Insomnia came out of nowhere!!

Hi Dustin,

You're certainly not alone in going through a period of insomnia. Practically everyone goes through at least one phase like this in their life, and we all survive it unscathed.

First of all, kudos to you for recognising that this is all down to your anxiety! Many people don't want to admit that, which makes everything harder. I'm glad you're starting CBT too. This is usually the most effective treatment for any anxiety-related condition, provided you're prepared to be patient and put in all the work that's required. Sometimes, however, people need to try more than one therapist. It's important in any kind of "talking therapy" to get a reasonably good fit between your mindset and the therapists.

I'm also glad to see you're on the right track in not expecting a miracle cure. Sadly, once you've had a period of insomnia, it does tend to recur throughout life. However, you eventually get more skilled at coping with it too.

This has been the case for me. I was always a rather nervous sleeper, even as a child, but things came to a head in my mid-20s, when I spent more than a year working a ridiculous experimental shift system as a nurse. From then on, I had problems on and off for the rest of my working life, till I retired at age 66. That was eight years ago and I've hardly had a bad night since then - though I realise that doesn't help you very much!

In the intervening 40 years, I mainly coped by using very small doses of OTC antihistamines - preferably the older kind, that make you sleepy. But... don't forget that you can become dependent on antihistamines too, just like conventional sleeping meds, and they'll soon stop working just like sleeping pills, leaving you in an even worse state. I suspect use of sleeping pills may have contributed to your current problems.

I used to take a very small dose of antihistamines (promethazine being the best for me) only when I was getting a bit desperate, and never more than three consecutive nights. That would usually restore my confidence in my ability to sleep for a couple of nights, then I'd just tough it out again for another week. But if you want to try this, keep the dose as low as possible and remember to take it an hour before bedtime. Small doses of antihistamines have such a weak sedative effect that if you take it when you go to bed it'll take an hour or more to kick in, by which time you'll be so anxious about not sleeping you won't be able to get off to sleep anyway. And if you wake up in the night, don't take another dose. Antihistamines can make you feel groggy the next morning if you take them too late, which will add to your problems.

But never take antihistamines or any other sleep-inducing medication every night. That's the slippery slope to getting insomnia for the rest of your life. I never developed tolerance to them, and on the rare occasions when I need something to help me sleep these days - usually the night before a journey or a big presentation in my voluntary job - I find the same tiny dose I took 50 years ago still works just as well.

I don't want to insult your intelligence, but I'm wondering whether you've googled Sleep State Misperception. This accounted for part of my problem. Sometimes on nights when I thought I hadn't slept at all, a room-mate or partner would confirm that I'd actually been asleep for several hours.

Try not to get too panicked about not sleeping enough - though I realise that's easier said than done. I can confirm from personal experience that even if poor nights make you feel terrible, they don't do any long-term harm to your health. After having some degree of sleep problems for most of my life, I'm still perfectly healthy in my mid-70s, and don't even have raised blood pressure. And don't forget parents with young children: they sometimes go several years without getting proper sleep, but they come through it.

Take it slowly, be patient with yourself, and don't worry about the consequences for your general health - in spite of what you might hear from some of the trolls who post on forums like this one. It's great that you've realised there's no magic bullet for this problem. That vastly increases your chances of a better outcome. Some people get absurdly angry about their sleeplessness - with themselves, their doctors, God, the Universe, Father Christmas maybe, which is a guaranteed way of making the problem worse. I can see you've realised that's not the way to go. You'll learn to cope eventually, by whichever method, and come out on the other side of it.

I really appreciate your input, I thought I was gonna die a few times through this and in still here. I've had to break down to my wife and just cry because I feel like I'm a different person and I'm scared it will change us. But it has brought us closer together. I understand your issues with sleeping pills and they have given me everything just waiting on a miracle that doesn't come. Ambien may work for a night or two then nothing. Lorazepam for anxiety works to help e's with sleep but I'm smarter than taking anything every nignt. I'm 33 and before this I hadn't put one single perscription pill in my body other than something for allergies or being sick as a child. I think my sleep doctors know I don't want pills but they have put me on something for anxiety to help sleep as I go through cbti. I had refused gabapentin and will only take ambien or lorazepam sparingly. But I feel guilty even when I do as I know u should be doing this on my own. I gave into them finally giving me an anti depressant because they told me without my anxiety getting under control insomnia will not go away. I honestly don't feel any different and where I refuse certain things they give me it makes me realize I am in control of this and refuse to ride the pill train for the rest of my life. You simply just chase the next pill that works until it doesnt. Which for me is very quick. It's a tough position and I have friends who have went through this both who rely on pills to survive on a daily basis. One who takes amitriptyline and seroquel daily. He sleeps but how long before it stops. It's been 5 years for him and has had to increase the dose feom 25mg to over 400. Its not me. That's why I am staying positive through cbti. I have researched that cbti with meds for a short period can be more beneficial than doing it without meds but we shall see. My mother went through this for 30 years and one day it was gone once she tried marijuana. That does nothing for me but she can relate. I feel like I am just in a slump and can get out of it if I just work at it. Thank you for responding it feels good to know others are out there.

Peace. 

Try some high quality magnesium supplement. Avoid cheap, inorganic magnesium forms like oxides, carbonates, sulphates, hydroxide common in local pharmacies and choose organic forms like citrate, glycinate; more expensive but more effective. It is what worked for me. 

I cannot pinpoint why I stopped sleeping. It's true I've always had sleep apnea, and recently I bore a lot more belly fat, but none of these things disturbed my sleep. At least not until ending of last March. I was in the middle of mid-semester exams worth 20% and I could not sleep beyond two hours at a stretch. I'll go to bed early as 8 PM to get more sleep only to awake by 10 PM, toss in bed till nearly 12 AM, awake by 2 AM. And till morning, I hopelessly remain in my warm bed, sliding from partial sleep state to full wake state. It felt like hell, my eyes were strained, my heart was palpitating 24/7, I had no one by my side and I was very lonely and depressed. 

I did see the doctor, who prescribed for me. But the prescription had to be taken before bed, with water; and water before bed is one thing I had avoided even before insomnia, because I have suffered from nocturia all my life. I became even more discouraged from taking these prescriptions when I realized I had to wait for at least a week to notice any improvement. I tried to see the doctor again, but there were just too many obstacles and in the end I concluded it wasn't worth it. 

I read and applied almost every medical advice for insomnia; limiting fluid intake after sunset, limiting or increasing daily carbohydrate intake, eating more protein and vegetables, turning off the light long before bed, eating a light snack before bed, drinking plenty water in daytime, cut out processed food and drinks, avoiding daytime naps, reducing room temperature at night, avoiding blue light from computer and phones at night. None of these improved my condition. The only thing I did not try at the time was exercise. 

So, eventually after reading so many testimonies about magnesium supplements on forums, I bought myself magnesium carbonate. I did see little improvement. Few nights I slept a bit well but on many others, I just didn't. I flunked nearly all my mid-semester exams due to little preparations owing to insomnia. 

As I later realized, magnesium carbonate is an antacid, not a proper magnesium supplement. So once I ran out of the tablets, I did not return for more. 

But my sleep worsened so much that I could barely sleep beyond two hours a night, for two nights I lay awake from 10 PM till day break. This was the point I rushed to the pharmacy to get high quality calcium, magnesium and vitamin D supplement, and eventually saw significant improvement.