Sleep issues

[Mike7777]

I cant sleep without taking atleast melatonin. Ive tried benadryl, and this other sleep aid too. Have used lorazepam, tried temazepam yesterday and honestly expected alot more had to even take 5mg melatonin cuz it wasnt working like i wanted. Havent tried trazodone yet but will. Its mainly not being able to go back to sleep but also falling asleep too. I feel like its affecting my mood and everything. I have a sleep study coming up soon. I will say i do sleep, 3-6 hours, im assuming depends but sometimes its hard to remember because of how long im just laying there with my eyes closed and not fully knocked out asleep.

[uniquediamond]

Have you tried any Sleepytime teas? Maybe go for a 40 min walk before bed, then take a hot shower and see if that works

[Mike7777 in reply to uniquediamond]

Yes i have ill try again but they didnt seem to do much. If i excersise late at night i end up having more energy. I usually go to the gym during the day. Maybe melatonin is messing up my sleep.

[uniquediamond in reply to Mike7777]

Yea maybe. Well hopefully, something works out for you! 😊

[Lm92]

It sounds like you're putting too much pressure on yourself to fall asleep. Something they recommended at my sleep study was to lay there for 20 minutes and if I didn't fall asleep, to get up and read or do a crossword, basically just a quiet activity (no phone or electronics because the blue light messes with your natural melatonin production) until you feel sleepy, then go back to bed and try again. Another tip is taking magnesium supplement with a glass of tart cherry juice in the evenings. It's tart cherry is a natural melatonin source.

[Mike7777 in reply to Lm92]

I take magnesium. Mostly during the day though. I hate reading lol as i do enough for school. I have a blue light filter on my phone thats like the only thing i can think of doing until i fall asleep. I lay there for hourss. Most of the time i listen to meditations and such but even those havent been helping as much.

[Mike7777 in reply to Lm92]

I did eat at like 9pm last night so that was probably to late. But i try not to eat late and havent been.

[Sillysausage234]

How much temazepam did they prescribe and what’s your caffeine intake like if any?

[Mike7777 in reply to Sillysausage234]

30mg. And zero caffeine intake usually. I have had stuff green tea occasionally.

[Hidden]

You don’t get low mood, daytime grogginess adding 5 mg melatonin to you regime at night? Could this be causing the effects on mood. Higher doses of melatonin does this to me, and causes me wake up as the melatonin is wearing off (which is quickly, but can stay elevated in your blood into the next day) I can only take .3 mg to 1 mg with no impairment.

Are you at least getting upwards of 5 hours sleep (called core sleep) enough to function fairly decent as long as you aren’t impaired by medications you take for sleep? Are you napping during day? Do you clock watch when your not sleeping?

Have you tried getting out of bed, dim lights, doing something mindless to take your focus off sleep? Have you tried eating a little carbohydrate to see if a little while later that helps you get sleepy again? Taking magnesium with b6 might help, this helps with natural melatonin production.

As for sleep on set issues on occasion, are you too stimulated when you get in bed, have a lot of anxiety especially sleep anxiety or both?

There’s a cause, getting down to what that is will take time, take notes about your sleep, meds and supplements, and habits each night. This might point out something. Sleep study will rule out medical causes, but it might just show you don’t sleep well with no known cause seen on the study.

I’m trying to think of other things.. I’ve been at this thing called insomnia for quite a while now.

[Mike7777]

I cant sleep usually if i dont take melatonin but sure its probably making me groggy i try to ignore it. I have jaw and head pain as well so that doesnt help. I dont nap ive tried a couple times i cant. My mind wont shut off but physically tired. I most definitely do not get upwards of 5 hours without waking up to go to the bathroom. I do take lots of natural vitamins as i am into fitness and being healthy. I guess you could say i get sleep anxiety if you consider worrying about if im going to sleep well anxiety.

[Hidden in reply to Mike7777]

5 hours total sleep time, I myself no longer get more than 2-3 hours without waking.

Sleep anxiety is tough. I've been through that. My sleep meds I took had a profound effect on my ability to trust that can sleep on my own naturally without them.

I take vitamins, but on a cautionary side as to just supplement extra what I may need to get an edge on better sleep. I'm med free, I truly forgot how to sleep on my own with out meds. I put my undivided trust in meds meds and when they stopped working or working well, this made my anxiety worse.

I hope you get this figured out, it may take time, sleep architecture can change so much, our circadian rhythms can be altered too. Best of luck.

[Pineapple1986 in reply to Hidden]

Hi there! Reading your sleep story. Did you always have sleep issues? And what causes your sleep issues? Medication, trauma, pain? Or are you chronically depressed or anxious? Are you still on meds? My sleep was always descent until I got into yet another major depressive episode. And I am on a low dose of Seroquel, which has been helpful over time. However, when I get very anxious, it does not, so I have to take melatonin or other supplements to help this. I am just hoping my sleep will eventually restore, as the main cause of the issue is that I am still depressed. But I am starting to catch myself on getting anxiety from being scared to never sleep normal again, which contributes to bedtime restlessness and overall depression. I just want to have some hope.

[Hidden in reply to Pineapple1986]

Does your lamotrigine cause insomnia? Mind racing, make your snxiety especially around sleep worse? That’s the reason for adding the Seroquel? I’d look into in these combos are best suited for both sleep, depression and controlling anxiety.

I edited out my story as I saw your other thread, my story is a mute point as I see your type of depression and your treatment is nothing similar to mine.

You might also look into CBT, CBT-I, ACT-I, or a combination of useful behavioral tools from all three might be of great benefit.

I’m sorry you are having a tough time. Finding the right prescription therapies that don’t have side effects such as insomnia will be to keep talking with your doctor. If magnesium is truly helping you sleep better, you truly have struck gold as it does not interact with your current meds, and is safe. I wish you the best.

[Whiskers16 in reply to Mike7777]

Exactly how I am, usually I can fall asleep but can’t stay asleep.

The anxiety is worse when it’s the middle of the night and can’t sleep.

I’ve been prescribed Amitriptyline which knocks me out but the anxiety is worse during the day... can’t seem to get a happy medium 😪

[Mike7777]

Yea im much like you with my sleep patterns. Well the thing is ive tried everything natural and to sleep on my own. It hasnt been working well so im not worried about med dependance if its going to improve my quality of life. My doc is good at paying attention to my meds as well.

[Hidden in reply to Mike7777]

Its wonderful you have a prescribing doctor willing to prescribe like this. My doc wasn't so forthcoming and willing to do that for me.

I wish you luck finding the right med, my insomnia is not cured, it never will be but I'm not wanting to be dependent. I should be taking meds for sleep, I just cant go down the withdrawing rabbit hole ever again. Insomnia comes back worse than it was when it started, my brain seems forever altered by chroinic med use. Best of luck getting your sleep controlled with the expertise of your doc.

[Hidden]

Mike...can I message you?

[Mike7777 in reply to Hidden]

Yes of course