rainy_gray

Hi! Thank you so much for doing this AMA.

I’ve been struggling with chronic insomnia for years now, which is probably caused by my depression and anxiety disorders.

I have tried for so long to fix this, by going to therapy for my anxiety, cutting out caffeine and naps, and following all other recommended sleep hygiene habits. I’ve tried multiple medications, and so far the only combination that works is trazodone+hydroxyzine+magnesium+melatonin. I know that this is not a long term solution and I don’t want to have to take so many medications, but I don’t know what else to do. When I go on SSRIs to try and fix the root of the problem, my insomnia gets even worse from the side effects.

Additionally, I am an extremely light sleeper. I will wake up from footsteps outside, whispers, a door closing, etc. I can wake up 10+ times during the night because of this. I have to wear earplugs every night, to the point where my ear canal got inflamed and damaged from using them too much. A white noise machine helps a little bit for background noise, but it’s not enough on its own.

I’m sorry for the extremely long post but this is a culmination of years of frustration. Do you have any feedback? It would be greatly appreciated.

I’m hoping for a response too!

I don’t make any noise while breathing so it doesn’t wake me (roommates in the past have been an issue with heavy breathing, snoring, etc). I like having a fan on when I sleep but many make irregular noises sometimes that wake me up. Any deviance from the background noise will be an issue for me.

My main barriers are ear plugs and my white noise machine. I’m thinking of adding one of those gun range ear protections muffs as well :/

No worries, I completely understand how frustrating this is. The sleep deprivation affects every aspect of our lives and it’s hard to find people in real life who face this at this level as well. Lots of us talk on r/insomnia so you should check it out if you haven’t already.

I was never prescribed Ambien or any of the strong medications because all my psychiatrists feared addiction potential. I did try gabapentin like you but it only worked for three days lol. I got switched to trazodone and it works sooo much better, especially in combination with the other supplements I take. It can be annoying to take all these medications at night but at this point I’ll do anything for decent sleep. I tried weed in the past to knock me out, but it usually ends up making me anxious. I want to give CBD oil a try though.

I also seriously recommend the white noise machine since there are zero consistencies. It can get super loud and I actually only turn it about halfway up. I found lots of inexpensive ones on Amazon!

Feel free to PM me anytime you want to rant. You’re not alone!