Anxiety and Insomnia - strange sensation and FFI?

[wxguy1]

Hi,
I am a 30-year-old Asian.

I have been having insomnia for the past 2 weeks, which was partly attributed to jet lag...but more importantly, anxiety about my health.  I am still waiting for some tests back.  As for my insomnia, I have been having this strange sensation that my brain was putting the light switch back on when I was about to fall asleep.  It's almost as though my brain is trying prevent me from sleeping.  In some ways, it's almost a "twitch".  I heard there is a rare form of insomnia that's fatal (FFI?).  How likely is it that one could get it?  Can I get tested for it?  I have also been getting some muscle twitches, especially during sleep starts, which wake me up.  I am just going crazy with these sleep problems.

Thanks for listening. Any response would be apprecatied.

[LukeL]

You are refering to fatal familial form Insomnia. This is a VERY RARE condition and has only been docuemnted a handful of times in the medical literature. This also runs in families so odds are there would be a strong family history of the disorder.

While I am not a doctor you sound more like you have anxiety then anything else.

[rasticle]

I used to get the same thing, with anxiety.  But it went away after a while.  When I would get that "twitch" right as I was falling asleep was during a time of great anxiety.  My suggestion is to see a psyciatrist(if you think you have anxiety), that helped me out.  I got proper medication to help me through times of high anxiety.

[wxguy1]

rasticle...thanks for your reply and nice to know I am not alone.  I am certainly under a lot of anxiety with the insomnia and worries.  I am seeing a therapist today.....hopefully that will help.

[rasticle]

Good luck, let me know how it goes!

[wxguy1]

The therapist and group session help some.  I was given some Ativan (Lorazepam) but the recommended dosage (0.5-1mg) doesn't seem to work well.  Anyone has experience with this?

I am still getting some of the "mind/brain twitches" when sleep starts which scare and worry me.  Obviously, that doesn't help with my anxiety and insomnia.  The therapist says that I am just too wired and I shouldn't worry about sporadic fatal insomnia.  

The last few days I have been feeling some weakness in my left arm.  Can this and insomnia be indications of neurological disorders or even brain tumor?  I know I am just going crazy!

[bemamimi]

Hi wxguy1 I read your question. If you really want to know "if" you have FFI, you must ask for a PET-scan. I know this, because last week my boyfriend is diagnosed with FFI unfortunately.
You should not worry too much, because it can be everything, but if you want to know for sure you can do this scan. Please write down more of your symptoms for me. The symptoms of my boyfriend are burned in my memory. I wish you all the luck.

[rikmyr]

I Believe i have anxiety. I am a 18 year old Male. Today i had the worst panic attack when i asked this girl on a date. Right before i did this my heart started pounding. like the hardest it ever has before. I feel faint and don't really remember everything exactly. It was like during the whole panic attack I was watching it happen. Like i was standing next to myself. Most of it was a blur to me but I am not sure. There is some bad things going on in my life right now and when i have free time and think about it i start to get worked up. Like shortness of breath and sometimes i get severe chest pains and muscle spasms. lately it has been hard for me to sleep. usually right before i fall asleep my stomach starts to spasm. It is better on some night but usually when i have a bad day it gets really bad. I don't know if i have depression either or if i have just been going through some bad times. I try not to be depressed but the more i try the worse it seems to get.

[tbod]

I have had what felt and (sounded like) an electrical short circuit in the back of my head when I was trying to go to sleep on four separate occasions.  It is nothing more than nerves.  I was so glad to hear that because it frightened me.  My doctor said that it is rare and try to relax, it is due to stress.