No Help from Drs or ENTs on Sleep Issues

so basically after having ssid,T and H I'm over the initial S issue, with not a lot of help from Drs or anything except this forum, yes I did get some 2mg diazipan which turns me into a zombie and still don't sleep so I got some herbal ones which calm me the same os diazipan without the zombie effect, been called up ENT today as a follow up, or so I thought to be told they have haven't got the results of my hearing tests and as for the sleeping I should go online tinnitus helpline and do exercises!

I had to get someone to drive me, pay petrol and treat to lunch and spend all day to be told that!,,,, it kind of put me back a step as I was doing well just looking into stuff for myself! Add insult to injury I was given suddafed when I first went Drs and no help till I admitted myself to AandE.

You know what tho, F**K the Drs, today I didn't have a panic attack getting to hospital although it's a fair distance, I didn't panic in the massive entrance hall, and I didn't break down when the Dr said he can't help me with sleep issues!

If I have to go score my own drugs to sleep at some point I will lol, for now I can't do anything except relax and look on this as a little holiday!!!


Hugs to all x

 

Hi @Charron
Sounds like a disappointing day, after the progress you have done so well. Here's a newspaper link I was sent about natural sleep products. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...remedies-beat-insomnia-effects-medicines.html. Best wishes Phil

 

Aww no !

Lets see what we all can do for you on here to help you sleep
Relaxing bath and warm drink.
natural sleeping tablets or see if your doctor will prescribe zopiclone .

Invest in some good sound therapy speakers to plug in to a sound unit to play natural sounds set below your tinnitus or mixing point.
Lavender on your pillow to relax you and the sense of smell is good tinnitus distraction.
There is a low dose amitryptaline doctors can prescribe for sleep long term....lots of love glynis

 

Hi @Charron

I'm sorry that your doctors were not more helpful. The good news is that a lot of people (including me!) have found ways to get through the sleep problems, even if the tinnitus itself doesn't change. I generally sleep 8-10 hours without drugs and without playing any masking sounds or fans or anything.

The things that have helped me are: basic sleep hygiene (regular exercise, good diet, not eating within a couple hours of bed), combined with some mindfulness practices. When my insomnia was at its worst, I was listening to a 30 minute guided body scan meditation every night before I went to bed (you can find these easily on Youtube).

For me, the tinnitus sound isn't actually what was causing the insomnia; it was being in an anxious state because of the tinnitus. We have evolved as a species to be very aware of threats, and to be very alert when we feel we are threatened. So, as long as I saw my tinnitus as a threat to be fearful of, that kept my system on high alert, which makes sleep more or less impossible. These days I tend to view my tinnitus as an annoying reality. The gradual improvement in my sleep, actually helped me demystify the tinnitus and downgrade my response to it. At some point I realized that I was no longer thinking "I am in a terrible state of chronic fight or flight, my tinnitus is preventing me from sleeping", and instead thinking "my tinnitus is bothersome and annoying, but it's not affecting my sleep, diet or exercise habits so maybe it's not actually as big a deal as I used to think it was".

This is very tough; don't be too hard on yourself, it may take some time for everything to level out. I think that self-compassion is one of the most important skills to cultivate any time we are faced with difficult life circumstances.

 

Thank u all, I always take advice from you kind people, I have herbal tablets that do help, I use lavender on my pillow, I do the meditation on YouTube, and I may try the sound therapy tonight!
I do know that it's early days and I'm only a month in so after reading so many stories on here I have a way to go before I fully get bored of it, BUT I am seeing progress myself, I'm keeping record of what I do, how I feel and what makes me feel extra happy, I've changed my eating habits, for the better lol,
I'm just so angry that the Drs can make someone feel worse rather than better! If I was still in the state of mind I was a week ago I don't know how I would have coped!
I have booked to see my own Dr in 2 weeks, he doesn't like to per scribe sleeping meds bit if I'm desperate at least I've reserved an appointment haha, it's a small village practice so they haven't come across this SSID before, let's hope they never do again!

Will take notes on all your surgestions and try those that I haven't, thanks again xx