SEVERE insomniacs emergency hangout

[Guest [ga...]]

This thread hasn't been active the past couple of days. I hope that means everyone is doing better with sleep.

 

I was doing better myself for over a week, getting a fair amount of light broken sleep. Then I got hit with total insomnia again the other night, and did almost as poorly last night. Guess I'm back in a wave. So exhausting!

 

So sorry to hear that. Hoping this is a short wave!

[[Sh...]]

Thanks, Gardener. That's the thing: It's never possible to tell when things are going to getting better or worse. No rhyme or reason. It leaves one with such a helpless feeling. Oh well, I will muddle through, as always...

[[MT...]]

Boo for waves! I'm sorry you're having one, Shirah. I hope you get some better sleep soon.

 

I had some better stretches of sleep last night on a med night. My record for uninterrupted sleep since December--3 hours. It would be magical to get any small amount of sleep tonight with no meds.

 

Oddly my cog fog was worse today. I felt totally brain damaged at work. Ug, I hate that feeling.

[[Co...]]

My problem is the bladder issues. Yesterday i got up 6 times to pee!!! Tonight just once (had accupuncture) but still only got two hours because it was around 1am. So getting up, going to the bath room always makes my heart pound and falling back to sleep is not so easy. Anyone has tips for the peeing thing? Yeah i know weird question i don't drink much in the evening i really don't understand

[[Sh...]]

MTfan - I'm so happy for you that you're starting to get longer stretches of sleep. That has to help the healing process, regardless of whether you feel it right away or if it still requires a non-benzo med to get there.

 

Corsair - That pee problem sounds really annoying, but it seems like acupuncture helps you some. Sorry I don't have another suggestion for what else might help. I guess that's one of the seemingly few side effects I haven't experienced. I only get up to pee when I've been tossing & turning, for an excuse to get out of bed, not out of a real need.

 

I did better last night, so have my fingers crossed that the latest wave is over and another nice window has begun.

[[ro...]]

Hi I'm rose..

I havnt slept well in two years tapering.trued everything..otc herbal, baths, warm milk, teas, meds..

The 7.5 remeron not working. I may get an hour, then wake, toss all night, a few dreams..dies that mean I'm sleeping well. Then wake all night off and on..I'm exhausted.orignslly took ativan for menopausal insomnia I'm now 62... Tapering v, no sleep...cry everyday, anxiety, fearful, very depressed...tried elavil, lexapro, celexa, all sleep meds..traz, may be able to try seroquel, but dr not sure bc of my age,weight gain, Bld press...

I'm crying ...like others said, being so exhausted, can hardly. Drive, walk my dog, function..

Can't exercise, no strength, motivation, so darn tired....

Just getting enuf to dress, do some  chores...when I have to get out, I stumble, drive bad, don't concentrate well..I have to help with my 86 yo. Mom and it's awful..I'm just a zombie..feel I may collapse..

Just so worried..more anxiety during the day.    My body is just wired, but tired..

Just wanted to check in...

Cry so much.

 

Just hello,

In bed.  It's 10 am, but I'm exhausted..may just take it easy a while..

 

Hugs.  Rose

 

[Guest [ga...]]

My problem is the bladder issues. Yesterday i got up 6 times to pee!!! Tonight just once (had accupuncture) but still only got two hours because it was around 1am. So getting up, going to the bath room always makes my heart pound and falling back to sleep is not so easy. Anyone has tips for the peeing thing? Yeah i know weird question i don't drink much in the evening i really don't understand

 

I've had bouts of the pee problem, too, but I am recently post menopausal. Lately, my plan has been to try to ignore my bladder as long as possible day or night. It does seem to help. I believe the term for what we have is overactive bladder. You might try googling that for more ideas.

 

Good luck!

[[Sh...]]

Hi, Rose. So sorry for all you're going through. I can certainly identify with most of it, except the part about taking care of your Mom. (Thankfully, mine is still in pretty good health in her 80s.) My insomnia also started getting really bad at about the point in my taper you're at now. And I also found that Remeron and trazodone pooped out on me after working pretty well for awhile. And other things I tried (acupuncture, meditation, OTC, etc.) didn't help much if at all. Recently I started going to an integrated functional medicine doctor and am following a very strict plan of diet, vitamins/supplements, and exercise, and I do see some improvement, though not as dramatic as I'd like...It seems most people who've been through this and come out the other side say that it just takes time. And I do think that's mostly true. But getting through that time without sleeping is SO hard! We will get through this though, even if we must stumble through in a sleep-deprived state.

[Guest [ga...]]

Hi I'm rose..

I havnt slept well in two years tapering.trued everything..otc herbal, baths, warm milk, teas, meds..

The 7.5 remeron not working. I may get an hour, then wake, toss all night, a few dreams..dies that mean I'm sleeping well. Then wake all night off and on..I'm exhausted.orignslly took ativan for menopausal insomnia I'm now 62... Tapering v, no sleep...cry everyday, anxiety, fearful, very depressed...tried elavil, lexapro, celexa, all sleep meds..traz, may be able to try seroquel, but dr not sure bc of my age,weight gain, Bld press...

I'm crying ...like others said, being so exhausted, can hardly. Drive, walk my dog, function..

Can't exercise, no strength, motivation, so darn tired....

Just getting enuf to dress, do some  chores...when I have to get out, I stumble, drive bad, don't concentrate well..I have to help with my 86 yo. Mom and it's awful..I'm just a zombie..feel I may collapse..

Just so worried..more anxiety during the day.    My body is just wired, but tired..

Just wanted to check in...

Cry so much.

 

Just hello,

In bed.  It's 10 am, but I'm exhausted..may just take it easy a while..

 

Hugs.  Rose

 

So sorry to hear about your sleep troubles. I understand your doctor's concerns about Seroquel, but you can see how lack of sleep is affecting you. Could the seroquel be worse? I have not gained weight on Seroquel. My blood pressure went up a tiny bit. Perhaps you could ask your doc about short trial on a low dose of Q and see what he says. Myself, I take it every other night and just have ever other night be poor sleep. At least that's what's working for me so far. I have a long way to go to get off the Xanax, which, btw, I took for post menopausal insomnia. Maybe when the X is gone, I will need more Q to replace it? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Meanwhile, I agree with what my doctor told me, sleep is the key to recovery and if the Q gives me sleep, then I should take it.

 

[[ba...]]

i seem to sleep exactly 5 hours seems like theres a timer in my body or something that wakes me up after sleepin 5 hours, bleh i went to bed around 10pm so i woke up early i went to walmart i needed pinto beans which take 4-5 hours to cook

[[Sh...]]

Babyangel - From what I've read, getting around 5 hours/night is very typical during recovery. So you're probably right on track. It seems like most BBs gradually become able to sleep more than that, but it can take a really long time, sometimes years. So it just takes a lot of patience. Meanwhile, making do with 5 hours is generally pretty doable. I'd guess most people on this thread would practically kill for 5 hours/night on a regular basis (I count myself in that crew). Hang in there.

[Guest [ga...]]

I would love to get 5 consecutive hours. It would mean I could get through one or two sleep cycles. Wow, what a treat that would be! Typically I sleep 2 hours, lie awake, sleep 2 hours, lie awake, sleep 1 hour. That last one hour is not helpful because I never get to the deep sleep that we need to function. I'm not sure about the 2-hour stretches. I should look up how long a sleep cycle is. I'm pretty zonked this morning because I have not taken my Q for 2 nights. I seem to need to stop taking it for a few days to reboot it or it stops working. So I am in "Is it safe to drive the car?" mode today. On the other hand, if I take the Q tomorrow, I all be in "Is it safe to drive the car?" mode most of the next day because it gives me such a hangover! This insomnia dilemma does get rather tiresome, doesn't it? 

(pun intended )

[[MT...]]

Gardener, I'm like you. I can't take anything every night or it stops working so I alternate two things with not sleeping at all the other 3 nights. I *think* I experienced some microsleeps last night on a non drug night and if that happened it's a first in 5 months.

 

5 hours uninterrupted sleep would be magical. I couldn't do this if I didn't think that would happen eventually. Maybe even soon. Please soon. I know we're all ready to get better NOW! Hang in there insomniacs.

 

Oh, a sleep cycle is supposed to be 90 minutes.

[[ba...]]

hi everyone i used to take a long nappy during the day for 2-4 hours , its been less now since im smoking around a pack a day of cigarettes (L&M or pall mall Reds) and im drinkng soda with caffine which isnt good for sleep either , i used to smoke the lights in cigarettes & i didnt drnk caffeine back then i was able to have a nice long nappy i just took some magnesium vitamin D , C at once after breakfast and it put me to sleep. i have less engergy today from not having a nappy i activated alot more yesterday . have any of you folks tried wearing sunglasses indoors ?? being exposed to excess light isnt good it makes our body NOT adjust for sleep being around too much light best of all those sunglasses indoors eezes discomforts of being sensitive to light i get $1 dollar tree sunglasses that have amber colored lenses .

 

well i better get back to work im cleaning some outdoor furniture i got yesterday that a neighbor was throwing away it was really really dirty !

[[Co...]]

Because of getting the stomach flu on top of the real flu I am a fatigued mess. Never been this tired in my whole life. I'm bed ridden. Cannot seem to sit or stand on my legs. Way too freaking tired.

[[MT...]]

Corsair, the fatigue from wd and insomnia seems to go to our bones, if not our very cells. I have CFS and have never had anything like this.

 

Last night was a wide awake all night kind of deal. So tired of this and long for sleep, for a taste of normal.

 

Someone on a different thread recommended this link to explain wd and coping with it. It's by the author of Renewal and Recovery:

http://cepuk.org/withdrawal-advisers/

 

She made it. So can we?!

[[Co...]]

Thank you, I will read it.

I didn't sleep much tonight. The new virus made me go back into a wave AGAIN (and did not have a window yet) But I managed to not panic.

[[MT...]]

Thank you, I will read it.

I didn't sleep much tonight. The new virus made me go back into a wave AGAIN (and did not have a window yet) But I managed to not panic.

 

Good job not panicking. That's half the battle. I had a rough night last night and have to go to work now. Ahhhhhh.

[[Co...]]

Must be so hard going to work, I had to visit my parents. And only this was almost like climbing the highest mountain on your bare feet with no training prior to the climbing. Something like that I keep repeating to myself, I will sleep again some day. I will sleep again.

[[Li...]]

I've had two nights of no sleep now that I'm at 2.25 mg.  I think I posted that in the Klonopin group and the other Insomnia group.  However, since I feel like I'm completely out of my mind, I may have not posted it anywhere yet.  Stupid brain, go to sleep already! 

[[MT...]]

LiC, stupid, freaked out, traumatized brains that are doing their best to recover, please sleep already!

 

Was super anxious all day after a more lousy night than usual (for a night when I get any sleep). I just felt terrified all day while trying to look perfectly normal. I think shaking and hugging a stuffed bear would have been offputting to others at work. It DOES feel like climbing a mountain, Corsair. If I had to work more than two days a week I think this sherpa would lose it. Now I'm off until Tuesday. Yay. How did things go with your parents?

[[Li...]]

I've been at zero hours of sleep for the past few days and I'm completely out of my mind. 

[[Sh...]]

So sorry to hear that, LIC. I know how horrible that is. Are you still on 3-mg K? Have you been able to find a doctor to work with you on tapering?

[[Li...]]

So sorry to hear that, LIC. I know how horrible that is. Are you still on 3-mg K? Have you been able to find a doctor to work with you on tapering?

 

Shirah,

 

I managed to drop from 3 mg to 2 mg over about a 2 month period.  I had some periods of insomnia when going down in dosages then but nothing as bad as this.  I even tried to take an emergency Alka Seltzer Night Time Cold and Flu thing that normally would knock me out for 10 hours straight but all it is doing is making me feel even more insane.

[[MT...]]

LIC, this insomnia stuff is brutal. It's so frustrating when we try many different things and we still don't sleep. I only sleep when I take pretty high doses of antidepressants and antipsychotics. I'm really looking forward to when sleep starts to return. You're not alone with this.