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...
I've been suffering from insomnia since late 2012, after I graduated from high school. I tried all sorts of OTC medications, and it was a hit or miss. Since January, I have been taking amitriptyline. It was originally 25mg then upped to 50mg because 25mg stopped working. Some nights are good and then other nights are horrible..like today. I feel like I am at my witts end. I am not meant to sleep well for a long period of time. My mom doesn't understand how I can't "just sleep" which only frustrates her further. I don't want to be sent to a mental hospital for this, I just want sleep. I am hoping I can tamper off this antidepressant eventually, and then I'm not sure what my next steps are. My doctor never called me back today, so I am feeling terrible overall. :( I don't know how I'm going to be a sub teacher in the fall if I can barely sleep.
sorry to hear you're going thru this but you've come to the right place where people can relate.
To make this better, my take is you've got to get to the true roots of the problem. If you've been diagnosed with depression, that can and will affect sleep. This is something to discuss with your doc of course, but as your depression lifts, better sleep should return.
The other thing you can do is in effect "stack the deck" in your favor in as many ways as possible. Sometimes the best "sleeping aids" aren't drugs.
These kinds of things include keeping a consistent sleep-wake schedule, getting some good exercise most every day, avoiding naps, avoiding caffeine later in the day, keeping yourself stimulated mentally and supported socially. Etc. Basically living life fully to the best of your ability every day ... that will in effect tire you out so you tend to sleep better.
My suggestion is do not let insomnia interfere with your life. Just do it, and be confident yes you will sleep, because your physiological requirement for sleep is stronger and more powerful than your insomnia. Guaranteed.
But that is just my body chemistry. However, with Amitriptyline I also take 2 Magnesium citrate pills per night and this combo seems to help. Magnesium citrate is available at most drug stores over the counter, either with other supplements or just ask the pharmacist. The Magnesium citrate has one specific problem: it's usually used as a laxative so you can expect some diarrhea until your body adjusts.
I've also been prescribed 30 mg pills of Temazepam by my doctor. This is known as the scariest of the bad "benzo" pills but for me, again my body chemistry, it has proven to be non-addictive and does work as a silver bullet if I have 3-4 bad nights in a row.
That's just my experience, feel free to ask any questions you might have.