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 everyone, I have just joined this site and if I’m honest I don’t know what to expect. At the very least I will write down my troubles and it may do good to get it all out...any advice from fellow insomniacs is a bonus.
I’m a 34 year old female who has suffered with insomnia for almost 10 years. I’ve tried everything...exercise, meditation, hypnotherapy, CBT, massage and lots of tablets.
I first started having trouble sleeping when I suffered 3 bereavements in a very short space of time as well as witness my mum going to theatre to remove a brain tumour (she’s doing really well now).
I have been prescribed many medications and recently weaned myself off Zopiclone which I’d been on for over 8 years. I was also taking Amitriptyline with the Zopliclone and my doctor told me that I needed to get off the Zopiclone. Since I have been off it I have been increasing my Amitriptyline so much so that I’ve had to resort to purchasing it online. I have been known to take 16x25mgs at one time. It feels like it’s getting worse and worse. I get some sleep on it but it’s very broken and I feel like shit in the mornings.
I am a qualified careers advisor and have been really struggling with keeping my head above water in terms of going to work. I’ve had some other medical issues and was off work for three months before Christmas. Everyday is a battle and as a result of the insomnia I am also taking antidepressants.
Everytime I go to the GP I am fobbed of and told that there is no support on the NHS to help me. I guess I’m here to find out about other people’s experiences and is there any support out there at all. I sometimes feel that people think I just make it up and they don’t believe that a person can’t sleep night in, night out.
My insomnia has played a big part of my health and as a result I don’t want to do anything socially. I avoid having conversations with people who are likely to invite me to do something. Up until 9 or 10 years ago I was bubbly and confident. I put a brave face at work every day and people just take it that I’m fine where this couldn’t be further from the truth. I just want help and support and to not feel alone anymore.
Any ideas or suggestions will be gratefully received. Thank you for reading.
Can't speak to the NHS in the UK, but if you lived here in the States I'd suggest seeing an MD sleep specialist -- considering your description of medical and psychiatric issues. All of that can come into play with sleep.
Wondering if you still practice your CBT methods. Those methods need to be actually used to work! The methods are not like some sort of magic potion you learn once and are permanently inoculated.
I first learned CBT sleep training about a decade ago and I can tell you not only do I still use all the methods today, but they help me lead an overall sleep supportive lifestyle. Which is to say a healthy lifestyle with a consistent sleep-wake schedule, exercise most days, keep up an active social life and so on.
In fact, I suspect if you got back to trying to be the person you once were --
the bubbly and confident person --before this whole sleep thing started, that might be one of the very best things you can do to help yourself sleep.
In the meantime, I hope you find some help with the NHS. And maybe consider dusting off your old CBT material and giving it another go. Might help, you never know.