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Bad Insomnia, question about Diphenhydramine and Melatonin

Posted , 6 users are following.

James3030
James3030

Hello everyone,

I've suffered sleeping issues my entire life, but up until recently this has only effected the time it takes for me to sleep. However, in the past couple of days, it both takes me forever to sleep and I am waking up during the night. I often wake up at 5am after falling asleep at 3am and can't get back to sleep at all. I'm currently so tired that I can barley think. I arrived at uni about four or five days ago and my registration for the GP hasn't been accepted yet so I can't get any proper sleeping pills as of yet. I was wondering if it would be okay to take 100mg of Diphenhydramine and 10mg of Melatonin together to help me get to sleep as well as stay asleep. Is this safe/will it work (as in keep me asleep)?

Thanks.

1 like, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • RobertT
    RobertT James3030

    Posted

    I really doubt melatonin will help you (if you are a young student) and if you take an antihistamine and it doesn't work (it may not) you've only made things worse – the sleepiness from the drug on top of your lack of sleep. I suspect a doctor can prescribe for you even if your registration is incomplete if only for a few days or if he needs to telephone your previous GP.

    I got into this situation when I started uni (in the early 1970's) and in the middle of the second term needed to see a doctor after not having slept for about 78 hours. In my case I was prescribed an antidepressant (amitryptiline, then called Tryptizol).

    Also, are you sure of your subject choice? Might you find another subject more interesting and distracting? Be sure you are not studying a subject because it's the one you think, or somebody else thinks, you should or because school exam results have pointed towards it.

    • James3030
      James3030 RobertT

      Posted

      I'm still in fresher’s week; I haven't had any alcohol though since it screws with my sleep very badly. I phoned the GP up earlier and they just told me to go to the "wellbeing" centre, I might go now although it seems quite pointless. I combined the melatonin and Diphenhydramine (50mg) together last night and it put me to sleep, but I still woke up, although it seemed to take longer for me to wake up. I’m taking computer science, will be starting next week Monday. I’m hoping that the doctor can prescribe me some actual sleeping pills before my course starts, there is no way I’m going to do well whilst feeling like this.

       

      Anyway thanks for the reply.

    • lily65668
      lily65668 James3030

      Posted

      I understand how you feel - I had a lot of sleeping problems like yours when I was young - but don't be in too much of a hurry to get yourself on sleeping pills. It can be quite hard to get off them and start sleeping naturally again. Try not to panic. The sky won't fall if you're feeling tired for your first few weeks at uni. By all means get yourself registered with a GP but why not wait a bit to see if this sorts itself out. And have you tried asking your pharmacist about herbal sleeping remedies? I can't recommend any but I know there are quite a few out there.
    • James3030
      James3030 lily65668

      Posted

      My main concern is that I’ll do very badly in my course. It looks like I’ve got a lot to learn and I can barely function when I’m like this. I’ll definitely think about my situation some more though, perhaps wait it out until the weekend, and I’ll try to avoid getting on sleeping pills.

      Thanks.

    • lily65668
      lily65668 James3030

      Posted

      There'll be time to catch up, don't worry. You don't have to learn everything in the first month. Maybe discuss this with your tutor or the welfare staff at uni? I'm sure lots of students have the same problem. 
  • RobertT
    RobertT James3030

    Posted

    Alfred Adler with his "individual insomnia" (check both on Wikipedia etc) thought that insomnia in such cases was subconsciously developed as an excuse for not doing well!

    As an undergraduate I kept going through a cycle, a downward vicious cycle you might say, of wanting to do well, not doing as well as I thought I might, getting depressed and worried about it, losing sleep, doing less well and so on and so forth. With the help of the antidepressants and some sleeping pills for one or two months at a time I managed to get through the course.

    Really, I think, without obsessing yourself about it, you should get help as soon as you can. CBT is found to help a lot of people, but not everyone. Talking with people, particularly people who know what you are talking about, will obviously help you find out where you stand so that you may be able to find your own "plateau".

    • lily65668
      lily65668 RobertT

      Posted

      I hadn't heard that theory before, Robert, but I must admit it fits my younger self to a T! CBT hadn't been (re)invented back in those days and NHS psychiatry was hopeless at best and destructive at worst - as I found out to my cost - but I think CBT would have helped me a lot if it had been available. I eventually hauled myself out of several years of depression by what amounted to self-administered CBT, though I didn't know what it was I was doing at the time.

      Think about this suggestion, TopCat - it might save you a lot of grief in the future. As Robert says, it's not for everyone, but it's worth a try. Your college or your GP should be able to point you in the right direction. The people for whom CBT works best are self-motivated, prepared to put in the work it involves and - most important of all - able to be completely honest with themselves about their own motivations etc.

    • RobertT
      RobertT

      Posted

      That should be "individual psychology", of course.
  • DClassic
    DClassic James3030

    Posted

    Hey TopCat,

    Glad to see lots of good advice here. Reducing anxiety and not overly relying on drugs is very important.

    My only thing to add is make sure to practice good "sleep hygeine." These are things like:

    -Having a regular sleep/wake schedule

    -Avoiding large stimuli before bed (TV, videogames)

    -No sugary snacks before bed (blood sugar level spikes are no good)

    -No caffeine in the afternoon

    And other habits to avoid. Google search should provide many good recommendations.

    For me, CBT and sleep hygeine got me over my sleep issues. But its not something you can just practice for 5 days. More like 5 weeks at minimum before you will see an effect. But you WILL see improvement if you stick with it.

    Good luck! 

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