Insomnia-Give me Hope

eggmankate · April 2014

I've been dealing with insomnia for the past month. I've never had insomnia issues before so I'm guessing this is baby-related. I'm averaging 2-7 hours of sleep a night and waking between sleep cycles with a hard time falling back asleep. I finally decided to give some medication a try so I just took my first dose of Zoloft last evening. The Psychologist told me that for some it can make them energized with trouble sleeping so I might need to take it in the morning. I conked out at 9pm, woke up at midnight and never fell back asleep. I'm not sure if it was related to the medication or not. I'm going to try taking it in the morning now to see if that helps, but I just feel so desperate. Is this insomnia temporary? Anyone gone through and gotten better? What changed that helped your sleep improve?

backoffunicorn · April 2014

I would talk to your primary care doctor. I haven't experienced insomnia although I did have nights where I was woken up every 2 hours. Make sure to tell your doctor you're on Zoloft.

clhathaway · April 2014

Welcome to the club. I sleep about 3 hours a night. That's broken up through-out the 8-9 hours I lay in bed. I can't take sleeping meds because they make me hallucinate. So, I'm out of luck. I feel your pain 100%

lifesaverz · April 2014

so sorry you're going through that. I had insomnia super bad right after LO was born, & literally could NOT go to sleep no matter how hard I tried. I ended up in the ER a few days later because I had tried to no avail & was starting to feel crazy & like my body was going to give out on me. I was on Ativan for a little while then switched to a med to help with the nerve issues I was having (my legs were feeling twitchy & shaky inside, like if I'd just drank a bunch of caffeine), then slowly tapered off that. For me I think I just needed the meds initially to help jump-start things back to normal, then as my hormones started regulating, baby got older, & I stopped worrying quite as much it started to get better. But I know for some women it doesn't.

I still can't nap during the day at all but I sleep decent at night now. Best I can say is try the zoloft during the day like you mentioned, & keep talking with your doctor until you find something that works for you. Sleep is important!

readyornot12345 · April 2014

I am so sorry. I am having the same exact issue. I barely sleep. Some nights 4-5 hours but most are like 1-3 with some zero hour nights. This is brutal. No meds have helped me so I am just shit out of luck. I assume its all hormones and will have to settle down eventually. Hang in there. I know it's riugh

readyornot12345 · April 2014

@clhathaway‌ did yours start after baby or have you always had insomnia? How do you cope?

monkeybutt61612 · May 2014

@clhathaway‌ the hallucinations are the best part 8-}

readyornot12345 · May 2014

@eggmankate how are you doing? Any improvement? I had a better 5-6 days but then couldn't sleep again last night. This is for the birds! I assume its all hormonal and will settle down with time but man its rough.

eggmankate · May 2014

Thanks for asking! I had a bad reaction to Zoloft and stopped taking it after 3 days--I went one night with 1 hour of sleep and the next with no sleep. I switched to Trazodone which is L2 for breastfeeding and started sleeping again. I've been getting 6-7 hours a night again, but my sleep is still a bit erratic. I'm told Trazodone takes 1-2 weeks to receive the benefit and I'm feeling like my sleep is slowly improving so hopefully it works for me. I have done some research and found that taking 400-500mg Magnesium supplement is like "magic" for a variety of mental health problems including sleeping. I just took some last night and slept straight from 10pm-4am which is the first time I've slept solidly in a long time. I exercised regularly before giving birth (had been in regular routine for 10 years) and have had a hard time squeezing in a work-out now and I'm told that this may have contributed to my sleep issues. I'm being gung ho now about squeezing in a run after work especially since the weather is nice now. Even just a 15 minute walk with the baby can help with sleep.

How about you?

readyornot12345 · May 2014

So glad you are doing better! I'm still struggling. I get some nights with 4-6 hrs but others with less then that. Meds don't work for me so I'm just stickin it out for now. It seems like its slowly getting better with less bad nights. I am also taking magnesium and that seems to help. I think it's all just hormonal and will take time to settle.

cammyisagirlsname · May 2014

Ambien could be your best friend.

MissyC979 · May 2014

Have you tried melatonin? That usually helps me get back on track if I start having trouble sleeping.

eggmankate · May 2014

MissyC979 said:

Have you tried melatonin? That usually helps me get back on track if I start having trouble sleeping.

What time of day do you take it? I heard that it's better to take in late afternoon or early evening. I haven't used it with my latest insomnia because I am stubborn and feel like I shouldn't need sleep meds to sleep. Not rational, I know, given I'm on trazodone. I had a bad night last night--only 2.5 hours of sleep last night, I have an appointment today to see a sleep therapist so hopefully this does the trick.

MissyC979 · May 2014

eggmankate said:

MissyC979 said:

Have you tried melatonin? That usually helps me get back on track if I start having trouble sleeping.

What time of day do you take it? I heard that it's better to take in late afternoon or early evening. I haven't used it with my latest insomnia because I am stubborn and feel like I shouldn't need sleep meds to sleep. Not rational, I know, given I'm on trazodone. I had a bad night last night--only 2.5 hours of sleep last night, I have an appointment today to see a sleep therapist so hopefully this does the trick.

Right when going to bed. I get sleepy after about 20 minutes. It's not really a drug, since it is naturally occurring in your body. At least, that's what I tell myself.

Insomnia-Give me Hope

Re: Insomnia-Give me Hope

Choose Another Board

Search Boards