Depressed, Bad Sleep, Hard to Keep Going

[glynis]

@Nanny chocolate ,
My hubby is nearly 54 and im 53 in June.
The boys are coming Monday and taking them out so Sebastian can try catch a fish in his fishing net ...lol.
Mummy is ok but has a bit of concussion after a head bang and should be fine in a day or two as gets married Friday to my son...hope the weather stays beautiful for them .
Love glynis x

 

[Nanny chocolate]

I know you have a wedding coming up, the forecast is good for this week. How exciting for everyone involved.
You are a mere babe in arms then.
The fishing sounds great fun then, enjoy.
Eve x
@glynis

 

[TracyJS]

Eve,
I'm sorry for the long wait, but I'm glad it was not anything more serious than putting the drops in incorrectly and that your eyes are ok.
I know there are problems, but yes, you are very lucky to have NHS.
You pay for it in taxes, but here you pay very high insurance premiums if you can get insurance, and then you have high deductibles and copays. It's a for profit system.
Sorry your T is objecting to the day, but I'm really glad your eyes are ok.

It's a sunny and warm day here, too.

Tracyxx

@Nanny chocolate

 

[Nanny chocolate]

Hi Tracy, getting tired and anxious now. Hope you are doing better, the gp yesterday gave me some meds for anxiety. Not sure wether to take them or not. I'm a mouth clencher, sert side effect and also anxiety. Oh dear, when will this body play nicely! It's getting late and darker now but still no rain.
Hope you are ok.
Eve x
@TracyJS

 

[Nanny chocolate]

Oops, spelling whether!
@TracyJS

 

[TracyJS]

Hi Eve,
Yes, the nights are hard. It's still the middle of the afternoon here, but night will come.

What meds for anxiety were you given? I understand your reservations. I really struggled with taking Clonazepam. Finally did because I was coming out of my skin with anxiety. Trying to taper slowly now after short term regular use.

I'm a teeth clencher, too. And some TMJ issues. My tinnitus might have multiple causes.

I will be hoping the night is a bit better for you and sleep will come.

Tracyxx
@Nanny chocolate

 

[Nanny chocolate]

She gave me propranolol, not sure about that. Isn't anxiety horrible. What a lovely mix, T depression, anxiety, jaw clenching that hurts teeth! The list goes on. Were you anxious because of T or for other reasons? Stress makes T worse but unlike having headache there's no med for it.
Eve x
@TracyJS

 

[Mystery Reader]

@Nanny chocolate
Here's hoping for a restful night for you after such a trying day. You got through it, though, and that's a big thing!

Mystery Reader

 

[Mystery Reader]

@TracyJS
I get what you're saying about the clonazepam. Mine sat on the table for a while before I finally started taking it. Thus far, it is the only thing that has helped me with sleep, and although I consider my dose pretty low (0.5 mg) I know I will likely have to do a taper in the near future. If you'd rather not answer this next that's cool, but have you started your taper, and, if so, how are you doing it? Thanks!

Mystery Reader

 

[TracyJS]

@Nanny chocolate

Yes, anxiety is horrible. I'm a lovely mix, too.
I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, but T has taken it to an unbelievable level.

I have never had relentless anxiety like this before.

I don't know propranolol. Is it a beta blocker?

I hope you are sleeping right now. Or at least having an easier night.
Tracyx

 

[TracyJS]

@TracyJS
I get what you're saying about the clonazepam. Mine sat on the table for a while before I finally started taking it. Thus far, it is the only thing that has helped me with sleep, and although I consider my dose pretty low (0.5 mg) I know I will likely have to do a taper in the near future. If you'd rather not answer this next that's cool, but have you started your taper, and, if so, how are you doing it? Thanks!

Mystery Reader

No, I don't mind answering.
I took Clonazepam either .5 or 1mg a day about 6-7 times over three weeks and then took it regularly for about a week. Then I decided to taper.

I've been tapering for about a week. I started at .75 and have tapered to about .5 I plan on tapering for another two weeks or so.

I'm probably tapering too slowly considering the relatively short time I've been using it, but haven't heard that there's anything wrong with tapering slowly. It's too rapidly that causes trouble.

How long have you been taking Clonazepam?

 

[Mystery Reader]

@TracyJS
Four months. (I took it for about a week in December, stopped, and then started it again in January because I wasn't getting any sleep at all.) Haven't increased the dosage, although there were a couple of times early on when I took an extra half-pill in the morning because of the anxiety (don't have to explain "the anxiety" to you!) , or an extra quarter-pill at night when I had gotten not-so-great sleep for a night or two before. I've only done that a few times, though --by and large I've kept the same 0.5 mg dose. I think you're right -- the slower the better when it comes time to a taper. I'm averaging 4-6 hours a night, which is better than the "zero" I was getting before that, and thus far it is the only thing that has worked for me, but I know I will eventually need to taper off and see if I can find a more natural sleep aid. I do use sound enrichment at night as well. Good luck to you as you taper off, and here's hoping for a better day for you tomorrow

Mystery Reader

 

[TracyJS]

@Mystery Reader
Yes, it's a bit daunting doing the taper. Not sure if I'm doing it right.
I can understand your reluctance to take the meds, but the anxiety and not being able to sleep is exhausting and agonizing.

Hope you have a better day tomorrow, too.

 

[Jcb]

I have high eye pressure for which I have had laser treatment. Didn't work! I use eye drops at night and the aim is to keep the pressure down so that it doesn't lead to glaucoma. I go every few months to the Hospital for scans and pressure checks. Today was 6 hours, the staff were brilliant under duress.
If I was a car I think I'd need to go to a scrap yard. Just home and my T is objecting loudly about the outing.
It's so sunny down here today, lots of people enjoying the good weather.
No major eye problem today though, we're very lucky to have our NHS.
Treatment is free Tracy although we pay our taxes to fund this.
Being hard of hearing didn't help much,
totally blanking the nurse who was calling my name!
Eve x
@TracyJS @Jcb

We are indeed lucky to have the NHS, it's far from perfect especially with all the cuts that have been going on, longer waiting lists etc.... but we are lucky to have it. That's a long wait time, I'm not surprised your T was objecting I would have been the same. As long as there wasn't any major issues with your eyes, that's the main thing. It's going to be a lovely day again, I hope you can try and do something nice today