[attynemo]

Hello guys, I’m new here.

First of all, I’m really glad I chanced upon this site. I’ve been having sleep problems since 2018. I tried so many quick-fix solutions, avoided some of the causes of insomnia but, well, here I am, writing this post.

If you’re wondering about my username. Nemo is one of my favorite comic book characters so I decided to use his name. As for the ‘atty,’ I’m a real lawyer, one of the few good things that happened to my life. I just don’t know how else I can distinguish myself from other “Nemos” because I believe some of you may have already used that name, hence, the additional prefix.

I’ve been having sleep problems since 2018 but for the complete history, it all dates back to 2001/02 but I will try to make this post as short as possible. I will begin first with a brief timeline…

2001/02 — got addicted to the internet; sometimes slept as late as 3 in the morning
2003 — got depressed
2004 — was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but medications worked and things turned out well
2005-12 — no significant problems related to sleep whatsoever
2012 — diagnosed with hiv (don’t worry, I’m doing well with this regard, latest cd4 count is 480)
2014 — changed medications for hiv to efavirenz. one of the side effects of efavirenz is insomnia so…

Aug 2014- Aug 2015 — had a total of 36 sleepless nights
Aug 2015-Early 2018 — no sleep problems; according to my infectious disease specialist, I’ve already adjusted to my medications.

Basically, everything that happened from 2001 to 2018 are no longer material. I’ve been talking to both my infectious disease physician and my psychiatrist so these disease and disorder are already being treated.

Now let’s go to my sleep problems.

In 2018, I got hooked up with the internet again. I will surf the net until 2 or 3 in the morning. At first, I could sleep easily… but then things worsen… until there are nights I cannot sleep anymore. Or there are nights that I’ll be awake until as late as 6 in the morning.

I noticed that the root of this problem is my lack of self-control and my addiction to the internet. This NYE 2020, I was awake until 3:22 am still surfing the net. I was able to fall asleep at 8 in the morning and wake up at 11 am.

Because it’s New Year, I find it easy to cut on my internet surfing as a form of NY’s resolution. Days after New Year, I was able to control myself. Last night, I stopped surfing the net at 11 pm.

The problem is that, I drank whey protein at 12 midnight… and went to sleep at 12:25 am. As a result, I was not able to sleep the entire night and until today I am awake.

I drink whey protein because I work out… but I was told that it can cause insomnia too… so maybe I should drink it only in the morning.

The immediate cause of my problem is INTERNET, and the main root is my lack of self-control.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum. Consuming whey protein isn’t going to be the direct cause of a night of no sleep — and it certainly isn’t a perpetuating factor of insomnia, so I don’t think this is something you need to be too concerned with.

I suspect that your sleep issues are more to do with insufficient sleep opportunity rather than chronic insomnia. In other words, it sounds as though if you are able to consistently give yourself the opportunity for sleep, you might very well be able to sleep.

Are you receiving any help with your internet addiction? In your case, addressing this issue might be all that is needed. If you find that you continue to struggle once the internet use is no longer an issue, it might be worth discussing cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) with your doctor.

I hope this helps!

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