Mr Scorpio Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 This is crazy. At this point last week I felt fine. I had some stress because I have finals coming up -- first one is in four hours -- but otherwise I felt "normal". Then on Friday I worked myself into a fury of anxiety and now my sleep schedule is wrecked. Typically, I would sleep from around 2am-10am. Sad for someone my age, but I guess when you aren't working 1st shift its all relative? Now I'm waking up around 7am everyday with no alarm clock, but still falling asleep around 2am! It is crazy! When I wake up, it literally feels like waking up after getting dumped did! I've tried exercising a bit, and I'll increase my exercise in a few days when I'm on my term break, but it hasn't helped yet! Does anyone have any experience with anti-anxiety/depression meds as it relates to sleep schedule? Worry and anxiety are beating me right now. Link to post Share on other sites
fucpcg Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Start off by getting 10mg tabs of time released Melatonin. If that doesn't do the job, take one Benadryl (allergy medicine) with it. If that doesn't work, take two Benadryl with it. If that doesn't work.... holy crap! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
FitChick Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I just stopped the 5 mg time release melatonin because it didn't work for me for some reason. It took longer to fall asleep and when I woke up I felt more tired. I've just gone back to regular melatonin 3mg and feel better. I still wake up once in the night though but quickly fall back to sleep. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mr Scorpio Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Melatonin sounds like a good idea. I'm a little leery of using sleeping pills or allergy medicine. It's just crazy to me because I used to be able to sleep for 5 hours, get woken up by something, and go back to sleep for 3 hours. Oh well, guess it is time to become more productive. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mr Scorpio Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 I guess I should have added the allergy medicine! Only six hours of sleep every night for the past week, no caffeine, an hour of cardio, and 4mg of melatonin. I got 3 hours of sleep tonight and then woke up 2 hours ago. I've been wide awake every since. Final exam in 3.5 hours. Is this how insanity begins? Link to post Share on other sites
Pacman Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I guess I should have added the allergy medicine! Only six hours of sleep every night for the past week, no caffeine, an hour of cardio, and 4mg of melatonin. I got 3 hours of sleep tonight and then woke up 2 hours ago. I've been wide awake every since. Final exam in 3.5 hours. Is this how insanity begins? Seems to me you're just stressing over your finals. I bet once they are done you'll be back to your sleeping ways. Link to post Share on other sites
AKollegeGuy Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I take anti-anxiety pills for sleep as well, but the thing is the pills help you get to sleep, but it doesn't garuntee a 'restful sleep' (one that produces REM sleep associated with dreaming). Also, depending on what type of pills you are taking and how much, it could also make you feel groggy and sleepy all day. When I first started taking them I was putting in 10 to 12 hours of sleep and some days I was in bed for nearly 24 hours! But again, it all depends, I suggest talking to a doctor first. Link to post Share on other sites
Els Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Most people I know have a bit of trouble sleeping before their finals. Personally, as a long-time insomnia sufferer, I think you're being just a wee bit dramatic (insanity? Really? ). 6 hours of sleep a day does make you feel kinda groggy when you wake up (or me, at least), but it isn't going to kill you. Just sit for your finals and see if it improves after? I'm also curious that you say you're leery of using allergy medicines, but enquire about the use of anti-anxiety medicines for sleep. Did you even do any research on the topic? Allergy meds are the least side-effect prone med for short term use. Take it for a couple of days, and if you're a typical user you won't even face any side effects other than some residual morning grogginess. Anti-anxiety meds, on the other hand, typically take months to take effect, and are usually prescribed to people suffering from either pathological or long-term anxiety. They also come with a whole host of side effects. No ethical doctor will prescribe them to a student who is having 6 hours of sleep a day for a week before his finals. Link to post Share on other sites
Els Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Start off by getting 10mg tabs of time released Melatonin. If that doesn't do the job, take one Benadryl (allergy medicine) with it. If that doesn't work, take two Benadryl with it. If that doesn't work.... holy crap! Benadryl is, unfortunately for me, weaksauce. Taking more of it than the allowed dose doesn't help, btw, and is dangerous in other ways. Link to post Share on other sites
betterdeal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Do you drink caffeine in the evening? Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mr Scorpio Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thank you everyone for your replies. Final exams are done. I had three of them. I feel alright about two of them, but when I sat down for the last one, I froze. Granted, I had misallocated my study-time because I thought the last exam was going to be easier. I broke out into sweats and started panicing. I left the room twice to try and recoup, but in the end I wound up answering the multiple choice questions and leaving the essay portions blank. In other words, I failed. I failed a class in lawschool. End of the world? No. End of my world? No. I get one "void" that I can use over the course of my time in school, so I can replace that 'F' with an 'A' without even having to repay to take the course. Still, when I tried to go to sleep -- after four hours of sleep the night before that, three hours the night before that, etc, etc -- it took about a while and I still woke up a few hours later. I've spent the last few hours tossing and turning. I did have a few dreams, so I guess I achieved some REM? Point being, it is more than just the pressure of finals that is getting to me. My life -- or lack thereof -- is getting to me. I don't have much hope for my future. My job prospects seem grim. I'm going to have a huge amount of debt. I'm going to have a parent I have to support as an only-child. Sure, I have a roof over my head, money in the bank, a car that runs, family (albeit a small one) and friends. But then what? So I'm working a job just to get by and pay back student loans while living with an ailing parent. No dating? No love-life? No vacations? No memories? Is that going to be the sum of my life? Then I think about people who died in wars, North Koreans who are starved to death, Libyans hunted by their own government, and I know that I should feel grateful. But all I feel is guilty. Guilty that I didn't plan ahead. Truth is that 1) I wasn't geared to because as an only-child I was spoiled rotten and given everything and 2) I often told myself I wouldn't live to my current age (32) because I'd probably be dead by now. And those are the things that were running through my head as I was trying to take that final. Those are the things that I have to keep out of my head next time. Perhaps the pills might help with that. Link to post Share on other sites
betterdeal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Give it a go. Stop if it doesn't agree with you. Link to post Share on other sites
Feelin Frisky Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I have a ton of experience in this area. I have never found melatonin to do anything in the way of bringing on sleep. But that's not to say don't try it. It's OTC. Valerian root is also OTC and may help. L-tryptophan too and that has helped me at times when I've been trying to sleep for a long time and it won't happen--I take a capsule with some milk and it seems to change my relaxation. Nothing works like Xanax though--I always, always sleep with that and it is the original anti-anxiety med but it is dependence-producing and if you take it regularly you will not be able to stop without some withdrawal and insomnia for several days. Consider trazodone for sleep. It is an AD with no addictive properties. It can make you drowsy after you wake up. For me it brings on a side effect called tardive dyskinesia which is annoying and keeps me awake for a long time before I fall into a heavy trazodone sleep. I don't like it at all but lots of people swear by it. I don't find other AD's to make me sleepy--the "tricyclics" like Elavil but I don't know if they are still prescribed. Elavil would make me drowsy and when I'd wake up I'd have an awesome brain light show of firing wobbleys. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mr Scorpio Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Nothing works like Xanax though--I always, always sleep with that and it is the original anti-anxiety med but it is dependence-producing and if you take it regularly you will not be able to stop without some withdrawal and insomnia for several days. Once I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday he wrote me a perscription for generic Xanax. Oddly, he started me off right at 1mg tablets (I have a friend who is a pharm tech who said they make .25mg tablets?). Also, the doc said nothing about it being habit-forming. Anyways, I took one at like 11am and then another one about thirteen hours later. Holy cow! Although I woke up once to use the bathroom, and still slept a bit restlessly, by the time I rolled over to check the clock it was already 2PM! Since then, I've been cutting the pills in half and taking 1mg per day total. Still, the idea that it could be habit forming doesnt sit well with me. How often/how much do you take it? Link to post Share on other sites
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