I'm new

[BeesRCool]

Howdy. Well, here I am. Never done anything like this before but I'm losing it here.

I have had insomnia since I was 12. I'm now 47.

My hit list:

Severe C-PTSD. Onset 12 years old.

Chronic insomnia. A long-term pattern of difficulty sleeping.

Co-morbid insomnia. Insomnia that occurs with another condition. I have severe complex PTSD. I also has left side brain damage from repeated hits to the head over many years. I also have Dystonia, which is a neuro thing. Anyway... boring...

Onset insomnia. Difficulty falling asleep.

Maintenance insomnia. The inability to stay asleep.

And it's not any better no matter what drugs they throw at it. Newest one will get me there but I don't stay asleep. Nothing has ever gotten me to stay asleep.

My Dad, my Hero in every sense of the word, passed away Nov. 29, 2019 It was horrible watching him die. Hospice is nightmare fuel. And the nightmare hasn't ended because my blood relatives are heinous.

My sister dropped dead in her bathroom Dec. 31, 2019 and we still do not know why.

Since those events my life hasn't been the same. I haven't been the same. I was getting 3 or 4 hours a night.

Now with the world in crisis, my kids living in an area with active cases, my wife and I in an area with active cases, all of us immune compromised... no food. No meds. No anything...

I'm down to maybe, if I'm really lucky, 2 hours a night. Maybe...at best.

Sooo... how are y'all?

[jsamess]

I have not had insomnia anywhere as long as you and nowhere as bad but I am sure you will be able to get lots of help and support from this group . Good luck

[Hidden]

I’ve had insomnia almost my entire adult life. Like you meds will get me there but won’t keep me asleep. I feel I’m one sleepless night away from a heart attack.

My insomnia the past 3 weeks has been worse than it ever has, I keep dwindling down each week the number of hours I can sleep. Currently between 2.5 and 3 hours. My husband is angry at me all the time and says I’ve created this myself, so he’s not supportive or helpful in any way. Finding it hard to sleep in my house any more with his attitude,

Anyways, I’m so very sorry for your losses, I can imagine how broken hearted you are and this time in our world isn’t comforting and only adding to our complicated sleep problems. You are not alone, truly wishing you best. 🌺

[jsamess in reply to Hidden]

I feel very sad for you. Your husband doesn't have to understand this but if he has love in his heart he needs to reach out and support you. Good luck, james

[BeesRCool in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much.

I had to kick my fiance out of our room. Actually, I had to break off our engagement. I've finally accepted that he's abusive and will never think my PTSD or it's symptoms are anything but "stupid". He's literally said that to me "Your 'PTSD' is stupid!". More than once. He's never, in 8 years, taken the time to learn anything about my condition. Actually, any of my conditions. I have a TBI from many years of violence and thing calls Dystonia. I've very recently accepted that he will never be supportive or nurturing or anything other than awful and negative and mean. He, too, has told me I'm "constantly angry". No, I'm not. I'm sorry you are experiencing ugliness from your partner too. That's just horrible.

[gaqke10]

I had insomnia for 25 years and finally found the reason. Long story short, it was weak adrenal glands. As soon as I started taking hydrocortisone I started sleeping again, not perfectly but adequately. This was several years before PMR. Suggest searching on

internet for PTSD & cortisol, PTSD & hippocampus, phosphadidylserine & hippocampus, how do cortisol levels affect sleep.

[amelirom in reply to gaqke10]

Hi , mind if I ask you what hydrocortisone you took , cream?

I have insomnia bad for the last 10 months I can’t fall asleep or stay asleep also have tinnitus and I got worse at that time now is almost unbearable and I’m trying to find a way to sleep. I tried lots of prescription medication and I made my tinnitus worse and my head start ringing too , my GP doesn’t help and I’m so desperate and depressed.

I always had insomnia and I just called bad sleep but this time is so bad can’t get only few hours of broken sleep and I was hoping to be able to hide from my crazy ringing by sleeping.

Also no one in my family is very supportive or understanding of both of my conditions.

[gaqke10 in reply to amelirom]

See reply below, sorry I didn't direct my answer to you correctly.

[gaqke10 in reply to amelirom]

I replied in the main queue by mistake.

[gaqke10 in reply to amelirom]

This may not help if you have ringing in the ears instead of PTSD! On the other hand,

anyone with long-term insomnia should consider this.

[gaqke10]

It wasn't easy to figure out that insufficient cortisol was causing my insomnia. Most doctors would dismiss this theory. But finally I had an adrenal crash five years ago, after a knee replacement operation. I could barely do anything. Taking a shower was a good day. A friend of mine, also with PTSD, had been on partial cortisol replacement for awhile, and she suggested I see her functional medicine doctor. She tested my cortisol levels (a saliva test) at 8 am, 12 noon, 8 pm, and 12 midnight. My cortisol level never got high enough in the morning, and it never got steadily low at night. It would go too low, bounce up, go too low again, bounce up. Each bounce up was caused by a small surge of adrenaline that kept me awake. For cortisol support, I take 10 mg with breakfast, 5 mg at lunch, and 2.5 mg at dinner. Then I began to sleep at last, at least 6 hours and very occasionally as much as 8! This I have continued in the background while taking prednisone for PMR. One milligram prednisone is equal to 4 mghydrocortisone. (The hydrocortisone in creams is a very small amount and could not be used for this.) Thus it is necessary to find a functional medicine doctor, or naturopath, or the extremely rare endocrinologist who would do this.

For further information you can read around on the website drlamcoaching.com

which describes the condition of adrenal fatigue quite thoroughly and gives many ways to help yourself. Ultimately, however, you will probably have to find a doctor who treats this.

The main reasons this condition occurs is genetic or too much stress, as in PTSD. It's not the same as Addison's Disease, which is an autoimmune disease with adrenal antibodies.

Two other prescription medicines have helped as well. One is the antidepressant Effexor

and the other is Trazedone, which was developed as an antidepressant but didn't work well

for that because it made people too sleepy. I take that at bedtime. It helps me fall asleep.

You are not crazy and there is a way out of this. It may not be my way, but I wanted to share

this in case it is. Adrenal insufficiency is totally overlooked by doctors in general.

P.S. If you are young, you may have adrenal excess until your adrenal glands wear out more.

That will also keep you awake. A knowledgeable physician is necessary.

[amelirom in reply to gaqke10]

Thank you so much for your reply