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 have anxiety and can't sleep.

alianazli
alianazli

I got anxiety when I first heard that I have myasthenia gravis a condition that will never go away and is pobably gonna change my life. I haven't been able to sleep naturally then. I wanted to ask is any sleep medicine that could go along with my condition? I have been on many sleep tablets. Ambien (makes me groggy), Lexotanil (no longer effective), Prothiaden (no longer effective), Melatonil (doesn not effect), Seroquel (no longer effective but was the best). Should I take Lunesta? Is there any other Anti Psychotic Drug like Serouquel? Please do take time to reply. I feel so bad as I am on prednisone and my mg symptoms have flaredup.

silverlight
silverlight
Hi,first of all,i want to tell you how sorry i am you are having to cope with living with your illness...i can only imagine how difficult it must be..

i also know that prednisone can make it difficult to sleep,and that,on top of your anxiety....i'm so sorry,and i'm sorry you have tried so many things that haven't worked..

sleep hygiene is important,and CBT specifically for insomnia works for many people although unfortuntely not for me,so i as well have tried many medications..

right now i am back on chlorpromazine,a very old,very strong antipyschotic....it is the only thing that works for me....

it does come with side effects though....i am used to it,so it doesn't cause me day time drowsiness,but it can cause that,as well as weight gain,and raise blood sugar,as most of the neuroleptics can..

do you have a therapist with whom you can talk about how to cope with living with your illness and your anxiety?

i'm sorry,i know i've not been very helpful,but please know i care,you are not alone,and i am glad you reached out here..hopefully others will have some ideas for you,you need and deserve some good rest..

Take Good Care.
sonnycamehome
sonnycamehome
Being on prednisone can really be difficult...it can intensify anxiety and really make insomnia worse. When I have to take Prednisone I take Valium in a fairly high dose at night to counteract the effects of the Prednisone. I don't know if you've tried that...
sptrout
sptrout
One drug that you may want to ask your doctors about for sleep is amitriptyline (old brand name: Elavil). Amitriptyline is an old anti-depressant that is no longer (or seldom) used for that any more. One of the problems with this drug is a side effect that makes people drowsy (the one we want in this case!). However, when taken in low doses (10-25mg) it can be very effective for many for sleep, and for some, reduce nerve pain. (BTW - - the dosage that was recommended as an anti-depressant was 100 - 150 mg/day.)

I am taking it now for sleep and for chronic pain. I took it several years ago for sleep only. It is fairly effective, but it is not a "knockout" drug in that you want to have one foot already in bed before taking it. I usually take it about an hour before bedtime. It actually never makes me feel drowsy, or anything else for that matter; just sleep better than without it.

I have no noticeable side effects from taking it, and it can be stopped quickly if not helping (my doctors have always said no tapering required to stop taking it at these low levels, which is true based on my experience). Maybe worth looking into it. Another advantage; it is cheap even if paying cash; it is on Walmart's $4 30-day drug list, or $10 for 90 days (25 mg pills).