Coping with Sleep Challenges

[disco]

I didn't sleep alot before Paxil but I do now. And its been nice for a change but as I decided to go down to 5mg I wonder if I'll have anxiety in the am again?

Things that work for me as a non sleeper:

- black out curtains. BEST THING EVAR
- light yoga before bed routine. tara stiles on youtube.com has a good one

My husband is an insomniac and we both swear by this:
POT - but to each his own and some people react poorly.
(I'm a chemist so please don't tell me the warnings I KNOW and it works for us)

But I have to say....I'll miss the dreams. No antis = no dreams for me. And as crazy as they are I've grown to love the nonsense and freakiness.

[paxilqueries]

I find it interesting that antidepressants do so many different things to one's dreams. When I was heavily on antidepressants, I dreamed perhaps once a month, if I was lucky. And my sleep was always off cycle (hard to fall asleep, hard to wake up before noon), though that could have been because my first doctor told me to never take antidepressants at night, since they'd be too stimulating!?!?!

Now as I near the end (hopefully) of my taper, and take the antidepressants in the evening, and also have a 9-5 summer internship that forces me to sleep at normal hours, I actually find that my sleep has improved, and I actually had an intricate dream last night! My mood has improved too, I actually find myself feeling less depressed and more optimistic than I did on the medication (being on anxiety meds was a huge source of anxiety for me :P )

Also, just to throw it out there, I just started drinking Arizona Stress Rx iced tea, and it's a wonderful beverage. It contains chamomile, valerian root, and B vitamins, and drinking it at night is very calming and helps me feel like sleeping. But what's nice is that it's not a sedative at all, I can drink it during the day too and it just tastes good.

[Shad]

Hi folks,

Anyone have any experience with not being able to sleep after tapering off antidepressants, and also that NO sleeping aid whatsoever works?
I quit Effexor after a period of 6 months of lowering the dose, and I simply cannot sleep anymore. 2 hours a night at most. This has been going on for four months now. I have a full time job and a 3 year old kid to take care of, both of which have become virtually impossible to do.
None of the prescribed sleeping pills worked so far, nor did 5 mg of melatonin, nor did 300 mg of 5-HTP. Nothing.

Now, out of sheer desperation (and pressure from my wife) I got back on Effexor, 37.5 mg. Been doing that for two weeks now and I sleep again...

I must add that I have been a bad sleeper for almost all my life, but not to this extent. I did have severe sleeping problems prior to being put on AD's though.

What is going on here? Withdrawal symptoms?

[texgirl]

Wow, this was my first post and my first thread on PP! What a long, strange trip it's been. I don't have sleep problems anymore, BTW, for anybody who's new here and might be wondering if recovery is really possible.

Originally Posted by Shad

Hi folks,

Anyone have any experience with not being able to sleep after tapering off antidepressants, and also that NO sleeping aid whatsoever works?
I quit Effexor after a period of 6 months of lowering the dose, and I simply cannot sleep anymore. 2 hours a night at most. This has been going on for four months now. I have a full time job and a 3 year old kid to take care of, both of which have become virtually impossible to do.
None of the prescribed sleeping pills worked so far, nor did 5 mg of melatonin, nor did 300 mg of 5-HTP. Nothing.

Now, out of sheer desperation (and pressure from my wife) I got back on Effexor, 37.5 mg. Been doing that for two weeks now and I sleep again...

I must add that I have been a bad sleeper for almost all my life, but not to this extent. I did have severe sleeping problems prior to being put on AD's though.

What is going on here? Withdrawal symptoms?

Insomnia is a common side effect of withdrawing from SSRIs. That said, the speed of your taper is probably at least partly to blame. Of all the meds we see here, as a general rule, Effexor has to be tapered the slowest.

[hbrooks]

somebody told me I wouldn't die from lack of sleep. Still I think it is the worst thing ever for me. My nervous system suffers, I get so angry.
First I KNOW that I can't eat sugar before bedtime. I take calcium ,drink my water and liquids before 6. Don't go to bed before 8. Put a tape on. I have been using Pema Chodron,(stops my mind ) I stop to rest 1 hour during the day with the dogs. Sometimes I nap, sometimes not. Mostly I have stopped obsessing about sleeping, saying I will have the energy I need during the day . Sometimes if I wake too early, I take one dose of melatonin or aspirin.
There are several nights, I lie awake for hours. In general, this is going on all my life. Paxil or not, so I guess I have to accept it and give up the struggle.
Others go through this too, it isn't just me, so I pray for you all. Helen
I am on my last taper of Paxil at 3mg.

[julie-d]

[quote=texgirl;236136]Hi, everybody. I haven't posted for a while, though I have been reading your replies and putting into practice many of your suggestions. Day before yesterday I re-read Darcy B.'s book cover to cover, and it was really helpful. Interesting how your response to info changes as your perspective changes.

After dealing with the sleep thing for months and doing a lot of research, I've come to the conclusion that what's happening to me are spontaneous panic attacks while I'm asleep. No matter what kind of day I've had or how calm I am at bedtime, I jolt awake with my brain firing in a million different directions--scattered words, images--and a pounding heart, tight chest, rumbling intestines, all the physical manifestations of a PA.]

This has been happened to me a lot lately. I wake up at all hours of the night or early a.m. in full-blown panic. And I haven't even been dreaming anything scary or panic-inducing?

Just curious, who is Darcy B. and what is her book called? TIA.
Julie

[texgirl]

LOL, Darcy is a he, PP founder and author of the original Paxil Withdrawal Guide. It used to be available on this site, but his weaning methods were pretty dated and I think it was eventually removed. (Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about that; I haven't looked for the link in ages.)

[silence4now]

@julie-d -I remember this "spontaneous panic attack" during Paxil withdrawal. It will subside after your brain recovers from the effects of the drug. I don't know if there is anything you can do in the meantime. I used to keep rescue remedy by the bed. Deep breathing helped too. Fast forward 6 years later, I sleep like a baby most nights.

[palm]

Originally Posted by Shad

Hi folks,

Anyone have any experience with not being able to sleep after tapering off antidepressants, and also that NO sleeping aid whatsoever works?
I quit Effexor after a period of 6 months of lowering the dose, and I simply cannot sleep anymore. 2 hours a night at most. This has been going on for four months now. I have a full time job and a 3 year old kid to take care of, both of which have become virtually impossible to do.
None of the prescribed sleeping pills worked so far, nor did 5 mg of melatonin, nor did 300 mg of 5-HTP. Nothing.

Now, out of sheer desperation (and pressure from my wife) I got back on Effexor, 37.5 mg. Been doing that for two weeks now and I sleep again...

I must add that I have been a bad sleeper for almost all my life, but not to this extent. I did have severe sleeping problems prior to being put on AD's though.

What is going on here? Withdrawal symptoms?

Hi Shad,

If you had severe sleeping problems prior to being put on ADS, you might want to investigate sleep apnea to see if that fits.

Also, do you have any issue like nasal congestion or allergies that could be impacting your sleep?

Palm

[julie-d]

Originally Posted by silence4now

@julie-d -I remember this "spontaneous panic attack" during Paxil withdrawal. It will subside after your brain recovers from the effects of the drug. I don't know if there is anything you can do in the meantime. I used to keep rescue remedy by the bed. Deep breathing helped too. Fast forward 6 years later, I sleep like a baby most nights.

Lisa,
I've tried everything for sleep--the gamut of natural supplements, progressive relaxation, relaxing music, Rescue Remedy, yoga b4 bed, and when I'm really desparate, Benedryl (which normally makes me really drowsy). It seems that when I feel like this nothing helps. But, your post give me hope that this will pass. Thanks.
Julie
Paxil-free 11/11

[kathrynE]

Well, I don't know what to say. I'm so messed up from no sleep or maybe a few hours I feel beyond helping myself. I have some tapes I'll try again though tonight. I've been so lost in self pity and lonliness but feel too exhausted to go anywhere to help the lonliness and broke. My circumstances briefly are that after years (30) on ADs and benzos my divorce is culminating slowly and I believe from lack of sleep found myself in such a rage last night I decided to not take my life but not help it stay around either. I've lost all motivation even to eat properly and neither my psych or GP believe in this withdrawal business so I can't turn to them. I'm at the point I just wish God wud come down from the great heavens lol and take over lol! I laugh with what little sense of humor I have left which is totally uncharachteric of me. I'm stuck, exhausted depressed and ashamed of myself for being this apathetic and those urging me to go to a church free supper are rightly disgusted with me but for the life of me I'm sick of free things for the poor (me). I'm sick of being poor and I know I'm stuck in this crappy attitude but just haven't seem to got what it takes to do anything about it. So now I'm whining to you probably just engendering more disgust. 58 years old and being an immature baby publicly. I just can't find the answers as I lie here exhausted and embarrassed being like this. I wish this whole damn thing I had all the motivation to conquer once would just (poof) go away. So what have I accomplished but venting and probably disingratiating myself here too. Sorry. Tempted to just not post this but really fed up.

[Betsy]

Kathryn E.,
I know my version of what you are talking about. I am glad you decided not to take your life, it is worth fighting for....THAT I DO KNOW!!!! It can be so hard to find a way to believe in yourself enough to take care of yourself. I haven't looked at any of your other posts, I probably should do that. Not enough sleep is always HUGE thing for me. I would here people say I just feel so anxious every waking moment and I would think "At least you GET to sleep!" I know the loneliness, I know the depression, I know that day after day after day pit of despair in my heart and stomach. I Hold on to the Lord with the skin of my teeth, and that seems to be all I can do sometimes.

I wish this wasn't so hard, I wish we could have found other ways to deal with the anxiety and depression than meds...I don't understand why I can't and it makes me really mad at the situation. However, Please be kind to yourself. You need kindness and care. You do not need to be ashamed of yourself. Please do not be disgusted with yourself, you are of great worth, even when you feel broken. I don't get on PP much anymore, my situation has changed so much. But I had to post to you. Kathryn is my middle name and my last name starts with E!

hugs to you, you deserve the best...hold on....it will come. I am so sorry it is so hard won.
Take care,
Betsy

[Kristin]

Kathryn E.,
My heart goes out to you. Venting is a GOOD thing! And this is a great place to do it because we understand how hard it can be to go through W/D and all the fall out from it in relationship costs and financial instability etc, etc. My docs didn't understand W/D either...even after I loaned them my books on it! I ask you to consider being gentle with yourself. W/D can be a grueling journey. When I read you post I just see a person in pain, with the exhausting symptoms of W/D. You must have taken pride in supporting yourself earlier or this wouldn't be so hard now to take free stuff. I see a strong person who has just had enough. It's understandable, truly. I know you're beyond frustrated but be easy on yourself. I'll send a hug and you do me a favor and wrap your arms around yourself and say " Money or friends don't define me. I'm good enough just the way I am. " That's what being human is. And I know, it's super hard sometimes. Gotta run...

[kathrynE]

Whoa I didn't expect anyone wud get this. Got 5 hrs sleep last night. Prayed and prayed all day for sleep. What a difference just those five hrs made. I think I got across I was going to take my life. Since going off as much as I have I don't go there with real intent but the thought did cross my mind in a mind so confused and more tired than I've ever felt but I didn't do much but the basics to sustain my life either like eating. Too damn tired to even think og cooking and believe it or not the effort to chew crunchy cereal. I am very hard on myself and I will be gentler today but firmer in that I'll force myself to eat if nothing else. Ensure isn't enuf but I did take that. Just knowing someone understands this brutal WD helps lots. Thanks. Now gonna make myself go eat. Hugs back at you. Where a mind can go without sleep and the confusion that goes with that after having at least some sleep I can see now. Thank God for that much.

[kathrynE]

And I didn't even say thank you. So here it is thank you! After reading your post my motivation is stronger and again getting through this and acknowledging to myself that its the withdrawal and will pass is back more. Thankyou. You helped a lot!

[Songbird]

Glad you're feeling better. This forum is definitely the right place to vent. There are people here who've been there and understand. I'm glad you got 5 hours of sleep! Don't worry too much about what you are eating at the moment, as long as you are managing something, even if it is only Ensure. Eat little and often, whatever you can manage. Be kind to yourself. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Keep posting here if you need support.

[HealthBlessed]

I've learned a lot from this thread. Thank you for your posts.

I'm 15 days out since my last dose of Paxil.....and while I'm grateful that the zaps, fogginess, and neck tension have subsided, I'm experiencing severe sleep problems. I wake up after 45-180 minutes of sleep and I feel like a run away train!

Can anyone suggest how long this lasts? Any info is appreciated.

[Junior]

Hi Health Blessed and welcome to PP.

Might be a good idea to post in the "General Discussion" forum as more people will see it and respond.

I just want to be clear, did you stop at 5mg? If so, I'd suggest going back on and continuing a slow taper. Many people find the last 5mg the hardest of all.

[theelt712]

I hate having insomnia from W/D...I can't sleep more than 5 hours straight a night, and if I do get 5 hours sleep, I am lucky.