[corbett21]

Hi all,
I have been suffering with insomnia on and off for 5 months now following a withdrawal from a medication that left me with rebound insomnia (I didn’t sleep for 11 nights. It was a particularly traumatic period for me one I never thought I’d get over but eventually I did.
I slept well for around 6 weeks and then I had an anxiety attack which manifests into my sleep and I spent a week not sleeping or sleeping minimally but again it picked up.
Now this is my current situation. I was sleeping really well and have been since my last flare up in August. However I started a medication for my skin called roaccutane. Advised that it shouldn’t affect my anxiety I decided to take it. I was fine for 10 days no problem but night 10 I struggled to get to sleep, this has been going on for 4 nights now. I have got between 5-2 hours each night. Needless to say I have stopped the medication.
Now due to my busy life being a mum to 3 kids etc I need some advice on how can I get out of this rabbit whole. Will the insomnia go? Do I just have to ride it out? I resulted to taking some melatonin the night before which gave me 4.5 hours sleep on the sofa but I need more. Last night I was at my wits end and decided to take a lorazepam because I literally felt I may end up in that bad place again and it gave me 9 hours sleep.
I need advice on what to do next almost like a plan? Can someone suggest something… ?? I want to go back to effortless sleeping at night and getting my usually 6/7 hours with no problems. I don’t know whether this is an anxiety blip and perhaps it all might settle down. But it took a lot for me to take those medications as I’ve gone so long without having to reach for them 🙁

[gsdmom]

Hi corbett21 – My current situation with insomnia is due to medication also. I took terbinafine for toenail fungus, I had no idea this would cause insomnia, plus it can stay in your system for about 3 months, it has been awful. The medication has been out of my system for about 3 months now, but still the damage from chronic insomnia persists.

What has helped so far has been a combination of things. At first practicing Stimulus Control and some CBT-i which is described under the “Resources” tab on the top of this website was helpful. After about 6 weeks of doing that I then incorporated ACT therapy for sleep. That reduced some anxiety and gave me a bit more energy to cope with things during the day. But still struggling and have to remind myself it will take some time for the brain to heal. Like you, I did need to use medication to help with sleep for a while. The nice thing about ACT is that I was able to slowly stop using medication, and there was not too much struggle slowly reducing the frequency. My last Ambien was just over a month ago and I don’t miss it.

Wishing you peace and rest, I know that it is hard to get sometimes being an active mom!

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum and I’m sorry to hear about your sleep difficulties.

First of all, it’s important to highlight the fact that neither melatonin nor lorazepam are generating sleep for you. Nothing can generate sleep apart from our own biological sleep drive — so the four-and-a-half hours you got after taking melatonin, and the nine hours you got after taking lorazepam was sleep generated by you and not whatever you took.

Supplements and medications can help us get over whatever the initial obstacle to sleep might be (often high levels of arousal/anxiety/worry) and that can make it easier to sleep — but they are incapable of generating sleep. Any sleep we get is being generated by our own body.

Many people experience a string of poor nights followed by a “recovery” night — and this is a sign that sleep drive is working as it should be. We can only stay awake for so long before sleep drive becomes so strong, we simply cannot stay awake.

The key to evening out these highs and lows is often the implementation of a consistent (and appropriate) sleep window. This helps build sleep drive (and sleepiness), leads to less time awake during the night, consolidates sleep, and improves sleep quality. It’s also helpful to get out of bed whenever you find yourself struggling with sleep.

As suggested by gsdmom, I think you would find cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques very helpful if you are ready to make the changes necessary to improve your sleep for the long term. The techniques can be challenging in the short term, but they almost always lead to significantly better sleep for the long term.

I hope this helps.

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The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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