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Sorry to bring bad news, but stress ramped up in my life, and these things stopped working for me. I ended up in the hospital for depression and on a terrible sleeping med which I am now very painfully having to taper. I am sleeping, but it's not good sleep or for very long, and soon I know that will go too as I taper down further. I still use the blue blockers and the magnesium helps to calm the withdrawals a little, so does Rescue remedy. I find that even with the med, I have to sleep alone, propped up, and not lie down at all until I feel really drowsy. I use acupressure and positive affirmations while I sit in bed waiting for sleep. I hope none of you get into this situation! Benzos are hell on Earth for me! Try everything else available to you before you resort to a medication. I would have refused to take it had I not been in the hospital.
I just got out of the hospital for depression caused by my insomnia. So yes, they definitely go together. Now I'm chained to a benzo that I will have to taper because it's making me sick.
Well, the blue blocking glasses seem to work. I really do feel more drowsy a while after I put them on at night. I'm sleeping through the night now. I know the Seriphos is also helping a lot. Apparently, Seriphos is supposed to prevent the hypothalamus/pituitary from trying to hyperstimulate the adrenal glands, and this leads to less cortisol and less stress.
'Hamster' wrote on '09:I looked up the Myer's Brigg's test and took it and it said I am:
moderately expressed introvert
slightly expressed intuitive personality
distinctively expressed feeling personality
moderately expressed judging personality
😮
🙂
Oh wow! Me too, I'm INFJ. That's weird because INFJ is supposed to be the most rare type. Those online tests are very often wrong, but I did a lot of personal research so I could understand the cognitive functions. I've tested both INFJ and INFP, but I know it's INFJ. I think a lot of us are quite sensitive, so it would make sense to find another INFJ on here.
'Hamster' wrote on '08:My sleeping issues stem from anxiety and this effects my personality as well. If I am having a bad bout of OCD and anxiety I tend to shut myself off from the world- too many triggers- I worry I will have panic attacks( not fun!) but , generally, I love people; love to talk with people and hear their stories and really love to talk about myself 😛 So , am I both?
Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether you are an introvert or an extrovert. Most introverts like people. The main difference is that they tend to need some time alone to recharge their batteries, whereas extroverts need to be among people to recharge. It's all about where you get your energy from, internally, or externally.
I love people. In fact, I would love to be a teacher or a counselor. But I do recognize that I have to have down time in order to recharge and feel good. Too much socializing, especially in a crowd, will wear me out and overstimulate me.
Hi Melissa! I thought I would welcome you since you welcomed me. 🙂 I know how hard it is to live with anxiety, I have GAD. It can get pretty bad at times, especially if I'm exposed to one of my triggers (illness, death, etc.)
Glad you're here!
'Hamster' wrote on '08:Hi, Jitterbug!
I am new too. So sorry to hear about your grief and withdrawal. Sounds like it has been a rough road for you as of late. I deal with a lot of anxiety and OCD. – ( hi, Exhausted Michele- sounds like we have some things in common). I have to take clonazapan at night to help with anxiety but since I have been taking it for years I have built up a resistance to a lot of it. But if I don't take it -wows- I can tell!
Yeah, Xanax is what got me so sick in the first place. I had the same problem with it as you, I built up a resistance to it and pretty soon I had to up my dose too much. I had to get off, but I did it wrong and cold turkeyed. It made me really sick for about a year. I went without any sleep for 2 weeks straight at one point, and after that I was only getting maybe 1-3 hrs/night. I eventually started sleeping better, but it took a long time. My nervous system is still extremely sensitive, and I've been off for three years.
'Martin' wrote on '07:Interesting stuff – I think I've covered all those (apart from Seriphos) in the blog before. Where did you originally hear about each of them? Do keep us updated!
I heard about the blue blocking glasses at benzobuddies.com. I've known about the magnesium for a long time, can't remember where I read it. The Seriphos is the brand name for a dietary supplement called phosphorylated serine. It was prescribed to me by my ND years ago for adrenal support. It seems to tame the tendency to get adrenaline rushes at night. I guess I had kind of forgotten about it until this recent bout of insomnia. But it does seem to work pretty well.
I'm an introvert. It would be interesting to find out if there is a statistical connection between introversion and insomnia. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if there are more lifelong (since childhood) insomniacs amongst introverts. I know anyone can become an insomniac from stress or medication or whatever, but it seems like more introverts have had insomniac tendencies from childhood on. I know introverts tend to be very sensitive.
'Jane' wrote on '06:Hiya Jitterbug, what a great username!
All of us here have spent time watching the clock ticking by whilst everyone else sleeps soundly and it's awful isn't it.
I wake up so many times during the night, every couple of hours roughly. Oh for a good solid 8 hours.
It's 6.10 am now and I want to go back to my nice cosy bed again, but alas……….. *sigh*.
There is no shortage of good advice and help here and everyone is lovely. Good to meet you. 🙂
Thank you Jane! Yes, it's difficult for anyone who has not experienced the frustration and misery of insomnia to understand this. So it's very nice to find a community where everyone understands!
'Martin' wrote on '06:Welcome to Insomnia Land, jitterbug – as you've already noticed, we're a very friendly bunch here and you'll certainly find no shortage of support amongst our members. We're here to look out for one another.
I look forward to reading more of your posts and getting to know you better. Hopefully we can help make life with insomnia a little more bearable, and perhaps we can even help you improve your sleep.
Thanks for the welcome!
Homeopathics only work if they are prescribed specifically for you. They have to fit your entire symptoms picture, which is why you need to go to an experienced homeopathic doctor if you really want it to work. But when you do hit on the right remedy at the right potency, it can be like a miracle.
'Margaret' wrote on '04:Hint: I have found that tiny amounts work much better than the usual larger amounts prescribed by the doctors. Margaret
That's probably part of my problem. If I ever do go on medication again, I'll make sure I start out on a tiny dose.
'ExhaustedMichelle' wrote on '04:I struggle with horrible anxiety too. I've been through pretty much every SSRI on the market and most of the Benzos. After ten years of experimentation I'm finally getting some relief and a sense of normalcy from the Luvox (fluvoxamine maleate) I'm being prescribed for my anxiety and OCD. Other than a couple unpleasant side effects, I feel much more like a normal person. Far less of the high-strung basket case I was two years ago. Have faith that someday you'll find YOUR perfect medicine.
That seems impossible to me. I react negatively to everything. Most of my reactions have been truly scary. I really glad that you have found some relief though. Sometimes I envy people who can be successfully medicated.
I'm hoping that natural progesterone might help me. I have PMDD, and so the progesterone seems like it might be a good idea. I don't know if it will solve my sleep problems, but if it can help in any way, I sure would like to try it.
'Margaret' wrote on '04:Do you have a doctor whom you trust? Does he say the acute anxiety sensitivity will get better? It must be discouraging to realize that the meds left you worse off than you were when you started.
Margaret
No, I don't have a doctor that knows anything about long-term consequences of benzos. It's pretty discouraging. I do have some online friends who are going through the same thing, though, so that helps.
Michelle, thank you for the welcome, I appreciate it.
