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I have slept a total of 5 hours in 6 days. What's wrong with me?
I'm on day 7 with an acute onset of near total insomnia. I have slept a collective of 5 hours in these past 6 nights and I'm not sure I can go much longer like this.
I need to sleep and I'm completely exhausted but I just can't cross over into sleep no matter what I try. All I do is lay there, terribly tired with my eyes closed for hours on end only to watch the daylight peek through my window without sleeping. On the nights that I do sleep, it's maybe 1 hour and only after 4am comes around.
6/22/2024 - It started with a mild cold that kept me awake most of the night . This cold was annoying but nothing too bad. I slept poorly but got 3 or 4 hours.
6/23/2024 - The next day, I took a melatonin before bedtime and slept 6 hours or so. I felt fine this day and had a great cardio workout.
6/24/2024 - This is when it hit me. I did not sleep; not 1 minute and it seemed to come out of nowhere. As I laid there, my mind was racing and my heart rate was 20 bpm above normal. When I moved, it spoked to 110 bpm and seemed to pound.
6/25/2024 - By this day I am exhausted and needed to take the day off from work. I thought I could sleep off the cold I was fighting and catch up on sleep. When I tried to nap around 10am, I slept 1 hour but only after laying there for 90 minutes trying. When night fell, I had zero hours of sleep. Nothing, nadda.
6/26/2024 - I'm getting a bit scared. This isn't normal and I've never had this happen to me. I decide to go to the walk-in clinic. The doctor listens to me and concludes I'm having sleep-anxiety and prescribes Trazodone. When night came, I took the meds which seemed to make my hear race but I did feel very relaxed. Despite this, I got maybe 1-2 hours that night.
6/27/2024 - I'm starting to loose my mind but still have hope that the Trazodone will work. I take the meds that night and again I cannot sleep until 4 am rolls around and then it's only 1-2 hours.
6/28/2024 - I'm a zombie all day but after some reading I decide not to continue the meds and try Theanine and magnesium. As night fell, I took the Theanine and magnesium and oh boy, I cannot sleep, not 1 minute.
So here I am pleading for help. I don't know what's happening to me and I'm well into the stage of extreme anxiety. I've read about CBT-I, I'm doing the things like meditation, breathing, relaxation, exercise, meds, supplements, etc but nothing helps. Any time I lay down now, my heart races, my chest gets butterflies and I can't sleep. It's like I've completely lost the ability to turn off and my body is dumping adrenalin into my brain. I'm worried that the worst is in the cards for me if this continues.
Can someone help me figure this out?
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Could you explain more about your issue with Cortisol? I was recently tested for my osteoporosis and results showed I have high cortisol. I'm still waiting to hear back from my Dr about this. I believe it's a big reason for my chronic insomnia.
My body clock is flipped. I could be a night shift worker without meds. I think Menopause flipped it. I slept like a log before that. My body likes staying up to 3 or 4 in the morning and then I go to sleep and want to sleep until 10:00 in the morning. I was tested by an endocrinologist at 2:00 in the afternoon via a blood test. He said my cortisol was fine. Key is 2:oo in the afternoon. Previously I had gone to an all natural gynecologist doctor that had me do a test until 2 or 3 in the morning. I ate certain things at night not sure why but can't remember what it was because I did this 25 years ago. I then would swab my mouth and stick it in a test tube. Apparently the test came back that my cortisol was at its lowest point at 6:00 AM (supposed to be at highest point at that time) and then around 10:00 at night it started going up. At night your cortisol should be going down and at a low point. I know that the cortisol test was correct because I feel myself start perking up at 10:00 at night and ready to start cleaning the house. I just let that go with the current endro dr because I have too much else to deal with like breathing on a daily basis. I think my general practitioner dr feels sorry for me because I have so much to deal with and lets me enjoy my sleep. It is really the only time that I breath good and am totally at peace with life. My good nights sleep helps me cope with all of the Bronchictisis, constant bacterial infections and asthma issues better. Maybe a sleep Dr could do the test for cortisol on you. It could very well be your reason for not sleeping. However, Doctors have been taught that the reason people don't sleep is stress and mental issues. Mine was menopause onset. I am 68 and still have to take hormone therapy for hot flashes. My mom still had hot flashes in her 80's. Hormony therapy helps but with a bacterial infection the meds counteract a lot of the time my thyroid and hormone medication. It is never ending.
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1 ReactionHello. This is the exact same thing I'm going through and I feel so terrible but your post has helped me so much. Did you keep take the prescription medicine?
I have a sleep disorder, Idiopathic Hypersomnia
Several weeks ago my therapist told me to play “GREEN NOISE” while I am trying to fall asleep, or get better sleep. IT ABSOLUTELY HELPED ME.
It’s available free on YouTube.
PS. I had never heard of different color noise, so I thought my therapist was a bit off…but she was right.
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2 ReactionsCheck out The Sleep Coach School.
I too have had these same issues for a solid three years. Recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. Was told the cpap would help me get to sleep. But I’m tired and when I get to bed can’t sleep. When I try a med, it seems to work for a week or so and then stops working. Working with both a sleep neurologist and sleep pulmonologist to get some answers and help.
As someone who went 2 weeks without sleep once, I strongly urge you to check yourself into hospital emergency room. when they hear your story, they would probably give you a Xanax or Valium or Klonopin. You appear to me to now be in a heightened anxiety state and benzos are needed to at least allow you several nights sleep w/o worry. A nervous breakdown is awaiting you without serious help. All doctors and nurses are trained to only give benzos for a short time (couple weeks) until a less addictive med that works can take their place. I don't want to scare you further but make sure the hospital or doctor knows how serious this is. I went psycho until benzos were used and then replaced with an anti-depressant for anxiety. Over-the -counter Benadryle for allergy night time medicine now puts me to sleep. I take 2 tablets. My partner took it every night for 20 years. I am not a doctor but this has been my experience. Let us know how you are coming along.
Sorry, but Benzo’s are a dangerous drug with severe withdrawal when taken longer than 2 weeks. Once your off the benzo, then what? The medical industry has become a corrupt arm of the pharmaceutical companies. They push these pills out like popcorn without consequences. They can cause serious physiological dependence,
and eventually tolerance to the point you have to keep increasing the dosage.
You should try something more natural first like Magnesium Glycinate. It completely relaxes your mind and body. However you should check with your doctor first if you have low blood pressure. Because it will lower it. Also there is a form of melatonin you can take that is closest to human, which is from the montmorency tart cherry. You can buy it from King Orchards online. I wouldn’t use it too long by just long enough to get a pattern of sleep. I would strongly suggest finding a medical person trained in CBTI, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.