Sleep Sleep Sleep AAAHHHHHH!!!!

[Desprate Dan]

Whats wrong with me??? I wish for just one night i could have a good sound nights sleep.....:weep::weep:

This has effected me for many years and i bet there is many on this site that suffer the same, has anyone got any advice, i refuse to take sleeping medication as i have to leave home for work and drive 10 miles at 5am and worrie i would be a danger behind the wheel..

Tried stopping up really late, but still i wake up not long after i am lucky if i am getting 3 hours of broken sleep a night now and feel totally exhausted i tend to sleep in short burst maybe 30mins in which i seem to dream the strangest of dreams then i wake and lay for what seems ages then drift off again into another strange dream only to wake again sometimes when i wake i feel panic, i think this is from the dream and i have to calm myself down, i try and tell myself its daft oclock in the morning its dark and cold outside and i am snug in a nice warm bed just go back to sleep but it doesnt work so i lay staring into the darkness..
at the moment my inbuilt clock seems to wake me up at 2.20am, i did once get it to 4.15am but still not much sleep when waking during the night many.
Is there anyone who can deal with this i have spoke to my doctor but he seems to brush it to one side and deals more with my anxiety and depression, but i believe sleep is haveing a massive impact on that...

I really cant go on like this forever its getting me so down....:weep::weep:

Dan

[Downsinthenorth]

Have you tried listening to the radio or an audio-book? I do this when I wake up sometimes, early in the morning. Focusing on something other than my inability to sleep seems to help. I also keep a flask of hot chocolate by my bed so that I have something soothing to drink.
:)

[debs180]

Hey Dan,
im the same, i probably on a whole survive on 2-3 hours a night, if im really lucky i could get 4! Like you at times it has a huge impact the lack of sleep with my everyday life. I have no quick fix solutions for you, as you probably already know most of them and they arent working (like me). My main problem is night time is when my mind goes into overdrive and i do all my thinking then, and its hard to switch off. However i find listening to my IPOD, or reading helps me drift off, its staying asleep i find difficult!
Just wanted you to know you are definatley not alone with sleep issues.
All the best, take care,

Debs x

[Desprate Dan]

Thanks, Hey Debs thats exactly like me.... I have no problem falling asleep well it probably takes 30-40mins from getting into bed, its staying asleep which is the problem just like you, tried lots of things without success it just gets me so down its a vicious circle now i dont sleep much at night so tired all day at work come home from work have no energy or motivation to do anything just think about going to bed so withdraw myself from others go to bed for 10 hrs and get about 3 hours broken sleep out of the 10 hours.......This is no way to live life :weep:

As i said i really dont want to take sleeping medication i went down that route once, they didnt help so i took more and still no joy so one night i took enough that would of probably knocked a horse out even mixed it with a few cans which is a no no, yet i still woke up but it was awful i was so so drowesy yet still no proper sleep.
I sympathise with others who suffer with this its terrible its like mental torture like you fall asleep then someone nips you to wake you up again and then again and then again surely there is only so much you can take before you go insane......:wacko::wacko::wacko:

HELP!

Desprately needing sleep Dan!!!!!!

[maddie]

Hi. I'm writing this at 7.26 am having had no sleep last night. I went to bed, but it just didn't happen, so I've been up all night. Usually I do manage 3-4 hours.
There are some things to try:
No alcohol or coffee after 6pm
An evening walk
No TV or computer within an hour of bed
A warm bath
Warm milky drink
Relaxation tape or music
Lavendar oil on your pillow

If you've done all these, try keeping a sleep log. Jot down your mood at bedtime and is you'd beeen stressed in the day. Then log the sleep you have. This helps to see if there are any patterns to the sleep loss and you can then start to tackle them. It's also useful to take to the doc to show him how bad you are.

How did you sleep last time you were on holiday? I find i sleep well then, so it really is that I have trained myself into bad sleep patterns at home. I don't work, so can always nap, but you need to address retraining yourself to sleep.

[Desprate Dan]

Thankyou Maddie, i am so sorry you didnt get any sleep last night makes me feel a bit guilty.
I slept poor on holiday that wasn't helped by the fact i got food poisoning but strangely enough, i felt more awake even though i just had the same amount of sleep as usual.....This has me thinking its more of a depression thing??

I feel like a burden to the doctor because i am already seeing him about depression and anxiety i have mentioned my poor sleep to him, but i guess i havent banged the drum loud enough about it.

Thanks Maddie your always there to offer support.:flowers:

Dan

[BigDaz]

Hi, I find the trick to getting to sleep is to think of nothing. Easier said than done but if you let your mind go blank, relax all your muscles you can be asleep within a minute or two.

I did read antidepressants tend to reduce REM sleep so you dream less and have a more peaceful night, so this may be of help to you I don't know. I know mine (amitryptiline) helps me sleep. I think it helps reduce all the random chatter in my head when I'm trying to rest although that might just be placebo. Whether drinking milk helps you sleep I don't know but believing that milk helps you sleep certainly does. Placebos can work wonders :)

[steve2009]

Hi Dan
My sleeping improved when I started on mirtazapine.
I don't recommend ADs as asleep aid. I've heard Valarian is a good herbal remedy but it cant be taken with ADs.
Hope your sleep improves. I agree Maddie on routines. Best of luck anyway
Steve

[Desprate Dan]

I am not sure that anything is going to help me and i fear the worst, I feel really guilty today as last night i took sleeping medication.....:weep: i took 1 Nitrazepam and 1 diazepam, i am already taking 40mg Citalopram and 80mg propanolol which are prescribed to me for Anxiety and Depression and trembling, i drank a couple of cans of lager and within 40 mins i felt so tired so i went to bed and managed 5 hours sleep which is still not a lot but better than 2 - 3 hours what do i need to do to get a good nights rest or will i ever.....:weep::weep: i just feel that eventually i will go insane..
Has anyone tried hypnotherapy for sleep problems i am willing to try anything to help.

Dan

[steve2009]

Good to hear you got some sleep.
You might want to researce the mirtazapine if you are on
meds already. The one thing I get now is regular good sleep.
As your gp
Hope you have a good day. The weather is great up here today.
Cheers
Steve

[Zsofi]

Hi Dan,

Your messages were so desperate, they really got me and I can sooo much relate to your problem. I was struggling with horrible insomnia for 2 years as well and felt so much the same like you do.
First of all, you are not going insane, even though I know sometimes it feels like... But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, just don't give it up!!

I did try hypnotherapy for insomnia and for me it didn't help, BUT the reason for that (as I learned later) that it wasn't frequent enough. The relaxation technique that the therapist were using could have been more useful if I had the opportunity to use them every day. But I only went to see her once a week and it wasn't very helpful. Later on though I had a very similar relaxation CD that I listened to twice a day and it did help, with my anxiety and insomnia as well.
You have to reduce your anxiety or depression first to be able to sleep well.

If you are willing to try everything, here might be another useful website I found actually yesterday, I honestly tell you I have no idea how effective it is, but you can download the manual for free, so you have nothing to lose. I just did as well and I am reading it through now and definitely want to give it a go to help my endless issues... It seems/sounds interesting and promising... I think sometimes we have to give a chance to unusual things, as traditional methods seems to be failing for must of us...

http://emofree.com/

Good luck and all the best,

Zsofi :hugs:

[Jac 2009]

Hey Dan,

A few months ago I became so desperate about my sleeping patterns that I went to a hynotherapist. I used to wake every night at about 3 or 4 o clock. I would lie there feeling ok and then little by little I would become more and more breathless. This would culminate in me hyperventilating - I would gasp for breath and feel as though I was dying for an hour or more. If I was lucky, I would get back to sleep for an hour or so if not, I had to get up and get ready for work feeling as though each breath was my last. Not surprisingly, when I got to work and became involved, I'm a teacher and it's hard not to get involved, I found I was not panicking and I was breathing normally.

I went to a Butekyo practitioner and realised my breathing patterns were awful - I breathed from my chest rather than my diaphram. Even though I knew this, when i started panicking in the middle of the night, it did no good, I still hyperventilated. They hypnotherapist has been great. He gave me mantra to say every time I feel panicked and every night before I sleep - they go something like this. STOP - these thoughts are not good for me. They are not helpful or healthy. I've started a process of thinking more healithy and I will be fine. Also, yes I feel panic but I've felt it before a zillion time. I'm going to lie here comfortably and I'll be fine. Also, anxiety is uncomfortable but it's not dangerous.

They work, they really do. You might not believe they will work but it does not matter because all you are doing is replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Another strategy is to think of six things - prepare these before hand - which give you pleasure. I know this is impossible when you are really panicked but you have to persist and preparing them and thinking about them when you are not panicked is the key. My most well used one is to think of winning 45 million on the lottery. I love to lie in bed and think about all the good I could do and still have loads left over for anything I could wish.

The most important thing is to take control of your own destiny. YOU are causing this, YOU can stop it. We people who have anxiety constantly beg for someone to help us. Who could be better, more interested, more caring about you than you. You can help yourself. Believe it and it will happen.

Good luck to you.

Jac xxx

[Jac 2009]

Ps. For the last three weeks, I have still woken every night but I do the techniques and I have not hyperventilated in that time. I expect it will happen again but I have become less and less afraid of it and that's the key. I know I am going to get better - I am convinced of that and that is important too. You are stronger than you think. You put up with this every night so you must be.