Insomnia (am I going to die?)

I have been battling chronic insomnia since March 2024. With numerous medications and otc sleep aids, I have yet to find what works. I’m getting fairly tired of sleepless nights. I think there’s a chemical imbalance that’s preventing me from sleeping. I am a 25 y/o female who’s fairly healthy. Has anyone gone through anything similar? How did you overcome insomnia?

I am going through the same thing since 8 months. I feel like I will eventually die from this. 8 hours of sleep is not enough. I can only be awake 2-3 hours at a time and then I am sleepy again. I take clonopin but it stopped working at 0.5mg so I might up my dose. I have benadryl for emergencies when I want to knock myself out but I am genuinely suffering. It’s a different kind of hell that people dont understand.

@Foster
Don’t up your dose - try something else, like adding amitriptyline or trazodone or another thing with a different mechanism than Klonopin.

Getting off K-pins is not fun.

Bali said:
@Foster
Don’t up your dose - try something else, like adding amitriptyline or trazodone or another thing with a different mechanism than Klonopin.

Getting off K-pins is not fun.

Zolpidem with klonopin? Won’t it be a double whammy

@Foster
It’s a scary thought that I don’t want to even think about. I have so much to live for. If it is our last moments I just want you to know that Jesus died for you and loves you very much. This battle is not our own.

@Orin
Don’t be so quick to assume the end. It’s not even been a year of going through this. Our brains are very resilient. Just keep switching meds and taper off to a natural sleep wake cycle, easier said than done especially if you have a 9-5. I wish I could get 1 month off work so I could just use it to fix my sleep without needing to wake up to work.

@Foster
I used to work a 9-5. I had to leave that so that I could take care of my health. That was a month ago. I know it’s not the end and I’m gradually finding my sleep-wake cycle. I wish I had better sleep hygiene.

I have been here before. Feeling like I will eventually succumb to my lack of sleep, or have no or very low quality of life as a result of it. It’s not fun. It really did feel like a risk factor for death for me. I am no longer in that place. My sleep is not fantastic, but it is SO much better, and enough to function at a somewhat high level most days. Things that have worked for me:

•CBT-I. I speak with someone most weeks about insomnia. It has transitioned mainly into life topics and mental health maintenance these days, but it was strictly to talk about insomnia initially. A therapist trained in CBT-I will help you discover potential reasons you’re not sleeping, and strategies for getting sleep.

•Routine. Routine is everything for us insomnia sufferers. Roughly the same bedtime, roughly the same wake time. Every day. As diligent as possible. You want to do things in the evening that cue your body for sleep. Dim lights, reduce screen usage (and or turn down brightness settings and use blue light blocking glasses), pick 2-3 things you roughly always do before bed. For me, this is shower, take L-Theanine (natural sleep aid with basically no drug interactions that is extremely relaxing), veg on the couch for 60-90 minutes either reading or watching/listening to something fairly chill (no hardcore thrillers or dramas or true crime, etc). I’m careful about my caffeine intake. I get morning sunlight (helps set circadian rhythm).

•Letting go. I don’t know what else to call this one. I’m a chronic overthinker. My brain does not turn off. Give it permission to if this is also you. There is almost nothing that needs solving/thought about at 3am instead of sleeping that you wouldn’t think more productively about at the beginning of a fresh day. Don’t force sleep. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to sleep. Relax and allow it to come to you. This takes PRACTICE and belief.

•More random sleep hygiene stuff: If you are not successfully falling asleep DO NOT stay in bed tossing and turning. Battling insomnia like I said is about consistency and about cue’ing your body. For a while, my bedroom became hell. It was anxiety inducing. I would step in there like I was going to war. Another night of struggle. This will not lead to a healthy sleep relationship. You want your bedroom to be a relaxing place where you’re only successful at sleeping. So what do we do? If after 20-30 minutes we’re unsuccessful at fallign asleep and don’t feel like we’re close, we’re going to leave the room, and go do something quiet and relaxing until we feel tired enough to try again, and we’re going to repeat this cycle until we fall asleep in our bed. We’re going to do this until our body understands that bed is safe and good and where sleep happens.

I’m forgetting many things inevitably. I am a problem solver and I told myself I wouldn’t let my insomnia ruin my life. So I’ve done a lot of research, gotten outside help, and tried many different things. If you need to pick my brain you can message me. You’ll get through this.

@Monty
CBT-I failed for me, due to mental illness being the cause of mine. Just had a neuropsychologist agree that, yeah, it makes sense it made your sleep worse.

@Monty
I think these are all great ideas. I have hope for myself to recover from this. I am trying to go to bed and wake up at the same time.

Orin said:
@Monty
I think these are all great ideas. I have hope for myself to recover from this. I am trying to go to bed and wake up at the same time.

You can do it! I had the EXACT same feeling of it being some sort of literal chemical imbalance making it close to impossible for sleep to happen. I described it as like a switch that couldn’t be flipped to the off position or a chemical reaction that couldn’t quite take place. I came out the other end and you can too :slightly_smiling_face:, it just will probably take a bit of time and effort and trial and error.

Have you even tried to see a sleep specialist yet? I went through sleep problems most of my life and have pretty much “cured” it in that I know how I sleep and feel well rested most of the time now. If this is affecting you so much that you are at the point that you think it will kill you, you must go see a dr, preferably a sleep specialist that will give you a sleep study to see what is going on when you are and aren’t sleeping. It could be a simple fix. Wishing you rest and health, but whatever you do, don’t give up looking for answers, but maybe lay off otc sleep aids before confirming with a doc who has studied sleep

@Ash
I have already gone to a sleep doctor. I don’t have sleep apnea was the conclusion. They weren’t able to figure out what exactly was wrong. All I know is that sleep apnea is not the root cause. I am on different sleep prescriptions. I’m hopeful that they give good results. I have just started for two days Latuda.

@Orin
Latuda? So you have bipolar? Because bipolar can cause cortisol cascades that raise anxiety and make mania worse. Source: bipolar II, on 300mg lamotragine and 60mg of Latuda daily. Latuda doesn’t make me drowsy, though.

@Blane
Latuda is supposed to induce drowsiness. I also have bipolar disorder.

Orin said:
@Blane
Latuda is supposed to induce drowsiness. I also have bipolar disorder.

Your insomnia is likely linked to the bipolar, like mine. Latuda has been a lifesaver for me (literally, I started it while I was institutionalized for suicidal ideations), but I have strange reactions to meds, so Latuda doesn’t make me sleepy at all. Opiates and benzos don’t have any effect on me either, so I’m a weirdo. How long have you been on the Latuda?

How much exercise are you getting per day? Our physical and mental activity in the day leads to sleep quality.

Vero said:
How much exercise are you getting per day? Our physical and mental activity in the day leads to sleep quality.

I have tried to exercise. It doesn’t do much except mentally drain me.

Blue light filter glasses and turning off the blue light on your electronics. It’s crazy how much it affects our brains!