[GILL999]

Hi all

I have suffered from bouts of chronic insomnia for years, and am currently in the middle of my worst yet. Within the space of 2 weeks I went from perfectly fine to hallucinating and mentally really not very well – i wasnt getting more than 1 or 2 hours a night max. I’m now being treated by a psychiatrist but nothing I have been prescribed for sleep is working and although objectively I am definitely in a better place relative to uncontrollable shaking and vomiting etc, I am still feeling in the depths of hell and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’ve been prescribed Mirtazapine 15mg and Escitalopram 5mg for the severe anxiety caused as a side effect of this insomnia. The first couple of nights the Mirt helped me get a few more hours of restless dreamy sleep, but already it’s stopped even doing that. I believe deep down that the key to me getting over my sleep issue doesn’t lie in taking a pill for it (though I do believe from experience that the antidepressants when the kick in will help with my underlying anxiety issues) and I have signed up for the course with Martin. I’m extremely scared though of the sleep deprivation part and I guess wanting a bit of moral support from others that (a) it works and (b) that you can get through it without losing your mind. I got into such a bad state mentally – the part of your brain that allows you to switch off or not to sleep is really so very strong with me – that I’m terrified of going back to that bad place again through sleep deprivation.

Would really love to hear from others who have had similar chronic issues and are either on the course or have been through the course. X

 

[Steve]

Hi Gill. Just to clarify, are you taking Martin’s paid course or the free one? I have taken the free one and am in the middle of his paid one. It does work but just keep in mind that just because the course is 8 weeks long, it doesn’t mean you will be “cured” in 8 weeks. It could take months. It depends on how severe your insomnia is.  I don’t want to say too much in my post here. What I suggest you do is search the forum for the thread “Support Group for People Who Are Doing SR”. Re-post your questions in that thread and you will get a lot of people wanting to help you out and share their experiences with you. Good luck with the course.

[GILL999]

Thanks for the reply Steve – I’m taking the paid for course but am still only on the initial sleep diary stage. I’ll re-post the question as you’ve suggested.

It’s a fair comment to make about not being cured of something immediately. My hopes at this stage are really just to get myself having a least a few days a week (i’d even settle for a couple) of relatively ok sleep so that I can at least get back to work and living some kind of normal life (as I say it has been quite a severe decline in quite a short time).

 

Thanks again Steve, it’s helpful to talk to others who can empathise

[goldenbayboy]

Hi Gill. I would just like to reinforce what Steve said. Stick with it and things will get better. Getting enough sleep again is such a good feeling.

[GILL999]

Thank you for your reply – I am honestly at my wits end after having no sleep at all again last night and another horrific day ahead of me. I can’t work or live my life. It’s like my brain has forgotten how to sleep, I can’t ever get to that sleepy brain state naturally, and even when I take my Mirtazapine (a sedating antidepressant) That makes me drowsy, I just jump awake every single time I almost sleep. It’s like actual torture and I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel at the moment. Even when I follow the rules of getting up and not staying in bed etc, it isn’t making any difference.

[gsdmom]

Commonly reported side effects of escitalopram include: diarrhea, drowsiness, ejaculatory disorder, headache, insomnia, nausea, and delayed ejaculation. All drugs have side effects, could this be part of the problem?

I have chronic insomnia now due to a medication, and had terrible insomnia 15-20 years ago due to starting an anti-depressant. My doctors in both situations never acknowledged that these side effects could put me into insomnia.

A big issue for was just in language usage. The term “Sleep Restriction” terrifies me, so I adapted it in my own mind to “Sleep Restructuring” because that is what I need. I will be attempting it very soon! Hopefully you can find a balance in medications that will give you some short term relief.

 

[Martin Reed]

I agree that sleep restriction is a terrible phrase because we aren’t restricting sleep, we are restricting time spent in bed. A better (and more accurate) phrase would be bedtime restriction, sleep scheduling, or something along the lines of “creating a sleep window”. I like “sleep restructuring”, too!

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[Borgesbi]

Hi Gill,

I have been doing “sleep restriction” for 11 weeks now and even to these days the idea of restricting my time in bed to less than 6 hours makes me nervous. It causes me to feel anxious, which then affects my ability to fall asleep as well as the quality of my sleep. I know a strict SW works for a lot of people but for some of us a more relaxed one is needed as long as you are still practicing all the other techniques of CBT-I. My SW is quite longer than it should be based on the protocol, but it helps me a ton having a longer SW because I feel totally relaxed when going to bed. Talk to Martin about the possibility of having a more relaxed SW so that it doesn’t make you so scared/nervous and see what he says! In my opinion CBT-I is a little too strict right now and there needs to be room for small modifications depending on the individual.

[Author]

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