need serious help

[dlou84]

right im 22 male and having so many problems i nearly decided to go for good the other day... im still here now tho.. just basically i took a form of viagra 2yrs ago found out it was a fake one not the one from the nhs called kamgra 100g... i have always been a worrier and i went to the hospital thinking it had done some harm to me.. for a year i conviced myself i have done damage to my heart and i began to see my pulse in my neck and could feel my pulse in all areas of my body.. the only thing keeping me going was my gf at the time.. she was great and i started to feel good again... then she went on holiday for a week and the day before she went i had a panic attack and ended up in hospital.. bpm was 178 for about an hour! since then i went to a phycotherapist and that helped so much i started to live again... then my parents left for a holiday and i stayed up all night and didnt sleep.. ONCE i got really scared and went to stay with my autie and i slept that night.. since then i now cant sleep alone but last week even with my parents in the house i was up for 3 days in a row without sleep.. it was so painful and i nearly ended it then cus i couldnt see a light at the end of the tunel. i got so sleep that night but i remembered everything like the dreams and i was very aware.. then last night i didnt get to sleep til 5am and woke up at 10am.. again i remember everything like my dreams and all aspects of it.. is this normal? sleep wise.. also i check my pulse every other minute and put my fingers by my nose to see if im breathing... ive been to the doctors so much and tried to get counciling and im struggling.. they gave me crioprlam or how ever u spell it 20g one a day.. havent took them yet. i feel so bad i dont need anything more at the minute!! i dont no wot to do.. i was fine before the sleep well i was coping well.. now i cant sleep i feel like im dying.. can u die from not sleeping? ive been getting little sleep but very light and troubled.. ive tried every drug kalms sleep nytol lavender all sorts but i stop myself letting go.. like when im about to sleep i stop myself! i guess im scared of letting go? i need some help please help D

[Lindalou64]

i would say the sleep pattern you have is normal for some when you worry about sleeping and ya stressing out about it........try some relaxation tapes or exercise......i know im not to keen on being alone at night but have no choice anymore since my kids are young adults......but just try and stay positive and focus on the good negative thots is what gets us.......oh boy do i know........i learned to turn that around tho and you will also your young you have alot to look forward too i know right now feeling crappy doesnt feel that way but it will subside it will hun just remember that .........tc xx Linda

[dlou84]

yeh i need to try and change my negative thoughts to positive ones.. its really hard to do that wen ur brains had a full nights sleep let alone when u havent slept.. everything becomes so much harder.. It would be good to hear from ppl going through/over-come the same problems???? Dan

[sandie]

Hello Dan-oo

Lack of sleep can you make you incredibly 'wired'. I was bouncing off the walls when I was prescribed Prozac and it seriously disturbed my sleep pattern. I came off after about 10 days - I hated it so much. But my GP had to give me valium to calm me - just for a few days. Unfortunately the anxiety and PAs have now affected my sleeping pattern, so I'm taking zimovane sleepiing tabs. I don't know anything about the med you've been prescribed, but if your GP thinks it will help, then you should try it.

Relaxation techniques will help - breathing, gentle stretching, listening to quiet soothing music. If you feel too stressed to do this on your own at first, perhaps a girlfriend or friend will help you practice. Then when you're on your own, you can do the exercises - closing your eyes and imagining that you have your friend with you, until you are sufficiently calm enough to try sleeping.

There's no easy answer - its not a "one size fits all" situation; we all handle our anxiety and PAs differently. What works for me one day, might not on another day. I'm amazed at how I can go from having a REALLY good day and a brilliant night's sleep, and then have a truly dreadful day.

You don't automatically become able to think positive constantly when you've had a lifetime of thinking negative thoughts. It only comes with practice - in other words, you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time, and it can take some time to devour the beast!! Perhaps each time you have a negative thought you then force yourself to have a positive thought might help - worthy trying maybe?

I know it sounds corny, a glass of warm milk at bedtime (once you've actually gotten into a warm bed). a few drops of lavendar oil on your pillow, a not too exciting book - they all work. The warm milk actually contains trypsophan (I think that's how you spell it) - which is actually sedating. You just need to be calm. I know it's not easy - but it will get better. I keep my Rescue Remedy spray by my bed, and a couple of squirts before I try to settle does also tend to help.

Take Care - I hope you start getting some better quality sleep soon.

Sandie

[yorkylover]

Hi D,welcome to the forum,you will get lots of support here.Anxiety can really upset the sleep pattern.You need to start taking the meds,but dont expect them to work to quickley.Try reading before bed and have a milky drink,it will help you wind down.;)

Ellen XX

[manmoor]

Hi Dan,

A big warm welcome to you.

Take Care

Mandyxx

[honeybee3939]

Hi Dan

A BIG warm welcome to you, lovely to see you here, im sure you will get some great advice here while making new friends on the way.:D

First Steps:
First Steps to overcoming Panic and Anxiety (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=942)

Sleep help
Sleep zzzzz (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5413)
insomnia, insomnia, insomnia etc.... (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6002)
Sleep problems (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6260)
HELP! Problems with sleeping. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7144)


Love

Andrea
xxx

"If you have a worry turn it into a problem, you cant solve worrys but you can solve problems"

[feels_like_home]

Hi Dan,

You are not alone. I too have a hard time sleeping. I can fall asleep, but wake up every hour or so. I cannot sleep alone in a house. When my husband is away I go to my parents house to sleep. If I didn't I would not sleep. I also have very vivid dreams and wake up in the morning so confused. Sleep is really important and without it my anxiety is 10 times worse. I find the more I worry about sleeping the less of it I get. We just need to find a way to relax. Calming music and breathing helps me.

Take care,

Michelle

[Rachel Ball]

Hi there Dan, I can totally understand your sensation of not letting go when you are trying to sleep. I went through a phase of it during a time of very high anxiety, I would be trying to sleep and thinking 'am I asleep yet?' which would stop me going to sleep and then the shock of falling asleep would jolt me awake....arghhhhh.
I am on 20mg Citalopram and i'm feeling so much better, you would take an annadin if you had a headache would'nt you?
You say that you feel you've had enough, you know what? people who endure this type of illness are so unbelievably strong, you can and you will cope because life is too precious, soon you will start to feel better again. xx
p.s what's a young lad like you doing taking Viagra?? lol.

[Lynnann]

Hi Dan,

You are not alone, I have a very erratic sleep pattern and at times it completely eludes me. yes things seem much worse without sleep but eventually your body and mind gives in to the exhaustion and you will sleep. Give the meds a try and see how it goes, sometimes it takes a while so don't expect an overnight cure.

Take care of yourself

Hugs to you

Lynnann

[trac67]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum, you will get a lot of good advice here and make some new friends.

Take care

Trac xx

'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'

[dlou84]

Thanks so much its great advice i got about 9 hrs last night havent slept more than 7hrs in a year and average 5-6... going to see my GF today so that will boost me ;) been to the docs got emergancy appointment with a councillor i guess ive spelt that wrong lol feeling alot better today.. im going to ask for some info on CBT and see if i can get that along with some psychotherapy which ive had before which help so much.. Dan xx

[nomorepanic]

Hi Dan

Welcome aboard.

Have a good read of the website at www.nomorepanic.co.uk

Loads of advice on there too.

Hope we can be of some help.

Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[dlou84]

hi ive been doing so well over the past few weeks having perfect nights sleep and seeing my gf everyday and i started to feel good again.. i then went to a party on sat and there were ppl doing coke and i got it into my head that by being there it affected me.. i havent slept since and i feel like im back to square one!!!! now im checking my pulse and holding my hand against my nose to see if im breathing and all the other things i do wen i dont sleep... i now dont no where to turn! :(:(:(:( Dan

[Ma Larkin]

Hi Dan, I would recommend taking your medication. It will really help with your anxiety. As for your sleep, I came off medication (Prozac) about 7 weeks ago. I was seriously going to ask my GP to put me back on it because some of the symptoms have now re-appeared and I really cannot cope with full blown panic attacks, HOWEVER, I bought some tablets from Asda last week called "Quiet Life" and they are brill for sleeping! I've tried Kalms, but they didn't really do anything for me, but these Quiet Life pills are ace. You take 2 tablets twice a day with food and then 3 at bedtime. Within half an hour I'm yawning my head off and sleep like a log with no groggy feelings in the morning. They were only about £3.50 for 100 tablets and well worth the money.

Les

[dlou84]

well the docs now told me not to take the anti depressants then sent me to a pschyolist and she said i dont need them cus i dont have depression i have aneixty shes put me on the waiting list for CBT treatment.. 9 months nice eh!! im since not working now aswell so im at home all day.. which i think is partly to blame.. but i jst get scared about the sleeping thing which makes it worse.. any tips on braking this cycle? im knackered!!!!! anyone else suffer from this? Dx

[LickeyEndBlues]

Hi Dan,

There is a lot of good advice here about your sleeping problem. For me the most important thing was trying to get some routine sorted. I try not to have caffiene after 7.00pm and try to get to bed as relaxed as I can. I am back into reading so usually try a couple of chapters before settling down, the book is handy if that doesn't work and I just turn the light back on and continue reading.

I'm not sure what your daily routine is, but having something to do helps. I am househusband currently and whilst I have a lot of spare time, I do have plenty chores to keep me busy.

I am on Citalopram also, 20mg/day. I take them first thing in the morning and I have found that once they kicked in (about 5 weeks) a lot of the negative thoughts diminished significantly. I am not sure why your GP said leave them for now??

Like you I have a long wait for CBT so have started to look at stuff myself. This site is pretty good as is, http://www.livinglifetothefull.com. It has a free course that you can sign up to and do at your leisure.

Cheers Dan oo

Iain

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

[dlou84]

hi last night was horrible.. watched the clocks tick even though i dont have one! went to bed at 9pm and tried to sleep my mum was wrapping presents and all i kept hearing was the tape being tourt and cut it was stopping me from sleeping. i then got really angry and started shouting.. she stopped later and i tried to sleep again come 12am i was still awake and all my panicy feelings came i was checking my breathing and pulse and i was telling myself it was over.. i managed to get abit of sleep not sure how much cus i didnt look at the time again.. the thing is im fine when ive slept but not when i havent. i mean last week i was getting 8-9 hours a night for the first time in a year.. and i was seeing my GF everyday and i was HAPPY!! now im back to square one.. they said leave them because im not depressed i have aniexty.. i worry about paracetamol let alone anything else!!! so im not keen on taking them to be honest. the lack of sleep is leaving me in bed all day and stopping me doing the things i should do.. i mean im 22yrs old and i shouldnt be feeling like this.. i should be out with my mates enjoying life! at the minute i cant i have all these bad thoughts and i dont want to do anything to myself and i dont think i would.. but its just so hard. for two years ive been trying to get help from NHS/GP and im still here no treatment.. just a pack of pills.. if there was a magic pill that could cure everything i would but i no for a fact that the problems will still be there when the pills gone and i want to get better on my own.. ive conviced myself that im going to die from not sleeping and that im going to have a heart attack.. all i which ive been told is not true.. and when ive slept i believe it and im care free.. going 3 days without sleep is F'd up.. lucky ive been getting little sleep each night to keep me going.. its just at night i cant let go of the feelings the aniexty comes on in huge waves.. the first reason why i couldnt sleep was because i was alone and that was the problem.. then.. when someone was here.. i was fine but now all these other issues have added themselfs and i need to brake those down.. but i dont no how?? like the OCD issues with pulse checking breathing etc.. also the whole letting go thing.. i dont no where to turn at the moment and its not good.. my gran was a queens nurse and she raised me she was my everything in life and if you've ever had someone that u can go to and they say its going to be alright and you believe them no matter what it is.. well thats what i lost and if my mum stood next to my gran and she said it i wouldnt believe her.. but if my gran said it i would.. i think that has alot to do with it.. but all the problems started when i had a panic attack in july 05 since then i was scared to go to shops scared to do anything.. but i was still sleeping.. THEN i fixed all those problems with the help of a physcotheapist which i paid privately she did hypnotherphy on me and it was the best thing ive ever done.. plus councilling. now i dont have that because she is now ill with her own problems she has round the clock help because she had a brake down so i cant see her.. if i could get my sleeping back on track then i could start to work through my problems.. and get better... Dan

[chillx]

Hi

Have a look at this free online CBT course, it may be of interest to you.

http://www.livinglifetothefull.com/elearning/



chillx

[dlou84]

thanks i just signed up and done the introduction course and then the sleep one.. it has helped me understand what triggers my feelings and how i can change them.. im going to put it all into practice tonight.. Dan