Insomniac support group

[[do...]]

dontforgetme--have you tried going completely without anything at all? Many of the OTC things can cause issues for us in withdrawal, they can go paradoxical, or create rebound insomnia. At the best they impede our body adapting back to a normal state. I'm concerned that things you are taking, such as melatonin, could be exacerbating your anxiety and making your situation worse. Going to emergency has never been a good solution for insomniacs as they just put you back on drugs, so avoid that if at all possible. Your body will do what it needs to do if you don't impede it with extraneous chemicals.

 

Yes I have been going with nothing at all for quite a while and was up for 64 hours straight. I've been crashed and slept for about five in the next night I slept for about nine. Then my girlfriend broke up with me last Tuesday and all hell is broken loose sense I've been taking melatonin but have been sleeping for two or three hours a night and wake up I feel revved up

[[Si...]]

Hi dfm, sorry you're going through all of this. You have to go for a really long time with 0 sleep to die. Even. Micro-sleeps will even prevent that. Of course it sucks really bad and you feel like crap. At one point I was going several days without sleep. So I totally know how you feel. Melatonin never helped me sleep and mostly just made me nauseated. I now sleep relatively well. Some nights are rough, but not very often. I haven't had a zero night since December 2015 (knock on wood).

 

Hope you feel better soon and can get some sleep!

[[Li...]]

LIC, I totally agree with the goal to get off all of these meds. I've tapered off of amit. before and went a month with only two sleep periods so for now it's a necessary evil that gives me at least some sleep. For some of us the insomnia symptom takes a long time to improve. It's easier to tolerate in many ways now though since I don't feel like complete crap all of the time.

 

I exercise fairly hard 3-5 times a week and mostly eat in a healthy manner. Those things help with my quality of life and so I'm not as restless at night but they've never led to sleep--even after 2-4 hours of exercise (like when I go on hikes). I'm trying to be patient. Have those things helped you?

 

Wow, as of today I am FINALLY FREE OF DEPAKOTE after 16 years of being on that poison!  I still have another year to come off of Klonopin but I should be able to do it this time because I am in much better health overall today than one year ago.  Exercise and diet are helping me greatly.  I always sleep at least 5 hours per night when I do cardio such as the stationary bike and lift weights.

[[ma...]]

Hey Folks

 

Anyone here has had any reactions from a quinolone that caused thier insomnia?

Does it get any better?

Still not sure if its the quinolones or the valium that caused my insomnia

 

Wishing you all Healing

 

Marct456

[[Co...]]

LIC, I totally agree with the goal to get off all of these meds. I've tapered off of amit. before and went a month with only two sleep periods so for now it's a necessary evil that gives me at least some sleep. For some of us the insomnia symptom takes a long time to improve. It's easier to tolerate in many ways now though since I don't feel like complete crap all of the time.

 

I exercise fairly hard 3-5 times a week and mostly eat in a healthy manner. Those things help with my quality of life and so I'm not as restless at night but they've never led to sleep--even after 2-4 hours of exercise (like when I go on hikes). I'm trying to be patient. Have those things helped you?

 

Wow, as of today I am FINALLY FREE OF DEPAKOTE after 16 years of being on that poison!  I still have another year to come off of Klonopin but I should be able to do it this time because I am in much better health overall today than one year ago.  Exercise and diet are helping me greatly.  I always sleep at least 5 hours per night when I do cardio such as the stationary bike and lift weights.

 

Iiiiiii! Congratz  ;D I'm so happy to hear this! Such a huge achievement!

[[me...]]

Wow, as of today I am FINALLY FREE OF DEPAKOTE after 16 years of being on that poison!  I still have another year to come off of Klonopin but I should be able to do it this time because I am in much better health overall today than one year ago.  Exercise and diet are helping me greatly.  I always sleep at least 5 hours per night when I do cardio such as the stationary bike and lift weights.

 

LifeinChaos---that is fantastic! I really admire how you've been chugging along with this, I think you will soon be off all drugs!

[[Sh...]]

LIC - Congrats on tapering off Depakote. It's been a long hard process, but you finally did it. With the same determination, you'll get yourself free of K, too.

[[Li...]]

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words!  I appreciate that you are here for me and haven't abandoned me like so many others have because "I frighten them / my story scares them."  Please know that I am here for you and I wish you the best as well!

 

I have some even more amazing news and it is especially relevant for this particular thread.  I got 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time since July 2, 2015!  What really surprises me is that I strayed from my healthy diet yesterday and ate pizza and chocolate gelato and still pulled off 8 hours of sleep.  So there you have it, that may be the secret ingredients to curing the entire world's insomnia...pizza and chocolate gelato. 

[[Si...]]

Congrats on the jump and the 8 LIC! One day soon you'll be fully off and well on your way to being healed. 

[[al...]]

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words!  I appreciate that you are here for me and haven't abandoned me like so many others have because "I frighten them / my story scares them."  Please know that I am here for you and I wish you the best as well!

 

I have some even more amazing news and it is especially relevant for this particular thread.  I got 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time since July 2, 2015!  What really surprises me is that I strayed from my healthy diet yesterday and ate pizza and chocolate gelato and still pulled off 8 hours of sleep.  So there you have it, that may be the secret ingredients to curing the entire world's insomnia...pizza and chocolate gelato. 

 

I am very happy for you! That sleep must have felt great. Maybe just being loose enough to allow a little indulgence in your diet actually helped relax your mind. Sometimes always being reminded of a problem makes the problem last longer.

[[do...]]

My insomnia is def stress related (gf moving out/break up) and the electrical zaps/shocks/ burnin all over my body

[[Co...]]

i was sleeping quite well for a week (at least 6 hours straight) but now only 3 hours  and didn't fall back asleep. So broken I hate it. I thought I was going to get out of the wave i was in since may but nope

[[al...]]

i was sleeping quite well for a week (at least 6 hours straight) but now only 3 hours  and didn't fall back asleep. So broken I hate it. I thought I was going to get out of the wave i was in since may but nope

 

Corsair,

I can only suggest that you enjoy the good periods and continue to wait out the bad. The good will grow more numerous and the bad will grow less. I still get hit with my bad periods, but boy am I thankful for the good nights!

[[Co...]]

i was sleeping quite well for a week (at least 6 hours straight) but now only 3 hours  and didn't fall back asleep. So broken I hate it. I thought I was going to get out of the wave i was in since may but nope

 

Corsair,

I can only suggest that you enjoy the good periods and continue to wait out the bad. The good will grow more numerous and the bad will grow less. I still get hit with my bad periods, but boy am I thankful for the good nights!

 

I just wish I could get a window , just so I can know what is withdrawal and what not. I'm always symptomatic and because some things get better I think the other ones are something else.

[[Li...]]

So at the beginning of the month I got 8 hours of sleep for the first time in 11 months.  Since then, I've been averaging about 5 hours per night.  Last night, I only got 2 hours of sleep and now I'm a total wreck again.  I don't know why this is happening.  I didn't even begin the Klonopin taper yet.  I did no reductions and I didn't even convert over to the liquid form of Klonopin using milk yet.  With the Depakote out of my body, the Klonopin's effectiveness should be increased since there is no Depakote to compete against the Klonopin for the GABA receptors.  I feel totally destroyed and hopeless now. 

[[me...]]

Ugh, I hate how we are totally at the mercy of the "sleep gods"! I had a few good nights, then last night not so good, but at least 4.5 hours (better than 2!). I know you keep a log here, not sure how detailed that is. I have been keeping good notes for the last 7 months, and have nailed down many things that will disturb my sleep--the latest was hydrocodone. But sometimes I cannot pin down a cause. You know that things will look better after you get a better night's sleep.

[[Si...]]

Sorry some of you are still having some problems. Most of my sleep issues have ironed out by now. I still have an occasional rougher night, but nowhere near what it was earlier on. I haven't missed a full night in almost 7 months (knock on wood). I'm not saying this to rub it in anyone's face. Most of you may remember that I was not sleeping at all for 2 and 3 days straight for a long time. So just trying to give some hope.

[[Li...]]

I got zero hours of sleep last night.  I am giving myself one more shot at this by exercising a ridiculous amount all afternoon and night.  If that doesn't work, then I know I am hopeless and I have to give up.  I've tried everything possible thing at this point and nothing works.  My brain is too damaged from all of the psychiatric medications I have taken.  This will probably be my final post here.  So, thank you to everyone here for their help.  I know you will all get better.  Hopefully, whatever path I choose, I will find peace.  Farewell.

[[Co...]]

I got zero hours of sleep last night.  I am giving myself one more shot at this by exercising a ridiculous amount all afternoon and night.  If that doesn't work, then I know I am hopeless and I have to give up.  I've tried everything possible thing at this point and nothing works.  My brain is too damaged from all of the psychiatric medications I have taken.  This will probably be my final post here.  So, thank you to everyone here for their help.  I know you will all get better.  Hopefully, whatever path I choose, I will find peace.  Farewell.

 

Please don't give up! You are in acute right now from the depakote, this has been experienced by so many. It could turn around any day now. Please just try to hold on a bit more. I'm thinking of you! Don't give up, you can do this, I believe in you.

[[Lo...]]

I am so sorry to hear about your lack of sleep and your frustration. I cannot imagine how hard this is for you.

 

You have come off a lot of drugs in a very short time considering the number of drugs. It sounds like you need a doctor that really understands the withdrawal process and can help you. Please do not give up! How many nights is it that you haven't slept?

 

Please see a doctor ASAP. You may have to updose but you will manage sooner or later.

 

As for exercising a ridiculous amount. That may work against you as vigorous exercise especially if you are not used to it will raise cortisol. Instead consider some walking and whatever relaxes you....meditation works for some (but not well for me!) or doing what you most enjoy ie a hobby works. Swimming helps some. A massage. Work on getting yourself into a calmer state during the day in whatever way you can. Seeking Sanity found that auricular acupuncture worked well for her. I know that acupuncture can be very relaxing.

 

Looking back at your posts, it was just yesterday that you said, "So at the beginning of the month I got 8 hours of sleep for the first time in 11 months.  Since then, I've been averaging about 5 hours per night.  Last night, I only got 2 hours of sleep and now I'm a total wreck again."

 

I too am a total wreck when I lose a lot of sleep. And I know it is the cortisol that keeps preventing me from sleeping. It just keeps churning out. My daughter is the same and she ended up on a bunch of psychiatric drugs. She finally worked herself off them with the help of a psychiatrist and now does not push herself (as much!) and does pay a lot more attention to the stresses in her life which affect her sleep and wellbeing. You have been on some powerful drugs. Please give it more time.

 

Do you have a counsellor or doctor to talk to?  LL

[[me...]]

LifeinChaos--please do not give up! and don't leave! you know things look really bad now because of the lack of sleep, and you know that things will look up once you get out of this awful wave. A couple things to think about:

 

I'd really like you to try not being on the computer all night. I know it is really hard when there seems like nothing else to do. The light from the computer is very activating--when I was in acute withdrawal, I could "feel" it affecting me through heart palpitations etc...even with f.lux installed and blue-blocker goggles, so I had to limit my time on the computer. Certain activities on the computer that affect the dopamine system can really exacerbate insomnia and throw the circadian rhythm completely out of wack. Try watching TV with blue-blocker goggles or reading. Conversely, it is really important to get out first thing in the morning and get plenty of actual daylight. Get as much daylight as you can.

 

I'm also wondering if it would be possible for you to C/O to flurazepam. Flurazepam is very sedating and anxiolytic, and has a very long half-life. I was on it off and on for 20 years and never had a problem with it (I was also very careful to avoid dependence). I think it would be super easy to taper. If that doctor won't consider that, then possibly Valium would be more sedating and easier to get off of. I was on Klonopin briefly and found it dreadful, not good for sleep at all.

 

Whatever you do---best wishes and I know eventually you will get there! You are too motivated to not get where you want to be.

[[Bl...]]

LifeinChaos--I am echoing Loveslife here in that exercising too much will raise your cortisol level and keep you from sleeping. I am an example of that. I started running again last summer and it was too soon--it raised my cortisol levels too high in the evenings and all during the night into the morning. I had to stop running and just walk. I also have been taking phosphatidylserine, a fatty acid supplement that blocks cortisol and helps to stop your brain from signaling your adrenal glands to churn out cortisol. It is working for me--after 7 months, my cortisol level is finally starting to come down.

So there are options that you can try to help with sleep. Don't give up! I am noticing many improvements and I am in month 26 since my last dose. It is possible to heal from benzo withdrawal!

[[Lo...]]

There is also a product called Cortisol Manager. http://www.integrativepro.com/products/neuroendocrine/cortisol-manager

 

I think I will try it. Thanks for the reminder.  LL

[[Bl...]]

I also drink 2 cups of holy basil tea every day--in the morning when my cortisol is higher than normal and also in the evening when my cortisol is also high before I go to bed along with 2 tablets of phosphatidylserine. I have found that rhodiola and ashwaghanda rev me up so I avoid them for now. But that is just me--other folks may find they are fine taking them.

[[Ri...]]

Hey guys!

Let me joint the insomniacs group, because recently I have been struggling more and more with my weird sleeping pattern. I often I myself a question - maybe I am so screwed up after takink 2 mg of lorazepam for about 6 years before bedtime, so right now when I am on 10 mg valium it does not make me sleepy at all. The problem is either I can't fall asleep until 2 3 AM or waking up after 4 5 hours of sleep. The next morning and the whole day I am not functional at all. I do not have any panic/ anxiety attacks or even depressive mood. I haven't left my apartment for 3 days for my usual 40 - 50 minute walking. I am too tired and dizzy to do that. Last night I took a half of 50 mg Trazodone pill, hoping to get some better sleep. No way, I woke up after less than 5 hours of sleep even more fatigued and dizzy than the day before.

Have I answered my own question : Well, I am so screwed up as a result of 2 mg of lorazepam...

When I had taken this pill I slept fine for 8 hours. Any suggestions what to do or say to my doctor when I go to see her next month?

 

Rick