What's your longest most torturous stretch of sleep deprivation? And explain if your looks got effected aswell. And did you fully recover? Did your looks fully recover?
Yeah, and so is four hours of sleep every single night if I’m lucky. Although unfortunately, it seems like my benzo cocktail isn’t working anymore.
I still don’t sleep with this cocktail, but at bedtime, I take a BuSpar, half a Xanax, doxepin, an absolute cocktail of herbal supplements. This hasn’t been working lately, I’m still only getting about four hours a night, so nights where I’m truly desperate and need to clock six hours (ifI’m lucky) I will throw a piece of a Valium in the mix but a Benadryl always works.
Obviously, it’s anxiety and I just started on an antidepressant that doesn’t cause weight gain, but of course this one doesn’t even help with anxiety, so I’m going to taper off it.
Has anyone found something that works ?
It’s not much, but I feel like most of us are open to literally anything. I’ve had debilitating insomnia on and off for years, I’ve been to multiple doctors, I’ve tried literally everything you could possibly think of including most medications, most over the counter sleep aids, mental exercises, extensive bed time routines, etc, it doesn’t matter, I can be up for days. Just wanted to share my credentials lol. I know sometimes when people find something that works for them they like to come in here and be like “I FOUND THE CURE” which I understand, if you’ve suffered from genuine insomnia and finally find something that works for you then I’m sure it feels like that lol.
Anyway, I know insomnia has different roots and causes for everyone (obviously) and in my case specifically I’ve had a feeling it has something to do with chronic inflammation, nervous system activation, etc. and I noticed recently that when I have my period and I take (admittedly a large dose of) ibuprofen before bed, I definitely think I sleep better…I’ve done some experimenting with ibuprofen, and when I take a large dose before bed (with or without my period) I am definitely able to sleep a little better, at least for longer it seems. I know it probably seems like the dumbest, simplest, most obvious finding to a lot of people, but ibuprofen was never anything I considered taking specifically for my insomnia, or that it could affect it at all. I’m wondering if it’s working (for now) because it’s “anti-inflammatory” and if that’s maybe something worth exploring, for some people. I have inflammation biomarkers in a lot of my bloodwork and no doctor has ever been willing to make any connection between inflammation and my insomnia. Obviously ibuprofen is not a healthy or long term solution, but for me this has opened another avenue of investigation that gives me a new tiny shred of hope. That’s all, wondering if anyone else stumbled on this and it has it worked for you? Was it able to lead you to a more foundational cause or even a diagnosis?
Guy in his early 20s here. Been struggling with insomnia for a bit, today hit really bad though.
I had an important thing to do today that I was anxious about and couldn't sleep, and now I've done the thing but I still can't sleep.
I've been trying so hard to get in bed and sleep, but nothing's working. Idk what to do. I'm so tired. I tried to grab a snack to distract myself, but ended up throwing up and crying right after.
I just feel like I don't know how to calm down anymore. I feel so helpless.
Longest time I've been awake for was like 50 hours and that was genuine hell and I'm really scared this might become way worse.
I have terrible sleep.
- Melatonin (helps me fall asleep but wears off and wakes me up early)
- Magnesium Glycinate (same thing)
- Kiwis (meh)
- Red wine (does a decent job but groggy next day LOL)
I've resorted to getting a script for Dayvigo (Lemborexant) 5mg. And wow, changed my life.....for like a week. It worked perfectly until it doesn't.
Now the effects are basically beneficial for the first 3 hours of sleep.
Timeline goes like this:
- Take at 10:30 Pm
- Fall asleep by 11:00
- Wake up at 2:30 or 3:00 Am
- Hate my life for like an hour
- Maybe fall asleep again until 5:30 Am
Second phenomenon:
Coinciding with the waking up too early thing.
I'm experiencing a weird build-up of head pressure the closer I get to drifting off. Not painful, but strange. If I move, it goes away and starts building up again. If I let the pressure build up, I slip into sleep paralysis. This only happens with the transition to sleep.
My questions:
- Is anyone experiencing this? I've been scanning this subreddit and it seems there are mixed opinions about it. Some people say it's even better after a month, others say this is basically it.
- Is there hope on the horizon? Or am I stuck with bad sleep for the rest of my life. I don't want to resort to benzos but it's getting there.
- Would love to hear some alternatives!
Note: I'm away from home and can't really chat with my doctor. Other docs say this is normal but lower likelihood. And also suggested switching to 10mg (which I'm hesitant to do).
Diet notes: near perfectly clean. I workout almost daily, cook my own meals, rarely drink, sometimes vape, no drugs, etc.
Thanks everyone.
I spend 3-4 nights completely wide awake with not even chance of falling asleep. Just wide awake, not feeeling the urge to sleep at all. Nothing.
My friends mom aged 53F, she has been struggling with severe insomnia for the past 2 months. She is having a really hard time falling asleep and sometimes barely manages to sleep for less than an hour throughout the night.
She has tried to sleep normally, but nothing seems to be working. Has anyone experienced something similar? What helped you finally get proper sleep?
Would really appreciate advice, especially from people who have dealt with severe insomnia themselves. Also, should she see a sleep specialist or doctor at this point? Please advise 🙏🏻
I know insomnia is often multifactorial and very individual but one thing I don’t see being talked about enough is the importance of adequate calorie intake. If you are in a calorie deficit your body is going to be stressed and it definitely impacts one’s ability to sleep (not to mention the hormone and blood sugar impact). Eating enough to satisfy emotional hunger and not just physical hunger is also important as food can help calm and regulate the nervous system. I know common sleep hygiene advice often recommends not eating big meals or a lot right before bed but this is not the case for all and for many it can actually help you fall asleep. It’s something fairly easy to do so u you can try eating more for a couple of weeks to see if it helps you and if you are craving something then it is ok to give into that craving.
I’m 19 years old, and mentally, I’m completely exhausted right now. Insomnia is so frustrating and overwhelming. Four years ago, I started experiencing sleep-maintenance insomnia. I didn’t have trouble falling asleep back then, but I started waking up once or twice every time I slept.
Nowadays, I wake up at least five times a night. I sleep for about an hour, wake up for 10 or 15 minutes, and then fall back asleep, repeating this until I accumulate around 5 to 7 hours of sleep.
Lately, though, it has become much harder for me to fall asleep than it used to be. I used to fall asleep within 1 or 2 hours of going to bed, but recently I’ve only been sleeping 2 to 4 hours a day because it takes me 4 or 5 hours to actually fall asleep.
I miss my old life. I feel like I’m alive but not really living, and I know I’m not the only person who feels this way.
I’ve tried many psychiatric medications, all of them prescribed, obviously: zolpidem, clonazepam, risperidone, zopiclone. Nothing seems to work for me. I’m incredibly sleepy, but I just can’t sleep. My eyes feel so heavy, and I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.
i just want to rest i genuinely dont understand what i did to deserve this. its 7am and i still havent slept i have a call with a client later i have to finish so much shit and i feel like im completely fucking lobotomized . i go to such a competitive uni and i just cant even get up because im stuck in an awful constant daze . its terrible. i know everyone around me looks down on me and i dont blame them, im miserable to be around because im always so tired and my brain cant even catch up with what’s happening around me half the time. words come out of my mouth and i dont even know what im saying.
and the stupid hallucinations god theyre so fucking awful its just the same phone ringing noise over and over and over again enough that it starts driving you insane because you check your phone and nobody’s calling and then its back and you check again and again and again .
how are you even supposed to live like this??? i dont feel like im alive. i keep trying to figure out some sort of answer to this but there’s nothing. im trying meds im trying therapy im TRYING but nothing is working i cant take being awake at longer i just want my brain to shut down im genuinely just begging it to shut down
Hi,
Does anyone know of a good supplier for CBD isolate in Canada that will not break the bank?
Is it possible to order from the US? Prices there are so much better...can I use a reshipper/US address?
Needing about 800-1000mg/day, so bulk is a necessity.
Any help would be much appreciated!!
Thanks and muchlove.
I have suffered from insomnia, disturbed sleep my whole life.... I tried every possible medication...... I decided to buy a CPAP machine on my own and it is changing my life... two weeks have passed and I have never been better!
I’ve been having trouble with staying asleep for the past five years, and I started to wonder if I should try taking a low dose medication/supplement that helps with fixing a person’s sleep schedule (such as a low dose melatonin) after I wake up in the middle of the night? I never have trouble falling asleep, and sometimes I do wonder if I actually need that much sleep. (I used to sleep 7-8 hours without issues. Now I sleep 5-6 hours on a good day. When I wake up these days, I don’t feel tired, but I feel very sleepy sometimes in the afternoon.)
Magnesium supplements are alkalizing in the body. Could this be why they are of benefit to some despite no apparent presence of a magnesium deficiency?
So I have school in a few days I can't sleep at all Ive been staying up until 6 am than going to bed and waking up at 2 PMI don't no what to do it's 1 am I want to go to bed so much it's making me more depressed I don't know what to do it also makes me want to kill myself so so much I genuinely don't know what to do I can't get tired and I can't sleep like this when I have school in less than a week
Since I upped my antidepressants a few months ago, I have trouble sleeping. I'll lay awake for hours and the finally sleep at 1-2 am, then get up at 6 am. This will go on for 2-3 nights until I'm so exhausted I'll sleep for 15 hours or so. (Writing this at 0:20 am, wide awake yet tired)
My brain just won't shut up. I haven't had sleep problems in ~15 years (had problems in puberty but they went away when I became an adult). My antidepressants sadly don't help me sleep, they actually do the opposite, hence I take them in the morning. Decreasing my dosage isn't an option, my depression is pretty stubborn.
I need to go to the doctor, right? I feel like this isn't "bad enough", but that's probably stupid.
Alright y'all, I'm making my first post in the subreddit. So starting in September I started having really bad sleep and bad anxiety. The Anxiety started from having achy legs at night, which then I started looking up symptoms on Google. This led to a downward spiral of thinking I have either MS, Diabetes, or a blood clot. I ended up going to the doctor, getting bloodwork done, going to the eye doctor (I thought I was going blind from diabetes), and EVERYTHING came back either normal or better than normal.
My doctor prescribed me Buspirone, 5mg in the morning, 5 in the afternoon. The first day I took it I couldn't sleep until 4:30 am. The next day I took it in just the morning and only got 1 1/2 of sleep. The next day I didn't take any and I still couldn't fall asleep until around 2-3ish. Last night I tried everything, I went for a walk later in the day, took a shower, took magnesium Glycinate, and even took Zzquil Ashgwaghanda+ Melatonin gummies. I was dozing off watching a movie but when the movie was over I went to actually go to bed around midnight and just could not fall asleep.
Another context is anytime I try sleeping in MY OWN ROOM, I can't fall asleep and stay up. I have better success on the couch. I've tried Zzquil and Unisom but both of those make me so groggy the next day, and I don't think zzquil even does anything for me anymore.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought this was going to end after I found out I was healthy and nothing was wrong. Now I have anxiety about not being able to sleep. Is it the Buspirone keeping me up? Do I need a sleep medication? I work at 9am, I can't really be going to bed at 2-4 every night. I used to be able to fall asleep easily, in my own room too. Now it's a fight every day.
Any suggestions help. Thanks!
it's currently 2:55 am goodnight guyse I'm gonna try to sleep after I finish idk crying or whatever it is I've been doing forever gn everyoneeee
I've had early-morning waking insomnia for quite a while, which originally seemed to be caused by chronic stress. My stress levels are much better now, but I'm still waking early and experiencing the same issue.
Symptoms:
Things that fix it:
Has anyone experienced something similar or have any idea what's going on?
I ask you please take me seriously!
When I was very quickly tapered off of Mirtazapine, my sleep got forcefully shifted forward. Before I was sleeping from 3-4am to 12-1pm, it was broken but it was a lot better & far more restorative compared to my pervious on going insomnia(days without sleep).
My Doctor put me on Mirtazapine, they said would help with sleep & my depression.
The first 2 weeks on it, I told them this is no good, it's made me feel significantly worse & if anything making my sleep MORE broken. They kept me on it for another week, went back, same thing but this time they DOUBBLED THE DOSE. It was causing me to be irrationality angry, I was terrified of myself & I was fading in & out of consciousness during the day so I demanded a taper.
(Timelines for Mirtazapine: Start: 7.5mg for 3 weeks - Doubled: 15mg for 2 weeks - Taper: 7.5mg 1 weeks - 7.5mg every other day for 1 week - STOP!)
Just a few days after stopping & not being given an antidepressant to replace it(I've been on them all my life) I could no longer sleep at my normal 3-4am, I was being FORCED awake against my will(it did not matter HOW SLEEPY I was/am, I couldn't/can't fall asleep). I finally passed out from around 7-8am to 3pm, it's been stuck like that for 26 days now. The sleep get is NOT restorative, I wake up just as exhausted as when I fell asleep.
My 24/7 Symptoms: Burning/sore/heavy/sleepy eyes. It's gotten to the point now where I feel like my brain & body have a severe flu, they feel heavy & sick. Eating is difficult. The fatigue... unbearable. Even when physically calm, no physical anxiety, this persists.
I also now have severe RLS that keeps me awake longer or wakes me up!!! 300mg of Gabapentin dose NOTHING for it! it is NOT the CAUSE of this new sleep issue, but it sure DOSE NOT HELP!
I went back to the Doctor who tapered me, he REFUSED to listen to anything I had to say & asked me why I'm staying up until 8am as if it's a CHOICE I'm making(I'm not, ever second awake is a living HELL). He tossed me a Sleep Hygiene Booklet & sent me home.
I have tried Dayvigo 10mg
Clonazapam 0.5mg(used to work)
Both have failed to put me to sleep before 7-8am(or later)
PS: I was doing everything I normally do that was starting to help my original insomnia: cold dark room, black out curtains, eye mask, no screens before bed, Magnesium Glycinate, Ashwagandha, L:Theanine, seeing the sun immediately after waking, seeing the sunset, being outside for 20-40min everyday, ect but it no longer works!