anxiety, insomnia interfering with life

[confused426]

Hey to everyone. I was diagnosed with anxiety when i was 16, but suspected ive had it since i can best remember. I used to take ativan at first, then a switch to klonopin but recently went off those drugs for a while. I have such bad insomnia, that no matter if I wake up in the morning at an early hour I cant fall asleep until 3-7 am. Used to take diphenhydramine for it, but that is off for a little while aswell. After a few days of being so tired, i will be sleepy all day and a nap sounds like heaven, but I wait it out till bed so I dont perpetuate the problem. The major problem with that is, when 9pm rolls around I become wide awake--- like that is my most alert, energetic time of the day. The insomnia and anxiety are worse lately due to some circumstances and a relocation. Does anyone have these sort of problems with the sleep that cant fall asleep until they are about ready to pass out? I would love to hear what helps them :)

[anne007]

Just like you I have been an insomniac for many years.  I also suffer from anxiety and know that they are related. When my daughter was a baby, it feels like I spent 14 months awake - I couldn't take any sleep aids because I was nursing.  If she woke up once in the night I'd be awake for the rest of the night.  Or if I THOUGH she might wake up around 3, I'd like in bed staring at the ceiling anxious until she actually DID wake up.  God, I was a total mess. When I found out that I was pregnant again, I cried and cried because I was too exhausted to do it all again.  But i did...this time I gave up nursing early so that I could start taking Zopliclone...worked for awhile, but started giving me headaches and a "hung over" feeling.   I have tried melatonin, and it made very marginal improvements.  My dreams were more vivid and i felt a bit more rested when I woke up, but it didn't really help me to fall asleep any faster.   I have taken Lorazepam at night right before bed and am trying to give it up since it's apparently very addictive.  
Just two weeks ago i started on Paxil for an intense period of my anxiety, and have found that in addition to taking away my anxiety, i have been falling asleep within 20 mins of going to bed (this is totally life changing for me since i used to be awake for hours and hours pretty much EVERY night of my life!).  I'm not sure if the sleepiness is a side effect or because I'm not anxious....but I like it!

Good luck to everyone who suffers like this.  I totally sympathize.

[Jade59]

I too, have had anxiety for as long as I can remember.  This, and insomnia, became a serious issue around age18.  I was put on an AD and ativan, like you.  From there it was xanax-to this day.  No matter how tired I am, I can never fall asleep before the early morning hrs like around 2 or 3.  Then sleep 4hrs without waking if I'm lucky, but most of the time wake up in a few hrs to go to the bathroom, then sleep 1hr, then another.  It's been like this since 18yrs and I am 47 now.  I too, feel dead tired around 5pm. Feel like I could sleep for the night right then.  I FEEL tired enough to take a nap in the afternoon, but can never actually sleep and I am also afraid of sabotoging the evening sleep.  Then, like you say, 9-10pm comes around and I am WIDE AWAKE and doing the days chores because I was too tired during the day to do them.  I have tried Ambian CR. Nothing.  So I guess I'm just here to say your not alone.  I eat right now at this age, I walk at night, try to keep busy during the day to make myself tired, but nothing has helped so far.  I don't even sleep much by the time I'm ready to pass out, so I feel like I can barely think straight most of the time.  Good luck to you in your search for a good nights sleep.  Btw, I never sleep AT ALL without a sleepaid.  I believe anxiety has EVERTHING to do with this.  Have you tried Valarian Root or Melatonin?

[elpoopoo]

Get ambien. Take it 15min to an hour before you would like to sleep (be ready in either case). When it kicks in depends on the person, the food you have eaten etc. but once you have a few days to mess with it, you will be going to bed at midnight and waking at 8 in the morning. Its great. Gets you on a pretty good schedule to the point where if you do not have it, you still get tired around the time you generally take it. I am a true believer in it. Without it, I would still be an insomniac drinking myself to sleep at 2 or 3 in the morning. Now, I dont drink unless its on the weekends and I go to bed around midnight everynight! Cuts down on any possible negatives that added up to complicate the insomnia even worse.

[tostressed]

It sucks when your anxiety makes you have insomnia. When I actually had my breakdown that happen to me. Then I found out it was the weeks of taking lexapro. The lexapro put me in such a bad state of mind. Never put two and two together until I stopped taking lexapro one day and as I was working it out of my system I started to feel better. No panic attacks all day long, and my state of mind was back. No more not sleeping. I think that you should talk to your doctor and see what they think of your situation. I don't like to take any drugs so, I would just talk to your doctor.