I got my sleep study results

[[Ba...]]

Thomas,

 

Your sleep dr. sounds great.  Is there any way on BB to follow someone (like me following you) to see what happens?  I get lost in the maze of boards and 'responses to your posts' sometimes takes me to subject headers I've not checked. Hmmm.)

 

Anyhow  re  >>Main thing is to increase your sleep pressure towards evening

- Do not get sleepy during the day by eating light breakfast and lunch + 3-4 snacks during the day.

- Forget naps during the day and in case you become sleepy start doing something or go outside and exercise a little; walk, gym etc.

- Eat your main meal late in the evening 1.5 hrs. before bedtime. Add some carbohydrate type of stuff to you meal like pasta, rice etc. - all this makes you sleepy afterwards.

- When you became sleepy, go to the bed withing 15 minutes after the sleepy feeling.

In addition to this doc asked me to take melatonin. He said it does not have huge impact but might increase sleep quality 5-10%. He said it might be the necessary trigger to get to get better sleep in addition of increasing sleep pressure. Melatonin need to be taken immediately after the main evening meal.

<<

 

am trying to see how this might apply to me (horrible sleep my primary problem--  circadian rhythm disorder all my life, now sort of non-24; plus insomnia.  PLUS now withdrawal.

 

So:  I never nap ever.

I graze all day.. really get up have dinner,  then few hrs later another dinner or snacks.  I really eat up til about an hr before bed!  So carbs meaning potatoes, rice, bread, etc.?    I often snack on carrots and cheese.  I guess that is wrong!

 

The 15 minutes thing is interesting.  Never tried that but is smart.

 

Re melatonin, I was told by one sleep guy 1 mg melatonin an hr before bedtime.  However, I am not good with melatonin as it tends to cause me depression and nightmares, so have not followed this.

 

I would do anything to get more than an hr or two/night.  4 hours and I am sane (or sane for me at least).

 

Thanks for your post.

 

[[Th...]]

One year update:

 

It was almost a year ago when I wrote my sleep study results. After one year my sleep has almost returned normal so I typically sleep 7-8 hrs a night having maybe 1 wake up in the middle. Also my nightly tremors have left so I do not experience them anymore. I quit melatonin already more than 6 months ago and I also c/t:d propranolol something like 3 months ago. I still go bed around 9.30 hrs at the time I feel sleepy based on my sleep doc’s advice in my first post.

 

Well, I do not consider insomnia as a symptom anymore as I do not think about it anymore. It seems that dr Ashton is right, natural sleep returns over the time and in my case it took slighly less than a year. This does not mean that I’m totally symptom free so I still have some other benzo wd related symptoms and might have long way to go but it is an other story.

 

 

It is important that you trust the process. I also noticed that it is better not to take any supporting drugs and/supplemnts but let natural sleep return. I suffered several months with very little sleep, moved between bed and couch several times a night, watched netflix, walked and tried to sleep, i was like a zombie during the days because I could not nap but all this is gone.

[[Ba...]]

Wow  that is great!!

Congrats to you.

So a sleep dr. was helpful.  Did he do tests or kinda CBT and your regimen there.... and off the drugs (all drugs and supplements??  wow)

[[Th...]]

Wow  that is great!!

Congrats to you.

So a sleep dr. was helpful.  Did he do tests or kinda CBT and your regimen there.... and off the drugs (all drugs and supplements??  wow)

 

Thanks Barbara! No CBT but sleep study only. I was on amitriptyline, melatonin and propranolol but quit them all in order to allow natural sleep return. I took propranolol because of my tremors but quit it as well when my tremors lessened.

[[Sw...]]

Thanks for giving us an update.

[[Ma...]]

One year update:

 

It was almost a year ago when I wrote my sleep study results. After one year my sleep has almost returned normal so I typically sleep 7-8 hrs a night having maybe 1 wake up in the middle. Also my nightly tremors have left so I do not experience them anymore. I quit melatonin already more than 6 months ago and I also c/t:d propranolol something like 3 months ago. I still go bed around 9.30 hrs at the time I feel sleepy based on my sleep doc’s advice in my first post.

 

Well, I do not consider insomnia as a symptom anymore as I do not think about it anymore. It seems that dr Ashton is right, natural sleep returns over the time and in my case it took slighly less than a year. This does not mean that I’m totally symptom free so I still have some other benzo wd related symptoms and might have long way to go but it is an other story.

 

 

It is important that you trust the process. I also noticed that it is better not to take any supporting drugs and/supplemnts but let natural sleep return. I suffered several months with very little sleep, moved between bed and couch several times a night, watched netflix, walked and tried to sleep, i was like a zombie during the days because I could not nap but all this is gone.

 

That is great Thomas, sleep means so much to all of us.  Thanks for posting 

[[Su...]]

Thanks Thomas!

So great to hear that things have returned to "normal" for you in the sleep department.  And that you had the jam to work through the insomnia part of w/d.

 

I still take a smidgen of Mirt to help with sleep, as it does!  And with the sxs that I am having, or perhaps my history with insomnia, I am just not up for a bout of that.  I'm hoping I can taper off that too and it does appear to give me the most "normal" sleep I've had in years.

 

I write this for me and for anyone else who is reading Thomas' fab post.

 

What a difference a year makes!!!

SS

[[Th...]]

Thanks Thomas!

So great to hear that things have returned to "normal" for you in the sleep department.  And that you had the jam to work through the insomnia part of w/d.

 

I still take a smidgen of Mirt to help with sleep, as it does!  And with the sxs that I am having, or perhaps my history with insomnia, I am just not up for a bout of that.  I'm hoping I can taper off that too and it does appear to give me the most "normal" sleep I've had in years.

 

I write this for me and for anyone else who is reading Thomas' fab post.

 

What a difference a year makes!!!

SS

 

 

Hi SS, thanks about your response. Yes, I did the same as I took supporting drugs while tapering and then later on I tapered them off when I felt I can try managing without them so I think there is no hurry but it is nice to be totally drug free in the end as it allows natural sleep return.

[[Ba...]]

My prob is cannot take supporting drugs!!  Don't know what to do.

 

Kind of wonder if I should try restoril, ditch ambien and valium?

 

Re sleep, saw benzo dr. who said maybe phenobarb or xyrem?  Seriously,  is that preferable if you live alone and could you stay on either of those or have to taper them?  sigh...

[[Su...]]

My prob is cannot take supporting drugs!!  Don't know what to do.

 

Kind of wonder if I should try restoril, ditch ambien and valium?

 

Re sleep, saw benzo dr. who said maybe phenobarb or xyrem?  Seriously,  is that preferable if you live alone and could you stay on either of those or have to taper them?  sigh...

 

Hi B

I wish I knew what to suggest, and I'm sure you wish that some of usher had an answer for you...

Not sleeping..... well only other insomniacs can imagine what that is like, how it colours your whole world.

Hoping that you find something soon.

 

[[ni...]]

theway2 and thomas, thanks for your responses. I know sleep will get better, eventually. Hopefully my brain will come out no worse for the wear. 

 

Last night I slept maybe three hours, which does a number on my short term memory, plus the tinnitus is always louder when sleep goes down. I can tune that out.

 

Life goes on.