Usha: dreaming whole night

[Usha]

@Altostrataagain my sleep got worst from last week. Sleep for 6 hours and dreaming whole night. Any help?? I know I asked the same qusn many times but sometimes I got helpless and left with no option other than posting my query in this forum. This forum make me believe that I am not alone.

[Altostrata]

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[Usha]

@Altostrata @Erell @rupa

 

Even I take a nap in the day My mind process random thoughts for which I have no control. I wake up exhausted daily. Any suggestions pls

[Altostrata]

Do you have any other unusual symptoms other than random thoughts?

 

Are these thoughts disturbing to you? Have you ever talked to a therapist about them?

[Usha]

No symtom, but it feels like my mind never goes to sound sleep as Whenever I drift off to sleep my mind over thinks. There are no other symtoms as such. These thoughts are disturbing as It always feels like my mind is saturated. And exhausted So for any mind activity I use to take naps every 2 hour in a day.

Whenever I talk to any therapist he always prescribe antidepressants which I don't want to take.

 

 

[ChessieCat]

Q:  Do you drink alcohol or consume things containing caffeine, including chocolate?

 

If you drink coffee you could try switching to decaffeinated or coffee substitute.

 

I have difficulty getting my brain to stop thinking too much (the nickname for this is monkey mind or mental chatter) and I have found listening to things on my mp3 player helps.  Fortunately it has a timer so I set that so it turns off after 1 hour.  I try to listen to things (podcasts or audio books) which are a bit interesting but not too interesting otherwise I end up trying to stay awake to listen to it.  I also need to ensure that if there are different tracks that they are of a similar volume otherwise it can wake me up.  It's best if I can find somebody with a nice soothing voice.  You could try listening to some soothing music.

 

simple-steps-relax-good-nights-sleep     scroll down the page to 3 Simple Steps

[Usha]

Thanks  I just want my mind to sleep soundly. FYI, I am not taking any alcohol or meds.

[ChessieCat]

6 hours ago, Usha said:

FYI, I am not taking any alcohol or meds.

 

If you drink/eat anything containing caffeine you could try cutting those out and see if it makes a difference.

 

From https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/aod/resources/Pages/caffeine.aspx

 

Quote

 

Caffeine is a stimulant drug. This means it speeds up the brain and nervous system.

 

The most common things containing caffeine are:

• coffee
• tea
• cocoa
• chocolate
• cola drinks.

 

 

[Usha]

Thanks but I m not taking any of the mentioned products .

[rupa]

On 7/24/2020 at 3:59 PM, Usha said:

@Altostrata @Erell @rupa

 

Even I take a nap in the day My mind process random thoughts for which I have no control. I wake up exhausted daily. Any suggestions pls

Usha,

I still feel there is no sound sleep,some days.

So I started giving to body all those diet which induces sleep in healthy way.

I took google help to know,which natural diet helps for sleep.

For example I drink warm milk with turmeric every evening after an early dinner.

My usual milk or buttermilk time is 7 pm

While bed time strictly 9 pm.

The key is patience and doing the thing every day until to reach where I am today.

Crave for deep sleep in positive way.

Do not look at the days as bad kharma.

Just accept the life the  way it is and do the healing process with patience,ma.

I never drink tea,coffie or alcohol ,right from my childhood ,just like any other most of the Indian girls.

 

[Usha]

Thanks Usha for telling your experience.

 

I m tea addicted and have 2 tea in the whole day. I keep myself positive that one day my sleep will be back . But,sometimes I think my sleep hardly improved from last 4 years, other than this all my symtoms jabe subsided.

[ChessieCat]

You might find this topic helpful:  acceptance

 

[rupa]

On 7/28/2020 at 5:52 PM, Usha said:

Thanks Usha for telling your experience.

 

I m tea addicted and have 2 tea in the whole day. I keep myself positive that one day my sleep will be back . But,sometimes I think my sleep hardly improved from last 4 years, other than this all my symtoms jabe subsided.

Usha,

I believe tea activates brain and keeps work feeling alive rather than rest feeling.

Start tapering tea,by reducing little little quantity every month.

Mean while ,make a habit of haldi milk every night.

Take soft curd rice in the day.

One day,your brain will get rid of all those ingredients which acts on brain negatively.

[bijay]

Hello @Usha from your story it sounds like you have been dealing with this for awhile - do you have the support of a therapist who can provide coping strategies?  Reducing stress and anxiety may also help your nervous system reset to a more normal sleep experience.  You have the right to set the ground rules, such as no drug treatment.  In the US there are many good therapists who are not MDs and can’t prescribe drugs anyway; I’d expect the rules are similar in India.

[Usha]

@bijay Thanks bijay for your suggestion. I sometimes wonder, is this the medwithdrawal. As i m facing this issue only after med withdrawal. But it's not coming back to normal even after 4 years. If this is a med withdrawal, does anyone face similar issue in the group.?

So the problm is not sleep, it's the sound sleep which i m not getting. In order to carry daily activities, i need to meditate after every 2/ 3 hours in a day.😣😣

[bijay]

Hi @Usha it’s great that you have found something like meditation to support you during the day.

 

I was wondering, have you ever been tested by a sleep specialist or laboratory?  

[Usha]

@bijay Thanks bijay for your suggestion. I sometimes wonder, is this the medwithdrawal. As i m facing this issue only after med withdrawal. But it's not coming back to normal even after 4 years. If this is a med withdrawal, does anyone face similar issue in the group.?

So the problm is not sleep, it's the sound sleep which i m not getting. In order to carry daily activities, i need to meditate after every 2/ 3 hours in a day.😣😣

 

 

[Usha]

@bijay. No i did not check with sleep physician. I believe I get only rem sleep full night .

[bijay]

@Usha Since you have had sleep issues for four years now, it would be worth getting a definitive diagnosis by doing a sleep study at a lab.

[Usha]

@bijay yes but this is also antidepressant withdrawal only. I will surely check , main problem is if we want to have a sleep study we need to stay overnight for sleep test and in which I believe I don't sleep due to new place, that's why I never visit sleep physician.

[bijay]

@Usha I have a feeling many people have that concern about not sleeping during the study.  But I do not think you have to have a full night’s sleep for them to get meaningful data.  Maybe you can go over your concerns during a consult with a sleep specialist, then you can decide to do the study or not.  

[Usha]

@bijay What you think about my sleep? Have you heard the same from anyone? Mind never sleeps soundly???

[bijay]

@Usha  I do not know anyone with the same problem, but maybe you can find someone by joining another forum more focused on sleep specifically, or see a sleep specialist who runs a support group.

 

But at the same time I would urge you to be proactively looking for solutions through a CBT therapist or sleep doctor. You can always say no thank you to drugs; there are plenty of non-drug approaches that work.  What approaches have you tried to help your sleep, since you came off the paroxitine?

[Usha]

Nothing much i have tried, just normsl ashwagandha and meditation. But I have seen this group lot of people only have rem sleep in the night. I m scared I m the only one with this issue.

[Usha]

@DataGuy when ever I sleep, my mind never rests fully, it seems like my brain directly goes into rem sleep. Even i wake up for washroom, i find my mind thinking about something. Is this you can relate??I left all meds from last 4 years. I m improving definitely but still my sleep is the major issue which leaves me exhausted in the day.

[DataGuy]

Hi @Usha,

 

I just moved this question to your topic. I don't tend to have too many dreams that I remember. 

 

I think the fact that you feel you have too much REM sleep is probably just REM rebound, which is normal after withdrawal. I know it has been a long time for you, but REM sleep is generally regarded as a very healthy and restorative state of sleep. Very likely your brain is just working overtime to try and heal from the medications, which suppress REM sleep. 

 

You are probably getting some stage 3 and 4 sleep, but it is hard to tell without a sleep study. How long have you been taking Ashwaganda and at what dosage? This could be a factor in prolonging this problem, I am just looking into its pharmacology. 

[bijay]

@Usha  I get it, you feel scared and alone. I bet everyone here has felt that way too.

 

You’ve been waiting to heal from this for a long time.  You used to sleep well before, so there is a good chance you can recover.  Help your brain and body along by following through with good sleep habits and getting professional diagnosis and guidance.  (Since you are already meditating maybe you can use guided meditation specifically for sleep.). You can also have a friend or relative help make appointments etc., but at the end of the day it’s really up to you to help yourself.

[Usha]

@DataGuyThanks for your reply. Currently I m not taking anything. I m totall free from any meds. Due to this less deep sleep, i find my brain exhausted/ brain fog in the daym so in order to carry out my daily activities , i use to meditate. After every 2 hours of mind work, I find my mind get  fully saturated so I do deep breathing/ PMR to carry out my daily activity.

[DataGuy]

@Usha, good to hear you are avoiding supplements and drugs. Please continue to do that and this will increase the likelihood your brain and body will get back to normal.

 

It sounds like you have 1) REM rebound  2) fatigue  3) cognitive anxiety which probably contributes to the fatigue. These are all very normal symptoms of withdrawal. If you were on and off paroxetine without tapering, then it is no surprise that the post-withdrawal period has lasted this long. Paroxetine is known for producing particularly nasty withdrawal. I know it may seem like I am classifying your unique symptoms into a convenient category that they don't belong to, but the reality is that everyone's symptoms will present differently. 

 

Are you eating well? Exercising? What does your daily schedule look like? Apologies if you have answered these questions before.

[Usha]

@DataGuy Yes I eat well, exercise also. but my productivity has effected badly.

[Usha]

@ChessieCat  @Nicjksorry to post here but In my case My sleep has not corrected even after 4 years. What can I say to myself in that case .

[ChessieCat]

I've moved your post to your own Introduction topic.  Nicjk is a member who is going through her own issues at this time.

 

Altostrata is SA's owner.  She has already provided you with all the information that we can give you regarding your sleep.

 

On 8/2/2020 at 4:51 AM, bijay said:

Since you have had sleep issues for four years now, it would be worth getting a definitive diagnosis by doing a sleep study at a lab.

 

I agree with bijay.  I think it we be a very good idea to get a sleep study done.

[Usha]

@DataGuy yes I was on paroxetine also that is known as paxil at my place. I will definitely go for a sleep study soon.

[Dejavu]

Usha, I'm going to answer your message to me here in your thread. I'm sorry you're still having issues with sleep. You have gotten some very good advice to have a sleep study done. If it were me, I would look into that right away.

[Usha]

Yes I will do that soon.

[Usha]

@rupa

@Dejavu

@DataGuy

@bijay

 

Have you guys tried tryptophan for sleep???