August 23
I did surprisingly well yesterday in spite of my lack of sleep. I felt fairly good, and when my stomach started churning I would do push-ups to get my mind off of it. They say exercise helps with anxiety. In reading my book about getting better it seems that getting your mind off of it is a step in the wrong direction though. The book says to face up to your symptoms, examine them, accept them, and move on with your life. That works well right now for mild symptoms.
Unfortunately last night got really bad. My wife had to be gone for a couple hours in the evening and my lack of sleep hit hard right after she left. Fortunately the girls were good and I didn't have to intervene in world war III or anything like that.
When my wife got home at 8:PM, I took a full sleeping pill (half usually does the job) so that I wouldn't have a repeat of the previous night.
If you've ever been unable to sleep while under the influence of drugs that make you sleepy, you know what agony is. I usually listen to audiobooks or podcasts on my ipod before sleep because I've had problems falling asleep for years. The ipod solves the issue by occupying my brain until I'm about to drop off. (Music doesn't work - it has to be talking)
The sleeping pill was taking hold nicely and I could feel myself drifting off to a lovely drug-induced slumber, so I pulled out the earphones and prepared to be asleep within the minute.
Just then I felt a surge of adrenaline in my chest. I tried to relax by focusing on breathing, but it didn't work. It continued to get stronger until I was having a full-on anxiety attack like I haven't had since the dinner at Anthony's. I was awake for several hours with the familiar nausea & trips to the toilet. I know a Xanax would have calmed me down enough to sleep, but I haven't had a chance to ask a pharmacist about drug interactions with the sleeping pill. I thought I had better endure the terrible night rather than risk a trip to the emergency room or worse.
The tension in my chest and stomach has stayed with me all day today. I took a Xanax this morning when I got up, but between that and the grogginess of the sleeping pill I felt like I might drop at any moment. It was a little scary for a couple hours, but at least the nausea went away.
I've written the entire blog up to this point on one day, and I'm all caught up now so who knows what exciting adventures remain for Marcus and Wonder Boy! A good nights sleep would fit the bill for me.
Showing posts with label sleepless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleepless. Show all posts
Saturday, August 23, 2008
First 'Regular' Doctor Visit & Sleepless Night Without Xanax
Thursday, August 21
My doctor was still unavailable, but I got in to see someone so that we could get on with whatever needs to be done.
She told me to quit taking the Xanax except for emergencies and put me on Citalopram, (Celexa) which is a long term anti-depressant. The idea is that it builds up in your system and changes the way your brain handles serotonin levels over time, and then you wean off of it.
Unfortunately, it doesn't help with anxiety for three to four weeks and one of the side affects can be increased anxiety, which will be the next post.
She also referred me to the part of the clinic that does counseling so I should expect a call soon.
Thursday Night, August 21
This was a really bad night. I ended up with a grand total of 3 1/2 hours of sleep. First night off the Xanax, and it didn't go so well. I'm used to being sedated plus the new stuff can cause sleep difficulties or sleepiness but apparently they don't know which. Anyhow I ended up being awake since 3:30 in the morning after going to bed around midnight.
At 3:30 when I woke up, my wife hadn't come to bed yet. She had been watching a show at her sister's house late that night so I was worried and went to check to see if her car was there. She was just wired and stayed up cleaning the house (just like I taught her) but the initial worry had triggered a fear response that kept adrenaline going in me for a while and I was never able to get back to sleep.
The plus side of no sleep is that I got some great shots of the sun rising over the lake this morning. They aren't ready yet, but be watching my flickr page around Christmas time when I get caught up on my pictures. My wife stayed up all night & wanted to exercise at Curves at 6:00 AM so we talked & watched the sun come up over the lake from 5AM to 6AM. We were both tired afterward, but we learned a valuable lesson about sleep. Actually not, but we were very tired.
My doctor was still unavailable, but I got in to see someone so that we could get on with whatever needs to be done.
She told me to quit taking the Xanax except for emergencies and put me on Citalopram, (Celexa) which is a long term anti-depressant. The idea is that it builds up in your system and changes the way your brain handles serotonin levels over time, and then you wean off of it.
Unfortunately, it doesn't help with anxiety for three to four weeks and one of the side affects can be increased anxiety, which will be the next post.
She also referred me to the part of the clinic that does counseling so I should expect a call soon.
Thursday Night, August 21
This was a really bad night. I ended up with a grand total of 3 1/2 hours of sleep. First night off the Xanax, and it didn't go so well. I'm used to being sedated plus the new stuff can cause sleep difficulties or sleepiness but apparently they don't know which. Anyhow I ended up being awake since 3:30 in the morning after going to bed around midnight.
At 3:30 when I woke up, my wife hadn't come to bed yet. She had been watching a show at her sister's house late that night so I was worried and went to check to see if her car was there. She was just wired and stayed up cleaning the house (just like I taught her) but the initial worry had triggered a fear response that kept adrenaline going in me for a while and I was never able to get back to sleep.
The plus side of no sleep is that I got some great shots of the sun rising over the lake this morning. They aren't ready yet, but be watching my flickr page around Christmas time when I get caught up on my pictures. My wife stayed up all night & wanted to exercise at Curves at 6:00 AM so we talked & watched the sun come up over the lake from 5AM to 6AM. We were both tired afterward, but we learned a valuable lesson about sleep. Actually not, but we were very tired.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
