Worrying about fatal insomnia, please help me calm down!
Posted , 6 users are following.
Maybe alot of text but I really hope you can read it all and try to analyse my situation and just calm me down a bit. I am 23 year old male, I have had trouble with sleep for a long time in my life but nothing to extreme. Last summer after going on a vegan diet for a couple of months I started experiencing severe insomnia, nights where it would be impossible for me to sleep even though i wasnt really anxious or worried about it i could even be completely relaxed but just could not fall asleep. With that came a lot of anxiety, depression and other cognitive symptoms like brain fog, bad short term memory etc. I went to the doctor and they did all my blood tests, even neurological check with brain scan and found nothing. They said it had to be due to anxiety and stress.
I started eating meat again, living healthy, meditating and slowly my mood improved a lot, i slept better but started developing anxiety attacks every single night, no exceptions and at the same time, then it would pass around maybe 3-4 am and then i would be able to sleep normally. It was like this for a couple of months then it actually passed completely and i was sleeping normally again.
But now what happened is i went vegan again for 2-3 months and the same problems came back but a little bit worse, insomnia, anxiety, heart palpitations almost 24/7 so i immediatly thought it had to be because of the vegan thing so i went back to eating meat again, and the insomnia improved a bit, but the heart palpitations and anxiety was still there.
Then it got a little better again during the summer but now all of a sudden its just gotten much worse. I tried an antidepressant/sleep medicine called agomelatine (valdoxan) for a couple of days but it didnt work at all just made my sleep much worse so i stopped and after that my sleep has been way worse than before. But the big bang was when i started reading about a certain disease called fatal insomnia or sporadic fatal insomnia, this had me absolutely terrified and this last 8 days or so my anxiety and insomnia has goon through the roof, I have been sleeping every other night since, and when i do sleep i have to use zopiclone and then i usually sleep pretty heavy for like 9-10 hours (which i guess would speak against me having fatal insomnia) but havent been able to sleep without a pill for about 2 weeks. I try to convince myself intellectually that I dont have the disease but just cant shake this horrible anxiety i have had these last days, I have gotten physciatric help for my problems now and are gonna see a doctor so i hope that will help.
Please can somebody help me! Sorry if it was written weirdly, i am writing this from a pretty disoriented stage of anxiety right now
0 likes, 5 replies
angela55814 robinmk4l
Posted
Please stop worrying about fatal insomnia you DO NOT have it. Over the years I have had a similar sleeping pattern to you. I am older than you but to be honest the more you worry and get anxious about it the worse it is. My nieces husband is s DR and said fatal insommnia is so rare and comes with loads of other symptoms and you would never ever sleep so STOP worrying about that. I go for months when I sleep a bit better then suddenly go back to square one. At the moment not sleeping well at all only had 2 hrs last night!! I saw my GP who said "not sleeping never killed anyone" not what I wanted to hear but strangely reassuring! Its definetely the anxiety thats keeping you awake and there is nothing wrong with you. Try and take the attitude if I sleep I sleep if I dont I wont feel great but I will eventually sleep. GOOD LUCK im sure you have a long and healthy life ahead of you!
Leona711 robinmk4l
Posted
Hi Robinmk41
First, I would need to see a doctor just to verify i don't have that disorder. i don't think you do but the Internet can feed such irrational ideas - I know as I've been there. So get rid of that anxiety.
Next, make sure you're getting adequate protein on your vegetarian diet. I eat primarily vegetarian and use the app MyFitnessPal to check nutrients and protein. Eggs, lowfat milk, cheese, nuts, legumes, protein bars all help me keep my protein up. A glass of milk or 'Sleepy Time' tea has also been helpful for me I also take Hawthorne Berry for palpitations as that can keep me awake as well.
randy66926 robinmk4l
Posted
fatal insomnia is genetic and probably the most rare disease on earth. Its so rare that the familial bloodlines are tracked. The cases of sudden fatal insomnia have in fact been linked to genetics if you read further into but you probably shouldnt because you will run into a lot of BS along the way. Ive been there man the fact that youre able to sleep goes says you dont have fatal insomnia anxiety and stress will cause these issues along with vitamin and mineral defficiencies so maybe get checked for those.
barney34567 robinmk4l
Posted
I too have sleep problems.
I suggest you visit a sleep specialist who will run through your history and will diagnose or come close to diagnosing your problem with a sleep test.
I do not recommend medications to help with sleep unless you first see a sleep specialist (to check for sleep patterns) or an endocrinologist (in case the problem is hormonal).
The fact that a doctor ran tests and found nothing means just that: he (or she) found nothing based on his (or her) experience. A highly experienced physician can identify patterns, however subtle, in bloodwork.
Rion robinmk4l
Posted
How are you now?