Is there a physical imbalance that can prevent sleep?

[cam94z28]

I'm at my wits end here. I've been suffering from sleep issues for about a week. I used to sleep like a rock for 7-10 hours a night uninterrupted. Over the past 2 weeks I've been having some major issues. I had a health scare, and thought I was going deaf. A petty thing, really. I poked a cloth too far in my ear, and plugged wax into the inner ear canal. A walk-in clinic visit later, and I was seemingly fine, even for the next day or 2. Then, the sleep issues started.

I developed health anxiety and a "lump-in-throat" sensation that I could bring on on-demand (OCD thinking), causing more anxiety. Had also worked myself up into getting "adrenaline rushes" nearly every time I thought about the "lump-in-throat". Obviously this prevented me from sleeping, and is the only cause I can think of. It developed into a "jerking awake" feeling every....single....time I doze off. I cannot break out of it. I will just lay there for several hours with this going on until I finally give up. From this point, Ambien was my sleep coach. It's all that would allow me to sleep, but the sleep does not feel restful at all, and I go through the day not feeling well. I had to bump it up to an entire 10mg, every night, of this highly addictive narcotic sleep aid.

I did have this problem many years ago, which is when I was originally given Ambien, and put on an anti-depressant (serzone), which helped. I have been stable without the Serzone for a long time.

I decided to start taking B12, and Magnesium (oxide, crappy absorption) yesterday, and my mood improved somewhat, and some of the obsessive sensations I mentioned earlier have lessened.

I have gone through several days of crying spells, missed work, and hopelessness. My job is at risk if this continues. I don't know how to bring back that normal sleep I once had. Without Ambien I will lay in bed for hours with this repetitive auto-wake cycle happening over and over. After the Ambien even barely wears off, I develop the symptoms after waking mid-sleep. It has made me afraid/sometimes terrified of sleep. Imagine if someone smacked you on the cheek every time you dozed off. I may or may not have sleep apnea, I do snore, but it hasn't caused issues in the past.

I know Serotonin can have an effect, but is there any other chemical/supplement imbalance that can cause this?

Also, FWIW, I also have intermittent burning sensations that happen either in the bladder, area, hand or feet.

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

[Zootal]

The exact same thing happened to me, related to ringing in my ears. All of a sudden I could hardly sleep at all. The anxiety the ear problems caused kept me awake.

I went to see my doctor, and he just shrugged his shoulders and gave me ambien. BIG MISTAKE! HUGE MISTAKE! You take ambien for a week and your hooked. If you stop, you will not sleep for a while, period, and recovery will be brutal. I eventually quit ambien, and it was as if someone had opened a door to hell and shoved me through and slammed it behind me. It took a long long time to recover. I eventually quit taking all medications, and in time my ability to sleep returned. I did take valium from time to time, but very sparingly - it is nowhere near addictive as ambien, but you still don't want to take it more than once a week.

I'm not going to give you medical advice, but if I were you knowing what I know now, I would quit the ambien immediately, endure the hell it takes to recover from it, and go see your doctor about options. If you doctor can't help you, find another doctor. I ended up visiting several doctors before I got the answers I need to heal and move on and most important of all, regain the ability to sleep without medications.

Moral of the story:

1) Never take ambien, it is a drug from the deepest pits of hell
2) Find another doctor if the one you are seeing can't help you overcome this.
3) There is a book called Insomniaz by Gayle Greene. It is the best book on insomnia and solutions I have ever read. Look for it in your local library, or fork out a few bucks and buy it from Amazon or wherever you can find it.

[Morpheus1517]

Your first step should be to discuss with your doc, to either treat or rule out an underlying medical or psychiatric issue.  If you have none, then look to nonmedical root sources for this.  These typically are some combination of bad sleep habits and excessive worry about the idea of sleep.  You are expressing the worry, not sure about your sleep habits.

One good solution for the nonmedical portion of insomnia are CBT adult sleep training programs.  You might ask your doc about this, or check online if you are the self-help type.