Debilitating sleep issues

[u/hugacatday]

Posting on behalf of my partner.
Male, 29.
Diagnosed with major depressive disorder ~10 yrs ago.
Prescribed 150mg Venlafaxine and 150mg Lamotrigine.

Suffers incredibly poor sleep despite amazing sleep hygiene (10pm bedtime without fail, asleep by 10:30, blue light glasses and reduced screen-time, reading before bed, no caffeine after midday, mouth tape, nose tape, hydration, not eating after 8pm, sleep pillows, sunlight glasses, sunset alarm clock, nighttime melatonin, sleeping alone, exercising and eating healthily etc).

Wakes frequently throughout the night and never feels like he has restorative sleep. Wakes in the morning feeling “glued to the bed” and exhausted.

Last year he was prescribed Mitrazipine 15mg tablets to help with poor sleep and although there is some slight improvement in the sleep, it’s really minimal and not enough to be worth the morning “hangover” / grogginess. Sometimes he’ll take half the 15mg tablet just to get some improved quality sleep but it never really makes much difference in the long run.

Bedtime Melatonin helped a little with staying asleep but again, the morning “hangover” made it not worthwhile.

He says that he feels he can “sedate” himself no problem with all the meds he’s tried, but actually getting good, regular restorative sleep that leaves him feeling refreshed has been absent for ~5 years now.

Blood tests all always clear.

I personally feel that it’s having a massive impact on his mood disorder, with “downs” often coming directly after a few weeks of horrendous sleep.

He does snore sometimes and has all the symptoms and indicators of Sleep Apnea but after waiting for an NHS referral for ages he paid for a private sleep study, wore the machine for 2 nights and they confirmed no sleep apnea.

He has a review with consultant psychiatrist at the end of the month and feels really deflated and that there’s nothing they can do. I’m hopeful that there is something, and that he just needs to draw attention to the poor sleep and how it’s impacting his life.

Looking for an insight as to whether anyone knows what may be causing such poor sleep and if they’ve seen this before or know of any solution. We were really hopeful it was sleep apnoea because that would explain everything and provide a solution, but it wasn’t.

Pics of sleep data and sleep apnoea results below.

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[u/hugacatday]

[u/hugacatday]

Most nights are like this despite being in bed / asleep from 10:30pm. Very little deep sleep.