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How Can I Get Some Sleep?

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Posted 3/26/2012 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have mentioned in other threads that I am having trouble falling asleep, and sleeping through the night.  I tried melatonin (doctor's suggestion) and it helped me fall asleep but woke up in middle of night.  I tried xanax and it helps but I really do not want to be in the habbit of taking xanax every night.  I am on a beta blocker, but it does not seem to help much.  I tried Benedryl, and it helps for 4 hours or so -- but again that does not seem like a good long-term solution.  I have tried breathing exercises and they seem to calm me down a little but do not enable me to get to sleep.  I know there are various unregulated "natural" sleep aids, but I am wary.  Some other ideas? 

I am hoping the sleep problem is a Lexapro side effect and may go away.  But I am not sure about that. 

Thanks!

Posted 3/26/2012 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
medved please get over the fear of taking the xanax. it will help you and you will not get addicted to it. once you start feeling better emotionally you can stop taking it. the ones that get addicted to it is the ones that take it to get the high you are not doing that. I used to take ativan like 5 times a day when i went through the agoraphobia 17 years ago and when my anxiety got better i quit taking it slowly as the anxiety went away. please take it that is what it is used for. it is going to help the anxiety go away. I wish you lived around me i would come over and make you lose the anxiety!! :)
Posted 3/26/2012 9:02 PM (GMT 0)
MV, are you waking up anxious, or just waking up and not feeling sleepy? If you are waking up and having anxiety, then I use positive mantras and deep breathing to help me get relaxed enough to sleep again. If I am scared and feeling anxiety symptoms I repeat to myself...'I'm okay, it's only anxiety making me feel this way.' A few minutes of this usually lets me drift back easily enough.

If you are just waking up and not able to get back asleep, then maybe getting up and focusing on another activity until you are sleepy again would be best. Often when you lie in bed, tossing and turning, you increase the chance of not sleeping because you get worked up about being awake and watching the clock.

White noise machines or downloads are helpful for some people...I am not sure how or why they work, but it may be worth a try.

If all else fails, you may want to ask your doctor about a short-acting sleep aid. I know that there are some that are low-level and work for a small duration, about 4 hours...so if you woke in the middle of the night and needed one, it would not ruin you for getting up in the morning!

Good luck and good rest:)

S.C.
Posted 3/26/2012 9:47 PM (GMT 0)
Many thanks, Barb and Cat, for your responses.

Barb -- Regarding why I don't get over my concern about xanax: I guess to some extent I have, since I have been taking .25mg to get to sleep on some nights. But I don't think it is a good long-term solution, at least for me. Xanax is pretty controversial, even among psychiatrists. Many will not prescribe it at all. I am not sure it is only drug addict types who get addicted to it. I suspect there are responsible, well-intentioned people who get dragged in.

Cat - what has been happening is at night I lay in bed and cannot fall asleep, even though I am tired. Then around 11 or 11:30 I decide to take something, so I can get to sleep around midnight. If I take Benedryl or Melatonin, I wake up again around 3:00 a.m. and have to take something else if I want to get back to sleep. If I take xanax, maybe I sleep until 6:30 a.m. or so. When I wake up, I feel jittery and sort of nervous. I often feel like I have to urinate, but then cannot (or only very little), and that happens again 10 or 15 minutes later. So I spend a lot of time walking back and forth to the bathroom. I don't think that is primarily a urologic issue (though I do have some level of urinary retention, probably caused by BPH), but mostly just a reaction to the jittery/nervous feeling. The jitters are such that I cannot sleep, even though I am still tired and would like to go back to sleep. When i was on 10mg Lexapro, the jittery feeling was exceptionally uncomfortable. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Now that I am on 5mg Lexapro, it is annnoying but not terrible. So basically I can't fall asleep without a drug, and even when i do fall asleep i wake up before I am fully rested, with an uncomfortable jittery feeling. And then, during the day, I spend too much time thinking about the particular issue that is causing me anxiety and worry.

I would really like to focus in therapy on some longer term issues. But I need to achieve some stability. And the lack of adequate sleep, jittery feeling, and fact that I spend 50% of my waking hours thinking about a particular topic that causes me anxiety is not real stability.

In many ways, I have everything good in life:  a nice family, a nice house, a good education, a good job, enough money to buy anything I want (within reason).  But the anxiety about a particular issue that is, at this point, pretty much out of my control, is trying to destroy me.  I don't want it to do so...

Post Edited (medved) : 3/26/2012 3:51:44 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/26/2012 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
So what if you take it a couple times a day and you should have to ween yourself back off? It's not that much! Do you want to talk about what this is that has you so anxious?

Post Edited (Barbz) : 3/26/2012 4:47:57 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/27/2012 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
Medved.....

I completely understand your concerns BUT use the Xanax in conjunction with the Lexapro to get your anxiety in check which will then allow you to sleep. As I mentioned once before (i think...lol) lack of sleep just exacerbates the anxiety......as the Lexapro starts to kick in better for you, you will find that you are using the Xanax less and less. Taking Xanax a few times a day for a month or so will not get you addicted.

I started taking Xanax .25mg in 2001 and I am still at that same dosage. However, I have not taken it continuously since 2001 that was just the first time I started Zoloft. Now this time I started back on Zoloft on February 17th and I haven't had to take a Xanax in almost two weeks! Now I will say that early on when I first started back on the Zoloft in February, there were a few nights (with my Drs. approval) that I took two Xanax (or .50 mg) and after about five or six nights of getting some decent sleep my anxiety went way way down.

Just try it.....and realize that it may take a bit longer since you cut back on your Lexapro. You should try to get back up to 10mg soon per your doctor's approval of course. Sleep is what you need and you might be surprised how much better you will feel with a few good nights of sleep.

And that's my two cents! :)

Take care!
Packer
Posted 3/27/2012 9:08 AM (GMT 0)
Medved

Hello, how is your sllep going now??
recently I started back on citlopram and I didnt sleep at all for 7 days i was going crazy lol. there are a few things you can try.....

lavender and hops pillow, it sounds strange but out of everything I tried it was one of the best
hot milk and cheese, i swear by it
VALERIAN!!! it is a natural sedative you can put it in hot choc and stuff look up some recipies...it really works!!!
sedating antihistemines.....
They are over the counter sedatives that are not addictive and they work rather well
Baths nice music candles etc
massage
try not to think...you have to trick your brain...which you can....think about random things like when your in bed go through the alphabet thinking of a fruit or vegie for every letter haha sounds funny but think boring :p
Kava works if you can get some
camomile teas
start at your feet and tense one part of your body and release it repeat till you get to your head
Dont have a clock in your room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dont drink caffeine
dont excersize before bed
dont eat before bed
dont smoke before bed


I have been through this to a very very bad extent so I completly understand!!! DONT WORRY YOU WILL SLEEP!

good luck and try not to think about it to much :)
I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT IF YOU CAN AVOID TAKING DRUGS THEN DO IT!!!!
ANTI ANXIETY DRUGS ARE ADDICTIVE BECAUSE THEY MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER AND OF COURSE YOU WANT TO FEEL BETTER SO YOU KEEP TAKING THEM AND THEN YOU BUILD A TORRANCE AND NEED MORE FOR THE SAME EFFECT. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT BUT IF YOU CAN AVOID IT THEN PLEASE DO...TRY EVERYTHING ELSE FIRST AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS THEN CONSIDER IT :)

Edit:  Perhaps you did not notice your caps were on in your post...............using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in posts is   difficult to read and in internet-speak it means shouting.

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 3/27/2012 8:25:05 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/27/2012 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
medved,

How was your night - hoping you got some good sleep.  Remind me again how often you can take your Xanax as ordered by your Dr.?

I am just going to toss this out - I had extreme insominia 6 years ago and was even on high doses of Ativan but my P-doc weaned me off the Ativan and started me on a low dose of a medication called Trazadone ( 50mg to 150mg) taken every night at bed time.  I started out using 50 mg and worked up to 150 mg which works well for me.  The onset of trazodone sleeping aid effect is about 1-3 hours. To help with sleep it should be taken about 1 hour before bedtime, and its effects usually last about 8 hours.  It took me a couple of days before the med really started to kick in. 

Please keep in mind I am only sharing my own experience here and what works for one will not always work for another - just food for thought.  :-)

Posted 3/27/2012 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Medved,
I have the same issues. I tried Ativan for some time, the effect wore off, so I am weaning off. I the meantime, I am finding that an amino acid supplement is helping, Ltrytophan, L glutamine, and L taurine. They have them on amazons. And I take melotinin. Still, I have been researching this issue for some time as I don't want to depend on things to sleep. I am learning that heavy metal intoxication plays a role, but traditional doctors won't talk to you about this. I have been researching a product called Heavy Metal Detox recommended on the GAPS diet website, and so far, the site and inventor of the product look legit.
Hope this helps.
Posted 3/27/2012 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
Also, thyroid plays a role in sleep, especially low t3 levels get in the way of sleep. but you need an open minded endo to really help here.
Posted 3/27/2012 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks all for the suggestions.

My doc said I could take .5mg Xanax every 6 hours as needed.  But I have not been taking anything close to that amount.  I took .5mg one night and .25mg on some other nights.  I never took more than .5mg in a day, and that was only on one day.

I am very conservative when it comes to medications.  Maybe the opposite of the usual situation where patient wants more meds and the doc is cautious.  My doc says "go ahead and take the Xanax whenever you think you need it."

Last night I managed to get to sleep with only a Benedryl pill (plus the beta blocker I am taking, at doc's suggestion, every night).

I would prefer to use Benedryl rather than Xanax, if it works.

My night sleep was not so great last night.  Woke up several time.  But good enough that I can function.

We will see what tonight brings.   I think part of this depends on how my anxiety level is at bed time.  But I have not learned to control that. 

Posted 3/27/2012 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
Why don't you stop taking the lexapro? Sounds like that's what's causing you sleep problems...

I wouldn't worry about becoming addicted to such a low dose of xanax. That low of a dose doesn't even do anything to me.
Posted 3/27/2012 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
Sarah -- I am sure I will eventually go off the Lexapro, but for now I am inclined to try it, if I can figure out a way to sleep. I am paying my doctor a lot of money for his advice. If he thinks I need or would benefit from Lexapro, then I guess I am inclined to give it a good try. I did reduce from 10mg to 5mg. I did that mostly because I was waking up with a very uncomfortable edgy or jittery feeling. I get the same with 5mg, but at a level that is less bothersome. And I assume it may eventually go away. The doc will likely want me to increase the Lex. But I am going to be reluctant to do that. Of course, I need to address some long term issues -- but in the mean time, I also need to function day to day.
Posted 3/28/2012 12:22 AM (GMT 0)
I took me a half of Xanax earlier today and I was so relaxed I took a 2 hour nap and been feeling pretty good. My mornings are what is bad for me though to.
Posted 3/28/2012 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Medved! I've suffered from insomnia, especially pms related, since I was a kid. I'm part of the belief that a good night 's sleep is SO important to your overall health, that if you need to take something, take something. You're not doing your mind, body, and spirit any good by not sleeping.

If you're new to lexapro, that's probably part of why you can't sleep, but I agree with your decision to stick it out!

I've tried all the tricks to help fall asleep naturally, but none work for me if my mind is in that unrest state. I'm an Ambien user, but I know that isn't for everyone. You may just want to bite the bullet, keep with the Xanax until things regulate in your system, and allow yourself the rest you need. My opinion is you won't get addicted if you don't let yourself. Like someone else said, you're not taking it to get high.

My two cents, too :) Good luck! No sleep is no fun!!
Posted 3/28/2012 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the advice.   I agree sleep is VERY important.  Last night, I managed to get to sleep with a Benadryl tablet (plus the atenolol I have been taking at my doc's recommendation).  I think I will try the Benadryl again tonight.  I think I would prefer to be taking that rather than xanax if it works.  (If it does not work, then I always have the xanax to fall back on). 

 

Posted 3/28/2012 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
you should try a bellicon rebounder. I had horrible sleep issues until I began using a bellicon ( I do not sell them or have any stake in the company). Once I started on the Bellicon for 30 min a day -- this can be achieved while just watching a tv show - my sleep improved to where I sleep 7 to 8 hours without interruption. If I do wake up, I listen to a little bit of talk radio -- 30min sleep timer-- and I go back to sleep within 5 min.
J
Posted 3/28/2012 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
...Jay is right on with the exercise idea! Thirty minutes a day of moderate to high aerobic exercise (as you sould get with a trampoline/rebounder workout) is a great way to promote healthy sleep.


Jogging, brisk walking, bicycling, swimming, ect...are all good options as well. Just make sure not to exercise too close to bed time, or it can have the opposite effect!

S.C.
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