Really bad insomnia night after night
 

This has been going on for at least 2-3 years and seems to be getting worse as time goes by. I go to bed between 9-10, read for a bit and fall asleep without any problem. Then anywhere from 2-3 hours later I am wide awake, feeling as if I have had a full nights sleep. Sometimes I'm able to go back to sleep on my own after an hour or two, sometimes I take a valium, sometimes that's it for the night. Being that I have to get up at 5:00 for work, I rarely get more than 5 hours. Even on weekends I sleep poorly and am up early.

I have always been one to need 8-9 hours so when this first started it was very hard on me when I didn't get at least 7 hours. And when it started it was just a now and then thing. Now it is happening maybe 5 nights a week and my body seems to have adjusted. I certainly don't feel super great but I manage to make it through the day without feeling like I am going to fall asleep any second. So while I don't feel that terrible I seem to have aged 10years in the last one, I look horrible, drawn, baggy eyes, my body aches and I am severely depressed.

I'm following all the "get a good night's sleep" rules - I don't drink any coffee, tea, soda, alcohol, eat very little chocolate (in fact overall I eat very healthy), no electronics in the bedroom, no heavy execise before bed, my bed is comfy, the room temperature is 62, it's quiet and dark. As I'm reading in bed I'm so tired I tell myself there is no way I won't sleep through the night, but 3 hours later I'm wide awake. I try deep, slow breathing, relaxing my body bit by bit, magnesium, counting backwards, going through the alphabet listing foods, names, etc, nothing works.

I've talked to the doctor, all he wants to do is give me a prescription for ambien. I don't want it and try so hard to stay away from the 2.5 mgs of valium I take, but when I'm heading for my 3rd night of 3 hours of sleep I have to take something (and benadryl is out as that has the opposite effect on me). And I'm really not interested in taking meds, I just want to be able to sleep like I used to without taking something.

Can anyone relate, has anyone here had it this bed and found a way to recover?

Yes, I do know what you're going through; after being treated with Interferon for Hepatitis C my whole being has changed. I feel like there is damage throughout my CNS; in fact I do have damage to my right optic nerve.

Anyway, up until recently I had been using Trazodone , which works as good as Ambien but is much easier to walk away from.

I no longer use prescription meds for sleep, but I do use melatonin(3mg) with good result.

I have my sleep remedy posted here. You might want to consider part of what I use. Maybe even take a Calms Forte' before going to sleep, taking one when you wake up and can't get back to sleep. I sleep pretty good all in all but I do use my combo I've worked up.

Hi AppleTree

A few suggestions to help find the cause of the problem:

I've read many people have a drop in blood sugar during the night which can cause them to wake. Having some form of protein (eg a hard boiled egg or some yoghurt etc) just before going to bed can help sustain the blood sugar level through the night.

Another cause of waking and not being able to get back to sleep may be low cortisol levels - have you had this tested?

Also disturbed sleep is frequent among those who have Fibromyalgia (and other conditions). It is cause by Alpha Waves interrupting the deep sleep cycle.
I don't understand it fully but if you search "alpha intrusion sleep disorder" you may come across some info that helps.

All the best finding solutions.

Caroline, thanks for your response. I took a look at your sleep rememdy. I've thought of trying melatonin before and just happened to buy a bottle of it at the pharmacy this morning. I'm a little nervous about side effects though, actually a lot nervous!!

As I said before I cannot take benadryl for sleep as it has the total opposite effect one me. Usually that is, because once in a while it will make me sleepy. Once I was given a low does of nortryptilene (sp?) as an migraine preventaive. This drug is known for it's sleepy effect and for the one month I took it I experienced the worst insomnia ever. Very similar to what I am going through now - no problem falling asleep but then waking sometime between 12-2 and that was it for the night. Within 3-4 days of stopping my sleep was back to normal. I also have a past history of severe vertigo attacks and am hesitant to try any drugs for fear that will bring the condition back.

I've never heard of Inositol, I just did a quick search on it. Is this an OTC supplement?

I woke up at 2 AM this morning and that was it until I took a two hour nap at 11 AM, thank God it's a Saturday cause I sure can't do that during the week.

Are negative side effets common with melatonin?

Hi Appletree,

I remember your first posts on the forum with the problem with gagging... did that ever resolve or do you still have those issues?

Have you ever had a sleep study?

Hey Bluesfan - thank you so much for the suggestions/ideas. This is what I am looking for - real causes for this problem. I have never had my cortisol level checked. However, last year I was told by a chiropractor that I have adrenal fatigue. This would cause low cortisol, wouldn't it? I'm also very aware that adrenal fatigue is one of those "diseases" that "real doctors" don't recognize, so I'm not sure how much faith I can give to that diagnose. I will say however if arenal fatigue is real I probably have it because I have had a series of very, very stressful events happen over the last 3-5 years and I have just about every symptom of it.

Alpha wave interruping the deep sleep cycle - I haven't heard of this but sounds interesting. I will do a search to learn more.

I hope my sleep is better tonight. I'm so darn tired right now I feel like I could sleep for hours. Not sure if I'll try the melatonin or not. I wish I could beat this without drugs of any kind.

Lara - the gagging/dysphagia/esophageal whatever it is - they are all still unresolved problems. I don't know - maybe they and my insomnia are all somehow related. I'm more or less trying to live with the dysphagia/gagging. The doctors are stumped, I saw my neurologist earlier this month for a 6 month check up and all he can say is it's very unusual. My GI doctor thinks it's MS but the MRI was clear. My PCP says give it a while and if the symptoms get worse he'll be better able to know what next step to take. Meanwhile I'm scared it's ALS because the best they can say is it probably isn't. Since it's not terribly worse than a year ago I hoping for the best.

No, I've never had a sleep study, and have just started to consider going to a sleep clinic to get some help with this. Do you think a study would be helpful? I'm not all that familiar with them and what exactly they show. I guess that's another thing I'll have to do a bit more research on.

Thank you ththomas. I don't think I want to try Trazodone right now, like I said in another post I seem to have a problem with things that are supposed to make me sleepy. But I am willing to give the mealatonin a try. Have you had any negative side effects with this?

Maybe the gagging problem is connected? It was just a thought. I'm sorry you're still getting no answers. That's hard. Maybe if you had a sleep study then they might pick up on something that's waking you up at night.
You can't go on without sleep. In the meantime try some of the remedies. I've never used Melatonin myself but some find it helpful. Inositol makes me less anxious but it doesn't help me sleep as such. I do use Tryptophan from time to time but not that often. Only when really needed. It knocks me out really well. :) I also get restless legs at night, and have done all my life, so extra magnesium helps with that.

Unfortunately it's all trial and error a lot of the time. Check out bluesfan's post too about the blood sugar levels and cortisol.

p.s. You don't have gastic reflux do you??

I don't know what dosage you got in Melatonin. I buy 1mg tabs from source naturals and break them in half. My remedy is low dose melatonin. Years ago before I knew what I know now, I bought some melatonin and don't recall the dose but I took one and it made me really groggy. This was over 20 yrs ago I think. I never took it again until years later when I really got into this alternative healing world. I have no side effects with what I do, but nice sleep. And if and when I wake and can't get back to sleep quickly I pop a calms or an inositol.

I know we are all different.

Hi again Appletree

Yes low cortisol can be a sign of adrenal fatigue and you're right Adrenal Fatigue is still not recognized by many doctors. That's probably partly because there is such a variation in individuals of the levels and also because it mimics so many other conditions. How did your chiropractor diagnose the adrenal fatigue - was he going by your symptoms. On the other hand Adrenal Insufficiency (Addison's Disease) is a rare and serious condition (potentially fatal if not treated).

If you decide to get cortisol serum testing done make sure it is an 8am fasting test - if that is low then they may want more testing done to exclude Addison's. If this happens please feel free to ask me for more info and I can direct you to sites I've found useful.

Melatonin can be effective if the problem is not a physiological disorder (ie: if it's due more to stress than a physical cause). You're right to try and stay off the sleeping meds if possible until you find the cause. Many are recommended for short term use only and can be addictive and hard to get off if used for long periods. That said they have their place for occasional use to either break a pattern of poor sleep or just to get a decent night's sleep here and there to keep going. Be aware that there can be side effects - I had similar sleep patterns to you for a long time and during a particularly difficult spell was prescribed Ambien (Zopiclone). I use it sparingly partly because I wake up feeling like I've got a 'hangover' the next morning.

As Lara suggested a sleep study might be a good idea - can't hurt.

Big chicken I am, I didn't take the teeny-tiny melatonin as I planned.

Carolline it was 3mgs and I cut it half. I was ready to take it when I decided to check out the patient reviews at webmd. Most weren't bad but one person had a terrible time with flashing lights over and over in his/her brain all night long and no sleep. With my prior paradoxical reactions to meds, that was enough to scare me. I did sleep a bit better last night, from about 10 to 6:15 and was up for an hour and a half in the middle of the night. At least I got back to sleep which doesn't always happen.

My endoscopy showed very mild reflux and a very mild hiatal hernia. The doctor (GI) said it wouldn't be enough to cause my problems. He prescribed a couple of different meds just in case (nexium and such) which made no difference. In fact one of them gave me heartburn which I have never had before. Another paradoxical reaction from my body.:confused:

I also have very restless legs. I've been taking 250 mgs of magnesium for a year, sometimes twice a day. Maybe I should be more consistent with the twice a day part.

Blues - the chiropractor diagnosed me based on my symptoms and the extremely long questionairre I had to fill out. I guess my responses to that part of the quest. were quite strong. But on the other hand, some, like do you crave salt? to which I responded "all the time" may be misleading. I am on a very low sodium diet (1000 mgs a day) plus take a diuretic due to possible meniere's disease and therefore I crave it simply because I don't get much. No blood work was done. I also have celiac, so I wonder if my diet could have something to do with the insomnia. My vitamin B12 level is normal but I know based on my diet I probably don't get enough of any of the B's so I take supplements.

I really need to find a good doctor because my current one hasn't been very helpful with any of my issues, he sees me as just another hypochondriac. Thank you so much for your helpful resonses!

Hi Appletree

Besides craving salt do you also crave citrus foods eg limes or lemons, or pickled foods? Do you get random short bursts of hiccups? Have you noticed a decreased amount of hair growth in armpits, on arms and legs? Do you have any new dark patches of skin or vitiligo? - these symptoms are associated with Adrenal Fatigue and/or Insufficiency.

If you're taking a diuretic and on a low sodium diet then it's possible you are losing too much salt (and probably potassium) in urine.

If the Meniere's diagnosis wasn't definite the symptoms of Meniere's can be similar to those included with adrenal problems. I had both vertigo and tinnitus prior to my Addison's diagnosis (still get the tinnitus! :rolleyes:). The Hypothalamus/Pituitary/Adrenal system (or HPA axis as it's known) works in synchronization - if there is a problem in one part it can unbalance the others.

Celiac Disease is sometimes a secondary condition to Adrenal Insufficiency - it sounds as though you may have an auto-immune problem going on.

Your suggestion to find a new doctor sounds like a good move. If you don't have them already I would suggest getting copies of all recent or relevant test results before you leave the old doc. It helps to have results on hand when trying to research problems and also when talking to a new doctor. Alternatively if you have a cortisol test and it shows up something you might ask your doctor to refer you to an endocrinolgist.

Do some research on Pantothenic Acid (B5) and Panthethine the most absorbable form of PA. I've been taking one or the other for some time, off and on, and I'm back on with the Panthethine two times per day...I feel a little more awake when I do wake up in the AM. I sleep but know it's LOW CORTISOL for me on my wakeup.