sleep deprivation

[Guest [ak...]]

what to do when you are still on 4.5mg of Ativan and can’t sleep I’m so exhausted. I also take Olanzapine, promazine. But just don’t get more than 4h of light sleep. Anyone here that still on high amount on benzos and can’t sleep while tapering. I’m so exhausted my brain switched off totally. I’m living in another world because I’m so bad of no proper sleep for two years.

[[tw...]]

What time of day are you taking your dose?

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. It sucks.

[Guest [ak...]]

What time of day are you taking your dose?

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. It sucks.

 

8am 1mg + 12:30am 1mg +4:30pm 1mg + 9pm 1.5mg

[[tw...]]

Was the 12:30 one supposed to be p.m.

 

I'm just wondering if when you're taking them affects sleep. BUT I only have my own taper to go by, no expertise here.

 

I hope the insomnia soon ends for you.

 

What time of day are you taking your dose?

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. It sucks.

 

8am 1mg + 12:30am 1mg +4:30pm 1mg + 9pm 1.5mg

[[di...]]

I have had some success at that dosage taking a little more than a half before bedtime then taking the rest when I wake up. I am down to 2.5mg and I take 1.5mg to fall asleep and then 1mg when I inevitably wake up after 4 or 5 hours.

 

When I was at 4.5mg, I would take 2.5mg before bedtime and then 2mg when I wake up in the early hours of the morning.

 

I have found that it helps me to fall back to sleep more often than not whereas before I split my dose in this way, it was almost impossible to get back to sleep upon awakening. It's not always great sleep and sometimes it takes a little while but it helps a great deal. I prefer the increased chance of getting more sleep at night over taking doses in the daytime to level out symptoms. My theory is that daytime symptoms are exponentially more tolerable with every extra bit of sleep you can get. Melatonin works very well for me too and I'd recommend trying it at a pinch (start with 0.5mg and work up). It leaves me a little groggy into the next day but apart from that, it's never flared up my symptoms and I have never had a problem stopping using it, even after using it a few days in a row. I use either melatonin or a sedative antihistamine (very occasionally, not something I'd necessarily recommend tbh) most nights when I am feeling withdrawals from a recent cut. Then when I start to feel stable on that dose, I will revert to taking melatonin about once per week on average if I know that I have nowhere to be in the morning. Sometimes I take cannabis as well but I don't like to depend on it for sleep.

[[...]]

I found, if I could get a good night sleep, I could handle daytime withdrawal issues.  The sleep gave me the strength.

 

Therefore, I took most if not all my benzo at bed.  Alternately, half at bed and half in the middle of the night.

 

Talk to your doctor about the half-life of benzos and see if this approach might help you sleep. 

 

You might learn what I learned.  It was better for me to sleep well and then in strength, deal with daytime issues. 

 

[[di...]]

It was better for me to sleep well and then in strength, deal with daytime issues.

I'm glad you said this. It's what I wanted to say but put more succinctly.

 

This happens to me a lot: I have an idea that I am trying to get across but I can't find the right words to express myself clearly. Then doubt creeps in, because it doesn't seem to make as much sense as it did in my head. Sometimes the doubt isn't enough to change behaviour and stop me doing the right thing, but the doubt is a nuisance in and of itself.

 

I don't know exactly what my point is (something that also happens often when I'm in withdrawals). I guess I just wanted to say thanks and point out that you're helping people who might already be aware of this "trick" in addition to those who aren't. Validation is king sometimes! Thanks!

[[...]]

It was better for me to sleep well and then in strength, deal with daytime issues.

I'm glad you said this. It's what I wanted to say but put more succinctly.

 

This happens to me a lot: I have an idea that I am trying to get across but I can't find the right words to express myself clearly. Then doubt creeps in, because it doesn't seem to make as much sense as it did in my head. Sometimes the doubt isn't enough to change behaviour and stop me doing the right thing, but the doubt is a nuisance in and of itself.

 

I don't know exactly what my point is (something that also happens often when I'm in withdrawals). I guess I just wanted to say thanks and point out that you're helping people who might already be aware of this "trick" in addition to those who aren't. Validation is king sometimes! Thanks!

If is amazing how you and I found the same benefit concerning the value of "good sleep and some daytime symptoms" vs "poor sleep and less daytime symptoms".

 

I think you write very well but I do understand how sometimes getting our words right is difficult while in a benzo haze.

[[Tr...]]

Hi,

I think that goes for all of us: a good sleep is essential to be able to have some sort of decent day. They say sleep deprivation will not kill you, but it sure is trying to.

I'm on 3 mgs Diazepam and take it all just before bedtime. Of course I wake up around 4 am. No getting back to sleep after that, as anxiety, nausea and fatigue begin.

Benzo life is so very hard.

Good luck everyone.

[Guest [ak...]]

i think I forgot to mention that Im still on 4.5mg of Ativan, that is why Im dosing 4 times per day because of interdose wd.

[[di...]]

Hi,

I think that goes for all of us: a good sleep is essential to be able to have some sort of decent day. They say sleep deprivation will not kill you, but it sure is trying to.

I'm on 3 mgs Diazepam and take it all just before bedtime. Of course I wake up around 4 am. No getting back to sleep after that, as anxiety, nausea and fatigue begin.

Benzo life is so very hard.

Good luck everyone.

Not saying it's the same for everybody but you might be able to relate and you might want to give it a shot...

 

I thought I was doomed to wake up around 4am and never get back to sleep and I was anxious to split my dose in case I couldn't get to sleep in the first place. I find that if I take half my dose before sleeping, sleep onset is about the same, which surprised me but is true. I wake up after about 4 hours sleep at between 4-5am just the same as I did when I used to take my full dose before bed. It feels like there is no chance of getting back to sleep (even though I know that I will now). I usually wake up out of a dream and feel fuzzy and it might take me a couple of minutes to remember I have the other half of my dose to take. I take it, get a drink, use the toilet if I feel the urge, adjust clothing if needed (clean t-shirt if been sweating, long sleeves if cold, you get the idea). Within 10 minutes, I start to feel a bit better and I can lie down feeling relatively calm. I don't try to get to sleep, just try to be calm. I always manage to get some more sleep even if it's so light that I can only tell I have slept because time passed by quicker than it seemed. Sometimes, I have another solid chunk of sleep that leaves me feeling rested enough that I know I'll cope in the daytime.

 

If I'm honest, I'd say that I wake up feeling a bit worse than when I fully dose before bedtime. However, since I can't get back to sleep (or it's very rare) when I fully dose before bedtime, I take that hit. Besides, the relief when I remember that I have the rest of my dose to take (even though I don't really want to be dependent on a pill), offsets the feeling a little worse.

[[di...]]

It was better for me to sleep well and then in strength, deal with daytime issues.

I'm glad you said this. It's what I wanted to say but put more succinctly.

 

This happens to me a lot: I have an idea that I am trying to get across but I can't find the right words to express myself clearly. Then doubt creeps in, because it doesn't seem to make as much sense as it did in my head. Sometimes the doubt isn't enough to change behaviour and stop me doing the right thing, but the doubt is a nuisance in and of itself.

 

I don't know exactly what my point is (something that also happens often when I'm in withdrawals). I guess I just wanted to say thanks and point out that you're helping people who might already be aware of this "trick" in addition to those who aren't. Validation is king sometimes! Thanks!

If is amazing how you and I found the same benefit concerning the value of "good sleep and some daytime symptoms" vs "poor sleep and less daytime symptoms".

 

I think you write very well but I do understand how sometimes getting our words right is difficult while in a benzo haze.

Thanks. It took a while!

 

It's a very tricky balance. There are lots of people who insist on never taking medications/supplements because they might interfere with the natural healing process. I strongly relate to this school of thought and always try to keep these things to a minimum but chronic sleep deprivation seems to put the mind and body in survival mode leading to things like adrenal fatigue. Once it gets past a certain point, I'm not sure how much healing is happening. Additionally, poor sleep makes it a lot harder to make good decisions. We might not see the options clearly or we might end up doing something out of desperation. Impulsivity increases when sleep deprived - certainly does for me anyhow!

 

It strikes me with benzo withdrawal that a lot of it is about keeping as balanced as possible for a majority of the time but knowing when to make an exception. Natural sleep is best but if you go a full week averaging only 4 hours, then it is a good idea to consider taking emergency measures to break that cycle. Cannabis, melatonin, antihistamines is my order of preference. Perhaps it should be melatonin, cannabis, antihistamines but I like cannabis and intermittent supply makes it self-limiting anyhow!

[[...]]

i think I forgot to mention that Im still on 4.5mg of Ativan, that is why Im dosing 4 times per day because of interdose wd.

Just for information, the half-life of Ativan is 12 hours where as the half-life of Klonopin is 30 to 40 hours.

 

You might ask your doctor about using a longer lasting benzo so you can take it all at bed to help with sleep and then not worry about needed so much during the day.

 

I imagine perhaps others have reasons to use a short lasting benzo but you seem to need help with sleep so taking more of it at bed is what helped me the most.

 

[[Tr...]]

Hi,

 

I have been trying several ways if taking my night dose if Diazepam ( which has a very long half life).

A. Taking nothing before bedtime: didn't get to sleep.

B. Taking 1/3 of the dose before bed: fell asleep quickly, but often woke up after an hour or so. After taking the remaining 2 mgs usually resulted in sleeping a little longer, but never really significantly longer.

C.Taking 2/3 of the dose before bedtime. And the remaining 1 mgs after waking up: didn't get back to sleep on that.

D.Taking the entire dose before bedtime: mostly waking up around 4 or 4.30 am.

This is my current way.

After waking up I get nauseous, anxious and often have pain ( Fibromyalgia).

But I 'm going to give your way:  1/2 and 1/2,  a try.