TL;DR: decreased medication making me restless and jolting awake

My psychiatrist about a month ago decreased all my antidepressants by 50%. I take clonidine to help me sleep (used to be 45mg)but she took me off it completely.Tbh I just took half doses from my older clonidine pills because I was afraid of being completely insomniac again.

Since then I’ve felt very restless and my brain just feels very hyper-vigilant when I try to relax. I’ve been somewhat able to sleep but only around 4hrs, and it never feels rested.

Anyway to my main concern, I don’t dream anymore and starting around this week something I’ve never dealt with before I was on meds: when I get deeper into sleep I jolt awake, in a microsecond my entire body twitches awake and I gasp for air. It feels like my brain just doesn’t want me to relax..

I have been dealing with a really horrible bout of insomnia for the last month... no more than 2-3 hours of sleep a few nights per week but am happy to say I seem to be out of it. What really worked for me in this time is using a lot of the principles I learned in guy meadows sleep book. The last few days I have also found some CBN gummmies that have almost no thc in them. I am having nice restful sleep with good dreams, I finally got 8 hours last night! I know this isn't the end of my journey but hoping to motivate anyone in a similar position

I have adhd and ptsd which factor into the equation. Im desperate for a good nights sleep and dont have the luxury of sleeping until 10 or 11 so i only have been surviving on 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I currently take melatonin, gabapentin, and dayvigo. Ive tried everything. Cocktails that i joke would kill a horse dont even help Just so desperate for sleep

Long story short I have had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep for 5 years, making me sleep 4-6 hours if I don't take any medication. I could never fall back to sleep without any med. Now I take tryptophan 1500mg before bed and another 1500mg when I wake up after 5 hours of sleep, tho I have to wait for it to take effect.

I ran out of tryptophan so while waiting for a bulk delivery I tried Taurine last 3 nights. (And it turns out I really need my tryptophan to fall asleep)

Tryptophan: took me 2 weeks to work; it made me angsty at first. 1500mg is the best for me. Helps me fall asleep really quickly but the success rate is lower when I take it to fall back to sleep. Nonetheless it still helps a lot, and it's a godsend miracle for me. Doesn't make me groggy after I wake up. (Be mindful of serotonin syndrome if you take an antidepressant and consult your doctor.)

Taurine: doesn't help me fall asleep (I feel sleepy tho), but helps me fall back to sleep for sure. Experimenting with 1000-3000mg. Groggy the next day so far... Someone's post on Taurine: https://www.reddit.com/r/insomnia/comments/c1dkdn/taurine_for_insomnia/

I'm gonna try tryptophan + Taurine combo tonight as the supplements arrive today.

Supplements that didn't help me with sleep: melatonin, extended release melatonin, magnesium of different types, theanine, benfotiamine, apigenin, and more.

So tryptophan and taurine are the only supplements that help me, and they do it very effectively.

Also tried many other medications which made me & my doctor worry about side effects and long-term use.

I think I'll stick with tryptophan and hopefully a right amount of taurine.

Hope it helps.

My amitriptyline randomly stopped working in October after 5 blissful years. Since then, I've failed trazodone, mirtazapine, and seroquel - all felt like taking a peppermint. The only thing that works is my emergency temazepam.

Other people who've failed these, what eventually worked for you, if anything?

I was listening to a YouTube video on the TV and my dreams started interpreting the dialogue into it. Is that normal when sleep deprived for 36 hours? Like it felt like a fever dream. I was listening to a video on chemistry and my mind was overlaying my fears over the dialogue

Hey guys. New type of insomnia unlocked. This past month I've been dealing with terrible insomnia from adrenaline surges. Last few days they're completely gone. BUT I STILL CAN'T SLEEP. Now I'm waking up so much that i don't know if i slept at all. The only things that lead me to the belief that i slept is that i dont experience the time passing by or that i have very small logical dreams that might as well be thoughts. It doesn't feel like sleep at all though. It's like im in a constant drowsiness/drunk state all night,having thoughts and waking up all the time.

Does anyone else experience this and can help me. I cant believe i left one type of insomnia for another.

It is 5:58 am for me right now and I cannot fall sleep for the life of me right now and honestly I am so scared how I can’t fall asleep I have a cold right now but I also have bad anxiety so I’m shaking now and it’s either a panic attack or just me being tired but I feel horrible now and just scared I won’t fall asleep again😓😭😭

As of right now i’m going on hour 36 of being awake, longest in the past i’ve gone is 51 hours. I am not diagnosed or anything but it’s kind of clear when it’s impossible to sleep haha! Any tips? I’ve tried smoking weed, melatonin, and even just laying in bed for hours lmao. Tried all the classics too such as counting sheep, asmr, and even exercising to ware myself out.

Hi Guys,

I’ve been prescribed 10mg of Amitriptyline for Insomnia that’s caused by sleep anxiety. I’m also hoping this helps with my anxiety/stress in general as well.

I’m doing this as a way to move away from the Zopiclone I’ve been taking twice a week.

I took my first pill last night and to be honest it didn’t make me drowsy at all, if anything it made me feel wired and alert. I did have a glass of wine much earlier on in the evening so this could have altered the effects but I have no experience with this drug.

Will the drowsiness and anxiety relief come over time? Should I continue to take it if it didn’t make me drowsy? I don’t want to commit to it if it’s not going to help with sleep.

Any experience or insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this! I can't find anything about it online. Whenever my boyfriend stays over at my house, we sleep in separate rooms because I have the space and he is considerate of my insomnia. I don't sleep well in the same bed as another person. But where he's here, I can't sleep at all, even though we are sleeping on different floors of the house! This has never happened to me before with anyone else! He doesn't make me feel unsafe, I love him and feel very loved by him, so I don't know why. I hate it so much! What the hell is going on?

How do you even measure when you're supposed to take sleep meds!? If i take them regularly, they wear off over time. If i take them when I need them, they work too well and I struggle to wake up the next day. Does anyone have a solution for this? Have I just not chosen the right meds?

Hello dear people. Lately it's impossible for me to sleep at night, even if I have woken up relativly early. I don't take naps during the day either, so I start thinking, what if it evolves in insomnia?

Maybe I'm overthinking, but it's been like this for almost month and I was wondering how has it started happening for for other people

Thank you for taking the time 🖤

Back on Tuesday, I had an awful insomnia episode sleeping at 2 and only getting about 3-4hrs of rest. The reason behind it was stress from work.

the following nights were fine, but not the best.

Still quite early, but I have been so tired all day… I tried sleeping for an hour in bed, and no luck. I’m just scared to have another insomnia episode, when all I want is to simply rest…

im even considering booking a hotel for the weekend. I genuinely don’t understand how at home I get these episodes but back when I was in college for 3 years, I had one to none…

edit: 2 hours in bed… I truly hate insomnia. Worst of all, I really feel as if I’m just relaxing in bed.

edit: something else I notice is that during these insomnia episodes I tend to have to use the restroom often… not sure if that’s the reason causing me to not sleep or i have the runs due to anxiety.

edit: I slept but not sure for how long… I remember it being 11pm, then next thing you know it was 1am. It felt as if I didn’t sleep so then it took me a while to sleep and woke up at 4, then 5, then 6am, but I still do not know how long I slept.

How come i never see anybody in here talking about drinking ZzzQuil? I probably drink 2 bottles a week(the Walmart version of course). On nights I can't sleep ill take a swig almost every hour hoping that dose will do the trick. I wish they would have like the Marlboro miles did, I'd be walking around with a ZzzQuil hoodie and a Zzzquil backpack.

i started dealing with insomnia 5 years ago. I stayed up over a full 48hrs and then day 3 my head was zinging and i slept.

since then 2023 especially, but last year it came back.

I go over either well over 24hours or a full 2 days. last year twice i went just over 72hrs. in 2023 I was awake 2 full days and only crashed the third afternoon.

I deal with anxiety so it sucks being up late and having the late night thoughts of general overthinking.

I used to be on etomine, but it wouldn't help me sleep at night even when i took it two hours before i would start getting ready to settle then the next day im drowsy for the whole day and it's really heavy.

I stopped taking sleeping tablets as it was having a negative affect, sleep walking, eating everything in the fridge at 3/4am.

I'm up right now and its 5:35am and i honestly thought it was past 3am. the sun is already rising.

What sucks is I am not tired. But i deal with chronic migraines because I don't sleep.

Since last year I have been playing youtube videos (music for insomnia) and it just actually helps me feel better theres sound.

I actually have no sense of time anymore because of the lack of sleep sometimes I'll wake up in the afternoon if I only slept past 8am. The time could be 7pm when i though it was around 5.

Sometimes I feel tired in the day and keep myself up to sleep at night to get a good sleeping pattern but then night comes and I have all the energy in the world.

My doctor wanted me to go to a sleep clinic for a few years now. He had me on about 2 or maybe 3 meds through the years to try and 2 didnt work and the etomine stopped working toward the end but was still keeping me drowsy and I felt drugged. Even he was honestly shocked that the etomine couldnt help.

If your situation is similar - and sleeping meds are not for you, what other things similar to insomnia music would you suggest? I have tried podcasts but I can't sleep with talking.

Edit: typo

please help share your story or tips i feel really anxious and alone I’m really worried i won’t sleep again tonight

My insomnia started with otrivine. I started to get 1-2 hours of sleep when I started using it. I quit 2 months ago but still have sleep problems.

If you are using it and if you have insomnia please stop.

And my rested heart rate is 90 now. I am 26. Somewhat healthy.

Lunesta or hydroxazine?

I see no end in sight and both work a little. Trying to see which is the least likely to fry my brain

I just want to say that suddenly having this constellation of syndromes/symptoms/health issues has been the worst experience of my life and has made my life hellish. I don't know how long I can deal with them and/or the side effects from meds.

I went from one med for ADHD four months ago, to taking meds for anxiety, depression, ADHD, constipation and insomnia-- PLUS HRT.
And if it weren't for my fear of pain meds and benzodiazepines, I'd still be on those too along with migraine meds.

I am desperate for relief and would appreciate prayers, honestly. Please add me to your prayer list, it would mean the world to me. Thank you.

I posted in reply to someone a year ago. I’m bipolar and an insomniac. This poster came to me today as a notification. Not only is it hate speech but also ridiculous. I guess our bipolar peeps are taking over the world? This is the most hateful and random comment I have ever received. Dude needs a reality check

https://imgur.com/a/Nnhh72l

I’m starting self-directed CBT-i (literally today), the guide I’m using says at night if I can’t fall asleep within 15-20 minutes to get up and do something but something “non stimulating”.

What does this mean? Does anyone have examples? It says not to read a book which is what I would normally do.

I’ve had this for over 6 months now where I physically will have a panic attack every single night I don’t take an ambien or Trazadone to fall asleep, and then I don’t fall asleep. When this happens my thoughts become so incredibly dark and it’s becoming difficult for my partner to deal with too. And now I can’t take Trazadone anymore because it’s increased my IOP and is linked to glaucoma to those that it affects which it’s clearly doing that to me and I just feel helpless. Like this is my life and It will never get better. If anyone can give me any level of hope somehow I think that’s what I need. I just do not know what to do and I do not have one friend that can relate to this

At this point, I'm not really sure if what I had would be defined as insomnia, but I’ll post it here anyway.

There were days when my sleep was irregular. Sometimes I’d sleep well for 9 hours, sometimes only 5, and other times I wouldn’t sleep at all.

Even when I did manage to sleep, it would only happen after a lot of tossing and turning, and overthinking.

I wasn’t sure what the issue was, but what I did was set an alarm to wake up at the same time every day and made an effort to go to bed at the same time each night.

I sleep at either 11 PM or 12 AM, and I always, always wake up at 8 AM.

Since then, I haven’t had any issues sleeping (it’s been 2 months of regular sleep).

Now, when I close my eyes, I usually fall asleep within the first 30 minutes (probably even less, but I don’t really time it since I fall asleep quickly, haha).

I’m not sure if this will help many of you, but if anyone has experienced something similar, I hope it might be helpful.

Every time I’m on the brink of falling asleep. A feeling of anxiety hits my chest and my brain is active again. Can anyone tell me why this is happening?

Trazodone is the only thing that helps me fall asleep with my sleeping anxiety that then causes insomnia. But yesterday I went to the optometrist who took my eye pressure which came out to be an IOP of 23 which is considered high which for literally every single year I’ve never been above 20. So I randomly thought to read online to see if Trazadone can cause this, and i saw a few things that said there may be a link between Trazadone and GLAUCOMA?! Has anyone else experienced this? I’m now terrified and my sleep anxiety is even worse now because the one thing that helped me sleep now apparently can cause glaucoma lol

I have been prescribed 10mg of Belsomra to start with, as I've tried so many sleep meds: OTC, trazodone, Seroquel, Clonidine, Hydroxyzine, Benzos, Ambien IR and CR... The only ones that have worked are Valium, and Ambien, but I get 3 hours at best with Ambien and would rather avoid benzos... My biggest issue has been uncontrollable wakefullness that has originally stemed from postpartum anxiety, but because my sleep has been chronically impacted for months, it seems my sleep is broken. I have good sleep hygiene but that is clearly not the save all.

Thus, we are trying the DORA. I'd love to hear some encouraging stories regarding Belsomra, how it's worked for you, and the onset after taking it.

Just a little vent, as someone whose insomnia has come back after a couple years and I'm recognizing signs in myself that I've seen before. What put me in the darkest place and sent me to the ward was doomscrolling about med side affects and how there was "no hope" in ever sleeping or being okay again.

Obviously not true, seeing as I recovered for 3 straight years. But seeing as this insomnia has been kicking my ass, and I've been utilizing the insomnia rules I did deep research on before (stay out of bed, take care of anxiety), I've still gone days without sleeping, or three days in a row on 2 hours every night. My doctor prescribed me the Oh So Feared sleep med, one I'm less concerned about "trazodone". I was given this at the ER before, and after one night of working, it's lost it's spark. So the doctor told me to up the dose.

Problem is, I did what my old self does while I was in the throes of a sleep deprived panic attack, and looked up "trazodone panic attack/insomnia", because I was hoping to find some positive reassurance that this might help me when I up the dose and that I shouldn't panic.

But there are a lot of anecdotes about how every sleep med is GOING to cause panic and this and that, fearmongering basically. As a mentally ill person, this is detrimental to me.

Someone mentioned that panic attacks and derealization can simply come from the lack of sleep itself; like listen to yourself: you were awake for 4 days and took a sleep med and finally got rest and you don't think you might have some mental affects from all that being awake you did?

All this to say, I wish there was a way to filter out negative posts from positive ones. Because, in my own delusionally mentally ill brain, I'd like to cope somehow. These sleep meds could totally be placebo pills, but I know how the mind is, if you believe there's hope or that something will help, it's more likely to work.

The mind, sleep, and your thoughts are all connected. All that anxiety and negativity doesn't help you in the long run. If you're reading this and feeling as horrible as I am right now, I believe there's hope for you. And everything will be alright.

I have tried literally everything to get to sleep.

From Trazedone, lunesta, benzos, marijuana, and even whiskey.

I was still waking up after three hrs wide awake, like my body thought I had slept for a full night.

This has gone on for a year, last week I decided to try Unisom.

I am now sleeping through the night. I wake up on and off but have been clocking at lease seven hrs of sleep

Before anyone starts in on me about dementia side effects, try getting four hr of sleep a night and get back to me.

It has to be Doxylamine (Unisom) not the other version

Melatonin does work well for me but its still supposedly not supposed to be used long term. I considered my medical marijuana card and just taking edibles, but is that okay long term? And would it even help?

I have a whole one hour wind down bedtime routine, no screens, I medicate and have lavender oil diffusing.

Ive cut out caffiene, alcohol, limit sugar. Dont eat 3 hours before bed.

Dispite all my efforts I still cant shut my brain off at night and im constantly sleep deprived, what can I take long term to help? I dont believe i’ll ever stop having insomnia