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...
Hey all...
so i have come here a couple of times,in desperation because for the past nine months i have been suffering from severe insomnia...had a sleep study done,only confirmed what i already knew,and the clinic had no help for me...
For many years i have lived with severe refractory OCD,90% pure obsessional,which means i get either *just* annoying nonsenical intrusive thoughts,or terribly disturbing ones...as well,my OCD often crosses the line into paranoia,although i have never exhibited evidence of pyschosis.
It seems more than a coincidental that nine months ago i started the antipyschotic Latuda,and then could not sleep hardly at all,although for a few months my OCD symptoms were mostly abated.....yesterday i looked up a patient led site ("Treato" ) whre people describe their experiences with different meds...it seems that even though in the drug's profile it is stated that *only* 10% of people have the side effect of insomnia,on this site it was listed as the the third most common complaint...
a couple of weeks ago i told my pyschiatrist/therapist i wanted to go back on chlorpmazine,because i knew it was very likely to make me sleep through the night...and it did....but in this time around of taking it,i became ravenous,i gained weight quickly,and with a history of severe anorexia i found myself severely triggered,and called my doctor yeaterday and told him i had to stop it..
weird thing was,the night after i stopped it i feel asleep about an hour and a half after taking only my lamotigine (no sedative effect ) and 2mg of clonazepam,and slept about 5/5.5 hours,woke up refreshed...
(Was hesitant to mention that here,fearing i'll get responses that "see,your body IS capable of falling asleep on it's own".....(i don't believe that,and i know my cognitive errors are not popular here)
ANYWAY,sorry...point of this post is,my OCD intrusive thoughts have been increasingly severe and upsetting the last couple days,and,last night,my mind was filled with a stream of nonsense and disturbing thoughts/images,just looping....
told my doctor that yesterday,and we're looking into trying yet another antipyschotic that will both help stop my symptoms,and be sedating....
i'm writing here,not the OCD board (although i just might do that as well,as my impulsive desperate need to reach out,is amplified after a night of little sleep,and,my lonliness in my struggle) i guess just to get this out...(although i will most likely regret it...) and perhaps see if anyone is going through the same thing....
i don't find a "racing mind" at night the same at all as my OCD looping thoughts....i'm sorry,other than reaching out to see if anyone can relate on this board,i don't know what i'm looking for here....
so,if you have read my rambling post,i Thank You kindly....
tired.
Eh, they help with some stuff but not sleep. Obviously, because I'm awake right now. Clonazepam is the best solution for a really rough night. What I have done is tried to make some rituals to deal with the obsessions, but have them literally outside of the bedroom, I do kickboxing and allow myself to sit with all the intrusive thoughts while I'm kicking and punching things. I don't know if you have compulsions at all, but I do a night time ritual where I lock the door, feed and water the pets, turn off the bathroom light, lock the backdoor etc etc, and then I tell myself now you checked, it's time for sleep, and it can help a lot. I try not to have anything distracting in bed, I listen to music or audiobooks or speeches on spotify, to give my mind something to focus on a little bit.
I've been there, where what you're thinking or seeing or hearing in your head is sick or terrible or scary and you feel way too much and it's so uncomfortable and panic-inducing. My best advice, behaviorally, is don't judge yourself. If you're trying to fall asleep getting disgusted or feel ashamed will only keep you awake. I tell myself, yeah that thing I can't stop thinking about I don't condone it, that's not what I want here, and it doesn't make me a bad person for thinking of it. It's like an unwanted house guest that you don't have the energy to kick out, so they crash on your couch for the night so you can get some rest....HA I don't know if that makes any sense.
Agh I dunno I hope this helped. What really does help overall, I think, is to realize that this is a process and it is maybe going to get worse before it gets better, but not pressuring or judging yourself for having a tough time with these two things, helps me to not lose it. I hope you and you doctor are able to figure out how to manage this. In the meantime, feel free to vent here.
i got your reply shortly after i woke up,after only about 3.5 hours sleep,and i'm grateful to you for taking the time to write,and share your suggestions.....and they really are tangible,helpful ones....
it is so rare i find someone who understands the nature of obsessional OCD....you really get it....(i wish you didn't),thank you for reminding me not to judge myself for the thoughts....i do try not to do that....kickboxing sounds like an amazing way to stop the looping thoughts! wish i had room in here for that.....something like that would work better for me than meditation,because thoughts always intrude when i try to do that....audiobooks are something that i might like to try,thanks for the suggestion...
i don't really have any compulsions at night,except checking the stove/oven is off (even if it has been hours since i've used it....ugh)
Thank You again,you have indeed been so helpful.....and i wish for you peaceful sleep,and freedom from your own OCD and anxiety.
I also have confusion, paranoia and trouble with mood swings. My ex wife had severe ocd before treatment.
I can't pretend to know how your ocd loop is affecting you but I do have some tips.
Medical : talk to your doctor about valdoxan. The last 2 years I have had great results from it. Boosting my sleep to more than 3 hours a night.
Food : one banana in the morning. The riper the better. I do very well on it.
Living: A minimalistic bedroom with good temperature control helped me a lot.
Good luck finding what you need to sleep.y
i'm sorry for what you struggle with,and for your wife's struggles as well.
Thank You again.