Insomnia and body that develops tolerances easily

[bethben]

I have been taking Trazedone for about a month to help me sleep.  It worked OK for about two weeks (worked well for 3-4 nights) before it stopped working.  I slept for the 3-4 nights pretty well and then I started having panic attacks at night and more depression so I lowered the dose which has resolved the panic attacks but has not helped with sleep at all.  This is the third medication that has worked well for a few days/ week and then doesn't anymore.  It seems like my body develops tolerances VERY quickly.  I have tried Clonazepan, Ambien, and now Trazedone.  Honestly, the only thing that has helped me with sleep is a Benadryl type sleep medication that I can get over the counter from Costco.  But, those have been studied to develop dementia later in life.  I do have depression also.  

Can anyone help?  I am SOOOO tired.  Btw, I am going to see the doctor today.  I just want to know if anyone else has had this happen.  I'm a redhead.  I think that affects drug interaction.

Edited November 28, 2018 by bethben

[KungFuPanda]

Do you have a regular exercise routine? That can make a big difference in your quality of sleep. You may have to play around with the time of day. I’m fine with evening exercise but some people get too wired to sleep if they workout at night. 

I DO think having large collection of recessive genes can effect other systems. 

[bethben]

6 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Do you have a regular exercise routine? That can make a big difference in your quality of sleep. You may have to play around with the time of day. I’m fine with evening exercise but some people get too wired to sleep if they workout at night. 

I DO think having large collection of recessive genes can effect other systems. 

I have tried everything.  I have excellent sleep hygiene and have tried every natural supplement out there.  I can't exercise right now due to recovering from a broken foot but I was excercising 3-4 days a week and not sleeping at that time and my sleepiness caused my foot break.  I'm onto the drug route.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

I’m also a redhead.

When I can’t sleep, or wake up and can’t fall back to sleep, I pray.  I don’t pray for help sleeping.  I pray about things that are bothering me, or for other people that I know.  I look at it like I’m at least doing something productive while still lying there, and usually after a while (sometimes a long while) I get sleepy.  Along the way I sometimes write things down, if I remember something that’s not on a to do list—that way my subconscious knows that it doesn’t have to keep reminding me of that.

[bethben]

Beyond that also...I will stay awake with a worship song going on repeat over and over again - to the point of annoyance.  Add panic attacks that only show up when I'm trying to sleep and it's a problem.  Add to all of that, when I do fall asleep, I wake up off and on all night long.  Usually, I'm so tired I can't focus on any one thing of prayer anyway.  I've been dealing with this for 12 years.  I need an end.

[Kassia]

I'm like this, too.  I never sleep and it definitely affects the quality of my life and relationships.

[Carol in Cal.]

5 minutes ago, bethben said:

Beyond that also...I will stay awake with a worship song going on repeat over and over again - to the point of annoyance.  Add panic attacks that only show up when I'm trying to sleep and it's a problem.  Add to all of that, when I do fall asleep, I wake up off and on all night long.  Usually, I'm so tired I can't focus on any one thing of prayer anyway.  I've been dealing with this for 12 years.  I need an end.

Those ear worms are awful.  Sometimes reading one psalm after another helps me with that, but not always, and I don’t get them that often.

The panic attacks are what I’m talking about for waking you up.  It’s like your subconscious focused on something and wanted to bring it to your attention RIGHT NOW in my experience.  Very hard to fall back to sleep after those for sure.  Have you tried writing down whatever conviction is brought to you at that point?  Sometimes if it’s noted my brain can rest after that.  Sometimes it’s an experience that I keep rerunning, or raw grief.  Very hard to stop those.

 

[bethben]

I am working with a therapist.  I think my panic attacks are just raw grief.  I've got layers upon layers that I am uncovering. Probably about 30 years worth.  I've ignored myself way too long.  In the meantime, I just need to sleep.  My husband is getting too concerned about me that it's affecting his attention also - thinking he has to take off of work all the time.

[Carol in Cal.]

15 minutes ago, bethben said:

I am working with a therapist.  I think my panic attacks are just raw grief.  I've got layers upon layers that I am uncovering. Probably about 30 years worth.  I've ignored myself way too long.  In the meantime, I just need to sleep.  My husband is getting too concerned about me that it's affecting his attention also - thinking he has to take off of work all the time.

I’m so sorry about this.  Grief is so hard.  You kind of have to go through it over and over until it runs out of steam.

I don’t mean to suggest that anything I have dealt with is remotely comparable to you, and I hope I don’t sound that way.  I’m just trying to suggest things that you might not have thought of. 

I know that PTSD type grief is helped immensely and surprisingly quickly by EMDR—someone I know who was a first responder in NYC after 9/11 reports tremendous benefits from that.  FWIW.

[BeachGal]

Somatic experiencing therapy might help with your grief. Maybe talk with your therapist about it?

There is also a device called the Sensate that is being used for anxiety. It stimulates the vagus nerve by using sound and also uses audio-based brainwave synchronization to help guide brain activity. It is only being sold in the UK now but they might sell to people in the US as well.

Dr. Charles Raison has used whole body hyperthermia (supervised 2-hour saunas) on difficult-to-treat cases of depression to reset the body's thermal regulation system. The results were profound.

https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/charles-raison (bullets of the interview)

 

[Terabith]

Prazosin or minipress doesn't really cause people to fall asleep, but it does reduce nightmares and ptsd responses.  It might help with the panic attacks at night.  

Would it help if you didn't take the same thing every night?   I do a sort of rotation:  ambien one night, benadryl the next, etc.  

[Bootsie]

I am sorry that I can't offer any suggestions.  I found it interesting, because your post could have been written by one of my family members who struggles in the same way.  Interestingly, she is a redhead also.

[KidsHappen]

I have to take both Ambien and Xanax to sleep at night. I have been on that regimen for years now and it is still working. Either one alone does not work but both of them together do. Good luck finding someone who will prescribe both though. Most doctors would be hesitant to prescribe both but I have been working with my same doctor for 15 years now so he has worked through this with me to this point.

[BooksandBoys]

On 11/28/2018 at 9:50 AM, bethben said:

I am working with a therapist.  I think my panic attacks are just raw grief.  I've got layers upon layers that I am uncovering. Probably about 30 years worth.  I've ignored myself way too long.  In the meantime, I just need to sleep.  My husband is getting too concerned about me that it's affecting his attention also - thinking he has to take off of work all the time.

 

I suggest that you try EMDR. It’s life-changing and kicked my panic attacks and sleep issues to the curb. The issues I have now are minuscule compared to where I was a two years ago. I’m sorry, but I have no sleep med suggestions. 

[Terabith]

Honestly, if the Benadryl type medication works, I would do that, even with the slightly reduced risk of dementia later in life.  Long term sleep deprivation also has serious health risks.  

[bethben]

5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Honestly, if the Benadryl type medication works, I would do that, even with the slightly reduced risk of dementia later in life.  Long term sleep deprivation also has serious health risks.  

This is what I thought too.  I usually took 1/2 of the pill and slept OK.  Last night, I took a whole pill and I slept two hours.  Nothing is working...