[Sleepy Lady]

I have had bouts of insomnia for over 40 years. My last episode was 7 years ago, about a year after having breast cancer. My oncologist put my on Effexor 75 mg and my insomnia subsided. Seemed like my insomnia days were over. Last week, I found out my dog has kidney disease and the insomnia has started again, even being on the Effexor. I’m so tired and all I can think about is sleep. Last night I slept about 4 hours all broken up. I recently retired and tried to stay in bed and sleep more, but that didn’t work. All day long I wonder if I will sleep at night and my anxiety over this is overwhelming. I don’t know if the Effexor stopped working or what. When I had these bouts in the past, eventually I would sleep good for a couple of nights and regain my sleep confidence and the insomnia would be gone……..until next time. I do just stay in the bed and don’t get up, thinking at least I’m resting, but maybe this isn’t good either, I tried Benadryl and wine, but they don’t seems to keep me asleep. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Martin Reed]

It’s important to recognize that anyone would struggle with sleep if they just found out their dog has kidney disease. So, the sleep disruption you experienced after learning of this is normal, to be expected, and isn’t a sign that insomnia has returned.

Ultimately, it’s our response to acute sleep disruption that determines how quickly our sleep recovers. If we fail to recognize the normalcy of the sleep disruption and start to panic that something (such as a drug) is no longer “working”, start to endlessly think about (and research) sleep and new sleep “crutches”, we risk making it harder for our sleep to recover by itself.

In other words, if you avoid compensatory behaviors (such as spending more time in bed and/or modifying your day in response to the poor sleep) you will give your sleep the best chance possible to recover all by itself.

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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