Insomnia is killing me

[homebrews]

I can't sleep anymore.  It's like going to bed each night is the enemy.  I'm not sure if I'm having bad dreams or what, but I can't manage more than 1 hour of sleep without medication.  I've tried chamomile tea, and it hasn't helped.  I've got this strange sensation in my left foot the whole time as well.  It feels like it's asleep, but its not.  It's hard to describe.  I thought it was sciatica, but can't be sure.  It's like my body doesn't want me to sleep.  I am sick of living like this.  It's been over 3 months now, with a little bit of improvement with my physical symptoms, but the neurological ones are getting worse.  I think I'm mildly agorophobic now, shunning friends and family, and feeling sick to my stomach whenever I leave the house.  It's affecting my work and my relationships.  I just started the midwest center's stress & anxiety program, but so far, not seeing a lot of results.  I don't want to go to a psychiatrist to get doped up on anti depressants in order to live a normal life - mainly because I hate medications.  I don't even like taking ibuprofen unless I have an absolutely killer headache.  I am at my wits end here.  I have no idea what to do or where to go from here...

[BlackRaven135]

I have high anxiety which begins about 5:30PM due to what a hell bedtime has become. Last night I went to bed, with all the bells and whistles the experts recommend and woke up 2 hours later. I spent all night wide awake. Sometimes it is going to bed and it takes an hour to go to sleep and then I wake up every hour afterwards and 5AM get up.
NOTHING works.
During my years of military, I worked irregular hours, up 48 hours and back to back etc. and I believe it is why I am so screwed up now.
I just want it to end. COMPLETELY.

[michigan07]

I hear you and can relate to that in my experience. Add some anxiety and it doesn’t help. I do take some klonopin to help sleep and try to keep a good sleep schedule which seems to work.

[specialmom]

I'm so glad you found something that works for you. Insomnia can make EVERYTHING worse!

[Rich99]

I still believe that benzo's like xanax and even other meds like ambien result in the disruption of the brain's ability to produce its own chemicals which regulate our body in all ways including the natural sleep/wake cycle.    So in my opinion they should be avoided at all costs.    The best way to overcome anxiety in the LONG RUN is to talk out your problems with a professional who can help you gain confidence that your health is normal,  that you need a change in the way you think.     How we think can release and cause changes in our body's chemistry.     Artificial chemicals (drugs, etc) can do this as well but then the brain will stop producing its own when you keep using the artificial ones.

[insomniac741]

I have been suffering from insomnia for the past 3 years now. It got really bad during my senior year in college, when my job and research became very challenging and demanding. I've been on a low dose of trazodone for many years, and for the most part it has been helpful. Recently though, my sleep has been consistently ******. I am usually able to fall asleep just fine, but then I wake up feeling a type of fight-or-flight response to feeling un-rested. I recently read a book written by some experts in sleep disorders, and it does seem that the primary underlying factor for an insomniac like myself, and the original poster, is anxiety. The best solution for this is going to see a cognitive behavioral therapist, coupled with going to a sleep center. I have appointments for both, and am hopeful that they will yield some good results. I have found that Xanax typically solves many of the sleep issues I suffer from. However, as another poster mentioned, sleeping medications alter sleep states, which is not ideal - although sleeping on meds is better than not sleeping at all. So maybe it is Generalized Anxiety Disorder? Maybe those of us that have it just need to accept that fact and get the necessary treatment? It certainly is a ****** condition, and some days I find myself wondering what I'd do if this problem never gets solved. For reference, the book I read is titles No More Sleepless Nights by Peter Hauri et. al.

[praymore]

Hi people thought I would put this post up on here.i haven't slept for five months.due to a sudden surge of blood rushing from one side of my head to the other.ijust cant seem to function properly ever since..just go into a daze..iv tried all types of things to sleep but no joy.even had sleeping pills in at my wits end.how do I stop this.any answers to my problem please let me know..

[specialmom]

Have you spoken to your doctor?  I don't know what you mean by sudden surge of blood rushing from one side of your head to another.  That happens over and over or something?  Really, I'd get a complete physical and speak to your doctor about insomnia.  Perhaps a melatonin would help and physical activity during the day but your first step is to make sure your health is fine overall.  Then you can work on the insomnia.  Let us know when you schedule an appointment to see your doctor.  

[Paxiled]

It's important when you're dealing with your health to get it right -- it's highly unlikely blood is literally rushing from one side of your head to the other, so it's a bit hard to know what exactly is happening.  Have you had a very thorough physical?  And the melatonin idea is a good one, but I would suggest seeing a therapist if you're not already who specializes in anxiety treatment and can teach you some practical relaxation techniques, such as meditation, breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation that might relax your whole system and allow you to relax to sleep, something you're not able to do now.  And along with the melatonin, about 1mg is a good dose, sublingual, try drinking some mild relaxant such as chamomile tea before going to bed, anything that will allow you to relax in that crucial first moments in bed when we relax to sleep.

[Paxiled]

By the way, what happened 5 months ago that might have brought this on?  Take any medication at that time?  Anything particularly emotionally draining?  

[homebrews]

Corrections...(is there a way to edit a post?)

Let me revise that last paragraph:

I think that the xanax may be the root cause of my INSOMNIA, not really my anxiety (though taking any medications makes me a bit anxious).  Would the fact that taking a xanax relieves the majority of my symptoms lead one to believe that I suffer from general anxiety disorder (especially since all of my blood work, stool samples, labs, and scopes have come back clean)?  Do you think the insomnia could be withdrawl from the xanax, even though i only took 20 tablets (in my entire life!)

[homebrews]

Thanks for the responses.  I've been having these issues for a while now (since October).  The majority of my symptoms seem to be getting better, save 2:  the insomnia (at least for the last few nights) seems to be getting worse...to the point that I fear going to bed each night.  The second has been my gastritis.  I got sick in October, and it got so bad it included 2 trips to the ER in November.  Both times I was given pain meds and ativan and it calmed me down.  Back then I had just about every symptom you can associate with anxiety:  dizzyness/spaced out feeling, heart palpatations, funny tingling in my arms/legs, diarrhea, nausea, severe stomach pains, face tingling, etc.

In the middle of December, I went to a gastro doc, and he scoped both ends, ran labs and blood work, and everything came back normal.   Upon my first visit with my gastro, he said No cigars, No alcohol, and No caffeine.  I do not take any illegal drugs.  So since then, I've 'indulged' very sparingly.  I've only gotten drunk once, and abstain from alcohol almost completely (with the exception of 2 beers on New Years).  The ER doctor gave me a script for xanax, and I was using 1mg tablet for attacks once every couple of days.  I'd also take a hydrocodone (also prescribed) for the severe abdominal pains...man that was some of the best, uninterrupted sleep I'd get, and I'd be out for like 10-12 hours straight.  After 2-3 days of not sleeping all that well, getting that much sleep was a God send!

I haven't taken a xanax now in over a week, as I would say I'm 80% sure that my ailments are all caused by anxiety rather than some other exotic/terrifying disease (like pancreatic cancer, or ms, or anything else I've self diagnosed myself with over the last 3 months).  Why?  Almost all symptoms disappear with a single xanax.  I think it may also be the xanax that is the root cause of my anxiety.  My original prescription was for 15 pills after my visit to the ER on Nov. 20th.  I went through all of those so my GP wrote me a script for another 120.  I think I've gone through about 5 of those...so over about 5 weeks, I've taken about 20 1mg tablets of xanax.  Could the insomnia be from xanax withdrawl?  I didn't think you could build up a dependence so quickly?

Thanks for any advice!  I really appreciate it!

[Rich99]

You also need take an inventory of how you live your life right now.    Do you smoke,  consume alcohol or any other drugs?     You said....." I can't manage more than 1 hour of sleep without medication"...so does that mean you are now taking something at night?     I can tell you from my whole life's experiences battling sleep because I have fibromyalgia.    As the years went on,  I began to take meds of all kinds to help with sleep.    They do not work in the long run.   In fact,  they change your brain's chemistry to the point that you will be much worse off using them.      For me,  battling sleep disruption due to fibromyalgia is awful but as awful as it is,  it became nearly fatal for me using the medications.     I became totally non-functional and couldn't do the simple things like enter the amount of a check in my checkbook.     So again,  are you currently using alcohol or any other drugs whether legal or not legal?

[mammo]

Sleep is a fleeting thing to anyone who suffers with anxiety.  Hopefully, with more time the center you joined will help, but be patient, this can be a lengthy process.  None of us want to take medications, and have fought against it until anxiety was controlling our lives and not us. Anxiety is not unlike a killer headache, the only way to get relief is to either wait it out or take an ibuprophen.  The headache will eventually go away, not so easy with anxiety, in fact it gets worse which you are now seeing.  Therapy is your best bet in avoiding medications, but as I said this can be a lengthy process, doesn't always help and you are getting worse in the meantime.  You need to realize that anxiety like this is like any other medical condition that requires daily medication to control the symptoms.  Don't get caught up in the fact that because it is a mental issue you should be able to handle it on your own, rarely can we do this.  Most of us have jobs, are fully functioning adults living a very fulfilling life while taking medication.  The medication allows us to take back our lives and live them, and in my opinion this is most important. I do hope you can conquer this without medication, and please keep us posted.  Any helpful advice is always welcome here to help others.  I wish you all the best and take care!