Hi, I'm new here and would really welcome some advice.
I'm 41 and have had depression on & off since my teens. Around 4 years ago I thought I was finally over it. However 6 months ago I began to suffer from intrusive thoughts, negativity & anxiety, to the extent that they were affecting my daily life.
As a result I visited my GP who prescribed Clomipramine. Initially I suffered nasty side effects including dry mouth, constipation, shaking, blurred vision, dilated pupils, pins & needles etc. I started on 25mg with little improvement and increased to 50mg after 2 weeks ( I take the dose around 9.30pm). I persevered and 6 weeks on I feel much better and like life is worth living again. The anxiety is much less frequent and I am much more optimistic. I've also suffered from frequent headaches since my teens which have now disappeared, which has been a very welcome side effect. But..... I am suffering from horrendous insomnia.
I fall asleep OK (I go to bed between 10.30 and 11.15pm) but wake hourly and sleep very lightly. I wake very early (around 5am). Whatever time I wake my brain switches on immediately and I start to sing songs in my head - this drives me CRAZY!! In the day I don't feel too bad, but have started to suffer from more colds, sore throats etc which is a sure sign for me that I am not getting enough sleep. I went back to my GP who said insomnia is relatively uncommon with Clomipramine. She has prescribed me a short course of low dose Zoplicone - I know these will work as I have used these before, but I found them addictive so am reluctant to start on them, unless I have an important/busy day coming up where a full night's sleep is essential.
Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm reluctant to change meds as they are making me feel so much better, but at the same time, I am struggling with the lack of sleep and song-singing! I'm currently also using a sleep hypnosis CD but I've had little success with this.
Any advice would be much appreciated!