Anxiety and Insomnia

[casius]

I have been struggling with insomnia for the past 2 years and find it difficult to find out what is adding fuel to my severe insomnia.

I am a 49 year old male and never really had any major health issues until June 2012 when i decided to improve my fitness level, so I gave up smoking and started exercising daily. A few weeks later I went to the doctor complaining that I was feeling tired all the time and would wake up feeling exhausted every day, and also having sinus congestion.

After some tests, my doctor told me I have allergies, so I started doing allergy shots and taking allergy medication daily, although I never had any relief, after spending 1000's on medication, shots, cortisol steroids, and natural treatment. I had absolutely zero relief from any allergy medication, so I gave up.

I went to a sleep study and doctors ruled out sleep apnea and told me everything was fine, although I only had 10% of restorative sleep. I also had my sinus x-rayed and everything came back normal.

Is anxiety linked to sinus congestion? I was also under severe stress when my insomnia started. I noticed that I would get a good nights sleep when I started taking Zoplicone (sleep medication) although I quickly build a tolerance to it and no longer works. I want to try an anti-anxiety med but all the doctors will not prescribe it to me and always give me antidepressants (which make me very ill from the side effects) and very rarely help me sleep.

The past 3 months I also started experiencing nighttime tremors which my body would shake from head to toe, violently for a few minutes although i am taking magnesium supplement (Natural Calm) and seems to help.

This insomnia is causing me a lot of trouble as I am not able to function properly. I wake up with headaches, neck pain, dizzy, confused and don't feel normal until after 6:00 PM. I really need to get back to work soon because my finances are also making my stress worse and seems like im just caught in a viscous cycle that I cannot break.

I would appreciate any suggestions or help.

[Enduronman]

Magnesium is a great choice in naturals.
Also, try adding in some melatonin at night too. 3mg.
It may help you...(I sleep very well because I don't worry about anything)..plus I take melatonin too.
Have a good day!

E-Man.. :)

[Kuma]

So the OP says he is suffering from insomnia and anxiety, and in response Mr. Suffering (1) criticizes him for using too many words, and (2) tells him why he exists. Whatever.

To the OP: Insomnia and anxiety can be related, and can feed on one another. I know; I have both. Anxiety makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Then you are under-rested, and more susceptible to anxiety. A bit of a viscous cycle.

It is important to try to get some better sleep, for both physical and mental reasons. You might google "sleep hygiene" and try following some of the suggestions. They are lifestyle things you can do. Other things that work for some people include passionflower tea, melatonin, doxylamine succinate (Unisom), and various prescription meds. There are probably plusses and minuses to each of these -- and I am not a medical professional so I am not qualified to make recommendations -- but you could talk with a doc or pharmacist about these and other options.

What "anti anxiety med" did you want to try? Some take benzos. They work pretty well, for many people, but they are also habit forming, subject to abuse by some, and the withdrawal can be tough. So some docs are reluctant. And they are not really, in my opinion, a good long term solution.

Have you tried some counseling? Maybe a psychologist or psychiatrist could help.

Best wishes.