Help Sleep Anxiety

[sonikaur]

Hi. I am a 21 yr old female who has been suffering from anxiety my whole life. For the past four months i have been in constant anxiety mode. I have tried every antideppressant possible all of them being to sensitive for me. I realize when i get a good sleep my anxiety is gone, but i havent been sleeping in months. Whenever i fall asleep i feel so anxius and wake right back up panicing. My doctor put me on Ambien and it really helps with the anxiety at bed time so i can at least sleep peacefully for 4 hours. I love the way it makes me feel all relaxed and nothing can go wrong, yea but it stopped working and i dont want to take more then 5mg. I also dont want to become dependent on it for sleep everynight, but i have become dependent on it. I have been taking somekind of benzo or sleep aid for the past 2 yrs. But after a bed svt episode in december, i have been needing something stronger for my sleep anxiety. My doc also recommended me Lunesta but im too scared to try it, its 3mg. I think that might be a too high of a dose. Does anyone know what can help me sleep without anxiety? Has anyone else tried Lunesta for sleep anxiety. I have tried not sleeping with any med but end up staying up all night panicing even though i am super tired. Please help me get back to sleep so i can focus more on my life. Thanks

Soni

[WendyLady03]

I was just like you, and the only thing that helped me sleep was amitriptyline. It's an antidepressant as well, but I was on a very small dose just for sleep along with the fluoxetine I take during the day. I've gotten to the point now that I don't need anything to sleep, which is great. Amitriptyline isn't addicting, which was my biggest worry when my doctor and I tried to figure out what I should take.

My sister takes seroquel to sleep, and it's the only thing that helped her. I tried that at first and I hated it, so meds effect everyone differently. I've also heard from people with anxiety that trazadone is great for sleep...it's another antidepressant. You have a lot of options out there, and sleep is crucial to overcoming anxiety, so I would keep talking to your doctor about all your options.

Also I hated people when they told me this, but they were right, exercising really does help. I do cardio for only 20 minutes a day and it has made me sleep so much better. Hang in there, things will get better!

[tjrusert]

I have taken Lunesta.  I like it better than Ambien.  But there came a point where I was taken off of Lunesta because I have other health issues and i was tired all of the time and sleep wasnt a problem.  Now it has become a problem again and the specialist treating my other health issues put me on Ambien.  I try other things before taking the Ambien.   I dont get sleepy with over the counter meds.  So that I dont get so worried about addiction,  I take my Xanax instead of the Ambien periodically.  But NEVER EVER take them together.  Its a dangerous combination.  On my days off of work,  I try not taking anything and just sleep in the next day.  I have also tried Melatonin and Valerian Root.  They are natural sleep aids.  I havent had much luck with them.  The Lunesta doesnt cause the weird behaviors for me that Ambien sometimes causes.  If I dont go to sleep right away with Ambien, I tend to do odd things.  Its like sleep walking but Im not fully asleep.  I remember bits an pieces of things the next day. I hope things get better for you.

[beanxx]

You  need diazepam my sister has the same problem, she takes only 2mg a night, she used to try the herbal remedies but nothing worked for her but she said diazepam is absolutely brilliant but its dangerous in a way coz it is very addictive. I was chlopromozine for bad anxiety before they put me on fluoxetine then citalopram they are absolutely brilliant. Have you tried all the usual stuff, hot bath, sleep therapy balms, pillow sprays sleep routine, etc? The thing is depending on what your panicking about maybe you should try n talk to someone about your problems because its better for you and less stressful to let off steam to someone and you know theyre there to help