Ugh I am ready to cry, sleep related

to the posters who talked about insomia and babies, please get checked for post partum depression. I know that it is still a new thing in the states but it is a well established medical condition here in Europe. In my experience with insomnia and migraines, was that all the good prescription drugs I got really only made things worse in the long run. Without a root cause, treating the symptoms is only putting a bandage where major surgery is required. AS for MJ, he was a junkie, plain and simple, extreme drug abuse brings on a whole host of problems one of which is sleeplessness, etc.
 
Shoot, I thought I had it bad. With a new baby you are in a very tough boat. If you do find something to help you sleep what if you don't wake up? I guess your DH would have to do it. That would just kind of freak me out, also isn't the risk of PPD heightened with lack of sleep? I had insomnia sort of but was really more bone tired when I had my kids. It has just been the last 5 years that it has gotten so out of hand.I think all the years of waking up with kids and stuff and never getting a full nights sleep for years at a time did me in. I have other issues as well so the baby thing probably doesnt have anything to do with it.

I checked my Lunesta dose and I am at the maximum reccomended dose, I don't know if that is the max you can take but that seems reccomended. I didn't think my dr would start me off slow knowing my track record of being med resistant.

DH likes to tell people that we should have known I was pregnant long before the test was positive because I started sleeping. Being pregnant was like the best insomnia medicine in the world... so at least I got 9 months of sleep to prepare me for the last month.
I had an 'emergency' c-section, I'm young, my pregnancy was unplanned and the lack of sleep combined with the other things I mentioned make me a HUGE risk for PPD. :guilty: I've got baby blues pretty but so I'm scared it might escalate to PPD. DH is worried and I plan to talk to my OB at my postpartum checkup next week but :confused3

I do at least know how frustrating it is when nothing will help and all you want is sleep. It frustrates me to no end that DH will fall right to sleep within minutes of hitting the pillow and I'll struggle for hours on end. Last look at the clock last night was 5:28... Lucas started crying at 5:58. :headache:

I'm not worried about the meds knocking me out to where I wouldn't wake up for him. The pain medications from my c-section truly helped me sleep a LOT and I woke up when he started crying.

I'm just hoping something works... for both of us! :hug:
 
I do at least know how frustrating it is when nothing will help and all you want is sleep. It frustrates me to no end that DH will fall right to sleep within minutes of hitting the pillow and I'll struggle for hours on end. Last look at the clock last night was 5:28... Lucas started crying at 5:58. :headache:

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OMG the getting pissed at other people sleeping is a huge problem for me. I know my mom does more driving since I don't drive and does alot of the shopping. I know my DH works all day but when it is 2 am, the dis is slow, off topic is asleep and news is in reruns from the night before I just want to scream til everyone in the house is up. And listening to my family complain about how tired they are when I am on the edge of a cliff just is not helpful to me. I get to the point I am so exhausted it is like I am not even tired anymore, just lifeless.
One person suggested the last time I posted this that the reason I couldn't sleep was I was depressed. I flipping wish, when I was depressed I slept all the time. I am on an antidepressant now and it works just fine no side effects.

I hope your dr's appt goes well next week.
 
Oh, I know!! My DH is the BIGGEST PITA when he doesn't get enough sleep. I want to scream at him that at least he can fall asleep!!
I've had insomnia for years, my parents finally started taking me to a doctor for treatment when I was 16... and nothing has ever worked. It's not depression for me either [HATE that everyone thinks that], they tried putting me on anti-depressants when I was 17 and all they did was make me cry. I think I took 4 different ones and when they didn't help my Dr. just gave up.

New insurance, new doctor now... I go see her on the 23rd so if my OB gives me no hope next week hopefully this lady can!!

I know what you mean about the DIS being slow... I am at least grateful that I am on the opposite coast so really late here isn't so late where you are, I get a few more hours of enjoyment!
 

I haven't tried a sleep study no. I thought that was more for sleep apnea. I used to snore but lost a lot of weight so I don't any more and I am not sure that is what it is but at this point I am willing to try.

I do take anti anxiety meds. 4 mgs of xanax a day.

I am not sure if I can up the dose of stuff, I will look at my lunesta and see if he has me at the highest dose, if he doesn't that could be a big problem as I usually take the max dose of things to have them work.

The caffeine thing I don't think is an issue as I can fall asleep, just not stay asleep.

I have had no real life changing events. I am relatively happy in my life, I could use some more money but who of us couldn't?? No extra stress beyond what is normal for me.


I don't know how you take your Xanax....but possibly you could break it up to take a dose just before bed and then keep another dose on the night table for when you wake up in the early morning?
 
I do at least know how frustrating it is when nothing will help and all you want is sleep. It frustrates me to no end that DH will fall right to sleep within minutes of hitting the pillow and I'll struggle for hours on end. Last look at the clock last night was 5:28... Lucas started crying at 5:58. :headache:

QUOTE]


OMG the getting pissed at other people sleeping is a huge problem for me. I know my mom does more driving since I don't drive and does alot of the shopping. I know my DH works all day but when it is 2 am, the dis is slow, off topic is asleep and news is in reruns from the night before I just want to scream til everyone in the house is up. And listening to my family complain about how tired they are when I am on the edge of a cliff just is not helpful to me. I get to the point I am so exhausted it is like I am not even tired anymore, just lifeless.
One person suggested the last time I posted this that the reason I couldn't sleep was I was depressed. I flipping wish, when I was depressed I slept all the time. I am on an antidepressant now and it works just fine no side effects.

I hope your dr's appt goes well next week.

I was where you are, I got rid of the caffeine after noon. But what really helped was going off birth control. I always suspected it but all the Drs poo pooed me. I would also have horrible sleeping, like being awake ALL night, the night I went onto the placebo pills. It was too coincdental for me. I still have a night here and there but nothing like it was. And now I know EXACTLY when I am getting my period bc I have that awake all night the day before I am getting my period.

Good luck, insominia is the worst form of torture ever. And no one gets it until they have experienced it. Having one bad night of sleep, no big deal, it isnt the same.
 
I haven't read all the previous post but wanted to offer this:

Last year, I was having the same problem. I would go to sleep at around 11:00 and then wake up every night between 2:00 and 3:00. I was never able to go back to sleep after that.

I talked to my doctor, and he prescribed Sonata. It's a short-term sleep aid that you can take during the night. I liked it, because I was able to fall back to sleep quickly after taking it, and I didn't have the hangover effects of the full-strength sleep aids.
 
Talk about timing - tune into Regis and Kelly all this week as they are talking lots about sleep complaints. In fact, tonight Regis is having a sleep study done. He has the problem you do - he can fall asleep but wakes up 90 mins in and can't go back. Be sure you watch or DVR it!
 
Just offering sympathy as I am the same way.

I can't fall asleep, though. That is my problem. No drugs, over the counter remedies, etc. work for me either.
The past few nights the last time I remember looking at the time was 1/2 hour before my son woke me up crying.

I'm at my wits end and actually on hold to try to get in to see a doctor. I haven't tried the meds for a few years so maybe they'll help this time around.

I went through the same thing with each of my newborns, it lasted about 6 weeks. I would be really tired, but I couldn't fall asleep! Sometimes a long evening walk would help a little. I see that your son was born in June, hopefully your body's hormones have calmed down a little by now & you'll start noticing it getting better.:goodvibes
 
I was where you are, I got rid of the caffeine after noon. But what really helped was going off birth control. I always suspected it but all the Drs poo pooed me. I would also have horrible sleeping, like being awake ALL night, the night I went onto the placebo pills. It was too coincdental for me. I still have a night here and there but nothing like it was. And now I know EXACTLY when I am getting my period bc I have that awake all night the day before I am getting my period.

Good luck, insominia is the worst form of torture ever. And no one gets it until they have experienced it. Having one bad night of sleep, no big deal, it isnt the same.

I have the same thing for about 2 night before my period. My mom said she always had it too. That's what made me less worried when I had insomnia post partum...I knew it was hormonal & I knew it would pass.
 
Monique, seeing an endocrinologist wouldn't hurt either.
Having all of your levels checked might shed some light on this!:goodvibes
 
Monique, seeing an endocrinologist wouldn't hurt either.
Having all of your levels checked might shed some light on this!:goodvibes

That was one of the first things i did. I have also had my thyroid and a complete blood workup done. My thyroid is a little on the underactive side but nothing serious.
I am also not on BCP.

My DR isn't in. I called in got told to take another dose of my med by the nurse and try and get some more sleep. I have an appt for Thursday.
 
Oh, you poor thing! I definitely feel your pain.

I couldn't tell from your original or follow-up post whether you're going to be seeing a specialist, but I really recommend it. You are really suffering right now, and it is time to get to the bottom of this.:sad1: I think a sleep study and a sleep specialist would be a good first step, but a psychiatrist may also be helpful, as well, because they know all the best meds and stuff for sleeping and for anxiety.

I do have a few specific thoughts of things you could look into. First, have you ever been prescribed Trazodone? It is a very common med for folks who have trouble sleeping and take any other depression/anxiety meds. It's actually an old, very safe, mild, antidepressant that they don't use much for depression 'cuz it makes people soooo sleepy!! :)

There is a wide range of dosing possibilities on trazadone, from a tiny dose that is only a fraction of the amount a person would take for depression to a massive dose that will practically put you in a coma. I hate the stuff, but I've gotta tell you that if you take enough of it, it WILL put you to sleep. Now, that being said, you'll feel pretty fuzzy and "hungover" the next day, but in your situation with your insomnia being so, so bad, it might be better than how you normally feel! Trazodone is great because it is non habit forming, completely safe, and you can take it as much as you want. It's super, super unpleasant, I've gotta say, but it really does work. You are so bad off right now that something like this might really offer relief.

Second, I have had a lot of luck over the years with regular old benadryl. Others scoff, but whatever :rolleyes1. I very occasionally take a DOUBLE dose of ordinary benadryl and it tends to work pretty well with just a tiny bit of "hungover" feeling the next day. I know you mentioned benadryl, but you may want to ask your doc if you can try a LARGE dose of the stuff. Again, like trazodone, benadryl is great because it is a very safe medication.

Third, I'm wondering about your Xanax that you're taking. Do you take any other psych type meds? The reason I'm asking is that benzos (that is what Xanax is) can over a long time cause all sorts of weird issues that basically come out of dependence/withdrawal. A lot of people (and their doctors) are unaware that benzos can play a role in things like INCREASING anxiety, insomnia, etc. I took Klonopin for a very long time (it's related to xanax). Although it was initially helpful to me, over time, it began to create a situaiton in which my body was constantly needing it or withdrawing from it. The result of withdrawal? Anxiety. Yup. My anti-anxiety med was actually causing cycles of anxiety. Doh!

So if you've been taking this same dose for a long time, it could be that you actually need a higher dose, because your body has become habituated to it, i.e., you're having breakthrough anxiety that is preventing you from sleeping. I'm also wondering if you may be experiencing some mild withdrawal symptoms at night, as well. If you're taking your xanax earlier in the day, then at night, the levels of the med in your blood are dropping, causing increased anxiety and jitteriness. Basically the fix for this would include a) going to a slightly higher dose and b) spacing your doses out appropriately.

You may need to put yourself on a schedule -- say, 1 mg of xanax every 6 hours or whatever. Right now, you're taking it as needed, which means your blood level of the med is jumping up and down unpredictably. This causes mood swings, anxiety, etc. A psychiatrist could help you figure out how to take xanax and also whether there is another benzo that would work better (a longer-acting one that you could take once or twice a day, maybe? :idea:)

Xanax is a great med for short term anxiety stuff, but very very bad for the long term. Everyone who takes it for a long time and at increasing doses eventually develops problems. A lot of doctors don't know this! A thought for you for the future would be shifting over to a good antidepressant that is approved for anxiety. Zoloft, paxil, and some other antidepressants are the first line treatment for anxiety, and will help a ton more than short-term fixes like xanax. But it's not something to worry about right this second, necessarily.

Anyway, sorry this was long. I hope something in this will be at least slightly helpful. Feel free to PM me any time! Insomnia is the absolute worst and it sounds like you're being pushed over the edge :grouphug::grouphug:
 
I had this problem for years!! I must be the only one but ambien workd great for me...if you take it and lie down for the night it shouldnt cause a problem...I have never had any bad effects from it .
 
You need a good primary care physician who is going to be willing to go the extra mile to work with you on this.

Could be psych (anxiety). Could be neuro (seizures). Could be endocrine (blood sugar drops, you wake up). Could be hormonal (hormones go flooey, you wake up). Could be nutritional (something you eat makes your system go haywire). You're basically going to have to go through system by system till you figure it out.

Meanwhile get all caffeine out of your diet. Get rid of diet soda. Go as natural as possible on foods. Get into a bedtime routine. Try taking your Xanax 1mg during the day and 3 mg at bedtime and see if that makes a difference. It's still your 4mg, just different dosing schedule. Be careful with Lunesta...as a nurse, I've seen some pretty wacky side effects with it.

Does DH snore? Could his snoring be waking you up?

Definitely you need a sleep study.

Good luck.
 
One last thing you may or may not have tried, calcium/magnesium pills. They did amazing things for me.

I wish you luck!

(by the way, watch the rest of your diet...if I have a meal heavy in cheese, I have extremely psychedelic dreams that wake me up repeatedly throughout the night, for instance)


I had an 'emergency' c-section...

:hug:

Since you're putting it in quotes, it's possible the women at the ICAN message boards can help you. I know all too well what some medicos consider "emergencies" (for the OB on call I had the dubious pleasure to meet, the only emergency was "I want to get going on my Memorial Day holiday vacation and she's taking up my precious time"), and ICAN seriously saved me. Lots of people (*cough* Brooke Shields *cough*) want to call righteous anger after being mistreated "PPD", but for me, working through my feelings and anger and sadness with people who knew what I was going through (unlike some of my "friends") helped far more than anything else would have. So if the quotes mean you don't really feel there was a solid reason to have major abdominal surgery on the day you met your baby, get thee to ICAN's message boards.
 
I will ask my doctor about the sleep study. It can't hurt. I have tried acupuncture. My last treatments were just a couple of months ago.

I have had alot of different kind of therapy over the years. I can shut my brain off to go to sleep and it is not like I wake up with my mind going a mile a minute I just bolt awake.

There are a few more details I am not really willing to go into on a public board like the dis where I don't want to scare people off LOL. But the usual diet, excersise, melatonin, benadryl etc have all been tried worked for awhile then it has gotten progressively worse til the really bad shower incident last week. My doctor agrees I can't go on like that.

As soon as my mom wakes up I will check my dose of the Lunesta and make sure I am at the max dose.

I've had severe insomnia in the past and there was one particular bout where I was so sleep deprived for so long, I was going into absolute rages.. Not good.. Very scary.. I now take 4mgs. to 6 mgs. of valium each night - depending on how tired I am before I get in bed.. None of the other sleep aids - prescription or otherwise - helped me - nor did the other anti-anxiety meds.. Only valium works for me..

The one thing that jumped out at me from your post though was the fact that you said you "bolt" awake.. To me that sounds like sleep apnea - and you're bolting awake because suddenly you're not breathing.. Sleep apnea isn't always related to weight - even underweight people can suffer from it - so I think a sleep study would be a good idea..

Hope you find something that works for you.. I don't ever, ever want to go back to experiencing those "rages" again.. :eek:
 
I was where you are, I got rid of the caffeine after noon. But what really helped was going off birth control. I always suspected it but all the Drs poo pooed me. I would also have horrible sleeping, like being awake ALL night, the night I went onto the placebo pills. It was too coincdental for me. I still have a night here and there but nothing like it was. And now I know EXACTLY when I am getting my period bc I have that awake all night the day before I am getting my period.

.

OMG, are we the same person? :rotfl:

That was the same for me. I had insomnia for years, never knew why. Within 3 months of going off BCP my insomnia went away. The only time I really get it now is right before my cycle is about to start, I'll get it for one night. Like you, the nice thing is I always know the day I will start because of this. So mine definitely seemed to be hormone related.
 
I use to wake up at 3:30AM every morning without fail. I am trying not to take anything for it right now but I used to take Unisom. For some reason that was enough to help me.

Caffine is a HUGE factor in our lives and people brush it off way too easy. I don't drink any caffine after 12Noon. I sleep a lot better without it. I am just very sensitive to the stuff. I would fall asleep fine but wake up and just be wide awake. DH never thought that caffine was affecting him because he could fall asleep as well ... but he was up on and off throughout the night and NEVER slept through the night. He had myocarditis and cut out ALL Caffine with his heart healthy diet and he is sleeping so much better. He actually said to me last week that he never knew caffine was making that much of an effect because he could fall asleep fine. He hasn't had a drop in 8 weeks.
 
I suffered from insomnia when I had a stressful job. So awful, I feel your pain. Now that job is over and so is almost the insomnia.

Here are some other things that helped me, but were not medication.

When you wake up, do not look at the clock. That adds stress.

Make your bedroom all about comfort and relaxation. I bought a memory foam mattress topper and 600 tc pima cotton sheets from costco.com. It is heavenly to get into bed. Also de-clutter the bedroom if needed. Don't have a computer in there if you are on it alot.

Get fresh air with your exercise, this really helps me. A walk maybe or I love to work in the yard.
Good luck!
 











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