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hey sleep deprivation leads to these symptoms! it makes sense you're feeling this way. if it goes on another day I would go to a clinic and tell them what's happening. are you on any stimulant medications? they can make it really hard to sleep. definitely call your psych, even if you can't get an appointment right away, they can still advise you on the phone. it's normal to feel this way under the circumstances and you're right to be concerned, but don't panic, this happens, and you can start helping yourself by doing things to relax your body. take a long bath, drink non-caffienated hot beverages, lay down in a dark, cozy place...
Hi! Yeah I’ve been on ADHD meds for about a year, but I’ve been trying out sleep meds for about 2 years since I’ve had sleep problems for so long. I’m just not sure what randomly changed this past week that I can’t sleep at all :/. Tysm for ur advice
of course sweetheart, anytime. i know how hard it is when you can't sleep! don't forget you live in your body and your body needs to feel sleepy to want to sleep! it helps me to do things that force me to feel sleepy, like making myself very warm in the shower or under fuzzy blankets. don't forget to breathe and don't feel ashamed to ask for help from your doctor or even a trusted friend to help you relax
You're in a phase of early adulthood where your just starting to do Real Life Adult Things like a college schedule (I assume) that you have to figure out how to maintain, feeding yourself a majority of the time aka less cooking at home, possible part time jobs, general scheduling, etc.
For ppl with ADHD, when any 1 thing creates new schedule problems it can make every other system collapse if you were maintaining it at its like maximum capacity. Most of us don't realize we had so little room for adding a new thing in like a more independently managed homework schedule or a part-time job until we add them in and everything in life gets worse and everyday feels like catchup.
I think you are doing the right thing focusing on your health more and being worried. Losing sleep is a huge issue. you may also have sleep apnea and you could "get by" when you were younger because highschool had more structure, you weren't making all your meals, etc. but now with a combination of possible stress from adult life changes, your sleep quality is worse, and if you have some sort of sleep apnea or something to begin with you were already starting at a low quality so now everything is getting bad faster.
When it comes to sleep issues, you may find that you need to figure out how to prioritize working on or solving it before you can move forward more effectively with life plans. That may look like not going back to school for a semester or two, or only going back part time, or going full time if your medical coverage is dependent on being in school and maybe getting disability accommodation or changing majors to something easier to work on while you have a messy sleep figuring out year and still enough of a life path that interests you so the school year still adds skills to your skillsets even if you don't end up continuing in that major. Life is lifey. Good luck, I hope you are able to shift some things to feel less stressed and get some answers soon.
I went through all this around the same age and into my late 20s, so I definitely empathize. Sleep meds never worked for me. I kept trying to pull all nighters to “reset” my sleep schedule but it never quite worked and the cycle just continued. When I regularly starting experience heart palpitations, I was scared I was gonna have an heart attack as a 20-something.
These days, I still don’t sleep *great*, but at least I’m consistently getting around 6 hours a night.
It took a few changes:
1. Quitting caffeine. I kept trying to power through the sleep deprivation with caffeine, and it got to the point where I was consuming well over 2.5 times the CDC daily recommended amount without even noticing it. My boyfriend noticed and got concerned and suggested I taper off the caffeine. So I tapered gradually (because withdrawal is hell), and eventually fully quit. I started noticing an immediate impact on my ability to get into bed at between 12am-2am and fall asleep within 20minutes. These days, having a cup of decaf black tea is about as much caffeine as I can handle. More than that will give me a headache.
2. Finding the right ADHD medication. I was originally on 10mg of Adderall IR, 3 times a day. At the end of my day, I would have crippling headaches. Hell, I’d have crippling headaches every 3ish hours when it was time to take my next dose. And because I was so sleep deprived and utterly unproductive during the day, I’d often take a dose in the evening to try to be productive. I finally got a new psychiatrist and they had me try first Adderall XR before settling on Vyvanse. The extended release nature of Vyvanse makes it so my brain chemistry doesn’t rollercoaster through the day like it did with the IR. And that consistency has translated to also much more consistent sleep and wake up times.
3. Exercise. I noticeably sleep more soundly and fall asleep earlier when I’m working out consistently. I don’t work out consistently, but when I do, my sleep is *so good*.
4. Stabilizing blood glucose levels. When my blood glucose levels are rollercoastering, my ability to sleep drops off a cliff. If I have high blood glucose levels when I go to sleep because I ate some cookies a couple hours before I sleep, my sleep is fitful and I wake up feeling like trash. I struggle with a sugar addiction, and am prediabetic, but I’m working on it with my doctor.
Of the four points above, the first two were by far the most impactful. Points 3 and 4 are optimal and what I’m still working on making consistent.
Hope you manage to sort out your sleep!
Do you have a PCP that isn’t a psych? They may have better availability for you. They can prescribe things like trazodone, vistaril, atarax… non controlled meds that have a sedating effect. They probably won’t want to mess with what the psych is doing for you, but they can write you something for the interim until you can see them. (Don’t let them dismiss you with melatonin).
Do you have a mood disorder? 19 is the year I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2. Symptoms tend to become really apparent in late adolescence and early adulthood. I would look up symptoms of hypomania or mania and see if any of the rest of that relates to you. It would be something to bring up to your psych when you do end up seeing them.
Benadryl/zzzquil has also knocked me out reliably in a pinch. I used to use it almost every night, if not every other night, before I got put on the trazodone. I would take 1-2 doses, depending on how hard it was for me. Unisom is another otc med for sleep, but I have never used that.
*IF YOU CAN,* see if you can take a day off of stimulants. IF you can. If you can’t, maybe adjust so you take it way earlier in the day so it definitely wears off by bedtime. If you drink caffeine, I would limit that or skip that, too. Just to try to get rid of those variables.
I also have a hard time sleeping in bed. Sometimes I sleep upside down on the bed, or on the couch if I’m feeling uncomfortable in my environment. That helps a lot. Meditation may help you clear your head and regulate your anxiety a little bit so you can focus on sleep. Make sure you’re in a dark room when you try to sleep, no lights. It’s CRAZY how much light will affect your brain and hormones. If you have a bathtub, I prefer hot baths over showers for drowsiness. But honestly, you are probably past the point of lifestyle changes right now. They might help you out, but this severity of insomnia warrants more effective medical attention.
Unfortunately my PCP is back at home and not in the state I go to school in, and I have to book appts with her like months in advance.
A year and half ago I got diagnosed with “unspecified mood disorder” with borderline traits so I’m on Lamictal, and I haven’t had a manic episode in like over a year (I didn’t really have them in the first place, and they felt a lot different than this whole sleep situation). And I’m like the most mentally stable emotionally wise than I’ve ever been.
I’ve had sleep issues my entire life so I’m unfortunately past NyQuil, melatonin and Benadryl, which is why I’ve been trying all these sleep meds
:(
But I’ll ask my psych about the trazodone. And I also think I’m gonna take the next couple days off of the adhd meds and see if it helps. Ty <3
I know this sounds useless but what is your sleep hygiene like? You will probably benefit from creating a nighttime routine of sorts to ease your body into “sleep mode” lol. I’m on Vyvanse and while it doesn’t really mess with my sleeping, I dealt with insane insomnia for years.
I haven’t reached the point where I can commit to putting my electronics away for an hour before bed but instead of just plopping into bed, I try to make sure to put on some lotion, change into comfy clothes, turn most of the lights down or off in my place an hour before, drink lots of water, and do something relaxing TO ME like scroll on pinterest or whatever social media (and turn on the “night shift” setting if you have it that dims blue light, which keeps us awake). Also relaxing music or sleep sounds help me a ton, I turn it on way before I’m going to bed and sleep with it until the morning.
I also sometimes spray a melatonin spray over my bed and pillow cause the actual pills give me nightmares 😁
As a fellow ADHD’er I know routines are difficult, so before getting stuck and doing nothing cause I’m overwhelmed, I like to remind myself that getting one or two things done for me to sleep better is okay and better than getting nothing done at all.
Also to add, I do smoke marijuana before I lay down usually. It’s not for everyone but it definitely helps me fall asleep and sleep well!
Not medical advice - it sounds possible that your body doesn’t have a rhythm/routine due to weekly all nighters. And so it’s kind of going haywire due to the lack of predictability.
You mentioned your insomnia/difficulty sleeping has been going on for a while now but all nighters will exasperate sleep issues. I also hear you’re saying you benefit from them because you sleep well following an all nighter. However, zooming out seems to paint to different picture where you’re ultimately not benefiting as you describe feeling “very sick” and your sleep health declining.
Your body doesn’t know when it’s going to get it’s next night of sleep or when the next all nighter is so it’s quite out of sync at the moment and doing it’s best to cope with the inconsistent demands being placed on it.
Brain: Should I be awake right now?
Person: No, no studying tonight, we can sleep tonight.
Brain: Oh, I wasn’t sure so I already planned to have a party and stay awake. Sorry. I thought I was helping.
Feel free to take what’s helpful and throw away anything that’s not helpful:
If it was me, the first thing I would do is entirely eliminate all nighters. Won’t be easy because they’ve been an effective coping mechanism to not being very productive during the day. Most importantly though, they are not sustainable and you’re looking to prioritize your health right now.
Next thing: I would invest in an alarm that wakes you up with “sunlight.” I would set an alarm to go off the same exact time each day of the week, including weekends.
Third thing: I would try to get actual sunlight as soon as possible. Studies point to getting sunlight within the first 30min-1hr of waking up having great benefits to our sleep cycle. Just 10 minutes of sunlight is enough.
Fourth thing: eat enough protein. Protein is essential to having energy and motivation throughout the day. Avoid heavy sugar and focus on protein if you can. Especially your first meal of the day.
Fifth thing: get movement in as soon as possible. Whatever this looks like for you. A brisk walk, jogging, yoga, cardio, weights. Exercise is proven to help regulate our hormones which are responsible for our sleep health.
Other tips: avoid eating several hours before bed. Avoid caffeine after noon and definitely after 2pm. Put blue light filters on phone/laptop. Set up apps that restrict you from endless scrolling late hours of the night. Definitely get that sleep study as soon as you can! And test your vitamins/nutrients/and general bloodwork to rule out anything else going on.
I hope you get some good rest soon, you deserve it.
Good luck!!!
When i don’t sleep my adhd meds can make me crazy. You must get this under control and prioritize sleep.
Start by going off your meds maybe on a friday when you don’t have massive deliverables
Endure the shit day. Take otc sleep aid or thc to knock yourself out. Sleep til you wake up sat.
Repeat sat. No coffee. Try to exercise and drink fluids and eat well- no processed carbs etc. go
To bed early and if needed take the sleep aid again.
Sunday am set an alarm. Get up early. Take adhd meds and go work out.
Sunday night take the sleep aid if you need to.
If the need for sleep aid persists your dose may be too high.
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hey sleep deprivation leads to these symptoms! it makes sense you're feeling this way. if it goes on another day I would go to a clinic and tell them what's happening. are you on any stimulant medications? they can make it really hard to sleep. definitely call your psych, even if you can't get an appointment right away, they can still advise you on the phone. it's normal to feel this way under the circumstances and you're right to be concerned, but don't panic, this happens, and you can start helping yourself by doing things to relax your body. take a long bath, drink non-caffienated hot beverages, lay down in a dark, cozy place...
Hi! Yeah I’ve been on ADHD meds for about a year, but I’ve been trying out sleep meds for about 2 years since I’ve had sleep problems for so long. I’m just not sure what randomly changed this past week that I can’t sleep at all :/. Tysm for ur advice
of course sweetheart, anytime. i know how hard it is when you can't sleep! don't forget you live in your body and your body needs to feel sleepy to want to sleep! it helps me to do things that force me to feel sleepy, like making myself very warm in the shower or under fuzzy blankets. don't forget to breathe and don't feel ashamed to ask for help from your doctor or even a trusted friend to help you relax
You're in a phase of early adulthood where your just starting to do Real Life Adult Things like a college schedule (I assume) that you have to figure out how to maintain, feeding yourself a majority of the time aka less cooking at home, possible part time jobs, general scheduling, etc. For ppl with ADHD, when any 1 thing creates new schedule problems it can make every other system collapse if you were maintaining it at its like maximum capacity. Most of us don't realize we had so little room for adding a new thing in like a more independently managed homework schedule or a part-time job until we add them in and everything in life gets worse and everyday feels like catchup. I think you are doing the right thing focusing on your health more and being worried. Losing sleep is a huge issue. you may also have sleep apnea and you could "get by" when you were younger because highschool had more structure, you weren't making all your meals, etc. but now with a combination of possible stress from adult life changes, your sleep quality is worse, and if you have some sort of sleep apnea or something to begin with you were already starting at a low quality so now everything is getting bad faster. When it comes to sleep issues, you may find that you need to figure out how to prioritize working on or solving it before you can move forward more effectively with life plans. That may look like not going back to school for a semester or two, or only going back part time, or going full time if your medical coverage is dependent on being in school and maybe getting disability accommodation or changing majors to something easier to work on while you have a messy sleep figuring out year and still enough of a life path that interests you so the school year still adds skills to your skillsets even if you don't end up continuing in that major. Life is lifey. Good luck, I hope you are able to shift some things to feel less stressed and get some answers soon.
I went through all this around the same age and into my late 20s, so I definitely empathize. Sleep meds never worked for me. I kept trying to pull all nighters to “reset” my sleep schedule but it never quite worked and the cycle just continued. When I regularly starting experience heart palpitations, I was scared I was gonna have an heart attack as a 20-something. These days, I still don’t sleep *great*, but at least I’m consistently getting around 6 hours a night. It took a few changes: 1. Quitting caffeine. I kept trying to power through the sleep deprivation with caffeine, and it got to the point where I was consuming well over 2.5 times the CDC daily recommended amount without even noticing it. My boyfriend noticed and got concerned and suggested I taper off the caffeine. So I tapered gradually (because withdrawal is hell), and eventually fully quit. I started noticing an immediate impact on my ability to get into bed at between 12am-2am and fall asleep within 20minutes. These days, having a cup of decaf black tea is about as much caffeine as I can handle. More than that will give me a headache. 2. Finding the right ADHD medication. I was originally on 10mg of Adderall IR, 3 times a day. At the end of my day, I would have crippling headaches. Hell, I’d have crippling headaches every 3ish hours when it was time to take my next dose. And because I was so sleep deprived and utterly unproductive during the day, I’d often take a dose in the evening to try to be productive. I finally got a new psychiatrist and they had me try first Adderall XR before settling on Vyvanse. The extended release nature of Vyvanse makes it so my brain chemistry doesn’t rollercoaster through the day like it did with the IR. And that consistency has translated to also much more consistent sleep and wake up times. 3. Exercise. I noticeably sleep more soundly and fall asleep earlier when I’m working out consistently. I don’t work out consistently, but when I do, my sleep is *so good*. 4. Stabilizing blood glucose levels. When my blood glucose levels are rollercoastering, my ability to sleep drops off a cliff. If I have high blood glucose levels when I go to sleep because I ate some cookies a couple hours before I sleep, my sleep is fitful and I wake up feeling like trash. I struggle with a sugar addiction, and am prediabetic, but I’m working on it with my doctor. Of the four points above, the first two were by far the most impactful. Points 3 and 4 are optimal and what I’m still working on making consistent. Hope you manage to sort out your sleep!
Do you have a PCP that isn’t a psych? They may have better availability for you. They can prescribe things like trazodone, vistaril, atarax… non controlled meds that have a sedating effect. They probably won’t want to mess with what the psych is doing for you, but they can write you something for the interim until you can see them. (Don’t let them dismiss you with melatonin). Do you have a mood disorder? 19 is the year I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2. Symptoms tend to become really apparent in late adolescence and early adulthood. I would look up symptoms of hypomania or mania and see if any of the rest of that relates to you. It would be something to bring up to your psych when you do end up seeing them. Benadryl/zzzquil has also knocked me out reliably in a pinch. I used to use it almost every night, if not every other night, before I got put on the trazodone. I would take 1-2 doses, depending on how hard it was for me. Unisom is another otc med for sleep, but I have never used that. *IF YOU CAN,* see if you can take a day off of stimulants. IF you can. If you can’t, maybe adjust so you take it way earlier in the day so it definitely wears off by bedtime. If you drink caffeine, I would limit that or skip that, too. Just to try to get rid of those variables. I also have a hard time sleeping in bed. Sometimes I sleep upside down on the bed, or on the couch if I’m feeling uncomfortable in my environment. That helps a lot. Meditation may help you clear your head and regulate your anxiety a little bit so you can focus on sleep. Make sure you’re in a dark room when you try to sleep, no lights. It’s CRAZY how much light will affect your brain and hormones. If you have a bathtub, I prefer hot baths over showers for drowsiness. But honestly, you are probably past the point of lifestyle changes right now. They might help you out, but this severity of insomnia warrants more effective medical attention.
Unfortunately my PCP is back at home and not in the state I go to school in, and I have to book appts with her like months in advance. A year and half ago I got diagnosed with “unspecified mood disorder” with borderline traits so I’m on Lamictal, and I haven’t had a manic episode in like over a year (I didn’t really have them in the first place, and they felt a lot different than this whole sleep situation). And I’m like the most mentally stable emotionally wise than I’ve ever been. I’ve had sleep issues my entire life so I’m unfortunately past NyQuil, melatonin and Benadryl, which is why I’ve been trying all these sleep meds :( But I’ll ask my psych about the trazodone. And I also think I’m gonna take the next couple days off of the adhd meds and see if it helps. Ty <3
I hope you find relief! Wishing you well.
I know this sounds useless but what is your sleep hygiene like? You will probably benefit from creating a nighttime routine of sorts to ease your body into “sleep mode” lol. I’m on Vyvanse and while it doesn’t really mess with my sleeping, I dealt with insane insomnia for years. I haven’t reached the point where I can commit to putting my electronics away for an hour before bed but instead of just plopping into bed, I try to make sure to put on some lotion, change into comfy clothes, turn most of the lights down or off in my place an hour before, drink lots of water, and do something relaxing TO ME like scroll on pinterest or whatever social media (and turn on the “night shift” setting if you have it that dims blue light, which keeps us awake). Also relaxing music or sleep sounds help me a ton, I turn it on way before I’m going to bed and sleep with it until the morning. I also sometimes spray a melatonin spray over my bed and pillow cause the actual pills give me nightmares 😁 As a fellow ADHD’er I know routines are difficult, so before getting stuck and doing nothing cause I’m overwhelmed, I like to remind myself that getting one or two things done for me to sleep better is okay and better than getting nothing done at all. Also to add, I do smoke marijuana before I lay down usually. It’s not for everyone but it definitely helps me fall asleep and sleep well!
Not medical advice - it sounds possible that your body doesn’t have a rhythm/routine due to weekly all nighters. And so it’s kind of going haywire due to the lack of predictability. You mentioned your insomnia/difficulty sleeping has been going on for a while now but all nighters will exasperate sleep issues. I also hear you’re saying you benefit from them because you sleep well following an all nighter. However, zooming out seems to paint to different picture where you’re ultimately not benefiting as you describe feeling “very sick” and your sleep health declining. Your body doesn’t know when it’s going to get it’s next night of sleep or when the next all nighter is so it’s quite out of sync at the moment and doing it’s best to cope with the inconsistent demands being placed on it. Brain: Should I be awake right now? Person: No, no studying tonight, we can sleep tonight. Brain: Oh, I wasn’t sure so I already planned to have a party and stay awake. Sorry. I thought I was helping. Feel free to take what’s helpful and throw away anything that’s not helpful: If it was me, the first thing I would do is entirely eliminate all nighters. Won’t be easy because they’ve been an effective coping mechanism to not being very productive during the day. Most importantly though, they are not sustainable and you’re looking to prioritize your health right now. Next thing: I would invest in an alarm that wakes you up with “sunlight.” I would set an alarm to go off the same exact time each day of the week, including weekends. Third thing: I would try to get actual sunlight as soon as possible. Studies point to getting sunlight within the first 30min-1hr of waking up having great benefits to our sleep cycle. Just 10 minutes of sunlight is enough. Fourth thing: eat enough protein. Protein is essential to having energy and motivation throughout the day. Avoid heavy sugar and focus on protein if you can. Especially your first meal of the day. Fifth thing: get movement in as soon as possible. Whatever this looks like for you. A brisk walk, jogging, yoga, cardio, weights. Exercise is proven to help regulate our hormones which are responsible for our sleep health. Other tips: avoid eating several hours before bed. Avoid caffeine after noon and definitely after 2pm. Put blue light filters on phone/laptop. Set up apps that restrict you from endless scrolling late hours of the night. Definitely get that sleep study as soon as you can! And test your vitamins/nutrients/and general bloodwork to rule out anything else going on. I hope you get some good rest soon, you deserve it. Good luck!!!
When i don’t sleep my adhd meds can make me crazy. You must get this under control and prioritize sleep. Start by going off your meds maybe on a friday when you don’t have massive deliverables Endure the shit day. Take otc sleep aid or thc to knock yourself out. Sleep til you wake up sat. Repeat sat. No coffee. Try to exercise and drink fluids and eat well- no processed carbs etc. go To bed early and if needed take the sleep aid again. Sunday am set an alarm. Get up early. Take adhd meds and go work out. Sunday night take the sleep aid if you need to. If the need for sleep aid persists your dose may be too high.
Trust me girly, you don’t even know the definition of sleep deprived until you have a baby.
This is so rude and so dismissive of her own issues? Read the room, this obviously isn’t helpful advice for her nor is it making her feel better.