Cannot get good sleep

[WaltDisneyGirl84]

Hey everyone,

This might not be the best forum out there for this, but I'm desperately looking for someone who has had the same experience as I have.

I have done some googling and though I studied psychology and feel I should understand what's happening I'm looking for some solutions from other people at this point.

I grind and clench my jaw while I sleep and because of this I have a mouth guard. Lately, while I'm sleeping my jaw is clenched so tight that I am probably going to ruin my mouth guard pretty soon. In addition to this, my whole body is clenched at night. It is driving me crazy because I can't get a good nights rest and I wake up in some pretty intense pain.

The schooling I've had makes me think that its due in part to some unresolved issues I am struggling to get past, but this just started happening within the last year.

Has anyone ever experienced this or know anyone who has? Thanks!

 

[wenrob]

I sometimes clench my whole body up when I sleep too. I wake up with everything hurting so bad I want to cry. There have been times when I've fought going to sleep because I don't want to wake up in pain. What has helped is getting a really good workout in. That way my body is tired and will relax.

 

[WaltDisneyGirl84]

Good to know I'm not alone this I don't work out as much as I should, but do try to eat pretty well. I think that is going to be the next step here... getting back into working out

 

[wenrob]

Good to know I'm not alone this I don't work out as much as I should, but do try to eat pretty well. I think that is going to be the next step here... getting back into working out

Maybe try some simple stretch or yoga? Even just increasing your step count might help. For myself, it's got to be something like Jillian Michaels handing me my butt, lol.

 

[Southernmiss]

What about a magnesium supplement? Magnesium helps the body to relax and is helpful for anxiety. I take magnesium daily and rest so much better. I actually feel like I get a good night's sleep.

Also, I would suggest a good blood panel to rule out any other underlying causes. Often, vitamin and mineral deficiencies happen even if we do eat right. And just doing some small supplementation helps.

 

[cobright]

You suspect you have unresolved issues from the past. You probably do. I mean, if you didn't can you imagine supposing that you did? But this symptom is relatively recent. So, your problem may be purely physiological or... here's another possible explanation...

Your daily life and whatever past issues you may be carrying make up a sort of basal stress level. Everyone has this sort of base level of stress that they tolerate day in and day out and a limit to it after which this stress manifests as anxiety. It's healthy to experience anxiety from time to time. Sometimes the amount of stress you are subjected to tips up for a bit. Sometimes the limit of that stress you are able to tolerate dips down for a bit. As long as your anxiety response is short term and not destructive, you're normal. If your anxiety response is something severe like insomnia or panic attacks you can describe the condition as an acute anxiety disorder.

And sometimes your normal "resting level" of stress is higher than you can tolerate and you manifest anxiety in some way all the time. Long term insomnia, agoraphobia, and other generalized anxiety disorders. A not uncommon manifestation of general anxiety is neuromuscular hypertension. Here's an easy read on the subject.

So, your unresolved issues have been tagging along just fine (not really but you get me...) and then a year or so ago something either pushed up your 'normal' levels of stress or pushed down your normal tolerance of stress and you began exhibiting a new anxiety symptom. This muscular hypertension is something I am well acquainted with. I have managed a pretty severe anxiety disorder for about 16 years now. I have clenched my jaw tight enough that my teeth broke. I have had muscle spasms and cramps in my legs, back, and neck so bad they required injections. I deal with pervasive insomnia as a daily reality.

1. Go see your family doctor. Explain the symptoms completely. Explain your concerns that it may be owed to some psychological matters you need to work through.
2. Ask if there is any tests to rule out determine physiological causes.
3. Ask a referral for shrink to help sort out the other issues.
4. Explain the toll this is taking on you physically and on your ability to rest at night.
5. Ask for something you can take in the short term to mitigate your symptoms.
6. You will likely be prescribed some sort of benzodiazepine or ambien or both.
7. Take them as prescribed.

If the problem is anxiety, the symptoms become part of the cause and create a feedback loop of sorts. Treating the symptoms even for just a short time can, alone, reduce your stress back to a manageable equilibrium. Not getting restful sleep either because of anxiety or because of some other reason is similarly harmful. Your first move should certainly be seeing your doctor about getting relief for these symptoms. It will make finding and treating the cause that much easier.

Good luck.

 

[A. Mara Ziwadie]

I just wouldn't go down the Ambien route if you happen to be prescribed. I know, and have a head of, a number of people who have gotten into accidents in their sleep, or have woke up, for example, in the living room and didn't know how they got there.

 

[Domo]

I don't know if it would help, but my first stop is a leafy salad. Cabbage and lettuce are soporific - remember Peter Rabbit eating his fill then falling asleep in Farmer McGreggor's garden? Founded in truth. Should at least help you to relax.

 

[cobright]

I just wouldn't go down the Ambien route if you happen to be prescribed. I know, and have a head of, a number of people who have gotten into accidents in their sleep, or have woke up, for example, in the living room and didn't know how they got there.

Ambien is the closest thing to magic I have experienced in the modern age. You remember the sleep you used to get as a child? You wake up completely rested through and through. You wake up without an ounce of tired left in you. That's what an Ambien gives you. 8 hours of perfect, deep, restorative sleep.

To be sure, there are some concerns to keep in mind but most people don't have any trouble with it. I've taken it off and on for years and the worst I've experienced is having some weird conversations that I don't remember, and a couple times I must have got up to use the bathroom and stopped for a snack on the way back to bed. And one time I arranged my spices into a sort of stonehenge and promised my wife that "this means something, this is important, the old ways... the old ways..." then back to bed.

 

[Domo]

Ambien is the closest thing to magic I have experienced in the modern age. You remember the sleep you used to get as a child? You wake up completely rested through and through. You wake up without an ounce of tired left in you. That's what an Ambien gives you. 8 hours of perfect, deep, restorative sleep.

To be sure, there are some concerns to keep in mind but most people don't have any trouble with it. I've taken it off and on for years and the worst I've experienced is having some weird conversations that I don't remember, and a couple times I must have got up to use the bathroom and stopped for a snack on the way back to bed. And one time I arranged my spices into a sort of stonehenge and promised my wife that "this means something, this is important, the old ways... the old ways..." then back to bed.

The prescription rules surrounding Ambien are slightly more up to date in the UK than they are in the USA. Over here psychiatrists make it a point only to presciber enough Ambien for a solid week's usage or slightly more for irregular use. It can be highly addictive and habituating. There are better drugs out there for extended sleep therapy, also prescription strength. Over here, 50mg Dosulepin can be taken over an extended period of time and will soothe you into a happy sleep. I don't think you have Dosulepin in America yet though There are other sedating antidepressants there though, and in small doses the antidepressant effect is minimal. You can even use teeny amounts of new antipsychotics, such as Quetiapin (a dreamy sledgehammer) or Olanzepine. Again, the antipsychotic effects are extremely minimal at low doses.

There are always benzodiazepines such as Lorazepam or Xanax, but if anything they are way WORSE than Ambien over an extended time and can be EXTREMELY addicting. Once again, the UK are slightly more cautious than US psychiatrists and will never prescribe more than a week's worth of these drugs.

 

[cobright]

The prescription rules surrounding Ambien are slightly more up to date in the UK than they are in the USA. Over here psychiatrists make it a point only to prescriber enough Ambien for a solid week's usage or slightly more for irregular use. ... There are always benzodiazepines such as Lorazepam or Xanax, but if anything they are way WORSE than Ambien over an extended time and can be EXTREMELY addicting. Once again, the UK are slightly more cautious than US psychiatrists and will never prescribe more than a week's worth of these drugs.

Holy cow! They're telling you that a tricyclic antidepressant with a history of killing people is safer than Ambien (200 brits a year OD on Dosulepin)? You know what the lethal dose of Ambien is? No one's sure but it's a lot. In rats it's 600mg/kg. For people they say 2000mg is probably pretty bad. You know that Dosulepin has a habit of causing nightmares and sleep paralysis?

My experience is that the UK and Europe are horribly backwards with regards to brain drugs. To be fair, the US is often too eager. But ambien is unlikely to be addictive. It can be habit forming in the sense that getting a good night sleep is something that people want over and over, and chronic insomnia is symptom that has a cause which should be treated. On the other hand like a lot of people I have chronic insomnia with a cause that I'm treating and it's a biggie that's not going away anytime soon. Most weeks I take ambien 3-4 times a week. I have for the last 3 years. Sometimes I'll go 2-3 weeks without taking it at all. No withdrawal. I have a three big bottles of benzos I take as needed. there are weeks I take 4 or 5 a day weeks on end. Most of the time I don't take any. Going from 15-20mg of klonopin a day to zero over night gives me a long drowsy morning the next day and every so often it triggers a single restless night. I'm a bit of an extreme case but for short term relief, most doctors will agree that there is little risk of addiction from either benzos or ambien.

Here's an example that informs my opinion on this...
A friend of mine in Harrow called me at the beginning of the school year. She knows that My daughter and I have ADD and take stimulants for it. Her daughter is 14 and has been falling behind in school since she started. She's smart, a dedicated reader, just cannot stay focused. They've been doing behavioral therapy to treat it for 7 years now to zero effect. So she asked about stimulants. Nope. Two primary care physicians in a row said absolutely not. Third doctor recommended strattera, an SNRI with horrible side effects and withdrawal symptoms. When she asked that doctor how effective strattera is and he said it quiets hyperactive kids down, that's about it. Her daughter isn't hyperactive so she said no to it. He says something to the effect of, "It's not the end of the world. Everyone's kid doesn't need to go to university." That's a commonly held viewpoint over there. "Your kid struggles to do well in school, even in classes they like and want to do well in, no matter how hard they try? Maybe point her at a cooking school or she can become a nail tech." She moved to the states last xmas and her daughter's now on the honor roll taking all advanced courses. The daughter told me for the first time in her life she's proud of herself. Before she would struggle and the teachers would just tell her she wasn't capable or they would tell her not to try so hard or to just not bother.

We're friends with a Serbian couple and the husband is wasting away from depression. Bad. Like, his suicide will probably be bumming me out on my next trip to WDW bad. I tell him to go talk to a doctor. He has. Says all they want to do is prescribe him some antidepressants. Where he comes from people just learn to deal with being depressed or they kill themselves. But they are quick to point out how prescription happy the US is.

 

[low-key]

maybe its as simple as a joint , it might loosen you up ( only a prescription of course )

 

[diznygirl]

I clench my teeth. I take an Advil PM when it gets bad.

 

[Domo]

Zopiclone and the other Z drugs are indeed far more addictive than TCA antidepressants such as Doxepin and Imipramine. Lethality is a different issue.

And then there are the lesser drugs not available in the USA that have proven effective and safe. Case study: Reboxetine, an NARI. Or perhaps Moclobemide, an RIMA (or rMAOI if you prefer), a softer version of a full blown MAOI only with far less when it comes to terms to the "cheese reaction".

The worst commonly prescribed meds stand as Benzos. They are beastly things. Not as bad as Barbiturates or the Godawful Bromides, but still.

There is one thing that the USA has come up with and champions and that is rTMS, a new treatment for depression, anxiety and more. Think of it like a modern day, safer version of ECT. Big fan here.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

A couple of beers and I sleep quite well.

 

[DisneyOma]

Here's an example that informs my opinion on this...
A friend of mine in Harrow called me at the beginning of the school year. She knows that My daughter and I have ADD and take stimulants for it. Her daughter is 14 and has been falling behind in school since she started. She's smart, a dedicated reader, just cannot stay focused. They've been doing behavioral therapy to treat it for 7 years now to zero effect. So she asked about stimulants. Nope. Two primary care physicians in a row said absolutely not. Third doctor recommended strattera, an SNRI with horrible side effects and withdrawal symptoms. When she asked that doctor how effective strattera is and he said it quiets hyperactive kids down, that's about it. Her daughter isn't hyperactive so she said no to it. He says something to the effect of, "It's not the end of the world. Everyone's kid doesn't need to go to university." That's a commonly held viewpoint over there. "Your kid struggles to do well in school, even in classes they like and want to do well in, no matter how hard they try? Maybe point her at a cooking school or she can become a nail tech." She moved to the states last xmas and her daughter's now on the honor roll taking all advanced courses. The daughter told me for the first time in her life she's proud of herself. Before she would struggle and the teachers would just tell her she wasn't capable or they would tell her not to try so hard or to just not bother.

Trying to follow the logic in this - how has coming to the US (no mention of treatment?) changed the daughter so much? Is it the air? The teachers? You just say they moved here at Christmas and give no other info, so what does the example prove?

 

[cobright]

Trying to follow the logic in this - how has coming to the US (no mention of treatment?) changed the daughter so much? Is it the air? The teachers? You just say they moved here at Christmas and give no other info, so what does the example prove?

I'm sorry, I thought the implication was quite clear. The initial call to me on the subject of stimulants to treat ADD, the reluctance to prescribe stimulant therapy for the girl in north London and the easier time of it in the states were both explicit but I focused more on the fact that her academic performance went from failing to 4.0 in the span of a 2 week Christmas vacation. A kid that was told her whole life she was just not as smart as the rest of them and not to set her sights too high.

So... Maybe it's the air, or the teachers here, but I suspect it has to do with the amphetamines.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm sorry, I thought the implication was quite clear. The initial call to me on the subject of stimulants to treat ADD, the reluctance to prescribe stimulant therapy for the girl in north London and the easier time of it in the states were both explicit but I focused more on the fact that her academic performance went from failing to 4.0 in the span of a 2 week Christmas vacation. A kid that was told her whole life she was just not as smart as the rest of them and not to set her sights too high.

So... Maybe it's the air, or the teachers here, but I suspect it has to do with the amphetamines.

Here in the U.S. though it's starting to become a backlash towards the quickness to A) diagnose ADHD/ADD B) treat with medication quickly

Absolutely there are many children/adolescents who are correctly diagnosed with ADHD and treated with medications but there is also now a hesitancy and more thorough review before diagnosing and treating at least for some doctors.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Hey everyone,

This might not be the best forum out there for this, but I'm desperately looking for someone who has had the same experience as I have.

I have done some googling and though I studied psychology and feel I should understand what's happening I'm looking for some solutions from other people at this point.

I grind and clench my jaw while I sleep and because of this I have a mouth guard. Lately, while I'm sleeping my jaw is clenched so tight that I am probably going to ruin my mouth guard pretty soon. In addition to this, my whole body is clenched at night. It is driving me crazy because I can't get a good nights rest and I wake up in some pretty intense pain.

The schooling I've had makes me think that its due in part to some unresolved issues I am struggling to get past, but this just started happening within the last year.

Has anyone ever experienced this or know anyone who has? Thanks!

What sleeping position do you find yourself in most times? What's your room temperature like? Do you need sound of some sort to help sleep or do you need absolute silence? Have your sleeping positions/temperatures changed drastically?

 

[bellebud]

I had a dentist tell me to relieve my teeth clenching, have a glass of wine before bed.