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Sleep problems

yellowpineapple84

For some years I’ve had difficulty with getting to sleep and then nightmares happening every time I sleep and been getting by on 3 hours sleep. Since September I’ve suddenly dropped to 1 hour a night and I feel exhausted and stressed and worried. My doctor initially tried me on promethazine which didn’t work and I subsequently tried desperate ways to get to sleep which caused more problems. In October I’ve been referred to Sleepstation and last week I got accepted onto the insomnia programme and today I’ve completed my first week of sleep diaries. The sleep coaches and sleep therapists will now review my sleep diaries and start to try and help with a programme for me to try and then I will do more sleep diaries. Apparently they’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people. For a week I had to complete a sleep diary each day and during the week I had to do checkups too. The sleep coaches and sleep therapists in the team keep in regular contact with people using sleepstation and hopefully they can help me too. I feel very sad

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Comments

kreacher

have you tried reading a book for abit, to try and distract yourself or if the weather is nice and if you have a garden, having a wander outside, i sometimes have nightmares, i put the tv on and wander round my flat as i havn't a garden

JessieJ

I survive on 1 to 4 hrs (sometimes none) of broken sleep a night, due to pain & having to move. Because of that, for years & years now, I have a desert island that I go to (in my mind!!), when I can't get off or back to sleep. It's mine & I can do what I like there, I'm not disabled, so the island is my oyster. It used to be a standing joke on a forum I used to be on, but some tried it too & it worked for them. Costs nothing & you are free from any other thoughts. On the night I really can't get off, I get up & put the TV on, until I can sit no longer.

Rachel_Scope

This sounds awful for you @yellowpineapple84. I'm so happy to see that you are getting some help now and I really hope that they're able to help you. How do you feel about it all? Do you feel optimistic?

Anhedonia2

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/149422/sleep-problems

I had really bad insomnia a few years back and it affected me so badly, I really struggled and it was a vicious circle, I'd stress and worry about lack of sleep and then sleep less and I felt so unwell existing on so little sleep. It made me really sad and feel very emotionally unwell too. I feel for you so much and I hope they're able to help you! I do something similar to Jessie and try and imagine a scene or a scenario in my head, almost like telling myself a story. I need my brain fully immersed and distracted in order to fall asleep otherwise it's too active.

Sending warm and sleepy thoughts and I hope you get some much needed rest soon, I know how awful it feels not to.

ChrisR777

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1154852#Comment_1154852

I can relate to you with regards to broken sleep, my muscles go into spasms when I lie in bed. I still stay in the beggar for at least 8 hours: I insist on it.

Ross1975

yellowpineapple84, I totally understand the toll it can take. Around a year or two ago I went for a long time barely getting any sleep at all, it started to really mess with me as during the day I would start getting what felt like recent memories of vague things coming back to me, yet at the same time it felt like they didn't really happen and maybe I had dreamt them even though I hadn't been sleeping. Anyway doctor put me on Mirtazapine and I was then able to get a proper nights sleep every night.

Recently though every night after several hours of sleeping I'll wake up with muscle aches around my waist and it will keep me awake. I think it's probably due to be being not that physically active, so I've started exercising to hopefully get rid of the problem.

I hope you're able to get the help you need.

yellowpineapple84

Thank-you for the replies. I have tried so many things including reading which I do enjoy. I’ve also tried listening to waves and rainstorms and birds singing. I once listened to a deep sleep hypnosis third eye chakra music which I don’t recommend to anyone as I didn’t realise what it was and it was terrifying what I ended up seeing 😣

The desert island sounds really peaceful, I’m glad you find comfort in this :) Reading what you also write I can see you’re struggling with sleep too and sometimes having no sleep which is really sad to read. I feel so exhausted and stressed and worried and I just want to sleep and I can imagine you want to sleep easily too

yellowpineapple84

@Rachel_Scope Hi thanks for your message. I got my sleep review earlier and starting my first sleep plan. It seems they’re going to work with me for quite a while, it seems comprehensive. It’s also free on the NHS. They just require confirmation from your doctors that you are registered there and then they can get NHS funding to help people like me. Because their techniques and plans are only going to be revealed to me slowly over a number of weeks I’ve no idea what to expect or how they’re going to improve my sleep so I’m not sure what I feel. I’ve tried some desperate things which didn’t work and led to more problems. There are 3 different types of insomnia which I didn’t know and they say in the sleep review that I have insomnia but that it is fixable. I need to try everything they say. They send reports to people’s doctors too. I need to give this a real try as my doctor won’t give me stronger stuff until we’ve tried sleepstation. I just feel sad and really tired

yellowpineapple84

@Anhedonia2 hello :) I always smile when I see your name appear in my inbox! Thanks for writing here. I’m sorry you experienced this too. It is really hard, I’m struggling with this. I like your way of coping too, I’m glad you’ve found that helpful. In my initial sleep plan I’m going to try the suggestions and they’ll monitor that for a week and go from there. Thank-you, I really hope so, I really want to sleep

I remember you have your new role now and I really hope your fresh start is being kind to you? Sending warmth and sleepy thoughts to you too :)

yellowpineapple84

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1154927#Comment_1154927

Thank-you for writing too :) What you describe sounds so familiar, this vagueness and disorientation you write about I think I’ve been experiencing this since being down to 1 hour. Also very familiar with myrtazipine, I’ve come off this though. I know it’s meant to have a drowsy effect and sadly it didn’t for me. I’m now not on anything, my doctor has paused some things and I’ve said I don’t want to take some things. I did want stronger sleeping stuff though, she won’t allow me these for the moment and wanted me to try sleepstation instead. I hope it works. I hope tonight you’re sleeping okay and your exercise is helping :)

JessieJ

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1154918#Comment_1154918

It is so frustrating, @ChrisR777, that's what I used to do & why I started my island thoughts. Now, if that doesn't help & I can't get back to sleep, I just give in & get up. I pay for that too, but just laying awake in bed with the pain for company, nah!

As you know & others have said, it really isn't very good, @yellowpineapple84 for mind or body. Painkillers should help, but they don't, even the knock out drops. Try the island, you never know, you might extend your rest time.

Rachel_Scope

I understand it could be a long and difficult journey @yellowpineapple84 but it sounds promising as they've said it's fixable. I also didn't know there were different types of insomnia. Does knowing more about your particular type make you feel better?

yellowpineapple84

@Rachel_Scope Sadly no and my first sleep schedule/plan for this week is starting off really difficult. I hope they’re going to change my timings, I’m struggling with what they’ve given me and my first two sleep diaries since are failures

yellowpineapple84

I’m going to have a glass of milk now and try to sleep. My sleep plan has been amended and I feel more optimistic with this updated plan sleepstation have provided me and hopefully I can make progress on this now :)

ChrisR777

just read the stuff I posted about windfarms, you'll soon be asleep! Not sure about the glass of milk though. 🥛🚽

Rachel_Scope

It's still early days @yellowpineapple84. There will be some setbacks but don't look at them as failures. I'm glad the plan was amended. How did you sleep last night?

yellowpineapple84

@Rachel_Scope Hi :) Thanks for replying. I slept a little better last night, I had 3 hours which was promising. I feel a little apprehensive about seeing my doctor on Wednesday, I’ve been seeing her fairly regularly for the last 4 years. She’s been really kind with me and seen me all this time, I haven’t had to see another doctor at my GP place. I feel apprehensive because I haven’t made sufficient progress. I’m trying to make sure I login here and try to help especially when I’m struggling to sleep

yellowpineapple84

I completed my sleep diaries for the week today. Now I wait for their review and what their next plan/suggestions are. I think I have 5 more weeks working with them