Living with Sleep Disorders

This is in response to Janet’s sleep disorder story. I, too, had what seemed like a sudden onset of insomnia back in the fall of 2005. Like you, I would go to bed, then wake up four hours later and be completely unable to sleep the rest of the night. After a month of this, I could no longer work because I could not think straight or concentrate on my job. I was 45 yrs old at the time.

I went to a doctor and began trying combinations of sleep drugs and anti-anxiety drugs which make you sleepy, but nothing worked. After two months of this and being TOTALLY exhausted physically and emotionally, and suffering lots of mood swings and depression due to lack of sleep, I submitted myself to the hospital…it was a nightmare, but they put me on a combination of Ambien, Ativan and Bendadryl. I slept on this combintation for the next six months, but began to have bad side effects from the Ativan. I finally weaned off that one, and had a sleep study. All that showed was that my body seems to get stuck in Stage II sleep, not allowing me to progress to Stage IV or REM sleep often enough to refresh me. They dont know why this occurs. The study also showed I have an “arousal” effect which means I keep waking up alot and again, they dont know why. They said the best they could do is “manage” my problem with medications, which I’d already been on for months.

Im now on Ambien 10mg, and an antidepressent called Remoran which I take at bedtime as well because it makes you sleepy. Between these two, I do sleep through the night, but I still have uncomfortable side effects from the drugs. I can never nap….and no matter how tired I am from my day, even by 11:00 p.m. at night I could stay awake for hours if it were not for the medicines.

Ive often wondered what triggered all this off to begin with, and though I cannot medically prove it, I had undergone two endoscopies (for acid stomach problems) under a sedation called Versed. The first procedure the dr. used 4 milligrams of this sedation. But on the second procedure, another dr used 15 mgs…..I always wondered if such a huge dose of sedation triggered neurologic problems for me…it was right after these sedations that all the insomnia kicked up and Ive never been the same. The only other thing I can think of that might have triggered all this is I have been on and off many medications over the years, particularly antidepressants, and I wonder in the long run if that did something neurologically as well. Who knows.

Best wishes!