Unable to sleep without meds

[Mnisilochos]

Hello everybody.

I`m so frustrated! I had one more sleepless night and that`s because I thought I felt okay last night and I decided not to take any sleeping aid. Which ended up in having panic attacks while sleeping - or semisleeping. I hate those, there`s nothing you can do about them, it seems they take place outside conscious awareness.

This situation has been happening for three years. Can you believe that? Three years! Haven`t been able to get to sleep without meds. And each time I try to sleep without them it gets ugly!

On the other hand, I have been reading articles about sleeping pills that they are dangerous and can cause death which increased my health anxiety. Yup, I got that also.

A funny thing happened to me this morning. I had a meeting in the morning, which I of course forgot as I was in bed sleeping - forgot to mention that when morning comes, the anxiety goes away - and the guy called to ask what happened and I didn`t show up and since I was confused I started calling him `hey love, sorry I`m sleeping, I got a rough night ` How embarrassing that was.

Is there anyone else who experiences anxiety while sleeping?

Take care!

[LollyPolly]

hiya... i wonder if you are you taking any meds for anxiety? insomnia is a common SE of meds.

if you've been taking them for 3 years i presume that your body is very much used to them by now and, i'm no expert, but i would presume that just stopping might trigger some sort of withdraw symptoms.

i don't know much about this area but what are you taking and have you raised these issues with a specialist?

[Mnisilochos]

Hi there, thanks for your message. Very much appreciated!
I was disappointed, was thinking whether I am the only one with sleeping issues in the forum
I am taking meds and yes, they are perscribed by my doctor.
Like I wrote, I`m curious to see whether there are others who, like me, have panic attacks while they are asleep.

[BessieMae*candothis!]

I am going through the EXACT same thing as you!!!! Last night I felt like I was tired enough to fall asleep on my own and When I finally drifted off BAM I was hit with a bad panic attack. I was able to calm myself down and fall back asleep and WHAM another one hit me so I got up and took an Ativan. (I am currently on day three of upping my Prozac from 20mg to 40mg) And I also stopped smoking weed a week and three days ago. (was a heavy heavy smoker) So today of course I am anxious as all hell and can't even let myself take a nap, I just don't fall asleep. I'm so frustrated I almost wanted to go to the hospital and be like "HELP ME". But alas here I sit.This all started last week, when I stopped pot. I was having massive withdrawals and on top of my panic disorder it just made things 100000 worse. I had my bachelorette party that weekend and I was so worked up I could only stay for one sleepless night (we know how sleepless nights go, next day felt sick to my tummy) all I wanted to do was go home and rest. I am scared to take pills and its really hard for me to take the Ativan (well it was but not anymore since I see it helps me) I took it that night I got back and slept well, woke up the next day feeling GREAT! Well I made an appt with my psychiatrist and he prescrobed Gabapentin for insomnia. I took it that night and it didn't help me fall asleep until 3am, I don't know if that was due to the fact that I was scared to take a new med and kept thinking "what is this going to do to me? what if I don't get up?" (CLASSIC PANIC DISORDER TALK) so I haven't taken it again. the next night I took lorazepam and fell asleep around one and woke up at 6 in a panic state because I couldn't recall falling asleep. It scared me for some reason. So here I am. Tired as all hell and still so unsure of wht to do next......I'm planning on taking lorazepam tonight to help me sleep, I was only prescribed the Gabapentin because it is less habit forming then Ativan but I'm not sure that's the right drug for me....I just need answers I'm scared!!!

[Mnisilochos]

Hi there,

Last September I was hospitalized for two months and I had the same problems in the hospital, so don`t worry about it. Nurses are used to having people like us and they don`t care much. Every time I went to them to tell that I`m unable to sleep they were like` go to bed for one more hour and if you don`t sleep, you can come back`. Well, I was bored to go there again and I ended up looking at the ceiling - you can`t turn on the lights, you can`t walk around. To cut it short, it`s best to be at home when you have anxiety at night. Theoritically you can get up and read or watch a movie.

Now, Gababentin is a waste of time! I`m sorry to tell you this, I was also given that in hospital and I had to ask them to switch to something else. It`s good to take it during the day, it helps with anxiety attacks -unfortunately it affects also libido. (Of course, that is my experience with it. Some other people might react differently.)

I know exactly how you feel about not recalling falling asleep. I had the same problem when I was given Hypnogen. The thing is that the other day I would find out that I had done things the night before which I didn`t remember: like eating chocolate, reading a book etc. That was freaky!

If lorazepan works for you, prepare yourself, have some warm milk with honey - works for me - or chamomile, have a shower, take your pill and go to bed. Read and relax- you will sleep. It`s important to have some medicine to rely on. And from what you are saying, you can rely on it.

Don`t worry about not recalling the time you fell asleep. It`s normal when you first take some medicine, it`s a sign that it works for you and it will go off quickly (believe me, I miss the times I fell asleep without warning)
Like I wrote, go to bed and stay there if possible. It`s unlikely that you will experience the same things I have - like eating a chocolate and so on. I was given hypnogen and that is pure hypnotic. It does not treat. It only sends you to sleep.
Lorazepam is not a harmful medicine. It has sedative effects, but it also treats. So, do not worry about it. Enjoy it, the sedative effects do not last long!

The medicine I take and it has been working for some time is Tisercin. in combination with others but Tisercin is the one to assist me with sleeping. You can discuss it with your doctor in the future. The good thing with it is that
you only need 20 mg to get to bed. You recall going to bed, you sleep long though.

That`s all for now. I`m glad you wrote! Keep in touch and good luck with sleeping!

[LollyPolly]

I had some sort of sleep anxiety only when i tried sertraline (zoloft)... however i had all the SE on box! and stopped after 10days so i don't know if it would have carried on after the first 6-8 weeks. but apart from that, nope... sorry can't help here :(

[BessieMae*candothis!]

Well last night I decided to try melatonin and it worked to make me sleepy BUT I couldn't shut my mind off. I tossed and turned until 3 am, I may have slept a little but it was restless, I broke down at 3 and took a lorazepam. I slept long enough to dream but kept waking up. I guess I'll take that over not sleeping at all right? My doctor doesn't really want me to take it on a reg basis as it is habit forming but if it helps me sleep I want to take it over the gabapentin. Hmmmmmm better luck tonight I hope Mnisilochos how did you fair our last night?

[Mnisilochos]

Last night was sort of ok. I started panicking in the evening, i listened to binaural beats for some time and managed to relax. I was sleepy yet unable to get to bed - went to sleep around 1 in the morning. No panic attacks during the night.

I`m a bit worried about tonight as I`m alone at home. I get stressed when there`s no one around.

Do you keep a sleeping journal?

[shotokansho]

I have had similar problems recently. Sometimes I am awake for 72 hours at a time and it sends my anxiety through the roof! I have bad dreams and night terrors so bed time for me is scary. I wish my doctor would prescribe something for me but they won't, I have begged and even though it's making me ill and frustrated they will not prescribe me anything.
I find that having a bath and a hot chocolate before bed can help, then I read for a while until my eyes can't focus anymore, sometimes it takes a few hours but I get there eventually.

[Mnisilochos]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear that you are having hard time with sleeping. Why doesn`t your doctor perscribe some sort of sedative? I mean, what is their argument against that?

Well, some time ago I tried some off-the -counter medication about sleeping and anxiety and it helped. Some of them are quite strong. Have you done some research on that?

Good luck and keep in touch!