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...

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Have I done permanent damage to my sleep cycle?

JasonEternal
JasonEternal

So in short, I've been dealing with a chronic case of rhinitus (and then Sinusitis for one week) over the month of October. It was scary, did all kinds of meds such as decogestants, anti-histamines, and even the zopiclone sleeping pill to help me get over the wakeful effects of corticosteroid nasal spray (for the Rhinitis). For many grueling weeks I was only getting 2-3hours of sleep, and that was because of excessive advil, anti-histamine, and afterwards the zopiclone (gave me at least 4 hours). Thankfully a person I was texting told me that she had endured 11 months of the same problem (Rhinitis), and managed to come off it with a good neti med sinus rinse, still doing this at least once a day. 


Just last week I went off the Zopiclone, which I had been taking for 16 days in a row (at a 3.25mg does at the most, and sometimes less). The following Monday I had a rebound effect, and couldn't sleep all night or day. I managed to sleep again throughout the week, but for two days in a row I'd stay awake, and then sleep on the second day. As of now I've been prescribed apo quetiapine 25mg (anti-psychotic) to help me wean off the psychological effects of the zopiclone. It's been two days on the apo stuff and I've slept, even broke the two day pattern. 


Will I be okay? I've been very stressed out this entire last month, and am wondering if I'm on the right track to recovery (reading about people who've been dealing with this kind of thing for YEARS both humbles me and makes me anxious). Eventually I want to wean off the quetiapine, but for how long should I wait to do that? I'm scheduled for CBT (Cognitive Behavioural therapy) for this Friday, hopefully that can help. 

sonnycamehome
sonnycamehome
I'm not a medical professional so I can't answer your questions about meds, but I can say that CBT can be extremely helpful in getting your sleep cycle back on track. Simple changes like going to bed at the same time each night, getting daily exercise, turning all screens off an hour before bed, etc...can go a long way to improving your quality of sleep. CBT sleep training was especially helpful for me, and I hope you find it helpful as well. Wishing you all the best.
Hypnos07
Hypnos07
No, you haven't done "permanent" damage. With sleep, nothing is permanent. It constantly changes throughout life, tending to get lighter and more fragmentary as we age. That's normal and to be expected.

Your topical steroid shouldn't produce the same sort of stimulation as a systemic steroid, which suggests something else is probably going on, possibly nonmedical, that is affecting your sleep.

You should be confident CBT sleep training methods will help you deal comprehensively with the nonmedical causes for your insomnia, and any medical issues will be handled by your doc.

Good luck.