Hello doctor, It was five years back when I encountered sleep problem for the first time, and at that point, I was doing a night shift. I consulted a doctor, and he suggested me the medicine Clonazepam 0.5 mg. I had continued Clonazepam 0.5 mg for 1 year. After more than a year, I got to know from a medical personnel that, Clonazepam is a sleeping pill, and I immediately stopped taking it. From then onwards, my sleeping problem increased. I was feeling agitated, mentally hyperactive, and sometimes suicidal thoughts came in mind. Sometimes I had difficulty breathing. Suddenly a year back, my work shift changed to day, and I have been able to sleep around 6 to 7 hours, up until two months back. Meanwhile, I also started taking omega-3 health supplement to tackle daily office stress. For a month, I have been able to sleep for 3 to 4 hours only and take a long time to fall asleep. It has been around 3 years that I am frustated with my sleep problem. What should I do?
Hi. I have read through your query in detail. Please find my observations below. Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine group of medicine and prescribed for psychiatric problems including seizure and panic disorder. Having suicidal thoughts is a known side effect of Clonazepam. You did a good thing by stopping Clonazepam medication after realizing that it should be taken only when required and for psychiatric problems. Since you had a normal sleep cycle from recently, you do not seem to have any serious psychiatric illness. However, with the recent change in work shift pattern, you might have developed what is called shift work sleep disorder (SWSD). This is frequently seen in people who work in shifts and suddenly have to adjust to new work timings. You have to work on two areas to adjust yourself to the present shift timings: To keep yourself alert at work and during travelling please follow the guidelines below: During the day, catch up on your sleep in the following ways: Please try and put the above suggestions in practice for at least 15 days to a month.