anyone else having sleep problems ?

[The Hawk]

its so frustrating when you cant sleep because of anxiety problems, do different sleep med work for some and not others ?
doc gave some sleep med to try this week it did nothing for me, i  have to go back today and see if the doc can try something else i need some sleep!!! sorry for the rant, also started paxil 10 days ago does paxil cause sleep problems in the beginning ?
or is this lack of sleep caused by the anxiety condition    thanks for posting Hawk

[Meatball Jones]

I have sleep problems.. i have some good weeks and some bad weeks. I thought mine was because of the allergy medicine i took, but I'm still getting it without the meds.. so who knows.. I'm a bit scared to go on something for sleep because i worry that I'll HAVE to have it, mentally... and then i won't be able to sleep once i stop taking it... I think anxiety is the main reason for sleep problems! during the day i can talk myself out of panic/anxiety.. but once i lay down to sleep or drift off, my subconscious takes over and then crazy thoughts start in and wake my straight up from sleep with a racing heart. UGH! My husband takes Paxil, and he did have a few sleep issues, but he falls asleep like a log now! How long have you been on it? Maybe it takes awhile?

[dizziegirl3]

I haven't had a good nights sleep in 4 years. The only time I have a good nights sleep is if I go out drinking that night and have a "drunken sleep 'but then I feel like crap in the morning so I guess it cancels itself out! For some reason whenever I try to just relax I get more anxiety probably because all I do is think while I try to sleep! Well I hope you feel better and find someway to get a good nights sleep. Let me know if anything works!

[Bigmack]

Yes.   I have had problems going into deep stages of sleep.  It appears to be part of my fibromyalgia.  Anxiety and fibro feed on one another.  I take 20 mg of Elavil (very small dose) along with .5 mg Xanax and now sleep fairly well for eight hours.  No hang over.  Vivid dreams.  Dependent on meds but have been on them for several years. Not afraid of them. They work.

[ocdengineer]

Anyone try Melatonin.  It worked really well for me.  I also drank Kava or Valerian tea before bed and I was out like a light.  I used to have some pretty bad insomnia as well.

Later,
OE

[cognitivejunky]

I take melatonin and drink Extra Strength Sleepy Time Tea. That is if i feel anxious before hand. After about an hour I can then usually crash. I had sleep problems on paxil. It gave me the sleep sweats and couldn't stay asleep for more than 45 mins.

CJ

[Annie T]

Hmmm.  Sleep problems?  You bet.    It's my main symptom.

I quit smoking about 8 months ago and have had trouble sleeping ever since.  Between 2:00 or 2:30  is when I start most of my worrying.  I tend to lie there awake in a tense, anxious state for 2-3 hours until just before the alarm goes off.  I've tried Kava Kava, valerian (pills and tea), meditation, Celestial Seasons Sleepy Time Extra tea, exercise, 'breathing into the anxiety,' relaxing my tongue to stop the mental dialogue, and last night at 2:30, an Excedrin PM, which worked surprisingly well.  They all seem to work to different degrees at different times.

My doctor gave me Lexapro last week, but it seems to make things worse, so after 3 days I stopped taking it.

I don't know if it will be like this for the rest of my life, but I am very happy to discover this forum.  I feel better already, just reading over everybody else's struggles.  It's almost like group therapy.

[dan_m]

I've got GAD and definitely have problems sleeping.  Most of the time I simply wake up at 2-3am and then have a disturbed sleep until 7 when I wake up.  On bad nights however I wake at around 1-2am and either can't get back to sleep or sleep for 10-15mins before waking up again.  I take melatonin before bed but I'm unsure if it really works  - I also wear earplugs to block out traffic noise etc. 

[ocdengineer]

I know nothing about the medication on TV, but there is one that has been proven to not create dependency.  I can't remember the name of the drug, but it is the commercial with the beaver, the deep sea diver and abe lincoln?  That may be a promising new drug, but then again, who knows.  You may want to speak with your doctor about potential sleep aides.  I take Xanax for my anxiety and due to taking Xanax I get great nights of sleep for the most part.  At times I will have a rash of vivid dreams some of which scare the living #$%^ out of me, but that is life I guess.  I haven't mastered dream control yet and maybe never will.

Anyway, if you want to avoid pharmaceuticals then consider Valerian capsules, Chamomile tea, and Melatonin.  If that doesn't knock you out cold for 8 hours then you probably should see a doctor.

Good luck,
OE

[bcrazy]

I took paxil and ativan together and couldn't keep my eyes open 30 minutes after I swallowed them!

[Anonymous8]

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to prescribe me xanax. How well does it work and do the symptoms outweight the good. I don't really like drugs or sleeping pills that make you groggy and being a student I don't want anything that might lead to memory loss. Don't know much about it so some input from someone whose used it would be helpful.

[NightOwl]

Mine varies.  Lately I have been sleeping VERY well for a certain number of hours and no matter what time I am planning to get up, which varies, I keep getting all panicky and upset and toss and turn once it is 1 or 2 hours earlier.  I think I am getting upset looking forward to the next day.

Some nights I toss and turn constantly.

Sometimes I even wake up ever couple minutes.  I remember especially doing that when on ssris, and now I am trying lexapro, so I am worried.

[anoldsapper]

I have found a few things that help with my insomnia. None work all of the time, and each works in varying degrees and in concert with the others, but try any you like and see if they work for you.

1. Progressive muscle relaxation: I tighten, almost to the point of pain, each muscle group and hold it for as long as I can, then relaxing them slowly and keeping them relaxed. Start by curling toes, hold, relax, move to the calves, tighten, hold, relax, up to the thighs, etc. I'm sure there are web pages that will teach you this in depth.

2. White noise: I have a thunderstorm CD that helps. Thing is, I have to actively listen to the CD and not let my mind take another direction. WHen that happens:

3. Stop thought. A familiar, comforting phrase that you truly believe, i.e. "Elvis Loves Me". Use that to put the brakes on the obsessive worry and migrate your thoughts to something else.

4. Imagine something more pleasant than the worry. The worrying that keeps us up is part of an active imagination. Try changing the storyline to something peaceful. When you find you've hit the worry path again, stop-thought and go back to your mental happy world.

These things help me when I use them together. I hope that any of them help.

[anoldsapper]

Oh, one more thing, Two alarm clocks, preferably one that's battery powered. Keeps me from worrying that the alarm isn't going to go off.

[ocdengineer]

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to prescribe me xanax. How well does it work and do the symptoms outweight the good. I don't really like drugs or sleeping pills that make you groggy and being a student I don't want anything that might lead to memory loss. Don't know much about it so some input from someone whose used it would be helpful.

I take Xanax for anxiety and it does work really well, however, it isn't a miracle drug and you still need to do work on yourself while taking the medication.  It works by filling the GABA receptors in your brain which slows down your central nervous system.  It is one of a long list of drugs that all started out with the advent of Librium in the 50's.  The drug class is benzodiazepenes and they all work in roughly the same manner.  The only difference is the amount of time it takes to start working and the amount of time the drug works.  For instance Xanax is a quick acting but short duration benzo and Klonopin takes longer to work and lasts much longer once it does. 

Things to remember when taking Xanax.  First of all Xanax can cause dependency as will many other psychotropic medications, however, rapid withdrawl from any benzo, meaning quitting ocld turkey can be especially dangerous.  There have been known cases of seizure and a couple cases of death, but mostly to people who use these drugs recreationally.  So, if you decide to start then understand that you will need to take your time weaning off at some point if you decide to stop taking them.

The reason Xanax is dependency forming is simple.  It replaces GABA in the brain causing your brain to produce less GABA.  Once you stop it takes time for your brain to ramp back up to its original level of GABA and that has to happen slowly.

You may also experience a need to take more in the first months of treatment for the following two reasons:

  1.  Your liver creates enzymes that will break down the drug before it gets into yoru blood stream making later doses seem ineffective
  2.  Also your brain sees that there is an abundance of GABA so it stops or slows down production of GABA

Both in turn create a need for more of the drug until a plateau is reached.  This plateau is different for everyone.  I am OK on 2 mg, but sometimes take an extra .5 mg on rough days.  Others take 3-4 mg before they reach saturation.  If you are expecting Xanax to work at .5 mg for a long period of time, you are mistaken, it just plain won't and the you will also have to slowly withdraw from the .5 that you were taking.

Many people will say Xanax is addictive.  It is NOT.  Addiction implies that a person needs to take more and more of a drug to get the same desired effect, Xanax doesn't as previously discussed.  Addiction also means that a person will take the drug even if they know it is causing harm to their life physically or mentally, Xanax doesn't create that reaction.  Most people don't overdose on Xanax and in fact underdose due to anxiety and fear of the drug.

Xanax has been around for decades and a lot is known about how it works in the body and it has a long track record as the #1 drug for anxiety disorder and is still prescribed millions of times a year.  It is very safe if taken properly and works within 15 minutes to reduce anxiety and panic.  Many people I have met have taken Xanax for 10-20 years still think it is the best drug they have taken. 

If you go over 4 mg per day then you may want to consider another drug.  Xanax can cause more dependency at that level and 4 mg is rarely needed to stop anxiety disorder and panic dissorder although the manufacturer says it is tested and safe to 10 mg.  I wouldn't go over 4 if at all possible.

While taking Xanax I have also changed my entire lifestyle by:

Eating well
Quitting my vices such as alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine
No recreational drugs and avoid supplements without consulting your doctor
Practice meditation and mindfulness and/or CBT to help you deal with the thought portion of anxiety disorder
Learn to deal with stress in a more productive manner

Again, I fully advocate the drug and it absolutely works, but you have to be aware of how it works before you decide to take it as a long term solution.  If you think that it will be a short term solution, you may want to consider another drug.

Check out this web site for more info:

http://www.lexington-on-line.com/naf_xanax.html

Good luck,
OE

[peanut]

My problem is getting to sleep.  I take Nytol.....It works really well for me, and you can buy it at any drug store.

[jenny649]

Yeah, it's 3am and I can't sleep. I usually can though, I think I'm just extra depressed today and can't stop thinking.

[retrogurl88]

Insomnia, and other sleep problems go hand in hand with an anxiety disorder.  I used to lie awake for hours thinking and worrying.  Then when I was done I was so worked up that I had to count the spots on the popcorn ceiling to fall asleep.  This all changed when I started taking Paxil.  For some reason my circadium rhythm is back on track and I generally sleep great.  So luckily I didn't need sleeping pills.  Interestingly enough I read somewhere that serotonin imbalance affects sleep.  They touch upon it in this article:

http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb/165_001/papers/manuscripts/_179.html

So if you find some meds that affectively target your serotonin, then you might not need sleep meds 

[ConstantWorrier]

I used to have a huge problem going to sleep, the staying asleep part was so easy, but then I would wake up early in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep for a long time.
The easiest thing for me is just not to get frustrated but to do something else for a while. Get up and move around a bit, watch some TV, or read. That will make you realize that you are really tired and you will fall asleep faster that way. Also, get a head start for bed, and then you will have plenty of time to do those things in between time. =]

-CW

[itsmeesindee]

I began having sleep problems after starting SSRI's many years ago.  Know I cannot sleep even when I go off the them.  I have tried several sleeping pills (Roserem, Lunesta, etc) but the only one that works for me is Ambien.  I had not sleep well for years until I started taking the Ambien and know I sleep well.  For a while I was worried about taking it every night because of dependence but I came to the realization that I can either take it or not sleep, so I don't really care about the dependency because I have tried for a long time to sleep and could not so I know it is not because I am taking a sleep aid.  I hope that babble makes sense to someone lol.

Cin

[apple]

perfect sence to me.  I also worried about this dependance thing and have drawn the conclution that if I NEED to be on a med for ever...what does it matter if I become dependant?  As long as it doesnt lose the effect.

[itsmeesindee]

Thanks right, God forbid it loses effect!!!     lol

Cin

[King]

I sleep alrght at night now (no drugs) but my anxiety symptoms during the day still go on unabated....

Would almost wish it to be the other way.

It think anxiety is my life-long friend now.

I can just picture a bizarre wedding....  "King and Anxiety, I now pronounce you man & illness". For better or worse.

I want a divorce!

King

[itsmeesindee]

LOL too funny King.  Should we get you some St. Johns Wort as a wedding present.

[King]

That would be lovely but I'm not sure the "wife" would approve.