I'm having some anxiety problems and I can't sleep.

Treeloot

I've been having some really bad asthma problems lately, so I went the doctor and got some new asthma medicine. I've been taking Asmacort for about a month now and I've been taking Singulair for about 3 days. I was on Singulair about 5 years ago with no problems.

Anyhow, I'm having some really bad anxiety problems the past few days. I almost had a panic attack at work (I had to put a caller on the phone on hold while I calmed myself down), and I got really nervous about a pop I was drinking. Tonight I've been too nervous to even get into bed with the lights off, even with my mom in the room. I feel awful, and I have to be at work in less than 8 hours.

A few questions:

Has Singulair been causing my anxiety? I see plenty of personal accounts of singular causing anxiety online, but Singulair's official info packet says nothing about it.

How can I calm down and get to sleep? I freaked out just going upstairs to the computer to type this, I can't get anywhere near my bed without getting nervous.

Thanatos

If your bed is freaking you out, sleep on your couch.

I'd say "concentrate on your breathing, deep breaths," but given that your anxiety is about your asthma, that probably won't help. I'll go with the opposite of what the sleep people say, and say go downstairs, sit down in a recliner or something, and watch some television. That should help you zone out, and relax.

Feral

Treeloot wrote: »

Has Singulair been causing my anxiety? I see plenty of personal accounts of singular causing anxiety online, but Singulair's official info packet says nothing about it.

Neither does the physician packet. Anxiety was not seen as a side effect in clinical trials. Anything's possible, but the chances are pretty low.

Treeloot wrote: »

How can I calm down and get to sleep? I freaked out just going upstairs to the computer to type this, I can't get anywhere near my bed without getting nervous.

Can you get some physical activity? Are you feeling safe enough go do some situps or pushups?

romanqwerty

Hmm can you have a warm bath or maybe a warm class of milk? That helps me when i feel nervous about something and count sleep. Is there anything in particulare you are anxious about like an upcoming event?

Treeloot

OP here.


I got to sleep about three and half hours after the post last night. I ended up watching some TV, and finally got calmed down enough to go to bed.

I'm still kind of iffy on my Singulair, I think I'll call my doctor today and see what he suggests doing. While I'm highly inclined to trust the official information from Singulair over some people's accounts on a website, a lot of people list anxiety issues they claim to have had because of Singulair.

AlyceInWonderland

Lately I haven't been able to sleep either. At all. I'd just lay in my bed, and run over silly worries in my head for hours and hours on end. I was getting aggravated and cranky. My boyfriend told me that to relax, just take a deep breath in, hold it for 3 seconds, and exhale.

Lulled me right to sleep.

nexuscrawler

Excericse more. Not right before bed but a couple hours before. it helps your bobides internal clock and reduces anxiety.

also I've found computer and tv screens overstimulate me right before bed. Take a breather from the computer for an hour ro two before bed and do something else like read.

Sarcastro

You might try cutting the caffiene, that is if you have a lot of it. I found I got far more sensitive to the stuff as I got older - I could drink coffee by the gallon in my youth, no problem. Nowadays, anything caffienated after lunch makes sleepy sleep hard to find.

I'd also echo doing light cardio - it will help the asthma eventually, and I can't even tell you the wonders its done for my sleeping habits, I sleep well enough now I've been thinking about changing my descriptor.

Thanatos

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Excericse more. Not right before bed but a couple hours before. it helps your bobides internal clock and reduces anxiety.

also I've found computer and tv screens overstimulate me right before bed. Take a breather from the computer for an hour ro two before bed and do something else like read.

Yeah, the only reason I recommended TV is because you were freaking out, and odds are, just needed to veg out for a bit to get your brain relaxed.

Preacher

Just start to watch the movie magnolia, it will put you right to sleep. In all honesty good advice all around in the thread, exercise, lay off games and the computer an hour before bed, read, also if you have some animals around the house just sit and pet them for a bit (a repetive calming activity) also some smooth jazz, or perhaps a fan for some white noise to focus on can help take the edge off.

I'd also say alcohol (a small shot or something before bed), but that doesn't always assist everyone and can lead to dependency issues. You might also try masturbation, after I orgasm I am usually sleepy.

Sci-Fi Wasabi

Anxiety is really tough to figure out sometimes. I've been under some pretty heavy general anxiety for the past few months due to multiple non-related stress issues and it's important to remember that no one ever died or got hurt from anxiety. You might be uncomfortable, or have a sleepless night or two. Just remember when shit starts feeling weird and you just want to panic, that everything around you is perfectly fine. I focus on my cognitive reflexes and how natural they are and I instantly start to feel relief.

Make sure you open communication with your doctor on seeing what might be the cause of all this.

themightypuck

I've apparently got some anxiety disorder (my doctor used the analogy of the volume being turned up too high ). I've discovered a few things. SSRIs have side effects that may cause you to choose anxiety over said side effects. Benzodiazapenes are habit forming. Exercise and getting outside are very helpful. Alcohol is not helpful in the long run but is a dangerously attractive short term solution. Ambien and Lunesta will make you say nasty things to someone you care about that you will have no recollection of. Meditation, going to your happy place, imagining nice things, listening to music all help. It is nice to have a couple habit forming Xanax in your pocket just in case.

The Friendly Enema

Have you considered swimming more? If there's an indoor pool somewhere near your house (Or an outdoor one - y hello thar summer), I'd really suggest it. I used to have bad asthma problems and took Singulair myself by the day, although it didn't give me any negative symptoms. Swimming will give you a great work out and really work your cardio more than you'd think, it's worked wonders for my asthmatic problems. Haven't needed an inhaler in over 2 years and counting

Khavall

It sounds like GAD, or General Anxiety Disorder, to me. Of course, this is from the perspective of a child of two Psychologists with a Psychologist sister, so I shun everything associated with their wicked devil-voodoo and became a musician. Anxiety attacks though, from what I remember, often occur at least once for most people, so if it was an isolated incident, even if it spanned the full day, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it is a recurring thing, you should probably talk to a doctor or psychologist or psychiatrist, as I'm sure they'll be able to diagnose GAD and refer some treatment.

harvest

Start with your physician, who should give you referral to a psychiatrist, who will do a preliminary diagnosis and perhaps proscribe drugs, and maybe provide a referral to a psychotherapist.

Drugs are just a bandaid though, they cannot solve your problem.

Since one of the primary triggers for panic anxiety is a lack of cerebral oxygen, the best treatment for you will probably be aerobic exercise 4-5 times per week, 30-40 minutes per day. With time this will serve to offset your asthma, a side-effect of which will be to reduce your susceptibility to panic anxiety.

/suffers from PTSD and general anxiety disorder.

Treeloot

Hey everybody, OP here again.

I'd dropping Singulair for the next few days and I'll see how it works out. I haven't had a panic attack in the past 24 hours or come close to one, although that could just be due to chance.

I'll try to start exercising more I'll see if it helps. At the very least I can't see it having any negative effects.

Gotr

I went through a phase a few months ago where I seldom slept, and decided I needed to know more about the subject before deciding to dedicate some time to it. Out of the many books I read, these are the things that they ALL said were some great techniques to increase your ability to sleep:

*Exercise somewhere between 2 to 6 hours before going to bed, though exercising anytime 2 hours before sleeping is better than nothing.
*Masturbation or sex. The endorphins released by an orgasm are perhaps one of the best relaxers on the planet. However, some people are awakened by the physical action of sexual activities (including masturbation), so if you find that it doesn't work for you, stop.
*Eating a proper diet. Particularly be sure you're not overdosing on caffeine and sugars. A good diet helps your body run more smoothly, putting less stress on the body and mind.
*Find the right lighting for you. Most people fall asleep best in low lighting. I myself, along with many others, sleep in complete darkness, perhaps with a window open to let in a tiny amount of light. Some people, as weird as it is, sleep best in bright lighting.
*Try not to be too active before bed. Doing anything stimulating, especially mentally stimulating, will result in chemicals running through your body that prevent sleep.
*Go to bed at a fairly regular time each day, and sleep a good amount. Your body's circadian rhythms are adjusted mostly by the rising sun and the time that you wake up. The general best time to sleep is around 8 hours before sunrise, so that 8 hours later when you wake up, your circadian rhythms will be completely reset.
*Some people find it hard to sleep if they do other things on their bed. Some psychologists hypothesize that if you do activities besides sleeping on a bed, your brain associates the bed with being awake. Personally, that doesn't seem to make a difference with my sleep patterns, but some people claim it really works.

If none of that works, consider consulting your doctor. You could be an insomniac, or you might have an anxiety disorder.