Dont know what to do - 2 week insomnia
Posted , 4 users are following.
Bit of a long story but my sleep issues started when i had a suspected viral infection after christmas. I ended up with severe leg tremors - my legs were shaking like crazy at night thus disrupting my sleep. I was still able to sleep somewhat though. I was then put on amitriptyline for the leg tremors which are also supposed to help u sleep. I experienced the opposite. Although it helped the leg shaking, my sleep was disrupted - couldnt get to sleep, was seeing images when shutting my eyes, felt like a zombie in the day etc. My sis in law (who worked with patients on the same tablets) said its a horrible drug and can mess people up - said my symptoms were similar to what her patients had described on it. So after 5 days i stopped taking them. Thankfully the leg tremors have stopped.
However my sleep is screwed up! Some nights i feel like ive slept 20mins only. Some i manage maybe 2 hours. This has been going on for 13 days now and im exhausted. Sometimes i have trouble falling asleep as well as staying asleep. I feel like i have got myself in a cycle of worrying about sleep, therefore i cant sleep. Its becoming a struggle and my emotions/moods are all over the place. Ive been off work 2 weeks as i am in a physically demanding profession that requires me to function cognitively, and look out for others safety, but on small amounts of sleep i have no clue how i am going to do it.
I used to be someone who could watch tv or play a game or be on their phone until 11pm or later and quite happily snuggle down in bed and fall asleep without issue. But now i am trying to adapt various methods to help me sleep again e.g. lavender, dim lighting, blue light blocking glasses, settling into bed at say 9-10pm with a book or a crossword till i feel sleepy etc. My nights are very random. For some reason day before last i felt sleepy, turned everything off and slept! I woke up at least twice but went back to sleep. I felt like a new person. But last night i didnt sleep much at all despite doing similar things - i was sleeping in maybe 20-40min intervals and woke at least 8 times if not more. The night went on forever!
Not sure where to turn next and i am very reluctant to start taking sleeping tablets. Advice would be welcome
0 likes, 5 replies
aimee86612 Jemz1987
Posted
Jemz1987 aimee86612
Posted
Gareth51625 Jemz1987
Posted
Hi Jemz I know you are how you feel I have struggled with insomnia since September, one bad night became 2 and then the anxiety kicked in massively and I dreaded going to bed. It got better from late November to early this month but it has come back after stress from neighbours, it's also a fear of not being able to sleep so you worry about going to bed, and it becomes a vicious circle, sometimes I only get a couple of hours sleep after tossing and turning all night then other nights I can get a bit more, just depends how anxious I am. Sometimes I have drank a full bottle of wine before bed which gets me to sleep in 5 mins but I wouldn't recommend it often as the next day I feel terrible despite having slept, other times I have taken a tablet called Phenergan which is a sedating antihistamine prescribed by my doctor, it works for me to give me about 6 hours sleep but you cannot take it for more than 2 nights in a row or you develop a tolerance from it and it stops working, it works best every 3 or 4 nights, for instance you take it on Monday night you can't take it again until Thursday night. Hope you sleep better soon. I know how you feel.
Jemz1987 Gareth51625
Posted
Someone else has told me to try Phenergan but ive read about it and some people have some dodgy side effects with it. Unless i just take a really small dose to start with. I have tried night nurse which i believe has the same antihistamine in (it didnt do much for me, slept from 10pm-12am and that was it), but i think phenergans might be stronger.
Gareth51625 Jemz1987
Posted
I take 50mg of phenergan even though my GP advises 25mg but I find 50mg works best, takes about 45 minutes to work but then I'm out like a light for about 6 hours, it's a safe medication and not addictive like sleeping tablets. The last couple of nights I have not took anything at all but managed to get between the two 5 and 7 hours but woke up 2 or 3 times both nights after vivid dreams but I managed to get back to sleep. Also what I've done the last couple of nights is restrict drinking any liquid at least 2 hours before bed, I reckon the slight dehydration makes me tired more quickly, could be all in my mind though.