1. Community
  2. Symptoms
  3. Sleep Problems

Chronic Insomnia (1yr), with other symptoms

Posted , 5 users are following.

j63825
j63825

I have had insomnia for 1 year and 1 month now. It came out of nowhere, no major event nor change in my environment that caused it.

I can describe it as, at around midnight, I am suddenly full of energy. If I do fall asleep before then, I usually jolt awake around midnight and can’t return to sleep, usually at all. This happens usually once a week, however sometimes it escalates to 2-4 times per week. Sometimes the mind isn’t tired (racing thoughts about absolutely nothing), and sometimes the body isn’t tired (heart beating strongly as though I have been exercising).

I do feel tired in the runup, 10pm, 11pm, I am sleepy. Sometimes my eyes droop and I am ready for bed.

I have no worries in life, I am not stressed. I am not depressed. I am in my mid-30’s, I am not and have never been a smoker. I am very slightly overweight however not by much. I have practiced the doctor prescribed ‘sleep hygiene’ point by point, but to no avail.

I have other irregularities that have shown up since. Some of them are consistent, whereas some of them come and go. I am posting them in the offchance they are connected.

-Heart palpitations. These are approx 3-4 times a week, my heart will skip a beat, then race for a few moments to seemingly ‘catch up’.

-Lightheaded / Energy spikes and dips at random. I noticed the lightheadedness above all when I am exercising. I was mildly anaemic in my teenage years, with similar effects, so I have disregarded this as possibly an iron or b12 deficiency. I am a vegetarian. There are slight visual disturbances when the lightheadedness occurs.

-Sharp pinpricks all over, noticeable at night. These can only be described as very sudden pricks or spots of intense itchyness that come and go, irrespective of whether i itch or not. I have changed laundry detergent for my sheets to no avail.

-I urinate more frequently these days, however admittedly I do drink a fair amount of water (probably 4-5 pints over the course of a day).

-Consistently very light coloured stool and occasionally diarhhea. These seem to occur on the days after I haven’t slept, so I am discounting them as symptoms of fatigue.

-Sharp shooting pains in the abdomen, right side. These come and go and sometimes don’t occur for months at a time.

-Once or twice in the past year I have had a strange tingling in the legs, that have lasted for a few days and then completely disappeared.

As this ghost would play tricks on anyones mind, I have in the past 3 months started to try different approaches. I have tried;

-cutting out caffeine, alcohol, sugars completely (teetotal for 3 months now)

-eating 5 small meals per day instead of 3, to maintain blood glucose levels

-have tried quitting exercising, changing exercise times, all to no avail

-I have tried taking an antihistamine (phenergan (as per doctors suggested)) 7 days in a row to ‘reset’ and they work but I do not want to live my life on sleeping pills, for obvious reasons.

-I have taken b12, multivitamin, and magnesium supplements for a few months to no avail

-as mentioned above, i practice sleep hygiene

-meditation

I have been to a GP 4 times (the first time, I was prescribed sleeping pills mentioned earlier, the second and third time I was discounted with “oh you are young and healthy, you are fine” (despite no questions being asked about my general health)). 

The fourth time under a new GP, my doctor suggested to test liver and kidney function, and white/red bloodcell tests, all of which came back fine.

This most recent GP and I then agreed to try CBT (currently on a 3 month waiting list).

What I am asking is, would anyone qualified or not, have any idea whatsoever what should be my next steps. I do understand the immense drain on the NHS and so each time I use the services I feel very guilty, and am made to feel guilty by my GP. I am not a hypochondriac in the least, however anyone could agree the sudden onset of the aforementioned would make anybody question their physical health.

Thank you very much for your time

2 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • j63825
    j63825

    Posted

    Apologies, I have forgotten:

    I was also sent for an ECG for the heart palpitations. They did a 2 minute on the spot ECG, not one where you take a monitor with you over a period.

    The results came back all fine.

  • lily65668
    lily65668 j63825

    Posted

    It does sound rather as if this could be anxiety-induced, which could account for all your physical symptoms too (especially if no medical reason has been found for them). I used to get into these states when I was young. I know only too well how the anxiety over not sleeping feeds back into itself and makes sleeping even harder.

    CBT wasn't around when I was young but I suspect it might be helpful. Another possible solution, which worked very well for a friend of mine, is acupuncture. She was a middle-aged woman in a pressurised, high-flying job, and a perfectionist to boot. In her early 50s she suddenly hit a period when she barely slept at all. She tried absolutely everything over the next year or so, during which time she lost a lot of weight and became physically ill. She finally agreed to try acupuncture, though she was deeply sceptical about it. She had to persevere for several months, during which time she got no benefits from the treatment at all, but then it suddenly kicked in and she started sleeping normally. That was four or five years ago, and she's still fine now.

    I would, however, mention one caveat about acupuncture. All this happened in a country where acupuncturists have to be fully-qualified doctors. I believe this not to be the case in the UK, and I've heard a few negative stories. You'd probably need to choose your acupuncturist carefully.

    • j63825
      j63825 lily65668

      Posted

      Thank you Lily for your reply,

      I'm completely open to the idea of it being anxiety induced, however I lead a happy and simple life and I have no stresses. Additionally, a screening for CBT recently yielded the assessment that anxiety is 'non-existant to mild' in my case.

      I'm completely open to "alternative" medicines such as acupuncture. I do worry that it is non-standardized in the UK as you say, and so might you have any suggestions on how to assure the administrator of the procedure is qualified?

      Thank you

    • lily65668
      lily65668 j63825

      Posted

      Hi, I just did a quick check on-line and found the British Medical Acupuncture Society. Their site tells you how to find a practitioner near you. Can't post the link as this site doesn't normally allow them. Looks to me as if they'd be reliable. (I'm assuming you are in the UK.)

      I don't think you necessarily need to be a nervous wreck to have anxiety-induced insomnia. The sleep process is so delicately balanced that the slightest (and often unacknowledged) unconscious anxiety can cause problems.

      Incidentally, I agree with Evergreen on the wine. I confess I find it hard to sleep if I haven't had one or two glasses of wine in the evening, but I suspect that's because I've let myself get into the habit. Having three or more glasses makes me crash out even faster, but it's never a peaceful sleep in that case, as too much alcohol makes me restless and gives me nightmares.

  • penguinteacup
    penguinteacup j63825

    Posted

    Hi,

    I wish I could say I had some answers for you but I'm afraid I don't. I just wanted to say that I have some of the same symptoms: difficulties sleeping, jolting awake, lightheadedness, occasional diarrhea, heart palpitations and more frequent urination. I have been ill for nearly 4 years and have seen many many doctors, all tests come back normal and, as drs do, they have of course blamed it on anxiety/stress/depression even though the only stress in my life is my physical illness. I have yet to find answers but I keep pushing and am having more tests (blood test for cortisol levels and waiting for a sleep study appointment)

    Don't feel guilty about asking for medical help, you're ill and if a doctor makes you feel guilty for that then request to see another doctor. I hope you find answers and things improve

    • j63825
      j63825 penguinteacup

      Posted

      Hi Penguinteacup,

      Thank you very much for your reply.

      I too wish I/we had answers. The tests I have been able to convince my doctor to enact are welcome and I feel they gave me some solace knowing that my liver and kidneys were in good shape.

      This leads me to a tangental question (for anyone reading), and I apologize it is so vague, but my doctor wasn't very communicative about WHAT beyond liver and kidney function was being looked at. The phlebotomy request form simply said the above, and "white/red blood cell count". Is this exhaustive? What have I been screened for with this type of test?

      I hate referring to an internet-search, however the 'symptom checker' on this very site, tabulating all my individual symptoms, came up with (amongst many) B12 and Iron deficiency. There are more frightening ones such as fibromylagia, cirrhosis, and pituary cancer however I believe my aforementioned blood tests would have screened for those (I am making a vast assumption of course).

      I do appreciate the support in not feeling guilty to ask for treatment, however I think my local practice is (understandably) under great pressure to meet quotas. And at the end of the day, there are people in much greater need of immediate help than myself.

      Thank you

    • penguinteacup
      penguinteacup j63825

      Posted

      Full blood count (white/red blood cell count) is usually the first test that drs do. The NHS website gives the following info on what it tests for:

      The results don't always give a definitive diagnosis, but can give pointers about health problems, which may then require further investigation.

      Low haemoglobin suggests a person has anaemia. The reasons for this would then need to be investigated, such as a poor diet or conditions causing internal bleeding.

      High haemoglobin could indicate lung disease or bone marrow problems.

      Low white blood cell count. Bone marrow problems, including bone marrowcancer, may be indicated if the test shows a low white blood cell count. It could also be due to a viral infection or be down to a person’s genetic make-up and of no clinical significance. It is also important to monitor the white cell count during chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

      High white blood cell counts may suggest the body is fighting off an infection, or in rare cases, it might be a sign of leukaemia or blood cancer.

      Low platelet counts could also signify a viral infection. It could also be due to an autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system turns on itself attacking healthy tissue.

      High platelet counts can mean inflammatory conditions, an infection, or bone marrow conditions.

      If your blood count is normal I would recommend asking for more tests such as vitamin levels, diabetes, electrolytes and thyroid function. There are no blood tests for fybromyalgia as this is  usually diagnosed by symptoms (fatigue and chronic pain) once other conditions have been ruled out.

       

    • j63825
      j63825 penguinteacup

      Posted

      Thanks again for your help penguinteacup. Apologies if I've passed off as a div who can't search the internet properly.. This clears up for me what was actually tested for.

      Unfortunately, to your final statement, I had a short list drawn up to discuss with my doctors about testing (b12, iron, diabetes/hyperglycemia, cortisol, liver function, kidney function, thyroid) but I was told that "oh we can't test for most of those.".

    • lily65668
      lily65668 j63825

      Posted

      ????? Sounds like you need to change doctors!
  • lisalisa67
    lisalisa67 j63825

    Posted

    see if you can get into a sleep clinic
    • j63825
      j63825 lisalisa67

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply Lisa,

      My doctors have been very reluctant to refer me to any specialists. Their repeated suggestions have been for sleeping pills and CBT. I am also below the poverty line so unfortunately private health is not an option for me.

      It's a very long shot, I know, but might you have any suggestions?

  • j63825
    j63825

    Posted

    Hello again everyone,

    After showing a friend this post, they recommended me to write as well;

    For approx 10 years I would go out for social drinking twice or max three times a week, usually until very late (between 3am-4am).

    As originally stated, I have given this up long ago (at least a year) and have completely given up alcohol as of 3 months now (and when the insomnia first occured I also gave it up for two months but to no avail).

    They have suggested that I have done deep damage somehow to my "sleep phases"? is anyone familiar with this? And how to best approach this?

    Thanks again to anyone who can offer a lit candle for this very dark cave I now find myself stumbling about.

    • evergreen
      evergreen j63825

      Posted

      Very interesting post because I have suffered for a long time now from periods of insomnia acccompanied by racing heart/palpitations and frequent urination. I too have given up alcohol for periods and it makes no difference. If anything worse when not drinking. I now just have one small glass of wine most nights which seems to help. I have been found to have low kidney function and I think it is linked to my periods of insomnia. The periods of insomnia typically last for one - two weeks. The only thing which helps when I get the heart flutters and frequent urination is temazepam. But as these are habit forming I try not to take them. Like the OP I do not think this is psychological as it can happen when I am feeling at my most happy and calm. It is definitely a physiological thing. I have had a 24 hour heart monitor which was normal, but typically, by the time I had it, I was in a good period with no heart palpitations or frequent urination. The doctors seem totally clueless as to why this happens.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.