Insomnia

[drk]

For the last 1.5-2 weeks, I've been suffering from insomnia. I don't know if it's due to tapering/stopping the domperidone I've been on for exclusively pumping for my baby, or cutting back the pumping dramatically, or what, but I've been feeling like crap for days.

I spend lots of my day just feeling a low-grade nausea, kind of like I'm hungry but nothing appeals and my stomach hurts a little. I'm also going through some low-grade anxiety, having trouble making decisions, and thinking of things to worry about that just aren't concerns right now.

Then the sleeping. I was doing fine till DD had a rough night last Monday and I was up with her for half the night. DH was out of town. The next night, I had trouble falling asleep because I was worried she'd have a rough night again, and that I'd not be able to get to sleep and wouldn't be on the ball at work the next day (I'm an anesthesiologist). The next night, same thing, but now DH was home so I took a sleeping pill which helped a little. Then I had a good night's sleep in the hospital on call, and again when we were away for the weekend. Once we got home though, I've been struggling again. I either can't stop thinking about things, or just worry about not being able to fall asleep. Last night, my more-rapid-than-usual heartbeat was really loud and bothering me when I was trying to fall asleep. I keep caving in and take a sleeping pill, but I don't want to end up reliant on them either, especially as DH will be out of town again next week and I need to be able to wake up if DD needs me.

Anyone else go through this kind of thing? What worked for you? I've had situational short-term insomnia before, around the time of big exams or big life events, but nothing that's dragged on like this with no real precipitant.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Which sleep aid are you taking?

 

[packrat]

How old is your baby? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Sometimes even if you don't *think* you're overwhelmed/anxious/depressed etc, a person's body maybe could be trying to tell them differently.

 

[drk]

Zopiclone.

My baby is 1 year old. She sleeps 12 hours a night and we have a great nanny who looks after her on weekdays.

It seems my family doctor thinks it's a combination of weaning and me having an underlying mild anxiety problem. I think she's got a point, and she gave me the name of a book to get and read to see if the anxiety thing makes sense and to give me some ways to help deal with it.

I'm definitely a worrier, so hopefully I'll be able to help myself tone down the anxiety and get better sleep sometime soon.

 

[missy]

I don't know if you have tried this already but my dh swears by meditation for this issue. Whenever he stops meditating his sleep suffers. So now he makes it a priority to do first thing after coffee in the AM and it really helps his sleep quality and quantity. I keep meaning to try it because I tend to have trouble shutting my brain off at night when I want to go to sleep but I keep making excuses to myself as to why I don't have time. Anyway, just wanted to mention it to you in case you haven't tried meditation yet.

Hope your sleep issues get better. It sucks when you don't get enough sleep and have to function at a high level the next day. Good luck!

 

[ljmorgan]

Ugh, insomnia can be such a complicated issue. I went through a two month period dealing with insomnia which Ambien did help, but of course I knew that it was only a temporary solution. I found that I became more stressed out thinking about not taking the sleeping aid, so the day I'd say "OK Lindsey, you need to start falling asleep on your own" I felt a tremendous amount of pressure that only made falling asleep more difficult. So I have no amazing recommendations, except that once I got through the first initial night, the pressure was much less. Also I used some guided meditation exclusively for falling asleep that I purchased from iTunes and played that at bedtime to fall asleep to, it really helped. Focusing on the words and music kept my mind from wandering and worrying.

Definitely sounds weaning related particularly combined with the nausea. I hope that this passes very soon!