I was in bed last night, wide awake as usual and trying to invoke my sleep strategies. Fireworks went off at 12 pm. I felt terrified like an animal. They lasted maybe half an hour and as a consequence I didn’t nod off until 4 am I was wired like my life was in jeapordy The stress response caused by this disease is just unbelievable. As if it’s not bad enough being on the edge 24/7 the things I once enjoyed now actually put me in to an extreme state. Earlier that day I got up from a seated position and everything went hazy, blurred, swinging vision and I dropped to one knee I thought this is it but it passed, “the heart” It’s hard to believe what our bodies and minds are being subjected too. I really think I’m close to cracking as it’s unrelenting torture and deteriation. Hanging on as usual.
I’m really sorry to hear you had a rough night again mate.
Have people here had success with anti anxiety medication? I haven’t really kept up with that side of things.
By the way, I hope this isn’t too obvious a set of suggestions, but it might be an idea to try a sleep mask and some earplugs or some earphones. I listen to some spoken word most nights and it helps either take my mind elsewhere or entertain me while I’m waiting. Get some small earphones so you can lie with your ear to the pillow without being uncomfortable.
That would have at least blocked out some of the noise.
You may find that helps. To be honest, at my worst I found it difficult to get off to sleep no matter what and I know you’ll probably have experimented with lots of different things.
The worst thing for me is to look at my phone, even with the screen turned down and the blue light filter on.
Cheers @Greek , I was on paroxetene early on and it helped greatly. Nothing works now unfortunately!. Cheers for the tips too. I normally fall asleep quite quickly staying under is my issue. Spikes in cortisol probably being what jolts me in to full alertness / anxiety 2 hours ISH later. Thanks again for your advice though
I had the exact same thing, wide awake for no reason after a couple of hours. I haven’t had it for a long time now though, fingers crossed that you’ll improve too.
Sleep has been like this for 3 years now mate lucky in some ways that I haven’t got work to worry about now. I often thought that was adding to my inability to fall back to sleep I.e. worrying the deprivation would effect my ability the next day. Despite removing almost all stresses nothing has changed/improved. At least I don’t lie awake worrying. Anyway all the best for 2021 mate and thanks as per for your ongoing support.
I don’t know if I have talk to you previously but what other antianxiety medication have you used? If you want, you can DM me and I can give you my email address and we could talk further. I might be able to help you for what has work with me.
No offence @Nate95, but please share the info here so other people might benefit from your experience too, as well as allowing anyone who has had a bad experience to give their story.
@Nate95 thanks mate but I’m out of any SSRI interventions my receptors are smashed and everything causes me problems. They threw a few at me when I was trying to hold on to my career and as little as two pills brought on new permanent sides. The only one that ever helped was paroxetene way back when. . All others which I took turned me upside down demonstrating the damage now done. Only water and air remain my freind. Sorry! Thanks for trying to help though.
@Greek The truth of the matter is a class of drugs has helped me greatly with a lot of things. Things like anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, testicular pain, etc. The class of drugs I’m talking about is benzodiazepines. Sometimes people get upset with me on here because of the risks associated with them. For me, they have help me greatly. However, they are controlled substances. When I first went off the finasteride, my body was so out of whack I can’t describe how bad I felt. When my doctor put me on a benzodiazepine because of severe anxiety, it helped greatly with anxiety along with insomnia, testicular pain, muscle pain, and other things. There is something wrong with our GABA transmitters. Somebody else on here mentioned the same thing about GABA transmitters, and he is right on the money. Benzodiazepines directly affect these transmitters, And they help greatly for me. However, there are risks involved with these drugs. Tolerance is the biggest issue. If somebody starts at a small dose, in about a month they will likely need more because the body adjusts. The problem is if you take them long-term you’ll likely have to increase the dosage more and more and more. And doctors in the United States are getting more strict about giving out these drugs. For me, they’ve been a miracle. But, like I said there are risks associated with these medications obviously. My advice to anybody suffering with the problems I mentioned is to go to a doctor and ask for one or two week trial and see if they help. If they do help with the symptoms that I mentioned, then something truly is wrong with the GABA transmitters in our brains.
The SSRI’s and SNRI’s have done nothing for my anxiety. They have only helped with my depression. The SNRI’s have caused horrible sexual side effects for me as opposed to the SSRI’s. Every SNRI I have been on has caused me painful ejaculations.
@Nate95 yes got it mate I’ve tried benzos. I took gaba over a decade ago and I felt great I didn’t know I had PFS and was still taking fin on and off. Out of desperation I tried gaba last year, just a few grains and it crashed me. I’m too far gone tbh to much exposure for far too many years. I’d already been on fin for over 10 years when I first tried gaba I think I would have recovered way back then.
@LazarusRy Gabapentin isn’t a benzodiazepine. It’s not nearly as strong as a benzo. Not trying to push you into taking any new medications, I’m just trying to help.
I know @Nate95 mate everyone on here always comes with the best of intentions. Even 2mg of melatonin “next to nothing” fucked me into hell. I took myself to A and E with severe dehydration and seizure like symptoms, tremors, flashing lights and confusion. They told me to see my GP.My reactions are nearly as insane as some of the so called professionals we see. I’m just trying to live out with what I have left but compelled to come to the forum as it’s the only place where I can relate.
I understand. Myself and everyone else on here are here for you. Don’t hesitate to contact me or anyone else if you need more help.