Scared to Sleep

  This past summer something began to happen to me. I went from being able to fall asleep with no problem to a series of unusual events happening when I'd try to fall sleep. A couple of minutes after closing my eyes, my eyes would start moving around chaotically. Almost as if they were rolling around in there. When I would open my eyes, it would stop. Close them and it would start again. I couldn't get to sleep over all this. After two or three nights of this, I began to panic over whether or not I would get to sleep. All day I would worry about it. Eventually, I noticed that my eyelid would start twitching. Then some days a finger would twitch, or some other body part. I think this is from the anxiety I developed over not sleeping. About this same time I began getting migraines - something I've never had before. My internist sent me to a neurologist who did and mri and a sleep-deprived eeg. Both came out normal. My internist prescribed imitrex for the migraines and trazodone for sleeping. Over several weeks, the migraines grew worse in frequency and duration. I noticed that when I would close my eyes, I'd see flashing white lights. One morning, the flashing white light lingered for about 2-3 seconds where I couldn't see anything except solid whiteness. The trazodone worked where my eyes no longer moved around before I fell asleep. Yet, I began to realize that I didn't feel sleepy any more. I used to muse about how I could fall asleep within 10 minutes of hitting the pillow, or being able to take cat naps on a Sat. afternoon, and then could go to bed that night and sleep a full 8-9 hours.  Now, I can't fall asleep during the day. I don't feel sleepy. At night, I have no sensation of 'falling asleep.' I just go from 'asleep' to 'awake', without that transition feeling you get when you fall asleep or wake up. My internist suggested I try 1 or 2 nights without the trazodone. The first night went fine, but the next time when I tried to sleep, the problem with the moving eyes started up again. They would begin moving within minutes of closing them. Open them and it would stop. Again I repeated several nights of no sleep. Again, I began getting the twitching around the bottom eyelid, face, and other body parts. And, again I grew more and more anxious over what this could be. What could cause the eyes to move like that? Is this stress related? migraine related? I've gone from being stressed to becoming anxious about falling asleep. All I do is worry all day about whether or not something is really wrong with me. What could be causing this? What questions should I ask my internist the next time I see her? Will I ever be able to sleep the way I used to without this interference? Your suggestions would be appreciated.
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Sorry about the late reply. It's hard to tell what is going on, and my guess is that there is some combination of whatever the original problem was mixed in with anxiety, which as you know can cause all sorts of symptoms and sleep disturbance all on its own.
I recommend a sleep disorders specialist. An evaluation may or may not lead to a specific diagnosis, but at least you'll know that you've seen someone with the relevant experience to know how to interpret your situation.
We have sleep disorders specialists here. Call 800 223-2273 and ask for neurology appointments at 4-5559.
I hope this helps. CCF MD mdf.