Need help! 5 nights zero sleep.

[[oc...]]

Sorry, I didn't want to trigger anyone.  I appreciate the tips and I am trying to be active and get sun. Tried Cbd oil and cbn without success.  When I close my eyes I feel more awake. It is disturbing. 1hr sleep in 8 days.  Reaching previous record soon. Anyone also experience head pressure and burning?  It is 247.  Is this neuropathy this or damage? Does it get significantly better if sleep comes back?

 

I listed all my side effects in my post.

 

I had burning. My skinned burned. My started in a couple sports then spread.

 

Its ironic that i posted about insomnia because i was doing better for a while and my insomnia came back pretty terrible the last two nights.

 

I have posted this a few times but it is a good video for you to watch. The guys name is neighbor bob and he goes over how to try and get thru when you are having a really hard time getting thru withdrawl. I have watched this many times during my WD. If you dont want to click the link then search it by name.  in the description there is a long list of all the WD symptoms that you can have. Its a long list.

 

Benzo Withdrawal (When You Absolutely Feel You Can't Take It Anymore)!

 

 

 

 

 

[[MT...]]

Sorry, I didn't want to trigger anyone.  I appreciate the tips and I am trying to be active and get sun. Tried Cbd oil and cbn without success.  When I close my eyes I feel more awake. It is disturbing. 1hr sleep in 8 days.  Reaching previous record soon. Anyone also experience head pressure and burning?  It is 247.  Is this neuropathy this or damage? Does it get significantly better if sleep comes back?

 

The head pressure and burning are an odd side effect of sleep deprivation. I've known some folks with severe sleep issues but no benzos who've described this as well. It's not neuropathy or damage. You're in a really lousy wave. I went a few times for around 2 weeks with no awareness of sleep. It felt pretty terrible but eventually sleep would start to creep back.

 

Yes, your sleep will come back and get better. For now all you can do is press on, one day, or even one hour, at a time. Distract yourself as best you can. Make yourself watch TV, help family with chores, take walks, do everything you can to wear yourself out further. Yes, I understand you're already exhausted but pushing yourself some physically and keeping your mind busy with something other than churning about how miserable you are, will help your brain start to come out of the wave and sleep more. It may *feel* hopeless at times but that's the wd and sleep deprivation talking. Don't believe the thoughts and emotions. Try to trust those of us who've been through this and come out the other side. You'll get there in time, back to where you were, and maybe even better.

[[un...]]

MT,

I am following your advice as much as possible.  As messed up as I am right now in zombie mode I decided to go on a road trip with hiking.  I am exploring Colorado.  Very difficult to socialize with my friend now. Trying to fill days with fun stuff when I feel no pleasure at all.  Day 9 in a row with no perceptible sleep. Like the switch is permanently on. I really need a night or two of 2hrs sleep to give me reassureance I am not broken. Not taking any supplements or anything.

I am hoping you are right about the head pressure and burning.  I know it was much less for a whole year but never went away fully.  I have other weird stuff going on. I love music and it usually gives me goosebumps and a pleasureable sensation in my brain and there is an emotional/memory attachment to songs.  Now it is all noise and gives weird uncomfortable tingling in my brain.  So messed up.  I have not heard other people experiencing this. This is just another issue that makes me feel like there is some kind of damage.

 

Anyone get help with sleep other withdrawal issues with acupuncture?

 

 

[[Ma...]]

MT,

I am following your advice as much as possible.  As messed up as I am right now in zombie mode I decided to go on a road trip with hiking.  I am exploring Colorado.  Very difficult to socialize with my friend now. Trying to fill days with fun stuff when I feel no pleasure at all.  Day 9 in a row with no perceptible sleep. Like the switch is permanently on. I really need a night or two of 2hrs sleep to give me reassureance I am not broken. Not taking any supplements or anything.

I am hoping you are right about the head pressure and burning.  I know it was much less for a whole year but never went away fully.  I have other weird stuff going on. I love music and it usually gives me goosebumps and a pleasureable sensation in my brain and there is an emotional/memory attachment to songs.  Now it is all noise and gives weird uncomfortable tingling in my brain.  So messed up.  I have not heard other people experiencing this. This is just another issue that makes me feel like there is some kind of damage.

 

Anyone get help with sleep other withdrawal issues with acupuncture?

 

you did not sleep a hole week but you are able to go on a hiking trip?

[[un...]]

yes, I feel like I am dying but what are the other options?  I could just sit home and suffer. Hoping the neuroplasticity thing is true. 

[[Be...]]

Rest?

[[un...]]

My record is 13 days two years ago.  At that point the dp/dr was horrific and I started getting stabbing chest pains.  This is nuts.  I hope it isn't something psychological that is preventing sleep onset. If it is just withdrawal and a matter of time that seems easier.  I can't even magine people not sleeping for a week due to depression alone.

[[tr...]]

I went 17 days til I had to go to hospital and had doc there had to give me Librium 200mgs, Ambien 2x12.5 CR, 200 Seroquel XR, and Ketamine to sleep early last year. I had no option as my body was shutting down and my breaking point. Now I have a better respect for sleep and not fear it.

[[MT...]]

UN,

 

I'm really impressed that you're keeping yourself going. Choosing to go on a trip and hiking was an excellent idea. I picked up hiking when I was about 1 year off and sleeping very little and continued it through the craziest part of my sleep deprivation. It often felt to me like exhaustion and a kind of agitation were going on at the same time. Even though I often didn't feel like living, there was something about hiking that reminded me why I was fighting so hard.

 

When we don't get adequate sleep it's as if our brains don't get cleared out of the detritus that accumulates. So all of those sensations keep accumulating and lead to a kind of sensory overload. It does't take much when the etch a sketch doesn't get shaken and clear the screen nightly. That's not brain damage, just a side effect of sleep loss.

 

Something that helped keep me sane, and a bit hopeful, is a friend I've had for 20 some years is a chronic, severe insomniac but not in wd. She was describing, and still has, many of the same symptoms that we here on the insomnia section of BB have. That helped me clarify that some stuff sucks because of wd, sleep is messed up because of wd, but a lot of the totally crazy stuff is just what happens to the brain on lack of sleep.

 

I tried acupuncture. It was relaxing but didn't help with sleep but I don't consider myself a normal person. Others have had a bit more luck.

 

I hope you see more sleep very, very soon. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and praying for you.

[[tr...]]

UN: You are not brain damaged. I sorry for my scary post earlier. Your sleep will return soon. As I still have issues myself. I just can’t sleep without meds either. I get 5-6 hrs on 150-200mg Seroquel and now .875 K now. I’m trying to taper off slowly off K. For me it’s been a struggle. You are not alone. Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on the body. Physically and mentally, total exhaustion, depression, WD’s on top of that. I figure I’ll soon be the same boat with you as I taper and jump in the near future. Until than keep exercising to get tired. Hope that hike will bring you some relief. Stay positive and one at a time. 

[[Ma...]]

yes, I feel like I am dying but what are the other options?  I could just sit home and suffer. Hoping the neuroplasticity thing is true.

 

I did not mean to hurt you, actually I wanted to point out what is possible even with zero sleep because that was what I wrote first. The thought "well, then I can also die outside" is the one and only that kept me going through withdrawal and still pushes me to nice places. Thats very very good what you did!! Congrats!! It helps the brain to build up new structures when we react paradoxically. Well done! Keep hiking or whatever one does not do while suffering. Its my life mantra

[[Fa...]]

This video SAVED MY LIFE.  There are others on YouTube that I listen to at night, but this one literally got me to finally be able to start getting sleep; a little at first, then progressively more.

 

 

If the link doesn't work for you, search for "You're Okay" by Lauren Ostrowski Fenton

 

My longest streak was 6 nights in a row with ZERO sleep.  I would literally scream with rage come 3:00AM knowing I wouldn't get a wink again.

 

A few things I learned:

 

There are SO many more muscles in our brain/head that we don't even think about until we have to learn to relax.  There are muscles right behind your eyes that may be WAY more tense than you realize.  Listening to guided relaxation medication truly helps, but don't just focus on your arms, legs, torso, feet, etc.  When they say to relax your neck and head, also go INSIDE your head to find eye muscles, inner ear, and other areas that need 'relaxed' as well.

 

STOP PANICKING over it.  Sleep will come.  I know that's so easy to say when I'm now getting sleep, but I promise you, it WILL get better.  I want to sob SO hard right now remembering being in your shoes and reading other people's posts who said it would get better.  Please, just let go and let your body do what it needs to do.

 

Someone told me once that "if your brain can't fall asleep, there's a reason it needs to be awake so you can heal".  When I realized that it was easier to lie in bed listening to meditation music and imagine my brain healing itself.  Like road construction at 2:00AM when they have the bright lights on because that's when the work needed done . . . your brain happens to need to be awake to make repairs right now.  Let it.

 

And never forget the power of prayer.  If you're awake in the middle of the night with nothing else to do and nobody to talk to, God is there with you.  He's sees the long term plan and the growth you're going through during this time.  Have a conversation with him.  You may be surprised where the conversation goes.   

 

Hugs!  You're going to be okay.

 

 

[[un...]]

Thank you all for sharing tips and keeping me going.  10th night and I crashed for a big 30m.  Eyes getting sore and bags forming. Head feels like it will explode.  Non stop pressure, burning, and tingles. Staying away from meds still.  But not sure how long I can hold out.  Or what other things I can try.

[[Be...]]

Did you ever test for Lyme disease? Chronic Lyme gives Chronic insomnia, tingling and mimic depression, als and even Alzheimer.

 

[[un...]]

Never tested for lyme but I don't have other symptoms like joint pain.  My issues started with withdrawal so I am assuming that is what is golng the on.  Still no sign of improvement.  I am dying for just a night of 2 or more hours. Hard to be optimistic when nothing is changing.

[[MT...]]

I know this is so very difficult UN. Remember, that unless you're up walking around, it's likely that your brain is sneaking in some stage 1 sleep. It's not very satisfying but it helps keep you going. Are you still on your trip and hiking or are you back home?

[[un...]]

Hey MT,

heading back to Canada now.  The problem is that my anxiety is building up the longer this goes on. I try to relax and focus on my breathing but I end up tossing and turning.  I feel as though I am close to my breaking point but the drugs don't work. Retrying amitriptyline may cause trouble just like retrying Remeron. 

[[un...]]

I broke down and took 3.75mg Remeron again two nights ago. Slept first night 8hrs. Then none the second night. This happened before. What is happening?  Anyone know?  Am I pretty much forced to stop and try to survive the extreme sleep deprivation?

[[So...]]

I am sorry about your suffering. It is known for many at BB that many times even tylenol can send the CNS back into acute. I hope you find the fortitude to withstand this awful wave.

[[MT...]]

We all long for answers when we get gobsmacked by a wave but they are almost never available. Really, it comes down to holding on and trusting that your brain is recovering, that sleep will return, but I understand how very difficult that is. I've been there and in the thick of it, it's hard to believe you'll survive. You will.

[[un...]]

I hope I haven't really messed myself by going on and off meds so many times.  After 2wks with only a couple 1hr sleeps one becomes so desperate. Can't function. Is the only way to get off and stay off and hope you don't die?

[[MT...]]

I hope I haven't really messed myself by going on and off meds so many times.  After 2wks with only a couple 1hr sleeps one becomes so desperate. Can't function. Is the only way to get off and stay off and hope you don't die?

 

I don't know another way. But please keep in mind, it won't kill you! It feels that way, like you're dying, and it's totally miserable, but the body can survive with minuscule amounts of sleep for a shockingly long time...at least for those of us in recovery from drugs.

[[un...]]

I am tossing the pills.  I am hoping to see some kind of improvement sooner than later. I hope I do not end up a drooling mute. You came out of this so well MT with mental faculties intact.  I have so many symptoms that need to improve to have a life worth living.  I am tracking this back to day 1 again.

[[Ma...]]

I am tossing the pills.  I am hoping to see some kind of improvement sooner than later. I hope I do not end up a drooling mute. You came out of this so well MT with mental faculties intact.  I have so many symptoms that need to improve to have a life worth living.  I am tracking this back to day 1 again.

 

 

Tossing the pills sounds good. It always starts with this decision. I threw my last ativan on a duck. not planned, of course, but that f++ duck just swam across the river when I had my magic moment. not.

What kind of funeral do you plan - you should do something powerful.

[[Dr...]]

My former doctor told me several times he thought I would die because of the damage benzos did to me. He was a jerk in many ways but in this, he was right. I no longer see him.

 

Is that the same doctor that took you off Klonopin?