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sleep deprivation depression
By
Kali
October 30, 2011 - 2:52pm
Is anyone suffering from sleep deprivation depression and how are you managing to deal with it?
By
babydreamin30
January 14, 2012 - 3:45am
I thought it would be fitting to answer an Insomnia question in the middle of the night while suffering from Insomnia.
Personally, I have experienced depression directly linked to my insomnia. My fibromyalgia flares up when I do not rest well, and that begins a vicious cycle of pain, fatigue, anxiety and Insomnia.
I just began taking magnesium and melatonin. I take one tablet of each before bed and that seems to calm me down enough to where I can lie still for a while. Unfortunately, I do usually have to take 5mg dose of ambien (half of the lowest dose) to finally fall asleep. But, my sleep has improved since I added magnesium and melatonin to my routine. Before that I would usually wake up every 2 hours, even if I took a full-dose of ambien. My sleep slowly improved from 2 hours, to sleeping 4 hours straight, and now I sleep 6 to 8 hours a night. That is if my pain level is low.
Tonight unfortunately I am up with lower back pain. I just cannot get comfortable enough to fall asleep!
When I do get depressed or have a flare-up I find that the best thing I can do is get out into the sun, get some fresh air and move around. It's a struggle to get up and get ready when you feel depressed and fatigued, but I always feel better after a walk or running light errands.
Anywho...I hope you guys are getting a good nights rest. Speak to you soon!!
January 14, 2012 - 3:45amThis Comment
By
Kali
January 8, 2012 - 2:17pm
Members,
If anyone has any questions for me please don't hesitate to ask. You are all important and I did not mean to imply otherwise by saying I didn't have the time to post a third time. I hope I did not offend anyone it was not my intention. Kali
January 8, 2012 - 2:17pmThis Comment
By
Kali
January 8, 2012 - 2:09pm
Thanks for sharing Susan. I agree coping skills need to be individualized, but it is always helpful to hear what other people try. We can then see if the information can work for us.
Surviving Insomnia members I have tried twice to post a response to Susan's in a manner that could help others, but after finishing both posts..once the site went down and this last time I lost my information being told the web page had expired. I apolgize that I don't have the time to try and post a third time.
Best wishes to all. Kali
January 8, 2012 - 2:09pmThis Comment
By
Kali
December 27, 2011 - 12:25pm
Susan, I can't imagine suffering with Insomnia since childhood...for me it has been the past fourteen years with Fibromyalgia that disruptive sleep and Insomnia have been issues for me. As I will probably always have sleeping problems, I'd be extremely interested to know your coping strategies. Kali
December 27, 2011 - 12:25pmThis Comment
By
Kali
December 27, 2011 - 12:13pm
Hi Susan...I can from my experience understand what you are saying. I was not depressed at all the first weekend in January of this year when an almost year long battle with Insomnia started. In my case it definitely caused me to become depressed over time. I do suffer from Fibromyalgia which Insomnia is closely linked to, but I kept searching for another root cause as previous bouts had never lasted longer than 3 weeks. My family doctor questioned whether it was the excrutiating pain I was in which just kept escalating from the lack of sleep as FM suffers know well. Especially as I was in his office in December of 2010 crying because of the pain and he also questioned how can a person sleep when they are in so much pain. In November I finally agreed to have him medicate me for the pain as he felt was necessary and I'm happy to say that I am finally getting some sleep. It's not perfect but my sleep in one hundred times better that what I was dealing with. So I guess my root cause was my Fibromyalgia and the chronic pain and disruptive sleep that are part of the disease. I'm so much happier, I'm starting to recover slowly from the past year of Insomnia and my sleep deprivation depression is gone. Kali
December 27, 2011 - 12:13pm
Dear babydreaming30:
Thanks for sharing. I too suffer from Fibromyalgia and have for fourteen years so I totally understand. The cycle of lack of sleep and increases in pain is brutal. I too get depression and anxiety from my Insomnia. Last year I had severe Insomnia for 11 months. I would go usually three days with no sleep and then sleep for about three hours. I couldn't drive, I was mentally and physically unable to function and I had serious sleep deprivation depression.
I also use magnesium (powder and topically) and melatonin. Vitamin D and your B Vitamins are important too, but talk to your doctor. My family doctor has me on 8,000 IU's of Vitamin D daily. I have tried every sleep medication on the market in Canada with no success. Last year my family doctor started trying "off-label" medications like anti-psychotics (pretty scarey). "Off-label" medications are not for sleep but have the side effect of drowsiness. No success. You can understand or imagine after 11 months how excrutiating my pain was. I couldn't even lie on my body anymore if that makes sense. I understand not being able to get comfortable to sleep! So, I finally agreed to let my family doctor treat my pain and I started getting some sleep in late November. It's not consistent and I am up every hour but some nights I can get 5-6 hours sleep. It's been enough to get rid of the depression. My functioning is a lot better and I'm taking baby steps driving again. Running errands and driving myself is now an adventure!
It sounds like you are keeping a positive attitude and have some good coping skills in place. And your finally getting sleep! Your on the right track for sure. Kali
January 14, 2012 - 2:18pmThis Comment