Insomnia causing terrible anxiety!

[cnote]

So the past year I've been having issues with insomnia. The past 2 months I took 7.5mg of Remeron to help with sleep, and it worked well. But I did not want to stay on it very long.

I weened off VERY slowly, and it felt good. I've been off of Remeron for about 5 days now. But after my 2nd night with no Remeron, I am not able to feel tired at night. I took Unisom for a couple nights and it helped. I also took a benedryl one night, it didn't really help that much.

Last night was the worst! I tried some chamomile tea, then took 1.5mg of Meletonin. I fell asleep at 12am, but felt kind of anxious. I then woke up at 4am, wide awake after having a dream. I could not sleep at all. I tried getting up, and not worrying about it. I did a crossword in the living room, i started shaking with anxiety... then i looked at the clock and it was 5:35am. I was not getting sleepy... so I broke down and took 1 unisom. I think I finally fell asleep around 6:15am, and woke up at 8:40am. I'm an anxious wreck this morning.

I think my biggest fear is, that "WILL I EVER SLEEP AGAIN WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE SOMETHING?"

I know that that thought is causing anxiety... i think that's pretty normal with insomnia, and possibly why a lot of people can't get over the hump.

I thought about going back to my Dr. to share my concerns, but he's just a GP and will only treat my symptom with pills. I don't want to keep doing this. I feel, that I have to take something EVERY night to sleep. Whether that be a benedryl, a zyrtec, or a unisom etc. SOMETHING. Have I conditioned myself to this?

Should I see a psychiatrist? Is it possible to get out of this medicine mess and do CBT? Is CBT effective? Thanks!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These symptoms can be due to insomnia. For the same, do not drink caffeinated beverages later than the afternoon (tea, coffee, soft drinks etc.) Do not go to bed hungry and you can have milk etc before going to bed. Adjust the environment in the room (lights, temperature, noise, etc.) and do not watch TV, read, eat, or worry in bed and avoid watching TV, reading books, and eating in your bed. Self-hypnosis, biofeedback and relaxation breathing are often helpful. These can be discussed with a sleep specialist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[cnote]

I really think I'm going through Mirtazapine withdrawal...