How many people still get a zero night after 5 months or more off of benzos?

[Guest [Th...]]

Just wondering if this is normal?

[[te...]]

i'm sure other people will chime in because lots of people probably have this happen. I also want to mention that even people who aren't in benzo withdrawal sometimes have absolutely sleepless nights - like 0 sleep. A coworker of mine had this happen just the other day because she was worried about a family member. Even people not in withdrawal can have this happen, I think its possible for anyone, and definitely people who struggle with insomnia, regardless of the reasons why they have it. Hopefully you'll get some more answers too. My hypothesis is that it's normal, even though it sucks, and that it happens a lot.

[[Th...]]

I'm battling insomnia now and have been off benzos for 18 months. In my case, insomnia came before benzos, so it's just part of my chemistry. I have GAD, and when it flares up, no sleep can be found.

 

 

[[Si...]]

2015 was terrible for me. I went a few times with 2 or 3 nights no sleep. Usually it was about every other night. Eventually it got better. I didn't miss a single night for almost all of 2016. Then I drank a bunch of beer at a Christmas party on the 16th and have been totally messed up sleep wise since. So it's been almost 4 weeks since that happened. I went back to almost one day on one day off pattern. It's brutal and I hate it. It makes me so depressed. Especially since I was doing so good last year. I would fall asleep within 15 minutes and stay deep asleep. Usually I'd only wake up briefly when my wife was getting up for work at around 5:30 - 6am. I'd quickly go back to sleep until my alarm went off. I have no idea how much hell I have to go back through to get back to that pattern.

[[sl...]]

Just had a zero night after not having one for months. My bad night had changed to two hours instead of zero.  I took an antifungal yesterday for a yeast infection.  I'm terrified!!!!  Wish I knew if it was the antifungal!

[[Si...]]

Just had a zero night after not having one for months. My bad night had changed to two hours instead of zero.  I took an antifungal yesterday for a yeast infection.  I'm terrified!!!!  Wish I knew if it was the antifungal!

 

Glad to hear you are at least getting some sleep every night now. Even if it is only 2 hours. Sorry to hear about your 0 night though. Those are brutal. Should be temporary I would guess. Was the anti-fungal a one time pill?

[[Qu...]]

At 5 months, yes definitely, also at 6 and 7, but the frequency was reducing by then. Very rare for me since 7 months, usually get 2 or 3 hours minimum now.

 

I don't think anything is abnormal because we all have different drug histories, length of time taking them, and different physiology reacting to what we have taken. Also, like Teal and Thin say, some have insomnia predating benzos, so maybe in our DNA. But it's always nice to know you're not alone  .

 

Siggy, I hope you keep us updated with how your sleep improves the second time around. It's interesting to see how careful we might have to be around other drugs, including alcohol, in the future. Hope it resolves soon.

 

Sleepless, sorry you had a bad night. I find it helps me to blame something for mine, whether it's true or not  . Somehow helps me move on and not stress about it the next night. Hope you do better tonight.

[[sl...]]

Siggy, I used a topical cream twice yesterday. I wish I knew if it was me or the medication.  I reslly need this infection under control. I could handle sleepless nights better if I wasn't electrocuted all night long. I probably had 500 shocks to my chest!  I have other symptoms that were gone coming back too.  My ear drums are spasming and certain sounds are scaring me so badly.

[[Si...]]

This is actually my third bout. The first was when I came off the crap. I was sleeping relatively normal a few months after that. The insomnia was brutal coming off though for 8 weeks. Eventually, I felt healed and was drinking here and there (stupid). I went to a company party and had some wine and beers with dinner. The next day I came down with an extremely strong strain of flu. I didn't sleep for 4 days straight while I was sick. That sucks, really bad. That began my odyssey with absolute crushing insomnia. I wasn't sleeping for 2 and 3 days at times. Most of the time it was one night on one night off. It took about 10 months for that to normalize. Which was around December 2015. All of last year I was sleeping perfectly fine. Falling asleep within 15-20 minutes most nights. Usually 6-1/2 to 7 most nights. A little more on week-ends. Very little wake ups and if so, always right back to sleep.

 

So now this third round started on the 18th of Dec. 2016. My dumb as decided to drink again. I can't believe I got myself back into this situation. Hopefully I can get over it soon. I'll never drink alcohol again though. It's just not worth it.

[[Si...]]

Siggy, I used a topical cream twice yesterday. I wish I knew if it was me or the medication.  I reslly need this infection under control. I could handle sleepless nights better if I wasn't electrocuted all night long. I probably had 500 shocks to my chest!  I have other symptoms that were gone coming back too.  My ear drums are spasming and certain sounds are scaring me so badly.

 

Hmmm, that is odd. I've heard of steroid or progesterone creams causing a problem, but not any anti-fungal. You have to do something to clear it up the infection though. How long do you have to use the cream? I'm susceptible to fungal infections on my skin (hereditary thing). So I off and on have used a topical cream, with no problems. We're all different though. What's the name of the cream?

[[sl...]]

Siggy,

 

I used monistat... A 7 day treatment for yeast infections. This damn experience has taught to stay the hell away from everything!  And like you, I will never have a sip of alcohol again.

 

Are you getting bad anxiety at night with racing thoughts keeping you awake?  When you do sleep, do you stay asleep?

[[me...]]

I still get nights with 0 to 1 hour, usually I do doze off for at least a 1/2 hour or so at some point. If I get a zero night I usually get through most or all of a book. But fortunately I usually do pretty well the next night.

 

If I look over my notes, I can always find a reason--be it a chocolate bar, estrogen, alcohol, something I'm very anxious about, pain, there is always something. It doesn't take much, but I'm obviously still very sensitive (maybe a permanent situation?).

[[Si...]]

Siggy,

 

I used monistat... A 7 day treatment for yeast infections. This damn experience has taught to stay the hell away from everything!  And like you, I will never have a sip of alcohol again.

 

Are you getting bad anxiety at night with racing thoughts keeping you awake?  When you do sleep, do you stay asleep?

 

I get anxiety about not sleeping. Especially on nights after I have slept (which is usually my bad night). I didn't get much sleep on Wednesday. I had that weird sleep where you're kind of are sleeping, but feel awake the whole time. Then I actually passed out in deep sleep for about 30 - 40 minutes around 4:30am (I don't remember this, but my wife heard me snoring. We had to get up early so I could drive her to the airport that day). I tend to wake up around 4 or 4:30am now if I do go into deep sleep. All last year I was out all night until my wife's alarm went off or I woke from her getting out of bed. I actually was sleeping deep enough to not even wake up when her alarm went off a lot of times. Crazy huh how I can go from that to this just from one night of drinking? So angry at myself. Hopefully I can get back to that place soon. Hopefully we all can. I do sometimes get really drowsy around 10:30 or 11 on my off nights, but then I never actually can go to sleep.

 

Sorry you're having problems with the monistat. I agree that I'm wary of all kinds of stuff now that I never would have before.

[[te...]]

How are you guys doing, Siggy and TheWay? I was thinking of you guys last night when I couldn't fall asleep.

[[Si...]]

How are you guys doing, Siggy and TheWay? I was thinking of you guys last night when I couldn't fall asleep.

 

Thanks for thinking of us. Sorry you had some trouble sleeping. Mine is still really up and down. Was able to get 4-5 the last few nights. Hopefully I'm on the mend. This crap just takes so long to recover from.

[[MT...]]

Sleepless, those shocks sound absolutely brutal. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that crap on top of the insomnia.

 

Siggy, I know how frustrated you are with your sleep but I'm encouraged that you're starting to get a bit more sleep. May that trend keep going upward and onward.

 

Very little progress here. Zero nights, or perhaps microsleep/stage 1 (no awareness of any sleep) almost every night but if there are enough microsleep episodes (and I'm not just WIDE awake all night) it's not so bad. I'm practicing a lot of acceptance. Then I slip into panic and despair for a bit then get back on the horse.

[[te...]]

How are you guys doing, Siggy and TheWay? I was thinking of you guys last night when I couldn't fall asleep.

 

Thanks for thinking of us. Sorry you had some trouble sleeping. Mine is still really up and down. Was able to get 4-5 the last few nights. Hopefully I'm on the mend. This crap just takes so long to recover from.

 

Hopefully that trend continues. It definitely takes time to get on some kind of consistent track. And people who don't go through this, or who have never had trouble sleeping, truly don't understand! I wish we could "brainphone" each other when we are all awake and have a mental teleconference or something, haha.

[[te...]]

Sleepless, those shocks sound absolutely brutal. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that crap on top of the insomnia.

 

Siggy, I know how frustrated you are with your sleep but I'm encouraged that you're starting to get a bit more sleep. May that trend keep going upward and onward.

 

Very little progress here. Zero nights, or perhaps microsleep/stage 1 (no awareness of any sleep) almost every night but if there are enough microsleep episodes (and I'm not just WIDE awake all night) it's not so bad. I'm practicing a lot of acceptance. Then I slip into panic and despair for a bit then get back on the horse.

 

The microsleep episodes and stage 1 sleep are more restorative than we realize, I think. It does at least give us some rest. Keep us all in the loop. We are all in this together!

[[Si...]]

MT, I know I shouldn't complain as much since I know you have it worse than me. I know that Morriweg (sp?) said she was only sleeping for minutes at a time. She did eventually start sleeping 7+ hours a night.

 

Teal, that would be awesome if we could conference at night. One of he hardest things about this is the LONG hours waiting for it all to pass.

[[MT...]]

Tealwater, I agree that the times it feels like we're not sleeping at all (stage 1 or micros) must do something for our brains. I can even have really quick dreams which is probably why we're not all psychotic. I like  your idea of the "brainphone" for when we're sleepless. Sometimes it gets so boring at night trying to rest and relax. So many hours to fill.

 

Siggy, we all need to be able to talk about our experience and whatever we're going through is pretty awful. You've suffered a long time and I always followed your progress and found it encouraging. Whether we've just been insomniacs for a few months, or get a few hours or no hours or just wake up without feeling rested, we *all* have a right to complain.

[[te...]]

Hope everyone is doing alright. I feel like I know all you guys even though we just know each other from here!

[[al...]]

Hope everyone is doing alright. I feel like I know all you guys even though we just know each other from here!

 

Yes, that is the beauty of this forum. Being able to communicate with others who truly understand our problems is a very good thing.

[[Fe...]]

Hi you BB's, 

I'm experiencing rebound insomnia, this night I took a rescue dose and it gave me 3 hours of sleep. I was reading your topic and I think you are all so strong!  I was wondering how you cope with this insomnia, I find it very different from "normal" insomnia. I'm very scared I'll never sleep again all though I try to stay positive and walk every day a half an hour.

I hope you will regain some sleep soon.

Take care

[[Qu...]]

Femwen, I agree, this isn't like "normal" insomnia. I believe the anxiety from damaged gaba receptors drives it.  Everyone seems to go through that fear they will never sleep again. I know I did. At the moment I am in a week long window, the best yet, and the anxiety has gone together with the fear about sleep. It just went.

 

I don't know how long this window will last, but I am enjoying every day of it.

 

I hope you and all my other BBs get a good break soon.

[[Fe...]]

Wauw I'm so happy for you! A window like that gives you some fuel to deal with the waves I guess. I had such a window  couple of weeks ago,  lasted 3/4 days. I felt so good!  But i think im yapring too fast.

May I ask how long the hardest insomnia lasted with you? I personally didn't use a very high dose for very long, so I didn't really expect this. 

Wish you well, enjoy your window