Still having sleep problems

[countrygirl]

I posted a few days ago about not being able to sleep due to adrenaline surges just as I am falling asleep - I can be awake all night.

won't go into all the details on this post othe than to say have had tests to rule out anything serious causing it - my Dr gave me a two week supply of temazepam 10mg and I also had a few Zopiclone left from years ago that were still in date.

The zopliclone works wonderfully but leaves you with terrible taste in your mouth all the next day and Dr said he preferred temazepam.

Last night I got home from new years eve party at 1am and was happy and relaxed - even my adrenaline surges were much diminished when I went to bed but I still could not drift off to sleep. I took a temazepam and yes I felt wondefully relaxed and heavy bodied but still awake! Eventually the effect of it wore off and then about 4am I fell asleep and slept till 10.30 this morning.

I am seriously worried how I could take a sleeping pill and it not get me to sleep - they should work within half an hour but was 3 hrs after I took it that i fell asleep.

I have had this problem many times over the years with not being able to sleep for up to a couple of months at a time and it really freaks me. Funnily enough I spoke to two friend I had been at party with and they both said they had spent most of night awake but they just weren't bothered or worried and laughed about it whereas I am in a blind panic that i will never sleep again.

[paula lynne]

Hi, how long have you been taking sleeping tabs, the body gets used to them after a while. Its great you made it too the party, but you sound like me, its often when we rest or relax that the adrenaline kicks in and prevents sleep.

Are you able to get some exercise during the day? This often helps burn off adrenaline, and Vit d from the sun (even a cloudy day) can aid sleep. This may help you reduce your need of the sleeping tabs. I suspect you were highly excited at the party, and having a great time, and this can take a day or two to wear off, thus producing excess adrenaline unfortunately.

Lots of people go through periods of insomnia with anxiety, its very common. Eventually, you will get back into the routine of regular sleep, your body will take over, and theres nothing you can do...you will sleep.

II hope you had agreat time at the party and enjoyed yourself, thats got to be worth the anxiety for a bit.....its the pay off I guess. I wish I had been able to go out, Im so jelous! You will get back into the routine soon, and try lavender, warm baths, massage, relaxation tapes etc. Take care x

[countrygirl]

It was only my second night of taking a sleeping tablet so def not getting used to them! I haven't taken any sleeping tablets for at least a year.
I have been having adrenaline surges as you drift off to sleep for past 3 months and it can take me hours to get to sleep on good nights.
I was great up to last Wednesday then the adrenaline surges got terrible and all night long and I rushed off to my Gp on Thursday and he gave me presc but said it was a one off to try and get me into a sleep pattern again. Even the thought of not being allowed to have any more is enough to stop me sleeping!

[paula lynne]

Ok, so its only a few days. Psychologically though, you already think you wont be able to sleep without them. You will. Your gp can only px them for a couple of weeks, as they are highly dependant. I was on valium for years, and the withdrawal was horrendous, and I was back to square one.

Lots of people seem to get the adrenaline surges around evening/sleeptime, it is horrible, but it cant harm you. Tell yourself.."oh ok, here we go again, well, I wont think to much about it, it wont harm me...." Try the lavender/bath/exercise/calm music/massage....you can and will cope without sleeping tablets. Remember, you coped before withouth them. By all means, take them for a short while, just be careful of physical and pyschological dependance. Im sorry if I havent been of any help, just my experiences of it.

[judipat]

Hi
Yours friends at the party hold the key to your problem - you say "they dont seem bothered about it and laugh it off, whereas, i am in a blind panic"
The more you worry about not sleeping, you can garantee you wont sleep. I know only too well, been there, got the teeshirt!! I once did'nt sleep for nearly two weeks, but ended up in hospital.
I can only tell you what worked for me - I read Claire Weeks books which explain everything, and once I understood what was going on, I could accept the anxiety/panic attacks and all the nasty symptoms. including the insomnia. It wont go away completely, but you can manage it. You also need to find out what works for you. If I cant sleep, I read, then I go through a relaxation routine in my head - there are several different ones you can use, but most involve letting your body go completely limp and heavy, then focus your mind on something you really like, a beach, moutains, woods etc. The trick is not to let your mind wander on to anything else and remember to keep your body relaxed. It takes some doing at first, but does work.
Hope you feel better soon.
Judi

[daisycake]

The more you worry about not sleeping, you can garantee you wont sleep. I know only too well, been there, got the teeshirt!! I once did'nt sleep for nearly two weeks, but ended up in hospital.

Definitely! Had the same problem when I was a lot younger, from about age 4 (roughly the time my dad left, and my mum was quite poorly too, so it was a bit of a seperatio anxiety) to age 17, I found it very hard to sleep at all - and still have nights where I just don't sleep at all due to panic/adreniline. It's a tough one to beat, I used to find myself panicing just at the thought of going to bed. I eventually controlled it through some exercise during the day (fighting all the extra adreniline) and through relaxing at nighttime - e.g. watching a dvd, reading a book, hot baths (Johnsons bedtime bath stuff is lovely), essential oils etc.

I admit I did try sleeping pills twice, I was advised once to take 2mg of diazepam, it didn't do much - but when I was younger I took Phenergan (prescribed it due to allergies) and it knocked me for six, I was a zombie at school! It worked though and got me into a good sleep pattern for a few weeks, I found if I took a tablet and relaxed and fell asleep, the next night I would go to bed so tired from the blinking tablet the night before that I'd fall asleep straight away - and would therefore be confident in just falling alseep with no help..

I wonder if you are worrying so much that it is in effect stopping you sleeping? E.g as you say, last night you were worried about the tablet not working, so in worrying so much you prevented yourself from nodding off, and then you kind of get into a mindset that it might happen again, and so on...

If that makes sense. It's probably not a lot of help but I wanted to reply because I feel for you Hope things go better tonight..