Sleep Issues

Thank you Lily for your response. I have tried antihistamines in the past, but they caused me to wake up with heart palpitations and rapid heart beat.

It was 140 over 70. I was taking 12.5 mg of Clomiphene, three times per week for a month. It was prescribed by my Urologist to handle my low T (which was 222). I have the T of a 90 year old.

I decided to go off Clomid for six days now and not feeling any difference. I know Clomid takes time but I just wanted to see if I would feel any better off of it. It felt like it took longer to fall asleep on CloMid.

Initially I felt better and my sleep was improving. I noticed by day 5 that my sleep started to get bad again, more fatigue, brain fog, lack of motivation, depression, anxiety. I'm trying to decide if I should go back on CloMid until I get my blood test results next week.

Nick, 140/70 is just fine at a time when you're in an anxious state. As long as your diastolic isn't consistently above 80 you don't have anything to worry about with a systolic of 70. It's never a good idea to take your BP when you're in an agitated state as it will always show this pattern.

As far as I can tell from a bit of quick research, Clomid shouldn't be causing these symptoms, either while taking it or in withdrawal, but I'm wondering whether you've discussed your entire health situation with your urologist. Having said that, I do understand how difficult it can sometimes be to get specialists to think holistically rather than just looking at the particular symptom they're treating.

There is of course the fact that low testosterone in itself causes fatigue, lack of motivation and depression, so you might want to factor that in when deciding to restart Clomid. I'm glad to hear you've had a blood test anyway. I hope it covers all aspects of your health and not just testosterone levels.

A little background on my condition.  

I started having sleep issues back in November 2015. My heart was pounding in my neck and chest at night and kept me up. I had a high pressure job up and developed a tachycardia condition that sent me to the ER back at the beginning of December.  The ER doctor sent me home with Ativan (1 mg.)  I took Ativan for the next 14 days, which helped him get some sleep, but I continued to have tachycardia, fatigue and insomnia.  After several diagnostic tests by a cardiologist, I was diagnosed with sinus tachycardia.  For the next 5 months, I worked at the high pressure job, but continued having severe insomnia, fatigue and tachycardia.   Prior to December, 2015, I would run three or four times a week, but can no longer do this because of my condition. I can't really do any areobic exercise without my heart rate increasing too much. I periodically took .5 mg. of Ativan from March to May to help with sleep.  In February, my Cortisol saliva tests showed cortisol levels were elevated in the early morning hours.  Also, one of my blood tests showed that I had the Epstein Barr Virus, but I'm not sure when I had this.

Three months ago, I quit my job and moved back to San Diego with family.  I had an MRI of the brain, Cat Scan and an EEG which all came back normal.  I periodically have internal head and chest tremors/vibrations that I feel are caused from his lack of sleep.  I have become very heat sensitive.  

Because of my severe fatigue, my family doctor checked my testosterone levels which came back as 154 L at 3:05 p.m. in the afternoon and then 12 days later I tested as 222 L at 12:05 p.m.   

Doctors say I have stage 3 adrenal dysfunction caused by the high job stress.  It's been 9 months now and the tachycardias have been gone since May, but I still suffer chronic insomnia (sometimes severe for several weeks), chronic fatigue, brain fog and secondary anxiety and depression caused by the fatigue.  

Wow, Nick - you really did get stressed doing that job, didn't you?! I hope you earned a lot of money for it. Still, at least it sounds as if the tachycardia is under control now, since you reported a pulse rate of only 70 even when you were in an anxious state.

I'm understanding from your post that you didn't take Ativan for very long and have been off it for quite some time now. If that's so, then I don't imagine this is Ativan withdrawal. However, if you've taken it more recently and for more than a couple of weeks, withdrawal could well be adding to your misery.

Sorry to hear you had EBV too - quite possibly when your immune system was weakened by all that stress. I'm sure you know that the after-effects can go on for months in some people, causing fatigue, brain fog etc.

Another thought strikes me. As you're in the US and can presumably access any speciality you like (as long as you can afford it) have you seen an endocrinologist? Seems to me that that's the one specialist who'd be most likely to take an overview of your entire hormonal state, rather than addressing your symptoms piecemeal.

Thank you Lily for reading and commenting.  I greatly appreciate it. Does EBV cause insomnia? Do you think based on the symptoms I described that I have sleep apena? My sleep is really a combination of can't fall and stay asleep. I wake up a lot when I do and when I feel like I got a little more sleep I still feel really tired.  Could also be the low T that I'm trying to increase.  Yes, I'm seeing an Endo in a few weeks.  

As far as I know it doesn't cause insomnia, but it can certainly make the resulting fatigue and brain fog even worse.

You might have sleep apnoea - especially as I seem to recall you mentioned in another thread that every time you took a "sleep aid" you had episodes of waking up gasping for breath. (That was you, wasn't it?) That sounds like drug-induced sleep apnoea but it doesn't necessarily mean you have it under normal circumstances. Also, sleep apnoea doesn't stop you falling asleep (unless you work yourself up into a state of anxiety worrying about it) although it can cause frequent awakenings. Quite the reverse in fact - people with sleep apnoea are usually so sleep-deprived, albeit without realising it, that they fall asleep very easily. Since finances don't seem to be a problem, why not get yourself referred to a sleep clinic?

Well, I don't wake up gasping for breath. I just would wake up with rapid heart, or feeling like my breathing was shaky, probably from internal chest tremors. Interesting thing is in all my exhaustion and lack of sleep I can't sleep or nap during the day. Not a wink. I go to bed at 11:00 pm, and can't sleep past 7:00 or 7:30 am. I get up at 8:00 or 8:30 pm even though I'm really tired. I'm trying sleep restriction, but it doesn't seem to be helping a lot.  I also do weight and high interval training and situps every day.  Some days walk/jog for 20 - 30 minutes if I feel a little better. Exercising doesn't seem to help. 

Yes, I scheduled a sleep study for next month.  I'm concerned though that I won't sleep with all of that gear on my body. 

Honestly nothing new in my life for the last four months. Unemployed, no new relationships, living with parents, and most days I can't leave the house.  I had a good few days while taking Silenor for sleep and was able to get out, walk/jog for 30 minutes, but the Silenor stopped working after five days.  

Doxylamine causes rapid heart rate for me too.  

That's interesting Misssy. I'd never come across doxylamine before. It is true that different antihistamines have different effects from one individual to another. I was never all that keen on Benadryl (diphenhydramine) myself. It didn't make my heart race, but it didn't have the slightest sedative effect on me either... except when I tried it for daytime hay fever, when it knocked me flat during the day and kept me awake all night!

Promethazine (marketed as Phenergan in Europe) was my sleeping antihistamine of choice for the 40+ years of my insomnia problems, and still works on the rare occasions I have to take something these days. In fact I took 5mg (baby dose!) just last night as I had to be up at 6am for what I knew would be a nerve-wracking meeting on the other side of town at 8 this morning. I was in a right old state of anxiety by early evening yesterday, and knew I wouldn't sleep a wink, so took a pill at 9, was asleep by about 11 and even went off again with no problem after a 4am bathroom trip.

But we're all different, so it's worth sufferers trying a range of the first-generation antihistamines to see if any work better than others.

yes, I was desperate when I tried the doxy....because I did not want my heart to race..but I was hoping it didn't have the same effect...and it did not.

I usually take a benzo for sleep but the Drs have cut down my prescription (cause i am known to have a drinking problem)...and I need the prescription I do have for the benzo during the day for anxiety....so I needed an alternative for sleep.

It works really well to put me to sleep..I never stay asleep with ANY drug I have tried so FAR.

 

Dear nick dont worry i believe anxiety and depression and fatigue can make your insomnia worse but please get some vitamin d and other vitamins check your diet , luck will knock on your door

I was thinking a higher dose of that med but  I never heard of this medication.

I just read the highest dose you should take is 3mg....so that is probably all that is prescribed .