sick of not being able to sleep - any one else?!

[joannap]

12 days ago i started with insomnia - sleeping one night (poorly) but no sleep AT ALL the next - this carried on for a week but then over the weekend and monday night i did sleep every night to some degree and thought i had cracked it - that things were going back to normal.

last night - i found myself staring at the ceiling getting more and more annoyed. sleep seems totally beyond me even though i feel really tired. my gp knows about it - she does not seem that concerned and as i am determined to stay off meds (i am 6/7 wks free of citalopram) she is encouraging me to keep going. in any case - every time i have taken an ssri i haven't slept very well for 2 weeks until they kick in so even if i went back on - i would be in the same boat.

nytol do not work for me and i do not want to resort to sleeping pills as they can make things worse in the long term. i guess i am looking for reassurance that other anxiety sufferers suffer this problem too and cope with it x

i have had a very stressful year - i have lost 2 dogs and had 5 months of terrible stomach pains (now under control after investigation) plus my step dad was diagnosed with cancer yesterday so i have had a lot on my mind - i just want to sleep!!!!!

does anyone else manage on just a few hours a night?! :unsure:

[HarrogateChris]

Havn't slept well for more than a couple of nights since May! :sleep:

I used to think I'd never cope on less than 8 hours, but you keep going. Wrapping yourself tightly in a blanket can help. Baby TV (Sky 623) can be good too.

Chris

[joannap]

thanks chris - you must be in my part of the world! i live in boroughbridge.

have just ordered a single bed from argos to go in the spare room as i think my husband is sick of my ranting and raving and getting in and out of bed!

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Joanne and Chris. I have trouble getting off to sleep and experience night terrors and sleep paralysis and sleep walking. I do have a hypnosis cd plus some relaxation cds from the Priory. I do resort to low dose zopiclone but I usually just lie there whilst my husband snores his head off. We have no room for another single bed so if it was really bad I would sleep on the sofa with a sleeping bag. I try to make sure I am really warm and comfortable usually read a bit first and then some music/relaxation on the ipod. EJ.

[joannap]

ooh - sleep paralysis - i have had that! NOT a nice experience!

[scaredstiff695]

hi i dont no if it relates i ahve anxiety and have terrible sleeping but mines a bit weird i dont like the feeling of being tired and when i start feeling it i get very anxious and the feelings get worse also suffer with night terrors. Im a my wits end cos i just want to be able to relax like a normal person x

[HarrogateChris]

thanks chris - you must be in my part of the world! i live in boroughbridge.

What gave me away? :roflmao:

I quite often sleep on the sofa, I find actually getting up and going downstairs and wrapping myself tightly in a blanket on the sofa helps. I think I panic when I wake in the night that I won't get back to sleep and the change of scene seems to ease that.

Chris

[x0xrachx0x]

Hi joannap

I have the exact same problem and it has been ever since i started taking cit. I have always been quite a good sleeper until starting the meds almost 4 weeks ago, i have had trouble EVERY night since and it is now really really getting to me. At first I thought it was just my body getting use to taking new tablets but now i have been taking them a month I thought I would have settled in with sleeping better but I havent. I know it is the tablets but I dont want to give up but having 2-3 hours a sleep every night is just not good enough, and same as you just find myself staring at the ceiling wide awake, trying to sleep in every position possible but it just wont work!!

My doctor has given me some sleeping tablets but I am scared to take them incase I start relying on them and then cant come off them.

So i know exactly how you are feeling hun!! You say you have taken Nytol and it hasnt helped, have you tried Night Nurse? I know it is pretty much the same but I bought that toay and may try it tonight so will let you know if it helps me at all.

Chris - Hiya, you say you wrap yourself in a blanket which helps, but do you ever find yourself waking up sweating? Cos since being on the meds that happens to me occasionally I only have a duvet over me, not to thick either.

I long for the night I will sleep a full 8 hours again!! :shrug: xx

[ljd]

hiya know the feeling to well, i havent slept much for ages and its really getting to me now. sorry havent found any solutions yet ill let u know when i do!!

[joannap]

hi xoxrachxox

i was the same on citalpram - i used to get to sleep around 4am - 8am - it lasted for around 3 weeks i think but it did pass so i am sure it will for you too. i wonder if my lack of sleep is to do with coming OFF them. i know its nearly a few months now but my body has been used to them for 7 years.

will consider the night nurse! have just bought a homeopathic remedy to try. my husband has kindly offered to sleep on the sofa tonight so it will be me and one of the dogs upstairs in bed - i am so over anxious and sensitized that even if hubby breathes a bit loudly - it makes me want to stick a pillow over his head lol!

hi chris - i do usually find i can get to sleep on the sofa eventually but its not very comfy! i do like the living room because its dark and peaceful though!

[joannap]

p.s i am a scaredy cat re sleeping tablets. i would be worried they would make me feel so drowsy i wasn't in control lol - i was scared to take a nytol! the first time i tried one i took it in the day time incase i had a wierd reaction to it and spent the day feeling like a zombie!

[HarrogateChris]

hi chris - i do usually find i can get to sleep on the sofa eventually but its not very comfy! i do like the living room because its dark and peaceful though!

The change of scene in the lounge definitely helps, but my neck is a bit sore after a night on the sofa.

C.

[x0xrachx0x]

hi joannap

just thought i would let you know i took some night nurse last night and it did actually help, i had the best night sleep last night since my sleeping problems started. i didnt sleep through the hole night but it was a lot better then all the other nights so i would definitley suggest to maybe try that, maybe there is something in there that helps relax you. im hoping lats night wasnt just a one off and taking it again tonight so hoping i have a better night again :) keep me updated if you do try it. take care.. rach x:hugs:

[HarrogateChris]

Are Nytol and Night Nurse OK to take with Citalopram? Does anyone know?

Chris

[JaneC]

Best to ask a pharmacist Chris. I was told years ago I couldn't have Nytol because I was on Prozac but I've since read it;s ok, so best to make sure x

[dodo]

I had the previous poster's problem. I was so tired last night I was scared to sleep. Then as I was dropping off I kept having odd feelings come over.

I keep waking up in the night feeling fully charged like I need to run and feel on edge. Takes me a while to drop off again.

Really really tired and need to give my mind a rest.

I reluctantly accepted done fleeing tablets last time I had an episode like this and was so scared if taking them. But they were a super low dose and ininly needed them for a couple of nights till I got my confidence back. You can't get addicted to them like that. So perhaps worth seeing the gp. I had the zopliclone.

[x0xrachx0x]

Are Nytol and Night Nurse OK to take with Citalopram? Does anyone know?

Chris

Hi Chris, I have taken Night Nurse the last 2 nights and didnt actually check it was ok to take with the Cit - ooops! But everything seems to be ok and hasnt effected me taking it so think it is ok but if you feel not to sure about it best to check with pharmasist :) x

[joannap]

YEAH! i slept last night - first night in 2 weeks i have shared the same bed with husband all night. was shattered yesterday after 2 nights of not going to sleep until around 4am and had really bad headache. did think i was going to be in for a bad night as although i felt really tired - it was like i could feel myself going to sleep and then i would think - oh - i'm falling asleep! and then wake myself up - grrrrhhhh!

anyway - went to sleep within an hour or so and then woke up - knew i had been asleep because i had dreamt and then went back to sleep about 1.30 and even slept through husband getting up for work.

now i have had one relatively decent night - am not worried if don;t sleep tonight because i know now that i will go to sleep when really tired - it really is taking the worry out of not sleeping that is the cure i think x