sleep anxiety?

[andy404]

Hi all,

I've not been on this site for quite a while, but always found the advice helpful. So i thought I'd post my problem in case anyone has any suggestions? My problem is sleep related, I get very anxious before going to bed, racing heart, churning stomach, weird feeling in my head (not sure how else to describe this). Now the really strange thing is that I can actually go sleep feeling like this but wake up in the morning feeling like I've not slept at all! Not sleeping makes me feel horrible and at the moment I've got bad anxiety and depression along with the worry that I might never sleep properly again. I've been on paroxetine long term for some HA problems in the past, was on 10mg now upped to 30mg (a week ago) I've tried relaxation exercises but find it very hard to focus on anything but the anxious feeling, to be honest this thing is taking over my life and I can't seem to look past it at the moment! Anyway I'd really appreciate and advice or opinions from anyone who reads this.

Thanks in advance for any help

[Lan69]

I'm going through this at the moment too. Anxious before going to sleep, churning stomach, shallow breathing and heart racing but I manage to go off to sleep ok. Normally have a solid sleep for about 5-6 hours but woken up every morning continuing from where I left off...anxious. I still feel tired but I have to get up due to the anxiety. Iv tried progressive muscle relaxation before going to sleep but like I say I can go off alright but it's there every morning waking me up. I hate feeling like this and I'm starting to get in a worry cycle about it again

[ray.olsen]

Hi

I understand how you feel there are really moments at night that when anxiety kicks in, your mind gets rattled so much and your body feels so many horrendous sensations that sleep lost it's very own pleasure of comfort. This is one symptom that I hated so much before. Luckily it's actually treatable.

As you mentioned in your post you increased the dosage of your paroxetine meds, I hop you've told this to your doctor and asked for his/her permission. You also said that you find relaxation exercises inadequate since you have a capacity to lose focus due to your anxiety. There are still numerous methods you can do.

You can try yoga to increase your focus, you can also try nutritional supplements like melatonin, endoca hemp capsules, and some herbal extracts like lavender tea, kava tea, and chamomile. You can also try aromatherapy with massage therapy. You should't rely too much on the medications.

I hope this helps in dealing with your problem. I had the same issue before and I know how you feel. I hope you find something that works for you. Good Luck and God Bless you.

[andy404]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, I will try some of the suggestions you made and do appreciate your help. To answer your question, yes my paroxetine was increased by my doctor, who now is suggesting to try low dose Mirtazapine to help with my sleep,, I've never had any bad side effects on Paroxetine, but I'm a little anxious about taking both meds! Anyone here any experience of taking them together?

[Emma1027]

I have problems at night too and think it's because my minds over active and I am thinking/worrying about things that are making me stressed. I am thinking about looking into aromatherapy and relaxation ideas. Sometimes I find reading before going to sleep helps- my kindle is ideal for that and I've spent a good amount of time reading til the point of actually falling to sleep due to exhaustion. Your mind and body only has so much energy.