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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
when you are TRYING to get to sleep? I've had this problem for a long time and it was worse when I was in the work force when I had more personal interaction throughout the day. I have been a stay-at-home mom since early 2000 and my kids continue to be a very positive influence on me, but the nighttime can be HELL. I go over and over and over my mistakes, embarrassing moments, incidents of poor judgement, etc. and I can't turn the thoughts off. White noise helps a little. Last night I wound up the old traveling alarm clock to hear the tick, tick, tick and then I either counted or recited prayers until I fell asleep. It was a restless sleep, though, even with 25mg benadryl in me. I've tried both melatonin and valerian root as well, since my doc has yet to prescribe something to help me sleep. I'm taking 150mg Effexor and I'm wondering if it may be too energizing for me. When I was Zoloft a few years ago, it made me a walking zombie that couldn't wait to hit the sack. I see a therapist on July 1 and wonder what I might request as a good sleep aid.
Anyone else have this trouble at night? What do you do to get yourself to settle down and go to sleep?
Colleen
PPD, GAD and OCD
Posted by Snoozin on June 25, 2004, at 9:21:30
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
Yes, I had that problem in the winter and it was horrible. I thought it was the Wellbutrin plus stress, and most of the racing thoughts had to do with work. My p-doc prescribed Zoloft at night (small dose), but that gave me those freaky dreams and I quit it.
I just had another period of stress at work, and have started having those racing thoughts again. I was going to recommend benedryl, because that does help me, but since you are already taking it, I think asking your doc for a sleep aid might help.
Good luck.
Susan
Posted by Miss Honeychurch on June 25, 2004, at 9:22:04
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
Colleen,
I used to have this trouble and found a pretty simple solution. Keep a radio on your nightstand and fall asleep to talk radio at night. If I have pure silence, my mind races, just as you described. By listening to talk radio, where I can be distracted by the conversation, helps me A LOT. So my routine is to fall asleep listening to Dr. Laura and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and hear one of Art Bell's guests dicussing UFOs. A little wierd, but this is what works for me.
The talk is a distraction for your own thoughts. Listening to music didn't help me. For some reason it had to be talk.
Posted by Snoozin on June 25, 2004, at 9:30:09
In reply to Re: Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night... » Colleen D., posted by Miss Honeychurch on June 25, 2004, at 9:22:04
That's a good idea, too. Funny, I *did* listen to the radio, too, and it helped a lot, but i listened to classical music for the exact opposite reason Miss Honeychurch gave. I didn't have to *think* too hard about classical music, but if it was conversation, I'd be drawn in and *never* get to sleep.
I like that point, though, just means everyone is different, so there are many things you could try.....
Susan
Posted by octopusprime on June 25, 2004, at 9:40:45
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
hi: i used seroquel 25mg. the first night i took it, i could have kissed my doctor! i got my first good night's sleep in months.
when do you take effexor? can you take xr stuff in the morning only?
also: i find that alcohol disturbs my sleep (sadly) so i cannot drink if i want a good night's sleep.
miss honeychurch is right about talk radio (a sleep timer is good). it works well on me now. (CBC radio one tells stories for grownups, which is a very effective sleep aid, from 10:40-11:00pm in most north american time zones - I can point you to an internet radio stream if you're interested).
a bedtime routine also helps. (eg: home, kids in bed, chores finished for the day by 9 or 9:30 every night, a warm bath, hot tea, or something else relaxing, then brush teeth, to bed with a book, lights out at same time every night).
if you have a partner then you will require his/her cooperation on the bedtime routine (especially with child-wrangling while mom is relaxing for bed).
however when i was extremely anxious my thoughts would wander from the radio, and i think a medical intervention is required to get everything to calm down in there.
Posted by partlycloudy on June 25, 2004, at 9:47:54
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
I'm on effexor xr 150mg and wellbutrin 300mg. My head is doing laps around the bedroom and even if I was sleepy to begin with, my thoughts can wake me up. My p-doc tried me on benadryl too, but it made me pretty groggy in the morning.
I use white noise in the form of nature sound CD's. That helps to calm me down. Finally my p-doc presecribed Ambien, a non-addictive sleep aid. 5mg is enough for me to get to sleep and stay asleep (another challenge for me). I try to take it about 20 minutes before beddy-bye.
good luck,
pc
Posted by tampagirl70 on June 25, 2004, at 11:28:40
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
my intrusive thoughts usually occur in the morning when i first get up, but sometimes at night if i'm really anxious, my head will be filled with "noise" and i get worried that i'll never get to sleep, then i won't want to go to work the next day and then get fired. (i have ocd.) i was using xanax (.25mg) as a sleep aid for a while and it was ok - sometimes it would help, sometimes it wouldn't. i talked to my pdoc and he called in a script for me of dalmane. this stuff is awesome! i also now take klonopin when needed throughout the day and last night i took .5mg to see what it would do to me. talk about total relaxation! it also made it much easier to go to sleep. i don't usually feel groggy after taking the dalmane, but i did feel a little fuzzy this morning possibly due to the klonopin.
on another note - is the effexor working for your ocd? i'm taking celexa & wellbutrin xl.
Posted by Scott in Vermont on June 25, 2004, at 12:16:37
In reply to Anyone have racing, intrusive thoughts at night..., posted by Colleen D. on June 25, 2004, at 9:01:41
Absolutely. Most of the time it's an ephipany, such as something I forgot, a deadline I missed, or something else I don't want to be thinking about. If my eyes are closed, sometimes I can see an actual "jolt", like a flash or sparkles, and the anxiety that comes with the though drives my heartrate and blood pressure up. The though becomes obsessive, I cannot think of anything else. I usually get up and do something (last night I got up at 1:30 and played my guitar for over an hour).
Advice for sleeping through it? Ambien might help. I have it but I don't take it very often. I can't reccommend drinking because you have to wake up sooner or later...
Hmm..
Nope, no advice. I'm not very helpful today. But I do understand what you're going through.
This is the end of the thread.
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