6 months of no sleep

[mikewashere]

for 6 months I've been suffering from severe insomnia and sleep deprivation and I'm losing hope. I have a sleep study coming up but idk how much that will do for my situation. Ive tried med and they fail to work and i don't want to be dependent. Is there anything sleep clinic like, or like sleep rehab where they can teach you how to sleep again. I've tried everything.-thanks

[mikewashere]

im 24 and i want my life back

[Braecoon]

Can you give a bit more detail about your sleep pattern. Do you have a set time for going to bed and getting up? Do you fall asleep quickly? If you wake up during the night, how often do you wake and how long does it take to get back to sleep? Are there any factors that trigger you waking up (dreaming, nightmares, worrying, anxiety, too hot or too cold, etc.)? Do you drink a lot of coffee, caffeinated drinks? Do you drink alcohol or use prescribed or illicit drugs? Do you have a TV, electronic gadgets in your bedroom, etc.?

The sleep clinic will probably ask all of the above questions and more to assess your sleep. You could start to keep a sleep diary. With your perception of your sleep pattern and the actual sleep study in the clinic this will give them valuable information to assess your situation. They should then be able to look at treatment options, medical or psychological. Psychological treatments, may involve for example, CBT sleep hygiene and interventions, mindfulness training, etc. There is also a well known drug (only available on prescription via Your GP) that is used for PTSD nightmares with good effect.

Alcohol, contrary to popular belief that it aids sleep, actually disrupts the stages of sleep especially the all important Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and deeper sleep stage. I am not being presumptive that you use/misuse alcohol, but a lot of people do self medicate to deal with their psychological pain or issues because they need some relief (it makes sense) but it does affect your sleep cycle in a major way and sleep hygiene and interventions maybe needed to re-educate the brain, as well as a period of abstinence. If you drink more than 35 units of alcohol per week, please seek help to cut down your drinking - do not go cold turkey (alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous).

You say you have tried everything, what exactly have you tried?

[mikewashere in reply to Braecoon]

I go to bed at 10 overnight and don't fall asleep. I use ear plugs because noise is a factor, but when i say i don't sleep, i truly mean i lie i awake for hours on end and only shallowly sleep like cat napping. i was put on seroquel for awhile. i do not like seroquel it is more of a chemical comatose, and only found myself sleeping on for a week and then it entirely stopped working. I don't drink caffeine, don't drink alcohol. I would say my mind doesn't relax or fall into deep sleep like it used to. i don't know if thats anxiety, or hyper vigilance or what. But i know with the lack of sleep i grow more and more depressed.

[Nathalie99 Partner in reply to mikewashere]

Don't use seroquel.

In small dosage it is used to help to fall asleep but studies show that it may cause damage to a healthy brain, causing severe mental illness. I made a thorough research on that 3 years ago.

Also, it doubles your body weight.

The causes of lack of sleep might be indeed hypervigilance and anxiety. Hypervigilance - the smallest sound causes to wake up, shallow sleep. Not able to stop thoughts, relax.

Indeed meditation might help.

I do not know much about it, that's only my experience.

[AnyaC]

The CPAP has a very low, gentle hum that will help lull you to sleep, and if indeed you do have sleep apnea as I do, not waking up frequently because you can't breathe (it's all unconscious while you're sleeping) will make you feel much better. I was amazed how good it felt to actually be rested when I wake up!

For me, my sleep apnea was causing me to snore 7000 times in 9 hours, and I stopped breathing 30 times an hour. And, my oxygen level was extremely low, never topping 75%. With those kinds of numbers, I basically wasn't sleeping at all, ever! Yes, there is life available, but those masks look like something from outer space.

[crazytater in reply to AnyaC]

Funny my husband sleeps better, now that he has a C pap, but I had to start wearing earplugs! and I can only wear one at a time because they hurt my ears, so when I roll over to one side or the other I have to change my ear plug. That's how well I sleep. If I had an extra room, I would be in it. I tell him it's nothing personal.

[AnyaC in reply to crazytater]

Oh, wow! Maybe it's an older cpap, or something is wrong with it? Or the mask isn't adjusted correctly? There can be some very strange sounds coming from the sides of the mask if it's not seated correctly on the face... kinda like a series of "raspberries"... it would be very hard to sleep through, huh? I can only imagine... hope you get it figured out so you both sleep better. My husband says he hasn't had such good sleep since I got my cpap. He loves it!

[Hidden]

I sleep way too much. Maybe we can trade. I wish you luck. I did a sleep study about 4 years ago. I was hooked up with a bunch of wires on my head and chest. For me it was not uncomfortable or disturbing. I fell asleep and the next I knew they woke me up telling me that the study was over. They did not find anything wrong with my sleep. I wish you luck.