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Trying to revert back to normal sleep without pills


[mu...]

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Hi everyone, I came on here looking for some support for chronic insomnia that's lasted about 1.5 months.

 

For most of my life I have slept well without needing pills. Although I've had occasional bouts of insomnia, this wouldn't last more than one night in a row (or 2 at most).

 

My chronic insomnia started with a 2 week trip from Singapore to the US. I didn't sleep at all the night before the flight. Then on the first week on the trip - I had insanely bad jetlag/insomnia and couldn't sleep for more than 2-3 hrs each night. I got myself Tylenol, Benedryal, Xanax, Melatonin but nothing induced sleep. Eventually, a US doctor gave me 2 weeks worth of Ambien and Valium, and only the Ambien helped with sleep.

 

Since then, I have been taking sleeping pills/benzos nearly every day. The Ambien worked for about 10 days, then I grew tolerant and reverted to only 2-3 hrs sleep a night, until another doctor prescribed me Stillnox/Zolpidem. For the past 2 weeks, I've been taking 12.5mg (or half doses) Stillnox pills every night. I realised this was unsustainable, so now I'm at a very difficult stage of trying to sleep without any benzos.

 

A sleep specialist recommended to just stop taking benzos completely instead of tapering. So far, I've only had total sleepless nights without the benzos. I'm still taking 10mg melatonin and 50mg paxidorm every night, which is what the specialist prescribed instead (but I'm not sure I want to continue this, as it's still pills and isnt working anyway).

 

I also bought SHUT-i, an online CBTI programme. I'm 3 weeks in and so far my sleep hasn't improved because of it - although I am finding it difficult to stick to the rules (especially regular sleeping times). I'm giving this more time and hopefully it will improve my sleep eventually...

 

But in the meantime, this horrible sleep deprivation is affecting my everyday life quite badly, and sometimes I feel at a total loss. No family member or friend can relate to what I'm going through. I would love any support and affirmation that this horrible insomnia will go away eventually, and any advice anyone might have. Thank you!

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Hello mushroom123,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies!  It's very common for long flights to different time zones cause a disruption in the sleep process.  When the normal sleep cycle is interrupted it's easy to become stressed about it and that can lead to more insomnia.  I would think that since you have normally been a good sleeper that you will regain this. It may take a little time because of the use of sleep inducing medication and the stress it has caused you.

 

You mentioned taking Xanax, did you use Xanax for a period of time before taking ambien and zolpidem?  All three of these drugs have a significant impact on the central nervous system and it sounds like you reached tolerance to the dose very quickly.

 

I'm not exactly certain exactly how long you've been taking benzos or z-drugs, perhaps you can give us more detail? Normally stopping cold turkey is not recommended. For very short time users, say around 2 weeks, usually we suggested a 50% reduction and see how the body reacts. Subsequent reductions are made based on how the person feels. For longer users a slow taper is recommended to minimize withdrawal symptoms.

 

We have many members who were put on medications for insomnia. I think you'll get good support from them. I would suggest you post questions on the Insomnia Board, I will provide a link for you.

 

I'll also give you a link to the Ashton Manual. While it discusses tapering in detail, it also give a lot of good information about these types of drugs and their withdrawal.

 

I do think this issue will resolve for you. I'm glad you are looking into other ways to help yourself rather than drugs.  Please feel free to ask questions, we're here to help.

 

 

Insomnia 

 

The Ashton Manual

 

pianogirl  :)

 

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Thanks for the links and supportive words! I'll certainly post in the insomnia group.

 

I was taking ambien/stillnox for about 5 weeks, and nearly every day. The doctors who gave me the meds never advised me that I shouldn't take these pills continuously and that there's a chance of rebound insomnia. It was only through online research that I realized I had to stop, and that I was at a stage where I was totally reliant on these pills to get any sleep.

 

I didn't take xanax or any other pills before this bout of insomnia, but I think my body generally has a high tolerance to meds. Valium, Tylenol, benedryl never knocked me out even the first few times of taking them, and in high doses.

 

I'm out of stillnox so at the moment I only have melatonin and paxidorm as sleep aids to help me get through the rebound insomnia. Not sure if it's ok to take these every day? These aren't knocking me out anyway, so I may try some nights without taking anything at all.

 

I'm ok to stop benzos cold turkey even if it's very difficult for the transition, as long as my sleep improves eventually.  Let's see how it goes :)

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Oh, I just wanted to add the dosage of meds I was on.

 

I went straight to 10mg ambien and then when I got tolerant to that, switched to 12.5mg stillnox. I realize that's very strong as most people on here seem to be tapering off on less than 1mg. Would it be a good idea to try very low dosage of stillnox to help the taper? I've only been on meds for 5 weeks though so was hoping the rebound insomnia could improve within a week or two, with cold turkey.

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Most people are caught completely off guard when withdrawal insomnia hits them for the first time. Few doctors will warn you about it and I sometimes wonder if many of them do not believe that it can happen for more than a few nights. I am very sorry to hear that you are going through this. Rest assured that you will return back to whatever your baseline was before you started taking the drugs, but it might take a fairly long time. Stick around and you will soon learn a lot more about what is happening to you and hear suggestions on how to deal with it.
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I have had insomnia on and off for many years. Besides being a benzo addict I was a opiate addict. I am now only on gabapentin which I am trying to taper off. I have found out recently about ASMR videos. They have helped ALOT. Youtube them and find someone you like. Ive been using  a woman named jellybean ASMR. I use it 3-4 times daily. Always calms my brain and seems to help it return to somewhat normal function at least for a descent amount of time. It should help you sleep, it does me. Good luck.
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