro it htough to bring int into some snens eof odre before i can sort myself out. hard ot do alone though, and dh at end of his tether, heard too much already. You sound like you're v pateint, bonnie!

what about writing it down. think i saw that somewhere. you don't have to show it to anyone but maybe you could make more sense of it reading it back to yourself, or the actual process of writing it down might help you to sort it out in your mind.
also if it's written down then you don't have to remember it anymore iyswim.....
could be an idea, my dh not big on writing so wouldn't work for him...

yes, that's ture. I try to sometimes but even litttle ethings seem an efort (how pathetic does that sound).

Ask your GP to refer you to a sleep clinic for assessment.....some are based in hospitals, others are special units elsewhere. The specialists there will help you.

yes, dh suggests that - heard of the one up in Loughboroug, but not near. mabye i should ask that. I think they mjust want to send me away with ADs. It's hard to get chrnoic insomina taken seriously, I feel everyone thinks I'm exaggeratying when I say how little sleep i've been getting and for how long.

not pathetic, if you are totally exhausted everything is a massive effort.

i just am losing the motivation to get thro the day, or not even that, i just cant' drag myself on day after day like this. i don't know what to do now.

Also what about audio books? I listen to stories I know on my ipod instead of reading (which keep DH awake)
It makes a huge difference - you're concentrating on the story but if you choose something gentle (that you know) then it takes your mind off the stresses of the day.
Really helped me
Also decreasing all screen time will help
HTH

What is keeping you awake, MissChief?
Is it various worries or a trauma or non-specific?

I have non-specific insomnia, I wake up (usually woken by someone else) and then can't go back to sleep for 3-4 hours. I start worrying because I'm bored, but it's not that the worries keep me awake so much as I'm bored bored bored.

You need to get a programme going to treat the cause of your problem. If you're not a life-long insomniac (like me) you have a good chance of complete recovery.

If it's various worries, I suggest you tackle the smallest / most solvable problems that you think might persistently be keeping you awake. As soon as you solve one problem, it will give you confidence to move onto solving the next one, this will help hugely in the long run.

Trauma is harder... I know someone who lost a child last year, and has had about 2 hrs sleep a night for the last 4 months. She's on strong sleeping pills, too. Try not to go down the sleeping pill route, they can be addictive, are really only good as very short term treatment.

not got the understandable excuse of any trauma. However, troubled childhood, distant rel'ships with family and now dh - no longer love him, haven't for ages and beat myslef up about it and what to do about it. Battle depression on & off, have done for yrs, moved v recently and thrown by lack of local support network of friends to rely on, also had lots more work pressure/longer working hrs. Been an insomniac on and off since my teens, nver sleep well but this is amongst the worst it's been in yrs. With a little more sleep I'd be able to cope. I can't fix my insomnia w/o fixing my life - leaving dh? Breaking up the fmaily home for 2 dcs etc etc. Don't think i cd do that to them, otoh toxix day-to-day family life is difficult to handle at the moment, constant battles iwth dh over every little thing, no "normal" communication. he thinks it's juist my depression, he seems to think it's the best life gets love-wise.

oh and thanks, champagne for audio-bk recommnedaiton - have tried with some success in the apst, but forogtten so may dig them out. also wolrd service.

I would suggest you see your GP, I have suffered from insominia since I was a teenager and it is awful!!

seen my GP - gave me sleepig tablets which haven't worked. don't know what to do next. what works for you, pedilia?

Like you I have tried everything that is normally suggested warm bath,hot milk,lavender,etc but nothing works for me.

I usually watch TV ot am on the laptop until I drop off, the problem then is that the slightest noise/movement will wake me up then it starts all over again.

I am currently 6 mths pg so things are even worse and I am sometimes in tears with frustration at not being able to sleep.

When I was 18 my GP prescribed Temazapan but I was terrifeied to take them in case I got hooked or became relianft on them. so I have just struggled on through over the years.

Once I have had this baby and she is sleeping through the night then I will be going back to my GP before I keel over from sheer exhaustion.

what tablets did your gp prescribe? My brother takes some that knock him out I will ask what they are.

misschief I have tons of sympathy have had insomnia myself since early dec. It has been horrendous as I am shattered, narky and not coping as I should be. Nobody will give me sleeping tabs as yet so got to wait until I can see psychatrist again.

mischief trauma isn't just about loss of loved one or car accident. sounds like you have an awful lot of shit to sort through. don't write counselling off because you had a negative experience of it.

are you in london? if so whereabouts you might be able to access some better low cost counselling which might help alongside your own efforts.

thanks all. yes, quite a lot to deal with, cd try counselling again nr but not in London. it was temazepan that i've been given and din't work for me. Really feel for you pedilia being pg, must be so tiring. HOpe you can at least rest a bit.