Insomnia for months [Archive]

Gaz1985

31-01-18, 17:01

Hi guys

I have been suffering insomnia for 4 and a half months. My sleep patterns are very erratic. Most nights are struggle to get to sleep, sometimes I lay there for a couple of hours or it can take up to 7 hours before I finally fall asleep. But last Thursday night I got to sleep within about 15 mins of getting in bed and woke up about 8 hours later, but that is a rare good night for me. Things got worse the following night on wards..took me a few hours to get to sleep each night and when I do get to sleep I have vivid dreams and wake up after each one, it's like my brain is too active.

I had to resort to drinking a whole bottle of wine on Monday night & sure enough I was asleep in less than 5 mins after drinking it and getting in bed with no crazy dreams, I had 7 hours sleep that night. I have also been prescribed Phenergan tablets for my insomnia, I find a 50 mg dosage good, sometimes 25 mg doesn't work for me - I took them last night after tossing and turning for 2 hours. I find they take about an hour to work and then I begin to feel drowsy enough to fall asleep, I get about 6 or 7 hours sleep on them if I am not disturbed by any noise.

Again like wine I don't seem to recall dreams when I take Phenergan tablets so it's like they calm my mind? I felt a bit groggy this morning like I normally do when I take them but this afternoon I feel good like the feeling you have when you get a good sleep. I don't take them every night as I hear the body quickly builds a tolerance to them so I tend to take them 2 nights a week spaced out between 4 nights, so for instance I took them last night and I would not take them again until Saturday night. Doing it that way my body doesn't seem to build a tolerance to them and I get a good sleep. Obviously in between I have to either try to go to sleep naturally or resort to alcohol twice a week.

I have to admit though my sleep was worse between September and late November, I had many sleepless nights in that time, not a wink of sleep, but I haven't had a completely sleepless night since 20th November so I guess I should be grateful of that. But it still takes me a really long time to get to sleep most nights since then and the crazy dreams that accompany them which often wake me up, before September I rarely dreamed too. I had some stress when my sleeping problems started but the stress is a lot less now however I'm still having problems falling asleep. Before September I could easily go to sleep within 10 mins of my head hitting the pillow and not wake until my alarm. I was such a good sleeper so I'm not sure what happened to me. I just need your advice on how to get to sleep more quickly without having to resort to alcohol or Phenergan, maybe if possible advise some supplements or something that could make me drowsy?

Thanks.

Benjammin69

31-01-18, 17:05

Gaz1985

31-01-18, 17:12

How about melatonin? I’ve tried promethazine, nytol, etc melatonin you can order on line and it re regulates your circadian rhythm which maybe what is out of place here?

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I have never tried melatonin but will consider it, but since December I have been using something called "f.lux" on my computer and something called "blue light filter" on my phone, both those programs block blue light. Apparently looking at blue light stops our bodies making melatonin and so we don't feel tired at night, I'm just wondering if the cause of my insomnia was actually the phone I bought in early September, about 2 weeks later my sleeping problems started. Maybe the blue light from the phone started to mess up my circadian rhythm?

Benjammin69

31-01-18, 18:17

Gaz1985

31-01-18, 19:02

It can do mate loads can effect your circadian rhythm - insomnia can be caused by various things including anxiety stress depression - sometimes it can just be your body clock and therefore melatonin will help reset that. I’ve used it before it does help and it is lighter than other shit

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Cheers mate for the advice yeah I think partly family stress was the cause of the insomnia and possibly the blue light (maybe the new phone I got emitted a lot more of it than my older one?)..... then I started to worry & stress about not sleeping so that caused a vicious circle of dreading going to bed wondering if I would sleep and the longer I stayed awake the more anxious I got and I broke out in nervous sweats and fast heartrate.

I'm just glad I am not taking the "z" drugs like Zopiclone or Zolpidem, but I guess taking an antihistamine like Phenergan like I'm doing every now and then isn't too bad? it seems to work for me at 50 mg.

I actually tried something called "Kirkland sleep aid" off ebay but that didn't do a thing for me, I suspect it wasn't even real....maybe fake tablets because the reviews for it were proper encouraging but I bought them from a different seller than the reviews I looked at, apparently the active ingredient in those tablets are Doxylamine Succinate & it's supposed to be even more sedating than Promethazine, but the Phenergan I have on prescription is actually Promethazine and worked a lot better than the Kirkland sleep aid which makes me think the one I got off ebay was fake, most antihistamines make me at least a little drowsy but they did nothing at all so that screams fake to me. I might try another brand of Doxylamine off ebay but get them off a more trusted seller. To be honest I just want to get to sleep quickly like I used to and not have multiple weird dreams as well. Just fed up wondering what the night will bring.

Bigboyuk

31-01-18, 19:20

Hi Gaz if I may chime I too have bad sleep patterns still get them but not as often nothing worse than trying to get to sleep and you cant! Word of advice this is personal to me watched a few programmes on buying meds online and come to the concusion its risky so would advise either go to your dr and see what he can offer or speak to a herbalist :) Good luck and let us know how you get on ATB

Gaz1985

31-01-18, 19:28

Bigboyuk

31-01-18, 19:36

No problem mate will do :) :shades:

Gaz1985

01-02-18, 18:07

Hi guys just to let you know last night I noticed I had a bottle of Taurine in my cupboard unopened, I bought it a while ago but obviously never used it, I remembered hearing that it can increase or influence GABA receptors in the brain making you feel more relaxed and able to go to sleep easier, well I took 4 pills/2000mg about 15 mins before bed and I fell asleep in about 30 mins or so after getting in bed but I went straight into vivid dreaming, in fact I woke up about 4 times in the night after each dream but thankfully I got back to sleep in about 10 mins on all occasions. I felt ok today, I can tell I've had about 5 hours sleep and not that horrible hangover feeling when you know you've had nothing at all, it's just those damn dreams again like my mind is buzzing all night. Does anyone think I should carry on with the Taurine tonight and see what happens again? hopefully it can get me to sleep quickly again. :)

Bigboyuk

01-02-18, 18:45

Hi Gaz well you could try 2 pills instead of 4 dreaming is a normal part of sleep I am glad you are getting some respite now :) ATB

Gaz1985

01-02-18, 19:00

Yeah you are right, I'm lucky I am at least getting some sleep...it's better than none at all which was a regular thing for me up until late November, I was having 2 or 3 nights a week with none at all.

Bigboyuk

01-02-18, 19:09

So you could stay at 4 pills or reduce to 2 and work out whats best for you then try 3 its process of elimination iam afraid!! ATB

Gaz1985

01-02-18, 19:24

True, just after last night getting to sleep relatively quick am a bit worried if I reduce the dose I might not fall asleep as quick! see how it goes, I was tempted to drink some alcohol tonight but because last night wasn't too bad and I got a good 5 hours sleep I will just try the Taurine again. If I sleep terribly I might go and have a couple of strong shots of whisky or vodka tomorrow night. It might not be good quality sleep but the mental positives that I did sleep right away after drinking it will make me feel better during the hangover! I really don't want to slowly turn into an alcoholic either but I restrain myself to only a couple of nights a week with drinking.

Bigboyuk

01-02-18, 19:37

I would personaly try reducing the dose it's only for one night give it a go ok! As for drinking alcohol no I wouldn't as you may become dependant on it every night but it's entirely up to you just giving you some advice mate :) ATB

Curtis

02-02-18, 13:25

Hi...I have been through this kind of situation a few months back. I tried some natural remedies for insomnia (http://bit.ly/2EcDiB7) like sleep schedule, keeping a time to wind down at night before going to bed, having light snacks before bed.

It really worked for me.:)

Gaz1985

03-02-18, 18:57

Hi guys thanks for the advice well I am still taking the Taurine - could be placebo but I think it's still working, I got to sleep straight away on Thursday night and had about 8 hours sleep, last night wasn't as great - went to bed but lay there for an hour before I felt the need to pee - despite going the toilet before bed! then I got back in bed and got straight to sleep but woke up an hour later, but got back asleep again straight away for 5 hours so not a disaster and still better than earlier in the week. Overall I feel better after a few days of improved sleep - better mood and energy etc. I have done some reading about Taurine & it seems to act like a weak Benzo but without the side effects. So I think I'll carry on taking the Taurine, might also try different brands to see which are the most effective. If it's not placebo hopefully it will continue to work for me. Maybe others on here could try it as well if you have insomnia.

Gaz1985

19-02-18, 20:29

Hi guys & thanks Olivia,
I been having more problems sleeping again recently, not sure if it has actually been caused by the Taurine I was taking but I have stopped taking it now but my insomnia seems to be getting worse again - taking hours to get to sleep and then only sleeping a couple of hours & waking up after intense dreaming. So I have resorted to getting drunk at the weekend to get to sleep & last night I took 50mg of Phenergan to knock me out, always takes about an hour to kick in then I fell asleep for 6 hours. But spent most of today feeling groggy because of it's long half life.

It's a shame you cannot take Phenergan every night as a tolerance builds up, so I only take it a couple of times a week spaced out - like last night I last took it but I won't take anymore until Thursday night. It seems to do a good job at knocking me out doing it that way. In between this I might have some more alcohol tomorrow night and then take a break from that for a few days too. In between I will try and get some natural rest like tonight.

I used to be such a great sleeper before September, I used be able to sleep through my alarms! It's not ideal that I have to force myself to sleep through pills or alcohol. But what can I do? I have tried all the relaxation techniques but I still worry most of the day about whether I will sleep at night. Should I see if my doctor can give me something to relax like an anti anxiety/anti depressant? any other advice is appreciated.