Will I Ever Be Able to Sleep Again?

[MaxK]

Sorry for starting another thread but this one is more specific about my sleeping problems.

So I'm wide awake now at 4:30 am and I have to get up for work in 100 mins. It was roughly the same story as all nights since Monday. Went to bed around 00:00, woke up at 2:30 am. I tried everything, drank camomile tea before going to sleep, went up and started cleaning my apartment after I couldn't fall asleep again, went back to bed. I also put on a soundfile with soothing music but just like the other nights it mostly just makes me fall asleep for perhaps 5-10 minutes and then awakening.

I'm at total loss of what to do and it's killing me. I know that I absolutely need to sleep, not only because it's the only way to reduce my anxiety and start the long path to feeling better, but also because of work.
I am very sceptical to drugs. I know what the side effects are of benzos etc and I absolutely don't want to end up as an addict, but with no sleep what choice do I have? I went to the gym yesterday and exercised, and has stayed away from naps, coffeine etc.

The thing is, I don't really have a hard time falling asleep at night, even without any maskers. It's waking up and failing to fall asleep again that's the problem.

Is this how I'm now gonna live my life?

 

[glynis]

Hi Maxk,
Ask your doctor about Melatonin to help you sleep and try lavender on your pillow .
Sleeping tablets can help or a low dose antidepresant can help sleep more long-term.
Love glynis

 

[E With T]

@MaxK I feel your pain. Sleep is my #1 struggle. Do you take any sleeping meds? Melatonin, Ambien or even an light anxiety med? I take all of the above and only get maybe 3 hours of sleep a night. I also hit the gym hard everyday to tire my body out. I dont want to be an benzo addict also but im peronally going to ask for some my next appointment. It's a struggle I think most of us suffering go through. Do you have severe tinnitus (high pitched throughout the day)? I hope you find something that works. There are a lot of people in here that talk about habbituation but I'm only 3 months into this journey and still nothing. I personally use rain and cricket sounds with a hearing pad to help me fall asleep but cannot sustain a full night (lucky if I get 3 hours of light sleep). All in all Tinnitus sucks and everybody copes differently. Best of luck to you.

 

[RonnieCarzatto]

If it's any consolation I was exactly where you were at my T onset back in February. Basically I could easily fall asleep but bam, 1 to 3 hours later, wide awake, and unable to sleep. I was a wreck! Went on for months. It's been about 5 months for me now, and eventually, my body has adjusted, and I can sleep throughout the night, sometimes without maskers. I have a few interrupted nights here and there (had one last night actually) but they are so few and far between that it has barely become an issue. My T is definitely there, I wish it wasn't... but what can you do. I've seen countless doctors, quacks, healers, osteopaths, chiros, etc.. I refuse to take benzos or pills too, nothing good comes from that stuff. Melatonin I tried but it did nothing for me. I do rub some CBD marijuana oil on my wrists, shoulder lines, and forehead sometimes when I know I need a good 12 hours of sleep, but that's pretty much it.

All I can say, and I know this isn't the world's greatest solution, but definitely hang in there, try to stay positive and believe you will get the sleep eventually. It's a storm you have to ride out for now.

 

[Zeneth]

take melatonin, after awhile it'll fade away and you'll sleep

 

[TuneOut]

Sorry for starting another thread but this one is more specific about my sleeping problems.

So I'm wide awake now at 4:30 am and I have to get up for work in 100 mins. It was roughly the same story as all nights since Monday. Went to bed around 00:00, woke up at 2:30 am. I tried everything, drank camomile tea before going to sleep, went up and started cleaning my apartment after I couldn't fall asleep again, went back to bed. I also put on a soundfile with soothing music but just like the other nights it mostly just makes me fall asleep for perhaps 5-10 minutes and then awakening.

I'm at total loss of what to do and it's killing me. I know that I absolutely need to sleep, not only because it's the only way to reduce my anxiety and start the long path to feeling better, but also because of work.
I am very sceptical to drugs. I know what the side effects are of benzos etc and I absolutely don't want to end up as an addict, but with no sleep what choice do I have? I went to the gym yesterday and exercised, and has stayed away from naps, coffeine etc.

The thing is, I don't really have a hard time falling asleep at night, even without any maskers. It's waking up and failing to fall asleep again that's the problem.

Is this how I'm now gonna live my life?

Max, I agree with you on the risk of benzos for sleep or regular use. You might consider trying Lunesta or Ambien. Benadryl is also good for sleep. I use it off and on. Remeron is also frequently mentioned as a sleep aid for tinnitus sufferers. It can increase your hunger, though. As far as nutrients go, L-tryptophan taken before bed on an empty stomach can help with sleep. These can all be taken as needed.

 

[Scared111]

how about just trying the over counter stuff? benedryl? unisom? maybe it ll help. it does help me but you gotta kind of switch back and forth so ur body doesn't get used to it. take days off here and there . it seems to work better on empty stomach as well.

 

[Bill Bauer]

When I was in that acute stage, I took amitriptyline (10 mg) (later I switched to 0.75 of a pill) as a sleeping aid. It is non-addictive, and one doesn't feel drowsy in the morning.

 

[Jake007]

It's waking up and failing to fall asleep again that's the problem.

I have this same problem, been going on for quite a while. I'll get 5 hours in then wake up at 3 to 330 Every time.

 

[Casper]

The thing is, I don't really have a hard time falling asleep at night, even without any maskers. It's waking up and failing to fall asleep again that's the problem.

Hey @MaxK, I initially struggled with this too. Every night I would fall asleep easily, then wake up an hour later, and repeat the process. Your case sounds more severe than mine, so perhaps my solution isn't enough, but I found that once I started taking magnesium glycinate a few hours before bed, and B-complex multivitamins an hour before bed, I was able to sleep through (most) of the night. These are both "natural", so I don't really worry about taking them long-term. My dreams also became very vivid, so I suspect that my sleep is now deeper than before. I hope you're able to get some sleep soon, because a lack of sleep certainly doesn't make dealing with the T all day any easier.

 

[Fred-Bear]

@MaxK best thing to do about sleep is to accept what you get and if you wake up just rest. I've just spent 6 months dealing with insomnia and it's like T in that the more you give it your attention the worse it gets. Treat it with disdain and you're likely to find you'll sleep better. It's a bit of a paradox.

 

[MaxK]

Thanks extremely much everyone for your replies. Unfortunately I am too tired to answer everyone specifically right now, but every one of your comments means a lot to me.

So, today I got a few Propavan pills. They are an anti-histamine instead of psychopharma and has no risk of addiction. They are also made to keep you asleep and prevent you from waking up instead of making it easier for you to fall asleep like many other pills. Like I said I have little problem actually falling asleep. I also talked to a friend who also has T and has had problems with waking up in the middle of night, and she takes Propavan and it works very well for her. So I'm gonna try it tonight and hope for the best. From what I've heard and read it seems very promising. The only common side-effect is being pretty slow when you wake up, especially in the beginning and also if you sleep less than 8 hours and wake up for an alarm. Luckily I don't have work until Monday, so I'm not putting on any alarms right now.

The bad news is that my T right now is worse than ever. I am however hoping that it's in a big part due to being exhausted from sleeping loss, being stressed at work and anxious about not sleeping. It wasn't like this at all the days after the incident, or even just the days before today. So I'm hoping and praying that it will go down after a nights good rest and spending this weekend with friends. Because it doesn't make any sense for me if my T from the loud noise incident would increase and increase so much one week after... And I haven't been exposed to any loud noises since then. I'm hoping that a chunk of it is a psychological spike that will go away...

 

[Carlyi]

Thanks extremely much everyone for your replies. Unfortunately I am too tired to answer everyone specifically right now, but every one of your comments means a lot to me.

So, today I got a few Propavan pills. They are an anti-histamine instead of psychopharma and has no risk of addiction. They are also made to keep you asleep and prevent you from waking up instead of making it easier for you to fall asleep like many other pills. Like I said I have little problem actually falling asleep. I also talked to a friend who also has T and has had problems with waking up in the middle of night, and she takes Propavan and it works very well for her. So I'm gonna try it tonight and hope for the best. From what I've heard and read it seems very promising. The only common side-effect is being pretty slow when you wake up, especially in the beginning and also if you sleep less than 8 hours and wake up for an alarm. Luckily I don't have work until Monday, so I'm not putting on any alarms right now.

The bad news is that my T right now is worse than ever. I am however hoping that it's in a big part due to being exhausted from sleeping loss, being stressed at work and anxious about not sleeping. It wasn't like this at all the days after the incident, or even just the days before today. So I'm hoping and praying that it will go down after a nights good rest and spending this weekend with friends. Because it doesn't make any sense for me if my T from the loud noise incident would increase and increase so much one week after... And I haven't been exposed to any loud noises since then. I'm hoping that a chunk of it is a psychological spike that will go away...

I also used to have issues with waking up frequently during the night. Mostly 2 or 3 times. Since taking 5HTP i can sleep 8 hours in a row. It's also a natural anti-depressant.Maybe it's a worth a try.

All the best to you!

 

[Raphael7713]

When it was worst for me, I took imovane/zopiclone for a week which are very effective on me. After I started to get regular sleep thanks to the pills, I could start sleep by myself as the regular sleep I got reduced my stress/anxiety. I think what causes most T sufferers not to sleep is the stress and anxiety, not the T itself. Yes the stress/anxiety is caused by the T, but the sleeping issues are more related to stress/anxiety than T, I would say.

 

[MaxK]

Hello again! I am happy to say that the propavan worked, and I managed to get 9 hours of sleep. I woke up at night fully aware(like I've always done even before this new T, and before I got T altogether) but unlike the previous days I managed to fall back asleep in just a few minutes instead of twisting and turning for hours and just getting minutes of sleep. I even felt like my T was quieter than it had been before. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last when I woke up later on today, and today has been very dark otherwise (Started a new thread about it), but atleast I know that propavan helps my sleeping problems. Hopefully this will last and I won't have to end up on benzos. That is atleast one very good thing amongst all the shit this week has been.

EDIT: I don't find much info about propavan on english sites. Seems like it's also called propiomazine, but I still don't find much about it in english, mostly in my own language. Maybe it's not used as much? Feels weird, because a non-addictive sleeping pill with few side-effects (most common is that it makes you drowsy for a few hours after you wake up when you start to take it) seems like it would be more popular. I see many people complaining about the fact that it doesn't help you fall asleep as much as other heavier pills, but it's clearly stated that it's supposed to help you sleep better during the night rather than helping you fall asleep. Which is perfect for me, as I can fall asleep without any masking even with this new loud noise.

Anyhow, if anyone else is in the same situation as me and don't want to start taking heavy stuff such as benzos, I would recommend checking it out. Though I've only taken it once. I really hope that it stays effectful, because it seems like a life-saver for me.

 

[SilverSpiral]

Hey @MaxK, I initially struggled with this too. Every night I would fall asleep easily, then wake up an hour later, and repeat the process. Your case sounds more severe than mine, so perhaps my solution isn't enough, but I found that once I started taking magnesium glycinate a few hours before bed, and B-complex multivitamins an hour before bed, I was able to sleep through (most) of the night. These are both "natural", so I don't really worry about taking them long-term. My dreams also became very vivid, so I suspect that my sleep is now deeper than before. I hope you're able to get some sleep soon, because a lack of sleep certainly doesn't make dealing with the T all day any easier.

I'm surprised B-complex helps you sleep. B-complex are good for the nervous system and brain, and "stress" in general, but b6 and b12 are usually quite stimulating I thought? This is why energy drinks (which I do not consume, I do not consume any caffeine) have high amounts of both of these B-Vitamins. Even sports drinks and vitamin water are adding B vitamins for energy. Those 5 hour energy things (I never tried) that were popular for a while had huge amounts of B vitamins. There was even a warning on the news about it as too much b6 can be unhealthy. If I take a B-Complex I take it in the morning, and notice a stimulating effect.

Good to hear something is working for you though. Magnesium is calming for sure.
Epsom Salt Bathing is a good way to get magnesium transdermally (through the skin) and is very relaxing. I would recommend epsom salt baths to someone dealing with stress/tension/insomnia, whether it be because of their tinnitus or not ((magnesium is recommended on here for tinnitus a lot, but I've tried nearly all the supplements, and can't identify any of them as improving my tinnitus one way or the other, (this includes the infamous Ginkgo Biloba)).

 

[Casper]

I'm surprised B-complex helps you sleep. B-complex are good for the nervous system and brain, and "stress" in general, but b6 and b12 are usually quite stimulating I thought? This is why energy drinks (which I do not consume, I do not consume any caffeine) have high amounts of both of these B-Vitamins. Even sports drinks and vitamin water are adding B vitamins for energy. Those 5 hour energy things (I never tried) that were popular for a while had huge amounts of B vitamins. There was even a warning on the news about it as too much b6 can be unhealthy. If I take a B-Complex I take it in the morning, and notice a stimulating effect.

I'll be honest and admit that I didn't look into the science behind B-complex. My friend offered it to me to help me sleep, and after taking it I slept like a dead man. I wouldn't say that it helps me fall asleep, but once I'm asleep I don't really wake up (or when I do, I can easily just roll over and fall asleep again).

I remember those five-hour energy things. Even before T I wouldn't go near them. At least with coffee, your caffeine intake is limited because you'll start feeling full, but with those it's really hard to keep track of how much caffeine you've had.

 

[MaxK]

Update: I managed to get a good nights sleep (+8 hours) tonight without taking any Propavan, and with zero background noise or masking except the refrigerator in the next room No waking up or anything! I did however stay up a bit extra late to make sure I would get to sleep.
I also kinda feel like my T is lower in the morning/midday, especially yesterday, today to some extent. It did however go up rather much in the evening :/ But I'm taking every small improvement with great joy, and the fact that I didn't have any sleeping problems tonight is a great one Just hoping it lasts!

 

[glynis]

Hi @MaxK ,
Thank you for your update and lovely to hear you slept really well
I have had a couple of restlessness nights but I put it down to my Birthday on Friday and drinking with my family ... Love glynis