Doctor practice essentially broke up with me today. Told me to see a psychiatrist

Therapeutic Efforts Doctors & Therapists
#1

I had been going to this Dr. Practice in NYC called 14th Street medical. They have a dozen or so doctors and specialists (neurologist, endocrinologist, etc…) . They prescribed Trazodone for sleep and it was making my heart race. I couldnt get in touch with a Dr. so I had to make an appt to go back in. Then they prescribed Rozerem (which didnt do anything) and that was not covered by my insurance and costs $20 per pill…which I bought 9 pills out of pocket to try. Then I called them to get something different because insurance wouldn’t cover the Rozerem and I had to make another appointment. Then get prescribed Seroquel. Took half of a 50mg pill and it was the scariest experience. I was dizzy in bed, heart palpitations… when I finally fell asleep I felt like my soul left my body. (I know how crazy that sounds but I cant describe it any other way). Then I had the craziest nightmares ever. Slept for probably 2 hours. So I contacted the prescribing doctor my concerns and suggested gabapentin which was discussed during the visit. I get an email from a totally different doctor telling me to go see a psychiatrist and follow their advice. Essentially breaking off the relationship.

So I’m left with horrible insomnia and I cant take many of the main drugs people take for help. I feel like I’m coming to the end of the road. I have ordered zolpidem, lunesta, baclofen and gabapentin online but who knows how long that will take to show up from China. And its probably not even real. Even my Psychiatrist is questioning me when I tell her all of this probably because I sound like a drug addict. Oh and my sleep doctor refuses to change my prescription of Remeron and is saying I should do CBT-i which I know won’t do anything. The only things that get me some sleep are Phenibut and LIftmode Sleep caps… and alcohol. I feel like shit today and have never thought so much about suicide. My new plan is to up my dose of Remeron back to 15mg (which I was trying to wean off to use Trazodone instead) and cycle Ambien and Klonopin as needed. I’m miserable and at a total loss as to how much more of this I can take.

#2

If it’s any comfort I had the same thoughts about jacking it all in this morning. At the time I was extremely tired having not slept for well over a week and each day I don’t sleep I get like this for an hour or two.
If your tired you know this feeling is going to be heavily pronounced. Out of everything I’ve dealt during the crash the insomnia has been by far the worst and has affected every aspect of my life and continues to do so. Everything I take sets my brain on fire, when I explained this to my Dr they had no science based answer.

Perhaps you could sit down and put together a logical written table showing how you’ve been affected by the different medications so they can clearly see a summary of the key facts. Keep everything factual and logical in a way a Dr can accept. Not everything is apparent especially when they probably have a lot of notes on your condition.

If you do a course of CBT-i and it doesn’t help then that’s on them but you’ve shown your willing to work with their suggestions and that gives you money in the bank for future negotiations. One thing the course will do is keep you focused and away from thoughts of giving up. It really depends on how much you value the Practice. Regardless of whether the relationship is good or bad a break up by the other party is always difficult in our situation.

You’re a smart guy when the dust settles and you can think clearly you’ll figure out the best option.

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#3

So have you done CBT-i and has it helped? I am pretty sure I do everything now that they teach in CBT-i. I have very good sleep hygiene. I could stay up for days and still couldnt take a nap. I have restricted my sleep time to as low as 5 hours for days and been in misery. I have not heard one person on this forum who has insomnia as bad as me get any relief from CBTi.

#4

I was looking at an online course today. One of the things it said was if you awake early get up and do something to avoid having racing thoughts. Usually most will lay there and just go with the racing thoughts.

When LSD was acceptable in the US it allowed users to access their mind and tap into things that gave them negative feelings which they wouldn’t normally have access to.
I was watching a study online that had been completed in the UK and saw the patient access uncomfortable thoughts.
So as human beings we struggle to tap into these feelings and don’t see them plainly.
Therefore I assume the psychologists have a better understanding of what affects us through research and are trying to pass this information onto us which is sometimes hard to accept because it’s not in plain sight.
There are likely benefits to CBT-i but I don’t see it as a complete solution if someone has physical issues that are also contributing to the problem.

#5

Once Remeron stopped working for me at all to help with sleep, I was convinced I was beyond getting any benefits from CBT-i

#6

There must be benefits even if it’s not the complete answer we are looking for. I think I posted a link to a top clinic in London that uses CBT-i.

#7

I saw… I have read about that place before. I think most people with insomnia have identifiable behavior issues that can be corrected. Thats why those clinics show such high success. But if the neurosteroids in your brain are fucked I dont see it being effective. I have muscle twitches all the time… I’m sure that is due to low GABA. If GABA is low, your not getting to sleep.

#8

If you ever had time it would be interesting to see all the things you have tried for sleep and the outcome. You have probably experienced this process more than anyone. If GABA is low would this best describe that feeling of wakefullness in the head despite a person yawning but still unable to sleep. How do you feel in mind and body when it’s time to sleep?

#9

Even when I was getting good effect from Remeron… I had to lay in a perfectly flat meditative state in bed with an eye mask on. I would never feel tired… eventually I could like feel the drug pulsing in my brain… almost like my brain was flip flopping… and then I would just snap into sleep. Then I would wake up about an hour later, piss… and then go back to sleep for 3-4 hours if I was lucky. The only time I have felt the real feeling of being tired is if I have alcohol and then take Phenebut. Then I feel that feeling of passing out.

#10

I get memory loss and anxiety from taking the green leaf but if I could tolerate the effects I’d use that as part of my sleep protocol. If alcohol/phenebut work that’s something you can do once every 5-7 days. There’s a UK lawyer on here who uses the Merck drug and a stationary bike to tire himself out in the evening. So your GABA is low and using GABA antagonists don’t work effectively because of this or do they create more GABA when they work (pardon my ignorance). In any case these all seem like crutches to keep us going. Shell how often do you twitch per day? This used to happen alot to me when I first crashed but now only happens at night when I’m relaxing.

#11

Yeah… I have read that guy Anon1968 posts a few times. His story doesnt add up because he went to the May clinic for some issue motor skills but apparently didnt do anything about his sleep and went for more than a year without every sleeping. I’m not sure its humanly possible. My understanding of GABA is… you have GABA and you have GABA receptors. The GABA connects to the GABA receptor and that induces sleepyness or anti anxiety effects. When you use a GABA antagonist like alcohol, weed, Kava, Valerian… I think that those act on the receptor and dont actually create gaba. I’m not entirely sure on this though. I think maybe Benzos actually stimulate the production of gaba but not sure.

#12

Which test did you use for detecting GABA? Have you tried the Merck drug?
Just looking at these GABA boosting foods sadly a DHT inhibitors on the list.
Other foods contain GABA or may boost its production in the body, including whole grains , fava, soy , lentils and other beans , nuts including walnuts , almonds and sunflower seeds , fish , including shrimp and halibut , citrus , tomatoes , berries , spinach , broccoli , potatoes , and cocoa. Prior to the latest crash I was able to consume many of the things that aid serotonin/gaba production. Have you changed the light bulbs you use in the bedroom?

#13

I didnt try the Merk drug. My insurance wont even pay for Rozerem which for 7 pills cost me $95. So I doubt they would ever pay for Balsomra. I eat a lot of those foods. I think the food thing is moot. If you could inhibit DHT with food you could boost it with food too. Light bulbs in the room I sleep in are old school. I turn all the lights out in the house an hour before bed. I dont think that really matters in my case.