Extreme insomnia for 5 months, brain forgot how to sleep...Only light sleep in 1hr blocks :( HELP!!!
Posted , 29 users are following.
hello, I am sure my brain is turning into mush after 5 months of severe insomnia. i had very mild insomnia before for a few years, but after a trigger of a lot of emotional stress in March, i completely lost the ability to sleep.
It started from having no sleep for 10 days straight, and i know that initially it started due to a fear that i would die from sleep deprivation. then i got very depressed and have been living in a constant brain fog. i tried natural remedies for a month and nothing helped...i just continued to get very light/conscious sleep if anything, and id get up extrememly exhausted and would cry all day. i even ended up at the hospital for2 weeks where they tried EVERYTHING under the sun (trazadone, doxepin, gabapentin, seroquel, ambien), and the only thing that would get me sleep 3-4 hours max was combining one of these drugs with a heavy benzo. on some days i still got 0 hours on the benzos, so i stopped taking them. this has been a nightmare and completely debilitating. ive lost everything, my job, my boyfriend, and now about to loose my apartment because i can no longer afford it.
i now only get very light sleep where i feel conscious the entire time, i can hear all my surroundings and im looking at the minutes go by on the clock, so i know im awake but just resting. Every few days ill have whats feels like very light sleep in one hour blocks only....but i only think ive fallen asleep briefly bcs i remember a dream, although i feel like ive been awake, if that makes any sense. maybe im going i to REM immediately since im so sleep deprived, or maybe im hallucinating in my semi conscious light sleep. Anyway, only been able to sleep 1-2 hours every few days, sometime 0 hours! i can only sleep 3 hrs on benzos, but i dont want to take them (just take one per week to get some relief bcs my depression has skyrocketed bcs of this, but i feel like ive surrendered and accepted that i will slowly deteriorate, and thankfully ive become less anxious but that hasnt help resolved the problem. maybe my brain got use to not sleeping anymore so even if i try not to worry about sleep anymore, it doesnt matter cause its is now programmed to get light sleep/rest only. i know that i havent gotten any real deep sleep since this all started and im so worried that my brain simply forgot due to making up for prolonged sleep deprivation.
also, any time i do realized that ive been dreaming (again, only one hour blocks) i become more alert and my head hurts...i feel brain zaps and the ringing in my ears get so lous! anyone experiece this? i know its the electrical activity in my brain rocking my nerve cells bcs of the severe sleep deprivation...also i sometime feel like im goign into sleep paralysis over and over again. i. constant brain fog all day and feel soooo tired, and bcs of that i dont every feel "sleepy", ive completely lost my sleep drive even though im sooooo exhausted 😦
HELP!!!
2 likes, 36 replies
mike24933 lo65763
Posted
Hi Mike,
Yes. My doc prescribed Zopiclone which didn't seem to work, then Trazodone, which is an old fashioned anti-depresant. It is supposed to make you sleep but it didn't seem to do anything for me. It might have reduced my anxiety a bit, I don't know. I got so desperate that I rang 111 and went to an out of hours hospital doc. I remember telling her I thought I had a brain tumour! She gave me a couple of diazepams for that night and contacted my GP who then prescribed some more. I was worried about becoming addicted so I decided to take one every three days if I couldn't sleep at all. I didn't actually take many but I think just knowing I had them reduced my anxiety a bit. I've actually still got them after about 7 years!
It is easy to give advice when you haven't got the problem but I know how scary it is when you have. I got some literature from the NHS which had the line in it " remember lack of sleep cannot harm you". I kept reading that line over and over again. I found some similar advice in some old time books on worry. I just kept saying that to myself. It is important not to keep thinking of how long you have had the problem and being impatient for it to go. You somehow just have to accept it and forget about the time. You have to get out of any mindset which is "trying" to force the issue or setting some time limit. When your fear of the problem reduces you break the vicious circle and it will eventually correct itself. I have no idea what started my problem. It may have been a build up of anxiety about other things going on.
Best wishes and feel free to contact me if you want to.
mary75226 lo65763
Posted
yes. i cant perceive sleep any longer. i just remember a dream. i am awake every hour when i do get very light sleep. this began after zoloft gave me panic attacks over and over again. then i went on ativan and amitriptyline and slept great again. i came off and as i was coming off my sleep became what it is now. its been a year now. i dont know what to do or how to fix it. i go to bed calm and relaxed but my brain has forgotten how to fall into a deep sleep
mary75226 lo65763
Posted
yes. i cant perceive sleep any longer. i just remember a dream. i am awake every hour when i do get very light sleep. this began after zoloft gave me panic attacks over and over again. then i went on ativan and amitriptyline and slept great again. i came off and as i was coming off my sleep became what it is now. its been a year now. i dont know what to do or how to fix it. i go to bed calm and relaxed but my brain has forgotten how to fall into a deep sleep
Proudmom lo65763
Edited
Hello I went through this experience about 3 years ago. It was by far the scariest experience of my life thus far and I am 49 years old. I know the fear of feeling that your brain has forgotten how to sleep or that something has broken. It takes time...I recently replied on my initial post I started 3 years ago about how I got through this terrifying period of my life. Please have faith your body can adjust and correct itself.
MichelleS15 Proudmom
Posted
hello proudmom,
how long were tou dealing with the sleep issues? how long did it take to get better?
Taddjo lo65763
Posted
Try drinking a glass of hot adult formula milk 1 hour before sleep. It might help. If you could drink 2 glasses a day but space it out or you end up going to the toilet middle of the night.
Google how digital devices have blue light which disrupt sleep. Try install apps like twilight to switch your phone to block blue light and see if it helps. You could also try not to look at digital devices 1 to 2 hours before bed. It does disrupt your sleep. You might want to try getting a pair of block blue light glasses and wear it few hours before sleep. It will help.
Soak your feet in a small basin before bed in slightly hot water. It helps too.
m203603732 lo65763
Posted
did u get better
m203603732 lo65763
Posted
did u get better
Kathy223 lo65763
Posted
Insomnia is a common problem in the world today. My situation was very much like yours. But recently I overcame it through a series of decisions. I used to take seroquel alone without getting much sleep. Recently I was put on klonopin--which is a benzo--and I finally got more sleep--but like you I had some depression problems. That very same week a friend of mind told me how effective CBT is for overcoming insomnia! She recommended a book called "The Drug-Free Sleep Solution" by author David Durocher. In his chapter on anxiety and depression he writes about how these anti-depressent medications called SSRI's really helped with anxiety and depression. Anyway, I talked to my doctor about it and he put me on a drug called sertraline (generic for Zoloft). Now two weeks later I have NO depression and no anxiety! Moreover, the book helped me in many different ways such as behavioral techniques and stress reduction techniques and I am finally getting around 6 hours of sleep every night! So, I strongly suggest that you try an SSRI along with seroquel, klonopin, and the book "The Drug-Free Sleep Solution"! I hope this brings you hope! Best wishes, Kathy.
SusieW73 lo65763
Posted
I'll try again. I assume my previous post was deleted due to a link to the product that helped me. I was only trying to help people as insomnia is horrendous and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
I realise the original poster has solved their issues but it seems like people are, like me, coming across this thread looking for answers. It provided me with some comfort when I had a bout of insomnia after Covid, however, I still couldn't sleep.
My problems lasted for about 2 months. Like the original poster, I was barely sleeping. I tried numerous sleep aids and the only thing that worked was a prescription for Zoplicone. I eventually started wondering if I had Cortisol disfunction. My partner had Covid before me and I was very stressed as he had refused the vaccine. I'm assuming it was this stress that started my problems, even though it was a couple of weeks after that I stopped sleeping. I read that Ashwagandha can help with bring Cortisol levels back to normal, so bought some with Bioperine to help absorbtion. Within 36 hours I slept solidly for 3.5 hours, when previously I'd only managed an hour at a time. Within a few weeks I was sleeping properly and at times have slept better than i've ever slept in my life, even though I no longer take the supplement.
jimmyshi360 lo65763
Posted
Hello!
I have the exact same symptoms that you described. I can only get 2 hours max of natural sleep a night and the brain fog and tinnitus is killing me. I feel so depressed during the day (I do not have any underlying mood disorders, just a bad episode of anxiety recently). It's been about a month now and I use benzos infrequently for occasional relief and so I don't build a tolerance.
Were you able to find your serene sleep again? How did you get better and how long did it take? I really hope I can get back to normal again.
mike24933 jimmyshi360
Posted
Don't TRY doing anything to get to sleep. You can't force yourself to sleep. This happens to thousands of people and they all survive. Don't be frightened that you are going to fall apart or something. You won't. You will feel tired for sure but it won't really harm you. Just let nature take its course and say "I don't care if I sleep or not". I know that is difficult but it really is true. I've been there.
Jenitia22 lo65763
Posted
ive had insomnia since march6th. 2022. im going a little cr a xy. sleeping p I l ll s dont even make me sleep. maybe an hour im going to try hypnososi tuesday..i hope it works. ivet everything else. rued
benedetta74389 lo65763
Posted
hello! I just bumped into this thread and oh my god, I am having the exact same issue. It seems like my body cannot go into deep sleep. I keep turning in bed and when I do fall asleep I feel like I haven't slept. I keep having strange dreams throughout the night but I don't get any restful sleep. It's like I am awake but dreaming. I am so worried. Have you found a solution to this? I am desperate for an answer cause i am going into total panic mode now. Thanks so much.. just an answer about this situation would be a massive help.
Have a nice day
linda009 lo65763
Posted
I see this post is from a few years ago, but I'm going through the exact same thing now and wondered if you found a solution. I've tried most of the prescriptions and supplements that you mentioned with little or no success. Thanks in advance for your help!