Recovered Insomniacs--What Worked?

eggmankate · May 2014

I've been battling insomnia off and on for about 8 weeks now (it started when DD was 4 months old). It started because I feared my DD would turn into a bad sleeper so I kept waking up between sleep cycles. Eventually the anxiety about my DD turned to anxiety about not sleeping. DD is still a great sleeper, and wakes to nurse only once at night. So I'm the problem.

I started Trazodone about 3 weeks ago at 50mg which dramatically improved my sleep, but then I had to bump up to 100mg and now I'm wondering if I need to bump up again to 150mg. I'm seeing a sleep therapist and Psychiatrist and they've advised that it's Ok to bump up to 150mg, but I'm still in such denial that I ever got myself into this insomnia mess because I've never had problems sleeping before. I worry that I'm going to have to keep increasing my dosage and eventually it won't work anymore. The past few nights I think my biggest problem is that it is taking me 2-3 hours to fall asleep and I have such anxiety and dread about going to bed which causes my heart to beat fast and I can't seem to calm my mind down since I get worked up. I wish there was a way to shut off that negative thought process and associate sleep as a positive thing again. I try to get out of bed in the MOTN if I'm not sleeping, but if I start reading or folding laundry it makes my anxiety worse because then I'm thinking about how I can't sleep and how I should be going back to bed to keep trying.

How did you get over your insomnia? Was it sleep meds, CBT, or strategies at night that allowed you to not be so anxious at bed time about sleep? Give me some hope!

monkeybutt61612 · June 2014

I know the anxiety that comes with the night. I always thought it was so unfair my newborn sttn, but mom couldn't! I always had sleep issues and take tylenol pm every night. When it gets really bad, I take ambien.

emod10 · June 2014

Trazodone and Ativan.

ArmyMedic7588 · June 2014

I'm new on the PPD board, but have past history of anxiety, depression and insomnia. So I thought maybe my past experience with that could help a little. I took trazadone for a long time and had to keep getting bumped up also. I ended up on 200mg at one point but felt like a zombie through the day then. Drs ended up changing the meds I took throughout the day to help my anxiety for the night. What really helped though with the anxiety was relaxing techniques. The major one that worked for me was DH playing with my hair. I didn't always fall asleep right away but it helped me relax enough. I was always told to find something that relaxes you and do that before bed. Kinda like a bedtime routine you do for baby, make one for you too. It might not get ya completely off meds for the night, but maybe you wouldn't have to up the dose again. Hope it helps! If not sorry, I feel for ya OP!

momthatlifts · June 2014

Hi, I'm lurking here. Have you tried taking a hot bath? I have really bad sleep anxiety. It actually can ruin my nights as I start to approach sleep time. I used to notice hot baths would relax me enough and actually make me sleepy. That's all I can suggest though. Hope you find relief

eggmankate · June 2014

Wow don't know how I missed these posts. I'm trying so hard with a bedtime routine so help relax me, but these past few nights it's taking 2-3 hours to fall asleep. I can't get my mind to think positively about sleep. I might try a hot bath...although I have read that having a cool body is better for sleeping. I think there is something to DH rubbing my back to calm me, but once he stops I start getting worked up. I don't know how to shut off the bedtime anxiety.

I've tried Trazodone, Vistaril and Ativan. Some worked for awhile and then stopped working. I'm about ready to ask about an SSRI, but I still feel like I need something to hold me over until the SSRI kicks in.

lb1117 · July 2014

I've always struggled with sleep, even during pregnancy. I starting having the same thing start happening at 4 months old. My baby has been STTN and I've been wide awake. They added Xanax to my meds to help me sleep. It's been great as long as I take it.

Krispix78 · September 2014

I take clonazepam and melatonin every night and am upping my antidepressant dose to see if that takes away the anxiety that is causing my insomnia. I have no trouble falling asleep but when I wake up - always at 0130 - I cannot get back to sleep. So incredibly frustrating. I am dependent now on the clonazepam, but my psych said when the antidepressant fully kicks in I can start weaning off. Praying this happens.

annikrl · September 2014

I've had so much sleep anxiety during my recent pregnancy. I have started to dread the night. I had taken trazadone in the past. I know you can take a good amount of it. I didn't take it for very long because it would make me so tired during the day. Since I haven't been able to take much during pregnancy I've had to find some alternative help. I first made my room as.comfy as possible and wouldn't do anything else in there except for sleep..and sex. So as soon as I woke I would try not even to go in there unless needed. I prepare myself for sleep by not looking at anything electronic...TV, phone, computer. I make sure it's super dark. I listen to meditation/relaxation audios that I found on a depression app. If you can't sleep after 20 minutes..get up and do something...don't stay in bed and get fustrated. Try again and keep doing the same if you wake up. I would do boring things like crossword puzzles...and stretch. I tried not to care if I slept or not...it's hard but your body's need for sleep will over power your anxiety and you will sleep. Once you get those first good nights of sleep your anxiety will subside gradually.

eggmankate · September 2014

I thought I'd provide an update in case anyone else needs encouragement

My insomnia started nearly 5 months ago. About 3 months ago I took time off between my old job and my new job. Suddenly I was sleeping wonderfully. I wasn't sure specifically why that helped, but it did tell me that this was all anxiety related. That in turn helped me sleep better. For awhile I had convinced myself it was related to hormones, but now I realize that it really was a self-fulfilling prophecy and I had developed a sleep phobia. I think one reason it may have helped is because I didn't feel so much pressure since I didn't have to be up at 6am to get to work. I still had to be up around 6:30am to breastfeed my DD, but I knew I could back to sleep and relax for the rest of the day. I kind of wonder if I had had the freedom to sleep in on the weekends if I was ever having trouble falling asleep I never would have developed anxiety about it because I would've known I could just sleep in as late as I needed.

I still had bad nights about once a week thereafter, but nothing ever so torturous like it was before. The key is to never ever try to predict how well you'll sleep one night because once you start believing those molds to be true then it will be true. In reality--the reason you're not sleeping is because of anxiety--if you think something to yourself like "I won't sleep well because I'm in a hotel" then you're going to develop anxiety at bedtime about being in the hotel and that's why you're not going to sleep (it's not the mere fact that you're physically in a hotel, but that because you're having anxiety about being in a hotel).

This story linked below also helped me tremendously. This author picks apart why exactly we get anxiety about sleep, and how to change thought processes to overcome it. I particularly like the part where he explains that the reason we hold on to these irrational beliefs about sleep is because our unconscious brain formulates life experiences based on past experiences---this is done so that we don't have to re-learn everything. He uses the example of meeting a mean person and how the next time we see that person we'll start feeling emotions about their meanness--we do this so that we don't have to relearn it over and over. Unfortunately, those preconceived beliefs aren't always true. This thought alone about the unconscious mind helped me cope with my sleep phobia.

https://www.sleeplikethedead.com/chronic-insomnia-intro.html

Also, "Say Goodnight to Insomnia" by Greg Jacobs. The chapter on changing our thoughts about sleep helped me tremendously.

Ardmhs83 · October 2014

I suffered from PPA/PPD and insomnia was the worst!!!! I do CBT and took/take meds. I took 600 mgs of Serequel (great for the constant mind-racing), 100 mgs of Trazadone and 2 mgs of Klonopin. Yea, I know seems like a lot and I was super upset about needing them all, but they worked WONDERS! I was sleeping and sleeping great.

I second the bedtime routine, keep up with that. Also remove and clocks you may have in your room and don't look at your cell. The more you see what time it is, the more worked up you get. You start stressing about how much sleep you are not going to get and then it gets harder to fall asleep. No matter how temped you are...don't look at the clock until you can visibly see the sun is up!

Also...don't fear the meds! They are not forever :-) I only use 50 mgs of Serequel now, and that is it!

Feel better!

Recovered Insomniacs--What Worked?

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