Insomnia

[Jessicawarriner]

How do u get rid off it I am on ads and I am getting insomnia bad how do I battle it please help

[Hidden]

Insomnia caused by your antidepressant should start leveling off soon. It takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks for full therapeutic benefit to be noticed and side effects you may get from your meds to start improving.

After this period of time, you can go back to your doctor and discuss if your antidepressant is the right one, may need a dose change or alter the timing you take them, etc.

In the mean time, eat healthy, if you can exercise, stick to a regular sleeping routine. Same night time routine, same sleep schedule, if your waking in the night, get up and leave your bed (read, or do something in very dim lighting) and return to bed when sleepy again. Try not to start bad night time habits, these are hard to correct later on.

[Hidden]

Some times Jessica, if you drink before bedtime and are taking AD Medications that can cause problems with sleep, they can keep you awake. Also if you are eating supper to close to bedtime that can also cause problems with your sleep. Sometimes if you are chewing over the day that can be just as bad so I find I try not to dwell on any negative thoughts I may have. It is important you can relax one hour before sleep there fore try Mindfulness Relaxation Technique before bed, sometimes continue the Technique while trying too sleep.

If you are busy studying or watching television consider winding down before bed and keep the programs you are watching to be simple and not complex, like thrillers or murders etc.

Keep your brain clear and relax. If you are married and you are not seeing eye to eye never go to bed on an argument you will just be chewing over and possibly still discussing and chewing over your problems with pillow talk

It is important you relax and let yourself calm down before bed.

The AD MEDICATION will only cause problems for a short period of time, generally they actually can help with sleep

BOB

[Hidden]

It all depends on how long you have been on your Anti-depressants, allow five weeks to get used to taking them.

Try and relax before sleep, Mindfulness Relaxation Technique can help. You can get books regarding this on Amazon. It is also important you relax before sleep do not chew over your day

BOB

[Jessicawarriner]

I have only been on them for 7 days the anxiety had gone vanished but the only thing left is the sleep and I want the sleep to improve and if that dose then this is perfect for me I had this problem on all the antidepressants I have been been on the lack of sleep I really wish it did the opposite but it’s not and I am feeling a bit cross as I want to get a good night sleep I do take a sleeping pill at night to help and it dose but it isn’t leaving me feeling that good so it’s either a lack of sleep or medication to sleep and feeling a bit rough either way I never feel refreshed it’s so bloody hard I just want to feel refreshed and nice I have a review with the gp this week a lot of people are on meptazapin If that’s how u spell it in the evening to help them sleep and have it along side there other antidepressants as long as the other antidepressants is at a low dose I may ask about this as that helps u sleep at a low dose so I don’t no I may just have to give it more time and try and do some relaxing things in the mean time I have been having baths in the evening with salts ( night time relax ones ) a hot milky drink I have also had a flavoured tea as well that says night time on it I also have lavender spray been eating 2 hours or more before bed I have been winding down with a book an hour before bed I have put my phone away from me for an hour before bed I have been going to bed the same time every day I have been getting up the same time every day I have been working and doing my some exercise I have cut out caffeine and having decaf but limited and then fruit tea I have been eating a health meal selection and even had turkey as someone said that has natural melatonin in it to help u sleep I don’t really no what else I can do to help promote it I never sit down and feel oh gosh I feel tired and could nod off that never happends it’s more like wide awake and it’s a bloody pain I wouldn’t care if this medication wasn’t working and it gave me this effect but it is it’s horrible my other half is a bad sleeper but he is now sleeping better than me it’s horrible I have always been a person who if I put my head on the pillow I would be a sleep in seconds and could sometimes fall asleep in my living room infrount of the tv in the week it’s now the opposite and it’s a nightmare my mother in law always tells me well when u have children u will feel what tired is but I still want to sleep now what would u recommend anything else for me to try I mean I have cbt therapy and they are taking me through things also my cbt says to do something called body clock change and that where u have a night where u don’t sleep and then I sleep the next night from 2am -6am and then the following 1.30 -6am and keep brining it back half hour each day to make sure then u eventually u get it to 10pm where u want to to be but I don’t no if I can do that while working and is it going to work I don’t no it’s one of those things in life I have to think about I will talk to my gp as they could come up with something I do stress a lot about not sleeping and I think that dose keep me awake really hope one day it will be fixed by its self I have been suffering anxiety for months and it was driving me mad I was always a happy girl and had so much life in me and still do I just hope that one day I will be me again at the moment I am a shadow of myself I am there and getting there but want to be more than what I am my auntie is on antidepressants and I had a chat with her and she said it takes time before they work so to hang in there I am going to hang in there but I don’t no what else to do if not it’s just a long road I don’t feel I want to be taken off the antidepressants but I can’t have no sleep and always been on sleeping meds surly ?

[rusticbohemian]

I always used to get insomnia on antidepressants, never had any problem sleeping before taking them. I've tried lots of different ones and they all gave me insomnia.

Was sleep deprived for about 15 years because of it.

It's horrible I know.

I used to try the sleeping every other night thing, but that never worked.

I tried everything.

I did start taking melatonin ordered from USA, although some companies won't send it as banned in EU. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn't.

I'm off the meds now, so I'm sleeping again but the depression I'm dipping in and out of isn't fun either. Not everyone gets insomnia with antidepressants, but it is a common side effect for some people.

I gave up changing brands because although some seemed to work better than others, in my case I wasn't sure whether they were even appropriate for me to take (initially taken for anxiety) as I suspect my depression may be bipolar (type 2) rather than unipolar depression. There was absolutely no psychological reason for me to be depressed.

Everyone gets different side effects and some don't get any. But people forget that there are many different causes and unfortunately GPs tend to approach all depression/anxiety as being psychological or unipolar depression.

I was ticking along nicely for about 2 years and then crashed terribly, each year getting worse, so my coming off them was a necessity. If they had worked longterm I would still be on them.

Still seeking a diagnosis and a cure, but I've ordered SAMe online and will take 5HTP before bed. You can't really do this while on meds. because of serotonin syndrome risks (although it felt like I had zero serotonin anyway).

Sounds like you are doing everything right that you can.

I know others who had the same problem.

Going the natural route now.