Dealing with Severe Insomnia

[sheath]

Howdy, all.

Several weeks ago, I did a search on sleep and insomnia, and I came up with many threads that had many suggestions. I tried virtually all of them, within reason, of course...

And my problem still persists.

Sleeping perhaps one hour, two hours at a time...six hours straight is my record in the last month, and that was only after two days of no sleep at all. When I do sleep, I sleep hard...but then I am up for hours on end.

I began keeping a sleep journal, which tells me that my average is three hours in a twenty-four hour period. I sleep better during the early evening hours (four, five PM) than I do at any other time. I sleep soundly, without nightmares, for the most part, though I have begun having those.

I'm doing all the things I should do...limiting caffeine intake, an occasional drink before bed, same bedtime every night, comforting routine, trying to de-stress...though THAT is not really possible. I'm under one hell of a lot of strain lately, both personally and professionally.

My doctor's suggestion was sleeping pills. He ruled out sleep apnea, because it isn't a matter of having difficulty sleeping...it is a problem with going to sleep, period. The sleeping pills didn't work, for one...and they made me feel really bad...groggy, dizzy and generally horrible.

I HAVE found things that work...I sleep much better when someone is sleeping beside me, and I sleep better when I have white noise, or when I'm listening to someone else breathe. Probably because it makes me feel so safe. Which might harken back to the intense stress thing.

Has anyone dealt with SEVERE insomnia? I don't mean just a few weeks of not being able to sleep. I mean, chronic insomnia, as my doctor termed it. What did you do? How did you cope? This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

S.

 

[Holly Delight]

Too many sleepless nights just make you a wreck. They finally figured out I had acid reflux. I take two weeks worth of Prilosec and I am fine for a long time.

 

[TirelessTongue]

When I can't sleep I just beat it......... It works 9 times out of 10.

Either that or I take tylenol PM which is worth 6 hours of sleep at least.

 

[sheath]

Thanks for those posts.

The doctor hasn't pinpointed anything like acid reflux...wouldn't there be other symptoms, other than sleeplessness?

Tylenol PM...tried that, also tried Excedrin PM and other over-the-counter meds...nothing seems to work for more than two or three hours.

S.

 

[SunnyGirl]

I had severe insomnia several years ago. There were times when I'd go up to three days with no sleep at all and then just collapse, totally exhausted, only to sleep for three or four hours. I tried all of the remedies: sleeping pills, comforting routines, etc.

The thing that worked for me was finally realizing that it was stress related and that I had to leave work at work. On top of work troubles I was having relationship trouble with my SO. White noise helped a lot, I used to leave a small fan running near my bed. I also tried sleeping in different locations: in the spare room, on the couch in the living room if no one was home, even at a friends house a couple of times.

There's nothing worse than not being able to sleep and feeling like you're only functioning as half a person, trapped in some sort of eerie twilight world. I hope you can tough this out, Sheath, and that your sleeping habits get back to normal soon.
-Sunny

 

[sheath]

I had severe insomnia several years ago. There were times when I'd go up to three days with no sleep at all and then just collapse, totally exhausted, only to sleep for three or four hours. I tried all of the remedies: sleeping pills, comforting routines, etc.

The thing that worked for me was finally realizing that it was stress related and that I had to leave work at work. On top of work troubles I was having relationship trouble with my SO. White noise helped a lot, I used to leave a small fan running near my bed. I also tried sleeping in different locations: in the spare room, on the couch in the living room if no one was home, even at a friends house a couple of times.

There's nothing worse than not being able to sleep and feeling like you're only functioning as half a person, trapped in some sort of eerie twilight world. I hope you can tough this out, Sheath, and that your sleeping habits get back to normal soon.
-Sunny

I'm sorry you went through that, but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Sometimes it feels like the whole world is on another schedule and I haven't been handed the itinerary yet.

It probably is stress-related, especially since I seem to sleep much better when someone is with me. That gives me a feeling of security and perhaps that allows me to sleep, if not longer, then better.

I guess I need to look into some SERIOUS stress busters, because the usual stuff just ain't cutting it lately.

Thanks, Sunny.

S.

 

[Holly Delight]

The doctor hasn't pinpointed anything like acid reflux...wouldn't there be other symptoms, other than sleeplessness?

I hadn't realized what was waking me up! I was having pains that woke me -- but once I sat up they went away. (It took awhile to realize I was waking up due to pain -- sometimes it would just stop.)

I had it for a long time before the pains started to feel like a heart attack (never had one, but assumed it would feel like that). Always the pain would ease once I sat up for awhile.

Now I take medication for it and am fine. If I cannot sleep due to other reasons, I start with not eating or drinking anything after 8pm. Then take a nice hot bath, get into bed and read. Hopefully that would be relaxing enough that I can fall asleep.

I also take a simple aspirin each evening - especially if I am traveling and sleeping in an unfamiliar setting.

 

[77Cobra]

Sleep disorder

OK,where do I start.I sleep about 4 hrs. a night max.I wake up wide awake then 3-4 hours after I am up I get tired but then it is time to go to work and all day I am wore out.I did a sleep disorder study and that was an experience.Hooked up to about a hundred wires and in a strange bed in a hospital.Then they tell you to sleep in your normal position etc. and get comfortable that it won't bother anything whatever position you sleep in.Well the first thing is.I sleep in my birthday suit,so wearing at least undershorts to bed was not comfy to me anyway.Then I am sleeping without my wife curled up to my back.Anyway I just start to doze off and I hear this voice over the intercom telling me I cannot lay like I am because it is messing with the readings.Well I finally got some sleep and they tell me later that I got restless leg syndrome.What a fucking bunch of bullshit.I had to pay 1,500.00 for that shit too.I sometimes am able to sleep six hours max.That happens about once every two months and the doctors just say ,no one ever died from lack of sleep.Well they do if they fall asleep at the wheel like I do at times.That part scares hell out of me.

 

[midwestyankee]

Sheath, what I did not see in your post is any mention of negative consequences from your insomnia. Are you sleepy during the day? Does your lack of sleep interfere with carrying on the normal activities of your life? Do you fall asleep at inappropriate times? If you are encountering any of these problems then I would be concerned. If you aren't, then chances are you do not have a long-term problem. But if you are suffering some consequences, there is something you can do to test yourself further.

The classic initial test for a sleep disorder is to have the patient lie down in the middle of the day in a very quiet darkened room with the suggestion that she simply relax. If the patient falls asleep within 20 minutes then the patient is considered sleep-deprived. Try this one if you are concerned that your insomnia is causing problems other than anxiety over having trouble falling asleep.

Since you mentioned being under a lot of personal and professional stress lately, it's not surprising that you might have some difficulty with sleep. Generally speaking, your body will demand enough rest if you listen to it and eventually it will start asking for more. I would only get really concerned if you find yourself with a true case of sleep deprivation and still have trouble falling asleep at night.

I hope this all goes away soon as your life quiets down - which we all hope will happen for you.

 

[Bobmi357]

Sleep, I could write a book about it. I could tell you reams about living with a sleep disorder, I've had one for nearly 15 years now.

Your body will only let you sleep as long as it needs the sleep. If you're having problems sleeping on a continual basis, it may be due to a simple reason, like you may think its bedtime, but your body doesn't consider itself tired enough to sleep.

When I was first diagnosed with OSA I was having uncontrollable sleep episodes. I'd get on the bus to go to work and fall asleep in less than 2 minutes. I'd fall asleep on the pot, at work, at home. And I didn't appear to have any trouble sleeping at night, I just kept waking up with crushing headaches and totally exhausted.

My sleep study was a 3 day nightmare. I understand they've improved and lessened the study these days, but back in 1988, it took them three days to perform a sleep study.

Within a week of going on the CPAP the problem went away. It went away, and at the same time it created a totally new problem. I was used to getting 8 hours sleep a night and suddenly I found myself happily surviving on four. My doctor explained to me that its not the amount of regular sleep that people need, its the amount of REM sleep. And by using the CPAP my body, which had been starved for REM sleep was cramming as much REM sleep in as possible. A follow up visit to the sleep clinic showed I was getting nearly double the average amount of REM sleep of a normal sleeper.

I can sleep for four hours per night for weeks. Sometimes I can get even less than four hours and still feel as fresh as daisys. On average now I sleep about 5-6 hours, rarely will I sleep any more unless I am sick, or exhausted. My sleep cycle is incredibly fragile, for at least 2 weeks out of every month I find myself sleeping during the day and staying up all night.

A one hour nap can throw my entire sleep schedule off by 8 to 10 hours.

Sheath, what you shouldn't do is try to force sleep. If you lay down and find you cannot sleep, get up and do something. Hop on an exercise bicycle, read a book, watch a movie.

If the amount of sleep you are getting isn't leaving you tired, then your body is getting what it needs. Trying to force it to get more simply doesn't work.

One thing someone mentioned in jest on this thread actually does help. Sometimes I find my body exhausted but my mind seems to be racing. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to relax. On two of those occasions my wife gave me a blowjob which put me out like a light. LOL! She doesn't know what she did (although she will after reading this) and I doubt I'll she'll be giving me blowjobs just because I can't sleep. But the orgasm is both a relaxation mechanism and a energy burner. You might want to consider trying some serious masturbation as a quick way of burning off energy.

 

[sheath]

Let's see...

Am I tired? Oh, yeah. I wasn't at first...I made it through several weeks of less sleep and I still felt fine. Occasionally, in the past, I have stayed up for days working on a novel...but it was always two or three days at most, and I crashed immediately afterward, and slept half a day. This, though, is different.

I'm not tired enough to fall asleep while driving. But I do sometimes have to shake myself awake lately, when doing things that don't necessarily require all of my attention. Does my lack of sleep interfere with daily life? It is beginning to, simply because I'm lacking the energy to do many things I enjoy. The last week, especially...simply sweeping the floors and doing dishes is a REAL chore, when it is something I used to breeze right through. I don't play with the kids as often because I don't have the energy to chase after them, and they have noticed it.

When I do lie down to sleep, it doesn't happen. Period. Last night I finally went to sleep at four, and I remember looking at the clock at 5:30...and I hadn't been asleep yet. I don't know when I drifted off, but it was sometime shortly after that. I have tried getting up and wandering the house, doing things after ten minutes or so of not drifting off...and that only serves to make me stay up even longer.

Friends have noticed that I'm acting strangely, kinda spacey...my writing is suffering, because I'm not doing as much of it...I've begun developing headaches, which are rare for me...I'm irritable as hell and my patience wears thin very quickly. Those things are just not like me.

Does this answer any of those questions? I'm spacey right now, so I'm not sure.

S.

 

[sheath]

Another note...

I mentioned nightmares in my first post. I don't know if it is related to the reason I'm not sleeping, or if it is an effect of not sleeping, but I'm having them more and more often. Last night (this morning?) during the few hours of sleep I did get, I can vividly recall at least two separate nightmares. Any ideas on whether or not this has anything to do with the lack of sleep?

Hell, ANY ideas are welcome at this point.



S.

 

[Bobmi357]

Hell, ANY ideas are welcome at this point.
S.

Tomorrow, call your doctor and ask for a referral to the nearest sleep clinic so that you can setup a sleep study.

OSA is just one sleep disorder, there are others as well which a sleep study can spot.

http://www.sleepnet.com/insomnia.html

If you suffer from chronic insomnia, you will need to see a doctor specializing in sleep disorders anyway, so get yourself in and get this checked out.

 

[blondie74]

I don't know if this will help or not but, here goes.

Recently a friend, who also happens to be a doctor, was having severe problems sleeping, anxiety attacks, couldn't concentrate, even went through a time where he was hospitilized and very ill for several days.

After several tests, and lots of research, the conclusion was that the amount of "fake sugar" (aspartame, sucralose 'Splenda', acesultame K, saccharin, & msg) in his diet was causing the insomnia, anxiety and inability to concentrate. In addition to a severe depression.

He recently iliminated all of these "fake sugars" from his diet, and after 1 month, is finally starting to feel better, and sleep better.

So, I don't know if you drink diet soda or any of that kind of stuff, but maybe you're having a similiar reaction. At any rate, I hope that you can find out whats wrong and get a good nights sleep soon! : )

 

[sheath]

Bobmi...Thanks for that link.

blondie...It sounds like your friend was able to pinpoint the problem pretty quickly. I hope I can do that, too. "Fake Sugars" have always made me slightly ill, with headaches and such, so I don't consume anything that has them in it.

However, I'm going to start playing with my diet and eliminating certain things for a while, see what happens...it might help. At the very least, it will make me healthier, right?

S.

 

[CoyoteTales]

I've never had severe insomnia, really, even if I am an unwilling member of the 'coon eyes club.

You've kinda got the answers in front of you, S.

*ticks off on his fingers*

One, you have eight tons of stress on your shoulders.
Waiting for phone calls that contain bad news. Worrying about your mom. Stuff like that.

Two, you're doing the single parent thing, it sounds like.
This means that you end up being the responsible person in the house, all the time. If you don't do stuff, it doesn't get done.

Three, you've been talking about being hounded by the media and photographers.
Having to look over your proverbial shoulder any time you go out-- and sometimes, even when you don't go out. Raccoons/bears/whatever's been raiding your trash included.

Four, you say you sleep best when there's a) someone in bed with you b) white noise.
That says 'you sleep best when you don't need to guard against the world, or can block it out.'

That says to me, I think (and this is my humble opinion), that you've got a lot of high-powered mental defensiveness going on -- and you don't have a safe spot to rest. You've got so many 'worry' points racked up that your mind can't put them down.

I've noticed that when I go to science fiction conventions, I kick into what I call 'con mode' -- I don't need sleep, I don't need to eat -- especially during the conventions when I've been in charge of something. But just all that heightened mental activity kept me going -- except when I stopped to sit down, and really actively mentally power myself down. And -then- I was exhausted.

One of my housemates was slightly paranoid someone would break into the house; they had a hard time sleeping because every creak and groan when the house settled at night woke them up. What finally helped them was setting up a security system. But I imagine you already have one of those.

The key thing here is that you find your way to a place of mental and physical safety at night; even if you have to unplug your phone in the bedroom so you know you aren't going to get any calls at night, set up your bedroom into the best configuration possible (this may include rearranging furniture)

And one more thing -- if you're like me at all, you're going to need to be willing to strike off some 'no net' time. I catch myself sometimes thinking 'I'd love to see if anyone wrote me, or if so-and-so is online...' and I'll sign in, and if there's nothing, I don't sign off. Good anticipation can be just as detrimental as bad apprehension.

When I was in college, I had a fairly bad 'net addiction' problem. I only managed to fix it by way of telling myself, 'I am going to bed at this time, without fail. I can respect my own hard deadlines, but not the soft ones -- I really need to be in bed earlier, but I end up pushing the edge of it anyway. (Still, the 5-6 hours of sleep I get a night are a lot compared to you....)

The other thing that helps me when I get drowsy during the day is I get up and walk for half an hour. It sounds contrary, but over time it helps because it shoves all my sleeping desires into one area -- when I want/need to be sleeping anyway.

Finally, though, I have to be willing to say, "I -am- exhausted -- I am going to lie down and take a nap." if I can't pull myself out of it. That whole 'nature's way of telling you to slow down' bit.

One other thing to try -- sleep in a different room in the house, one night. Sometimes the whole change of venue trick will make a difference.

Not sure what to tell you about the nightmares. Had a goody of one last night myself. But boy howdy, if I ever tried to write a horror piece...sheesh.

Good luck...

-CoyoteTales

 

[sheath]

Good points all, Coyote.

Just today, I've been so tense it's ridiculous. I went back to the 'outlets for anger' thread, because it had great ideas for stress-relief, just to make sure I didn't overlook any suggestions from way back when...no matter what I try, nothing seems to work to ease the tension.

I thought back to this morning, when I did try to sleep...it wasn't a physical thing, because I was tired, and my body needed the rest...but my mind was racing at ninety miles an hour. I was even writing songs in my head, without meaning to do so, the energy just had to go somewhere. That probably explains the nightmares as well. The mental energy has to go somewhere.

I admit, over the last several weeks, I have felt a longing for someone else to take over...just to let someone else step up to the plate for ME, for a change. Simply so that I wouldn't have to deal with everything, run my own interference, rely on ME all the time. To just be able to say, here, YOU deal with this for me. I feel a little selfish when I think that way, but dammit, I haven't been able to just let go of my own life in a long time.

Rambling, I know...

Stress is probably the root cause of all this...and unfortunately, that's not something any doctor can fix. And I don't have a clue where to begin.

I have decided to back off the work for a while. I don't have to write right now...I have enough in the hopper to keep my career moving along nicely for the next six months, at least, before I need to look at getting back into the swing of it. And I AM going to block off time to relax...just to go into my bedroom, shut the door, surround myself with the most relaxing things I can imagine, and see if it works to de-stress.

Here's to hoping.

S.

 

[Celtic Princess]

My 2 cents...

I have had sleep issues in the past, though admittedly nothing as serious as what it sounds like you're going through. I'd go for weeks on end not sleeping during normal hours, or over sleeping (12 to 13 hrs) or under sleeping (2 to 3 hrs) at a time. The swings were the hardest to deal with as there was never any warning in regards to what I was going to suffer from that week.

Anyway... a nurse recommended melatonin. You can buy it at a health food store from what I understand and it's supposed to level out some enzyme in your system to help you sleep.

Tylenol PM was something I was discouraged from taking. I suffer from migraines anyway and I'm not supposed to pump un-necessary pain killers in my system. The makers of tylenol have come up with something called "simply sleep" and I've had a small measure of success with it.


If you're beginning to think that your dreams are part of your problem, then I would recommend looking into information that will teach you how to wake up from your dreams. Being a natural control freak, I've developed triggers that either wake me up or stop the dream. I apologize for not providing specific references for such material, I only know that it exists.

One of the best stress reliefs I've experienced over the years has been yoga. It requires a lot of mental effort when you're doing it properly, so it has a way of making you let go of stress- there simply isn't room for it.

I'm not sure I've helped at all... but I wish you luck.

 

[sheath]

You did help, Celtic Princess. You gave me another lead to ask my doctor about. Thank you.

S.

 

[Missingmeds]

I have Fibromyalgia, it causes insomnia and it causes very vivid nightmares. So that might be another thing that you want to check out.

 

[sheath]

I have Fibromyalgia, it causes insomnia and it causes very vivid nightmares. So that might be another thing that you want to check out.

Wow...I'm so sorry you have to deal with that.

I will look up some information on it right now. Thanks.

S.

 

[shmily]

First - Happy Mothers Day Sheath!
We have been dealing with insomnia around here for months . Mostly stress related.
Celtic, harp or other light music helps. We constently have a fan going for white noise. Getting up moving around cleaning house doesnt' seem to help me. Sex does seem to help both of us. He likes to stay up on the computer until 2-3 am.

good luck
S

 

[sheath]

Thanks, shmily.

I'm going to try going to sleep tonight at one and see if I can sleep through until six. If I can't, well...I'll be back here.

S.

 

[cyberski]

You just need a double shot of vitamin me, that's all

 

[dollface007]

This time of year is crunch time for me, so I HAVE to stay up all night just about every night this week. Sheath, so you won't be alone if you can't catch some zzzzz's.