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 more less come to terms with this unpleasant beast.
Perhaps given up would suffice.
Years and years of sleepless nights.
Then one day the doc perscribed me Seroquel.
Worked wonders.
I had no choice but to discontinue it due to my pregnancy. (I am not upset about that)
My boyfriend however isn't so fond of me returning to it.
He describes me as a "zombie" during the day.
It's hard to get through to him.
To explain how happy and quite frankly relieved it had made me.
He says "I Love you, not Seroquel"
I've thought long and hard about this.
Ironically the thought feeds my mind at night.
Any advice?
And/or anyone familiar with the drug?
Seroquel is a powerful anti-psychotic drug usually prescribed for bipolar disorder. Is this what you have? What did your doc diagnose? These are critical issues to understand.
Many sleep experts take the position that absent an underlying medical or psychiatric issue, sleeping pills that unnaturally force sleep may do more harm than good. That's because they may only be treating the symptom, and leaving the true root problem unaddressed. And reinforcing the idea that insomnia is something beyond your control to fix.
If your insomnia is primary, meaning no identifiable medical cause, then you may be able to fix this permanently by addressing the nonmedical root causes. There always are some of these drug-free solutions that you can work to help improve sleep. That may be a much better solution for you.
BTW, how's your sleep now that you're not taking the seroquel?
I was diagnosed with borderline personality & ptsd.
My sleeping patterns without the medication are very patchy. Some nights I get 3-5 hrs waking up multiple times in between. Other nights I can't even squeeze in 3 hrs. I can never sleep straight through a night. Sometimes I take Unisom, being the only thing I can take for sleep whilst pregnant. I have tried Trilazodone (I believe it's called) also melatonin. Also small things like taking warm baths, scents, walks. They told me it was called "chronic insomnia"
i was on seroquel a long time ago for anxiety and insomnia,but i had a terrible side effect from it and had to stop it..
i have tried many medications,with truly no choice....my illnesses get in the way of my being able to sleep without meds,with the simple changes to my routine,and cbt techniques i have tried...(that being said,i am not discourging you from implementing those things into your life,and i am glad you do take baths,use aromatherapy,and take walks....i just want you to know i do understand the desperation of not being able to sleep for so long...)
are you in therapy for your PTSD? many people with PTSD (as i'm sure you know) really fear sleep due to nightmares stemming from their trauma,and my pyschiatrist/therapist told me that he thinks when i go to bed my body is surging with adrenalin,making falling asleep difficult....no matter what techniques i have tried,it has always been difficult for me to let go into sleep....and,as i recently posted about here,when my OCD spikes,it makes it even harder because of my thoughts getting in the way...and only meds will help that as well....
i too have been critisized by people in my life about my using meds to sleep,even though,for me,there is really no choice,and my doctors have always understood that....but,sometimes the perspective of someone close to us can be important...at the same time,how do YOU feel the seroquel is affecting your day to day life?
do you feel like you are functioning ok?
was it a pyschiatrist who prescribed it to you?
our doctors and therapists can also often see changes in us that we might not notice in ourselves...
the trial and error of meds both for living with our illnesses in waking life,as well as for restful sleep can be exhausting and frustrating in itself,and perhaps that is something you could communicate to your boyfriend if you haven't already...
i'm sorry this has been such a rambling reply,with maybe little helpful insight,i just want you to know once again that i relate,both to your frustration about your long term insomnia,and that i understand how both the insomnia itself,as well as your taking meds for it can affect your relationship....
i am glad you reached out here,and i hope things change for you....you are not alone in this.
take good care.
I am diagnosed with primary insomnia. My root cause is most likely a defect where sleep is managed in the brain and made worse by a number of factors. After 7 years even my medical specialists accept it as a fact and I found a workable solution for me. My solution contains a lot of small changes in my live, food, habits and some big changes like moving, work and even going as far as to cut out those people who were bad for my sleep.
I am currently at more than 3 hours on my worst nights and more than 6 on my best. I have plenty of crap left but I can now manage.
I would love to share. The last few years I read as much as I could manage. But I feel you are not giving us enough details. Being pregnant complicates your insomnia. Without knowing more you get less specific advice.
Could you tell me your biggest three problems and biggest 3 worries?
Mine are
Sleep, loneliness and money
And
Money, working solutions starting to fail and how to clean up the fallout.
I hope you find your own solutions and find the space to fix as much as you can.