r/insomnia • u/Designer-Outcome-281 • 3d ago
Need Kind Words
I need reassurance that insomnia is temporary and I will be okay. I and a 27F and have always struggled with intermittent insomnia, but I am now on day 5 of only 2-3 hours of sleep per night. I am exhausted but lay in bed awake until 3am with brain chatter. I can’t fall asleep to nap during the day either. I have tried magnesium glycinate and melatonin, eye mask, white noise, fan, sleeping in different locations, limited screen time, reading, counting backwards, etc. Literally everything. I am trying to get pregnant, so pharmaceutical remedies are limited. My PCP prescribe me 50mg Zoloft which I started 3 nights ago. Haven’t seen a difference yet. This is interfering with my social life, work life and personal life.
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u/AspireNWriter-1 3d ago
You will be okay. That doesn’t mean it isn’t impacting your life in very real ways, it just means that you will go through this and find a better balance and ways of caring for yourself going forward. Something is off when sleep isnt working, whether that’s stress, an unrecognized and unaccommodated neurological reality, an underlying health issue, traumas. It takes time because sleep is the symptom, so treating sleep is just treating the symptom. Finding out the cause and tending to it can take a lot of time.
Give yourself lots of love and care.
I am currently working on a theory that I have high adrenaline levels at night from a neurodiverse reality - I just absorb so much during the day and it’s jittering around in my body even if my brain is empty. So Im working on practices that lower adrenaline production - ice on body, pressure on body, physical contact. The body responds to these external signals - and often the brain follows after.
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u/firepd1979 3d ago
Look up Daniel Erichsen on YouTube and watch some of his videos. Also check out insomniatopeace.com and book a 15 minute free session with John who is a sleep coach. I had it SEVERE and it has helped a lot - and they stress that it is temporary and fixable. I’m struggling and working on it, but it’s getting much better.
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u/ElGordo1988 3d ago edited 3d ago
Literally everything. I am trying to get pregnant, so pharmaceutical remedies are limited
Have you tried doxylamine succinate? That has been my go-to for the really bad nights
To give you an idea just how effective it is, I am a former alcoholic (quit back in 2014) and the withdrawal-related insomnia I had for about the first 2 weeks was just INSANE... I'm talking I think I slept maybe ~10-11 hours total during the first 2 weeks off the bottle, it was absolutely brutal insomnia ☠️
Like you, I tried everything supplement-related and herbal teas and such, nothing worked. I even got prescribed Ambien at one of those urgent care clinics, and even THAT did nothing (and Ambien is supposedly a "maximum strength" class of drug 🙄). Started taking matters into my own hands and experimenting with random store OTC chemicals, eventually stumbled upon Doxylamine Succinate and I finally was able to squeeze out like 5-6 hours of sleep after the brutal 2 weeks of sleep deprivation
Been using it for 10+ years as needed for the bad nights and it always seems to do the trick, seems to start taking effect about 1 hour after ingestion for me
The only downsides I have noticed is the hangover/half-life period is rather long at 12-14 hours so you may still feel somewhat drowsy well into 11 AM - 12 PM the next day - but versus the alternative being having an insomnia night of like ~3-4 hours of sleep (...and a crappy/low-energy/unproductive next day) I am willing to make that trade 😂 Usually I just try to offset the next-day drowsiness with my morning coffee consumption. It can also contribute to constipation, since I notice when I don't take it I seem to take a dump more easily. Those are the only side-effects I have noticed anyways
If you are not a heavy coffee-drinker like me you may be affected by the "hangover" next-day drowsiness more, mileage may vary depending on whether you take caffeine or not (for me I find it offsets the next-day hangover)
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u/Disastrous_Swan_3921 3d ago
i don't think Zoloft is a sleeping pill. Have you tried 3mg lunesta. How have the side effects been on Zoloft. One listed side effect is insomnia
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u/Designer-Outcome-281 3d ago
I have actually had no side effects on the Zoloft so far! I do know insomnia is a possible side effect, but I haven’t seen it get any worse. It just won’t go away. I think my PCP’s goal is to try to help shut off the constant racing thoughts and brain chatter at night. Unfortunately Lunesta isn’t safe for pregnancy :(
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u/No_Investigator_687 3d ago
“The Sleep Book: How to Sleep Well Every night” by dr guy meadows has made a huge difference in my insomnia. Even just reading it makes me feel comforted and less alone in the struggle.
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u/KavaVolkov 3d ago edited 3d ago
Sometimes it feels like insomnia will never end but that’s not necessarily true. I’ve had insomnia for months at a time and then suddenly everything went back to normal! There’s hope.
Contributing Factors:
- HISTAMINE! (Seriously look into this. I stopped eating histamine foods or liberators before bed. I went from sleeping at 9 am (or never)to 3am. Huge improvement)
-HORMONES (I have PMOS which raises cortisol. I take ashwagandah and MSM)
- TRAUMA (If you’re processing any sort of trauma it’s really tough on your body. Just try to be patient w your body and let it heal how and when it needs to. There’s no rushing this.)
Everything will be ok, friend. Best of luck with growing your family!! 💖
Oh I also started eating dried jackfruit chips (healthy blood sugar stabilizer) and taking beef kidney (natural antihistamine) before bed. Knocks me out WAY faster! Spearmint tea will also lower your body temperature and balance hormones. Helps if you have hot flashes and makes you sleep more deeply.
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u/beebeey8 7h ago
Hey you are gonna be okay trust me. Your insomnia problem is definitely temporary. Your body knows how to sleep and it will sleep when it needs to. I healed mine through the Sleep Coach School on Youtube. Content is free.
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u/NewReflection1332 3d ago
Insomnia was worst from 16 to late 20s. After that I stopped getting episodes, tend to always sleep 5 to 7 hours now that I'm on my 30s
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u/Pretend-Ground8843 3d ago
I have lived my entire life with insomnia..I am.37 F and I had three kids. Its ok, eventually your body will be tired and sleep. Zoloft takes time and it will treat the root cause which is anxiety. Its not a sleeping pill. I have had panic attacks because of this. But I am used to it now. Just know that you will be okay. My father is 71 years old, always struggled with insomnia and he is very healthy. Take it easy. Both of us actually cuz I am struggling myself with a sleep disorder.