Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
Hi guys,
I have dealt with severe chronic insomnia for 8 years now. I was sent to see a psychiatrist when I was 17 and they put me on different types of medication and the only ones that helped my insomnia were clonzepam and xanax. The actual sleep meds like ambien or trazadone or even melatonin (ha!) I would stay up all night and never once worked for me.. so anti anxiety meds it was/is.
I was so sick of the meds so I went off of them for 1 year from June 2017-August 2018 (CRAZY withdrawals but I powered through it and overcame it), and I was going 3-4 days at a time with 0 sleep. I tried everything- all the natural herbs, hypnotherapy, CBT, CBD oil etc. Only thing that really would get me sleeping (and never more than 4 hours) was weed or alcohol.
Finally I went back on them because I felt like I was actually going to die and my state of mind has never been worse, and I have not slept naturally a single night since i have been put back (and prior to the 1 year break) on these medications. Not even that- but some nights I STILL dont sleep WITH the meds. It is very "normal" for me to go 1-3 nights without sleeping a single second, even while being sedated. Sometimes when i get into bed my body just cant find a way to relax properly. I am usually a pretty happy girl, I tend to give myself 45 minutes before bed without staring at my phone and I put a noise machine on to drown out any city noise.
I feel c r a z y. Is anyone's insomnia as bad as mine? I seriously dont know what to do about it. My doctor made me see if I had sleep apnea, which I dont, and thats about all she had offered to me to check and see what the issue is. I'm 25 and the more I learn about sleep the more scared I am about relying on these drugs, never getting more than 4-5 hours the nights I do sleep, and also how often I just simply dont sleep.
I would do anything for just a nap, or even a consistent sleep every night without medication even if it was only 3-5 hours...
Feeling grateful I stumbled upon this group.. hoping someone has some insight that google hasnt displayed yet!
Xo
Get bloodwork. Ask a doctor to check your thyroid and parathyroid. Weed helps; alcohol makes the problem worse. I sleep hot but I need the weight of blankets on me so I use a weighted blanket. Mine is filled with glass bead stuffing; not poly beads. My sheets are Supima cotton; 250 thread count. They’re better than any “luxury” high thread count sheets I’ve ever used. Also try binaural beats or isochronic tones. Both are helpful but binaural are stronger. Binaural n the Delta range are excellent for sleep. There’s an awesome binaural bundle sold on the iTunes App Store. Relax Melodies is also good. Calm is an excellent app. I had a one year subscription from iTunes. About a month after I renewed Calm offer the app for $149. $$$$ but worth it. Also Insight Timer. There’s a lot of free stuff with Insight Timer. Google JS Epperson. He has cool atmospheric music with binaural beats mixed in. He sells his music for almost nothing. Look for the Delta binaural music. Dr. Breus is a sleep doctor who offers some good advice. I’ve seen him on TV a few times. I just finished watching a ten day video course. It was free but as of today has to be purchased. The course had a lot of good info. Try a “Mind Machine” or a light and sound machine (if you aren’t prone to seizures). I have the Kasina which is excellent. I’ve tried the David which is also very good. Try EFT also known as tapping. I hate tapping but there are lots of people who say it works. There’s also CBTi.