Insomnia: The Curse of Never Sleeping

Insomnia, the curse of never sleeping. If you're like me and you have been experiencing occasional insomnia then you most likely have problems sleeping at other times; and if you're really like me then you really have problems sleeping at night all the time, so much so that you are resistant to general sleeping aids and even prescribed insomnia medications such as Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszopiclone). After going through a faze of attempting to self medicate my insomnia with doses of Tylenol PM that would tranquilize a horse and enough Nyquil to put a soldier in the midst of combat asleep I was left with no other option than to see my doctor about my insomnia woes. After a short visit with my general practitioner I left the office with a script for Ambien a drug known to treat insomnia, I was so relieved that I went straight home after going to the pharmacy to pick it up and drove home to take it and get some sleep. I slept and it worked well my insomnia was cured... For a period of time. A few months went by and the next thing I knew I was up all night again unable to sleep, my insomnia was back. So, going back to the doctor I was put on Lunesta to give a try. That too worked for a while; possibly a few weeks and I was back at it again, insomnia city here I come.

I have problems with insomnia because as soon as I lay down in bed to go to sleep the thoughts begin, no matter how tired I am. I could lay bricks in the hot sun all day and then go run a 10k and I'd still have problems with insomnia. I tried everything, I tried melatonin and tried quitting smoking because nicotine is a stimulant, I thought those things would help. I even started jogging and exercising at the gym hoping to wear myself out even more than I was already worn out. All these things I did were to no avail it almost seemed to make my insomnia even more frustrating. I then took up drinking liquor, so that I would just pass out for a while. I did this on and off for about a year, it worked mildly letting me rest for a few short hours; but then after the alcohol wore off I was right back up again with the insomnia. The next day I would have to face the lingering hangover repercussions of the night drinking before. After a few months of not sleeping regularly at all after I quite drinking (by the way alcohol can act like a stimulant if your trying to self medicate for insomnia). I changed doctors and went to a new one that had been recommended to me by a close friend that suffered from insomnia too. Keep in mind that during the following explanation I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and is my only known diagnosis of mental defect.

So, I go to this new doctor and I explain to him that I have insomnia at night due to thoughts racing through my head from the stresses of being self employed. If your self employed or have a high stress job or problems with family on the home front than you know what I'm talking about. So, after a few moments with this doctor he prescribes me two things. The first script was for Klonopin and the second for Risperidal; I though okay, sounds great see ya next week. Before I take medications I research them on the internet. When I got home and began researching the first script which was Risperidal (risperidone) I was shocked to find out that it was an atypical anti-psychotic designed to treat symptoms of Schizophrenia and manic stages associated with Bi-polar disorder; neither of which I have ever been diagnosed with, how was this supposed to cure my insomnia. So, I decided to see what the other script was for beginning to think my doctor was a quack, I could see if I had rolled into the doctors office talking to myself and having hallucinations or been in a moment of extreme manic elation; but I wasn't. I came in cool, calm, and collected with my inquiry about my insomnia. So, I check the next script and it's for Klonopin (eszopiclone) and this is a medication used to treat severe panic and anxiety disorders not insomnia.

All this was a bit strange so I decided to do some more research on these anti-psychotics and anti-anxiety meds. Eventually I found what I was looking for a few off label uses. I read somewhere that Risperidone can be used to treat certain forms of insomnia that occur with a correlation with racing thoughts and that Klonopin had off label uses for as a muscle relaxant and to treat certain forms of parasomnia. So, out of desperation I went ahead and tried these two medications, I was willing to do anything at this point. I took them and went to bed, I didn't fall into a deep trance or anything or go right to sleep, but after about 45 minutes of laying there I drifted off into sleep. I slept all night long until it was time to wake up and go to work. I woke up refreshed that I had actually slept the whole night through and best of all I had dreamed and no insomnia, I had actually fallen into REM sleep. After going a few months without dreaming you begin to feel like you might be losing your mind and going crazy; well, long story short that was two years ago and I haven't built up a tolerance to it or had any symptoms of the insomnia reoccuring.

So, if you've had problems like me where when you lay down and you constantly worry about the next days events or the events of the previous day just do what the crazies do, take anti-psychotics and you will get a peaceful nights sleep and don't forget the meds for extreme panic disorders. This pharmaceutical anti-insomnia cocktail is worth every penny. So, if you're an insomniac like me coax your doctor into prescribing these two drugs to you, although you may have to fabricate the symptoms that go along with them; it's worth the try, what do you have to lose other than your sanity? Also to make sure you understand the extent of how well this cocktail works, I recently went back on Adderall (for my ADD which is a stimulant) and I still drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day and sleep like a baby at night.