Waking in middle of night wide awake

[jasonibs9]

My newest sleep issue is waking at 2-3am and feeling like I'd slept a full night !  I"ll get up , go to the bathroom , then lay back down and not be able to sleep for a couple hours.  Anyone else have this issue?

[LetMeBeMyself]

Yes, absolutely. (That's why I'm posting at 4 a.m.) Been struggling with this for awhile (several weeks or so). Just took .5 mg Xanax in the hopes that it can get me back to sleep for a little bit. I'm not anxious, per se, just wide awake; mind thinking about all sorts of things, can't turn it off. As a result, been averaging 5-6 hours of sleep a night, even on weekends; doesn't seem like enough. Been taking Lexapro for roughly a month, which seemed to help with depression but hasn't seemed to do enough for anxiety. At least, not yet. Took some Calms Forte just before bed at about 9:30 which felt good and help me go to sleep quickly (although I was pretty tired anyway), and I felt pretty good when I woke up. Took a couple more then but it didn't help that time. In addition, also still adjusting to CPAP machine for sleep apnea. Frustrating, body doesn't seem capable of sleeping for more than 5-6 hours a night, but it feels like I need more. And tried the Calms Forte because I try and minimize the Xanax. Gonna try and taper back caffeine intake a bit today, although I really haven't been taking in much after early afternoon anyway. Don't know how to deal with the drowsiness when it comes at work, though.

[LetMeBeMyself]

Up early again; same pattern. Went to bed early-ish because I could barely stay awake. Was asleep by 10 and woke up a little past 4, so at least I know I got 6 uninterrupted hours. Took some Calms Forte right when I got up in the hopes I could sleep a little bit more, but it didn't happen. Pinky and adjacent fingers were numb when I got up. Now feeling slight pain/sensitivity in back of neck on right side, outside of left arm and pinky finger and back of left leg. Plus general tension, jittery-ness and unease. Definitely felt effects yesterday of lack of sleep and less caffeine; we'll see how today goes. Gonna see doc about all this Friday.

[jasonibs9]

yea that's pretty much me too. Last night I went to bed at 10pm . I have to wake up for work everyday at 7am so the alarm is set.  But then what happens is around 2am or so I'll wake to go to the bathroom(like clockwork)  and go then come back to bed and be wide awake for 1-2 hrs before I'm able to fall asleep again. 

   I've tried not drinking any fluids past 7pm , tried earplugs but they just seem to cause nightmares for me.  Tried meds like trazadone but that stuff just causes other symptoms that we all know about.   Tried warm milk , just makes me get up in the middle of the night.

[Char-Danay]

You’re definitely not alone! I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this.

Here are some suggestions that may help you get a good night’s sleep!…
-Stick to a Schedule…If you do this it allows your body to get up at the time you want, every single day. Make sure you stick to this routine on the weekends too or else the next day you will wake up later and feel really tired.
-Only sleep at night…If you need a nap though don’t go over 20 minutes. You will still feel good once you wake up.
-Exercise-It actually helps you sleep better if you work out for 20-30 minutes everyday in the morning or afternoon. When its time to go to bed your body will use that time to recover those muscles and joints you exercised making it easier to fall asleep.
-Take a hot shower-It will help relax your tense muscles, which will then make it easier to fall asleep.
-Avoid eating just before bed-Before you go to bed give your body at least 2 hours from when you eat to when you are about to go to sleep. That way your body can digest your food and let you rest instead of digesting.
-Don’t drink caffeine-That will just keep you awake.
-Read a book-You may find yourself getting tired.
-Keep the room cool-That way you won’t get too hot or too cold and have to wake up in the middle of the night to adjust the temperature.
-Listen to soft calming music-That way you can just go to wherever that calming music takes you.
-Don’t drink alcohol before bed-It will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night making it harder to go back to bed.

If you find none of these techniques help you out I would suggest you talk to your doctor!

[tigerpaw]

Personally I had to resort to a sleep med.............

[LetMeBeMyself]

Thanks for all the great advice, Char-Danay. But like tigerpaw, I've begun with a sleep med. My doc prescribed Ambien, which I tried for the first time last night. That plus Klonopin (and Lexapro) got me from 10:30 to 5, which IS an improvement, but honestly I was hoping for still more. It's 8:45 now, and my wife is still sleeping peacefully; that used to be me. Sucks. Have some Lunesta samples doc gave me from before; gonna try one of those tonight. It's all so "trial and error;" mostly "error."

Don't get me wrong, my original depression and anxiety have improved dramatically. Just can't seem to kick this early morning insomnia problem. Can't help but wonder if the Lexapro may still be part of the problem. Doctor keeps reassuring me that sleeping problems will improve once Lexapro has fully "kicked in." (Been taking it at varying doses for almost two months now.)

Frustration of the whole thing tempts me to just start tapering off of everything. I might have been depressed and anxious before, but I was coping with it and at least I could sleep 7-8 hours at a time. Irony is, better sleep from the CPAP treatment was supposed to help with depression and anxiety, but the medicinal treatments for depression and anxiety seem to be interfering with my sleep. Thus, seems like I'm not getting anywhere. Or, perhaps I just lack patience. But how long is it going to take to get at least somewhat back to "normal?"

[tigerpaw]

I take seroquel at night and I sleep like a log....................and I was a horrible insomniac!!!!

Ask your Dr and see what he thinks.

[LetMeBeMyself]

Thanks, Tigerpaw. I'll ask about Seroquel. Sleeping like a log sounds great!

Changed up my routine a bit lately. Taking a break from CPAP because it only seemed to be interfering with sleep. Was only getting 3-5 hours a night using that thing. Without it, I've been getting 7-ish. Maybe I should only try and tackle one problem at a time (anxiety/sleeplessness THEN apnea).

Taking 2mg Klonopin at night; sometimes wake up early with tight, bad pain in the middle of my neck; just at the base of my head, plus a slight sort-of cross-eyed feeling. The pain also seems to radiate down into my left bicep and left thigh. Massaging neck seems to help and taking Advil. Took some Aleve at bedtime last night, and didn't wake up with neck pain. It's a little tender to the touch, and left arm and leg hurts a bit. Don't know if it's anxiety-related or something else. Gonna see doctor on 25th; we'll discuss then.

Plus, of course, slight jitteriness off and on throughout the day. Still working towards that elusive "normal." Or, at least, "stable."

[tigerpaw]

I still find myself waking up to a lot of neck and shoulder pain etc. I guess during the night I must be sleeping in bad positions, however, at least I sleep!!!

The muscle pains your experiencing could be just that.