[Lissy]

Hi, I’ve had insomnia since 5 months ago, after a lumbar block with steroids. I am getting suicidal. I stayed CBT 3 weeks ago, and find that no matter what , when I wake up , usually it’s a 10:00 to 2 , I can’t get back to sleep. I used to sleep 8 hours with no pills, I am on mirtazapine 30 g and Clonazepam  1mg. Any help you can give me ?

 

[SIimon]

If you are having suicidal thoughts your problem has moved on from insomnia to severe depression (the two are often linked though).

Was the mirtazapine  prescribed for depression? if so how long have you been on it?  if more than 4 weeks and your mood has not improved I’d suggest going back to your doctor and getting it switched to something else.

I  was prescribed mirtazapine in the past for depression/suicidal thoughts and it never worked so I was switched to Venaflaxine and  it was like a ‘light’ switched on in my head.

 

[Steve]

Hi Lissy. Sorry to hear about the problems you have been having with your sleep. Are you on the mirtazapine for sleep or for anxiety? At the dosage you are taking, it’s usually for anxiety. If it was for sleep, it would be 15mg or less. I took mirt for a couple weeks but it stopped working for me for sleep so I got off of it. And I was on clonazepam for a week but got off of that as well as I didn’t want to chance addiction for something that wasn’t really helping me. (It was supposed to help me sleep but it never did.) I’m not a doctor so obviously I can’t give you RX suggestions on here but I do want to warn you. If you have been on either of these drugs for more that two weeks, you cannot just stop taking them as you could have very serious withdrawal symptoms. You need to discuss a tapering off schedule with your doctor. These are serious meds you are on and so the tapering off is mandatory. As for your sleep, Martin, the owner of this site, will write on here soon but I also suggest you take his free sleep course he offers on here. You can find it under the Resources menu at the top of the page.

[Lissy]

I never had depression until I stopped sleeping . This was due to a lumbar block that contained steroids , to ease back pain. I repeat this information to serve as a warning to others .

[Martin Reed]

Hello Lissy and welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing your story. I am so sorry to hear about your ongoing struggle with sleep. Suicide is never the answer and I urge you to talk to someone if you ever have suicidal thoughts or feelings:

http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

You mentioned that you started CBT three weeks ago. This is great to hear. Is it CBT for insomnia or generalized CBT? When you wake during the night, what do you think is stopping you from falling back to sleep?

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