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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I feel fed up and like a freak

kara2012
kara2012
I am so fed up with not being able to feel tired naturally. I seem to have lost the abilty to get tired naturally. I have to be drugged inorder to feel the least bit tired. I disagree that everybody who is lucky enough to sleep well has good sleep habits when everyone I know who sleeps well has horrible sleep habits. I really never do feel tired naturally and I am not imagining it. I never yawn. I also don't think that anything like sleep hygine,CBT or sleep restriction could help me when I'm never tired. It makes no sense to lay down when I'm never tired. I would just be waiting for the 20 minutes or so to be up so I could get back up. I have been told to not worry about this as much and perhaps then I will regain the ability to feel tired again. I do obsess about this obviously because I repeat myself. I don't know how to even begin to convince myself that I don't care that I am never tired, I don't care if I sleep or not and that I don't care if the medicine "works" or not, when I do care about all of those things. I do worry constantly that the pills will stop "working" because they can and do stop "working", unfortunately,that I will be wide awake and start seeing things. I've also been told to take a supplement that can build ATP and the ATP will then become adenosine. Does the ATP always become adenosine eventually Galvortron or can it just stay ATP? I get so angry that I never feel tired naturally and I get angry with myself especially when I should be tired, such as when I have stayed up allnight. I also feel abnormal because "normal" people, in my opinion, get tired and need to sleep. I also feel resentful towards those, such as my Mom, who complain of chronic fatigue, when I would give anything to feel tired naturally again.I know that I'm repeating myself, but I am totally fed up. I probably could stay up and never crash. I probably wouldn't have goten much sleep for over the past year had I not taken anything. I really do feel like a wide awake freak. I am worried that I will never regain the ability to get tired and I don't want to live the rest of my life like this.
kara2012
kara2012
I didn't have a good night last night. I had taken Seroquel, etc early yesterday morning and it sedated me ,as usual, until yesterday afternoon. Seroquel usually is sedating enough that if it "works" ,it 'works" still the night after I have taken it. I usually "sleep" the night after it, but it wore off early for some reason and I barely slept this morning. I have felt like it has worn off early before, but I have always been able to "sleep" that night. I am not even tired, of course, but that goes without saying. I am worried that perhaps the pills stopping have an effect so early means that they have stopped "working". If they have stopped "working" I can try to increase the dose to see if that "works", but I am already on a high dose. I do remember one time though when I drove to my friend's house and I had taken the pills early that morning that the pills appeared to lose effect ealry and I didn't "sleep"much that night. I stayed up the next night and wasn't even tired, of course, the next day. I drove home on no sleep and it didn't even phase me. I was able to fall asleep after that even though I wasn't tired. When I took the pills they still "worked", but for some reason they had lost the effect earlier than they usually do. I hope they haven't stopped "working" just like last time, but am kind of worried that they have stopped "working". I don't know what I will do if they have.
Tez62
Tez62
Kara, becareful with Seroquel, Seroquel is antipsychotic and used in high doses for treats the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In low doses is used to aid sleep. A low dose is normally 50mg. If you don't have don't have schizophrenia or are not bipolar you should not be relying on it long term and I wouldn't be increasing your dosages otherwise you could get dependant on it, addicted. It is not supposed to be addictive but like all antidepressants you need to taper off slowly and can cause side effects. The other thing that concerned me when I was on it was that you don't really know what it's doing to your body or brain. For me, I was on 100mg and it didn't work anyway because I had a undiagnosed sleeping disorder, so it actually made me worse. I'm sorry I don't have the answer for you but just a warning.
kara2012
kara2012
I am still wide awake,despite barely sleeping since Wednesday afternoon. Everybody is still sleeping while I sit here wide awake. I am worried that the Seroquel,etc has stopped "working" since it wore off much earlier than it usually does. All I can think of to do is increase my dosage and hopefully that works if worse comes to worse and it has stopped "working". I feel like I will go crazy if it has stopped "working" and I am left wide awake. I feel like it will ruin my vacation. I keep on telling myself I will be ok either way, but I don't believe I will be ok. I'm not going to lay down and close my eyes when I feel so wide awake because I know I'm not going to sleep. How could I feel so wide awake despite barely sleeping? I'm fed up with this!
kara2012
kara2012
I am feeling extremely frustrated and anxious today. I should be so tired after being up this long, but instead I'm wide awake. The longer this goes on the more frustrated I get. I just know I don't want to live the rest of my life like this,but am worried that I have no choice. There are also other things that I am frustrated about and some of them I can't do anything about.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Maybe you could ask your sister to lend you some money. If you can't do that.... Time to pawn some stuff. Either way, you're going to need to do something. You can't keep doing this.

Sorry to be the one to say this but, it's the same thing over and over again. You say you can't sleep, everyone tells you what they think, you do nothing but say... What if it doesn't work.

Ever thought? What if it does work?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Kara, I agree with what the others are saying. You are repeating yourself, and the seroquel may be part of the problem.

And if you are not taking it precisely as prescribed then you are at risk for abuse of prescription drugs.

None of us here can assess or diagnose you long distance, but from your description it certainly sounds like you are experiencing excessive levels of stress and anxiety. Professional counseling will help you, and reducing stress and anxiety should help you sleep.

Your concern about sleep is probably misplaced. You should be trying to address the right thing ... anxiety, stress and worry. Insomnia is only the symptom.

For you and anybody else who doesn't have insurance and no money, help is there, rest assured.

In the US and probably many other countries, just google mental health clinic and the name of your community. You will get many results. Start calling around and tell them you need to talk to a counselor but have no money and no insurance. If the clinic is government funded, they will not turn you away. Many private clinics will take you too, they have access to government grants and government funding.

Help is there if you want it.
Tez62
Tez62
Sleeptraining, well siad, I hope Kara listens. For everyone that say's they have Insomnia your correct, 'Insomnia is only the symptom' of probably much larger things like stress, anxiety and worry.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Kara,
I am in the exact same situation. In the past 3 months I have only slept 2 hours a night only by taking ativan and the sleep is so light i am not getting any quality of sleep. I never fell tired. I am so sick of it. I have tried all of the sleep medications and nothing works. The days are so long.... I have been to so many doctors and they do not understand or seem to want to help me.
kara2012
kara2012
I have "slept", ifthat is what to call it because I took Seroquel and the other piil. I "slept" a lot yesterday and I actually did last night. I am suprised because the last few times the Seroquel had worn off much earlier than it usually does and ,as a result, I barely slept on those nights. I will be up allnight tonight because I will be in the car. My vacation is over :(. I hope I will be able to sleep on Thursday morning after I have been up allnight. I know I won't feel tired, unforunately, but hoopefully I will sleep.I just need to remember that even though I don't feel tired I must be tired because I have slept numerous times in the past after I have been up allnight and I CAN sleep again after being up allnight. Even if I don't sleep it's not the end of the world. I will be ok. I will just go about my day. I have a group on Thursdays that I go to and I can also be outside,take my dog for a walk,listen to music and get on the internet.
deleted_user
deleted_user
jdejohn.... another victim of low gaba and adenosine levels.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Are you still suffering kara? i am exactly the same as you and feeling suicidal because of the insomnia. the same as you everyone keeps saying it is to do with feeling anxious about not sleeping but i know that is not the case and like you i have totally lost the ability to sleep or feel tired. most meds stop working pretty quick and i can't tolerate a lot of them. has anyone recovered from this total inability to sleep as it feels like i will never recover and i have been this way for about 4 months. i cant go on like this.
deleted_user
deleted_user
does it make anyone else feel suicidal out of desparation??
deleted_user
deleted_user
how long have people had this problem? i have been about 4 months without being able to fall asleep naturally.
deleted_user
deleted_user
carrie, see the other thread you created.
kara2012
kara2012
I "slept" some yesterday and last night if sleep is what you would call it becasue I took Seroquel. Otherwise I probably would still be wide awake. I had a meltdown the other night. I was on my way home from vacation and everyone stopped at a resturant that I know serves pepsi, which I love. I don't drink caffeine that often because I'm already so wide awake. I already feel like I have had tons of caffeine. I didn't go into the resturant because I wanted a diet pepsi so bad, but wouldn't dare drink one. I'm fed up with hardly ever drinking caffeine when I'm already wide awake. So many people drink caffeine all the time, just like I used to, and don't even have insomnia ever. After my meltdown I took Seroquel. I was miserable the rest of the way home because I just wanted to lay down and I couldn't so I just laid my head on the side of the car,which was not at all comfortable. I am kind of glad I took the Seroquel when I did because I did not get home until the birds were singing. I would have been very anxious at that point because it was so late. I got home and finally got to lay down. I had a group yesterday and decided to go, even though I felt kind of drugged, because I had missed the previous week because I was on vacation. I was starting to fall asleep several times during the group and was wishing that I was falling asleep because I was naturally tired, not totally from a side effect.