Lets Talk About What Works - RECOVERED PLEASE PLEASE POST TO

[[el...]]

Thanks for the link Kathie!

 

Silver, who is Diane?

[[si...]]

Hi All

 

Well it's good to be able to talk to others that have truly suffered from insomnia. Mine started as soon as I had to cold turkey my Dalmane back in January 2007.

 

To begin with I was getting 2 hrs sleep a night then none at all some nights. At first I was in a state of panic, getting up going on the computer, crying when I saw that it was 3 or 4 a.m. Just didnt know what to do or how to cope!

 

After a while maybe weeks, I realised through reading more about it on a forum that to worry was the worst possible thing. So, I began to accept that if I didnt sleep it wasnt the end of the world. I would lie in bed and just wait, hour upon hour for sleep to come, some nights I got 2 hrs some none at all.

 

Your body does learn to cope with no sleep - its strange but I existed like a zombie - walking around running on auto pilot all through the past summer. I hated it but didnt know what to do to deal with it. I was advised by my other forum not to take anything at all, so I didnt. I just suffered and boy did I suffer. If I had not had a friend to go shopping for me there are days that I would have starved.

 

This continued all though 2007 and there was just nothing I knew to do to ease it.

Anyway on Xmas Eve I took a childs does of Phenergan syrup and it gave me 5 hrs sleep, it didnt knock me out it took 2 hrs to get sleep - but the next day I feel woozy and light headed and didnt like it. But then on New years eve I slept 5 hrs total and New years day 6 hrs I couldnt believe it. This lasted only 4 days and then I went back to the 2 hrs a night.

 

In the middle of January I e mailed Heather Ashton and asked her advice, she mailed me back in two days and said that I didnt have to endure this for this length of time. I could either take phenergan for two wks duration or take it on an odd day here and there to give me in her words ' a treat'. She said that the advice that I had been given which went against Phenergan was wrong, and that after all this time I should have had some relief from the insomnia albeit short lived. She did stress that I wasnt to take it for more than 2 wks or it would become addictive.

 

On the 31st January I took the adult dose and once again it didnt knock me out but after 2 hrs I got 5 hrs sleep. Then for the next 8 days without taking anything my sleep was great, I was going off within 30 mins and sleeping for 4 or 5 hrs straight and then going back off for another hour! I was thrilled and thought wow this has beaten it I have shown my brain what its supposed to do and its learned!

 

Sadly this didnt last and for the past two nights without taking anything I have had 3 or 4 hrs max. So, it has given me hope that one day my system will know what its supposed to do. I will endure this now for another week or so and then maybe give myself one nights 'treat' as suggested.

 

Other than this I can offer no help but to say that aceptance is half of the battle, I listen to audio c.d.'s hoping to drift off - sometimes I do sometimes not.

I only have one cup of coffee a day and that is at 8 a.m. I just do not know that there is an answer other than time!

 

Good luck All - if anyone finds anything please let me know.

I have tried breathing exercises, reading, all the things that the sites suggest.

 

she is on the first page of this thread - she came here often - i believe she is from england and has been off benzo's for some times - she to was struggling with sleep - but i think she has it licked for now.

 

linda - diane  looks just like joni mitchel - there is a pic of her early on in this thread via her avatar.

[[el...]]

 

she is on the first page of this thread - she came here often - i believe she is from england and has been off benzo's for some times - she to was struggling with sleep - but i think she has it licked for now.

 

linda - diane  looks just like joni mitchel - there is a pic of her early on in this thread via her avatar.

 

Now I remember her! Sorry Diane

[[je...]]

Sometimes I get migraines and eventually I throw up. I get the impression, because when I throw up it is usually dinner from many many hours before, that I am not digesting my benzo. My sleep gets really poor.

 

I had some stress in my life recently, with a plumbing flood in my kitchen of black septic water. They had to pull out the base cabinet (at my request) as it was soaked and ruined plus the blackwater had pooled under. We cleaned it up. They ordered me a new cabinet (my bldg) but it was plywood with formaldehyde, so I went and bought stainless steel cabinets myself at my own expense as I am chemically sensitive (and seem even more so while titrating!). Then yesterday my handyman used a very very toxic caulk, silicone that stunk to high heaven, all over the cabinet to put the stainless steel topon. I don't tink it needed anything at all. I got a horrific headache only slept 30-45 minutes all night. At about 530 am I threw up the 7 pm dinner. I thought part of the reason I didn't sleep is I knew I was so chemically sensitive to the caulk and my whole place stunk and I was so upset that I had tried to be chemically safe and my handyman screwed it up. But I think the other reason is, on the nights when I do get a migraine and throw up, I don't think I digested anything. I get nauseous and its like my food just stays in my stomach while I have the migraine. I took extra (rescue dose) last night and it had no effect. I would say this was stress but I think it was because I wasn't digesting, as I said.

 

Today my wonderful boyfriend has taken apart the sink on his own and spent the whole afternoon cleaning off the toxic caulk. Its smelling much better I am so relieved. But I couldn't nap all day I just lay in bed.

 

What does anybody think about the above?

 

Before this benzo business I could nap sometimes.

 

I really do want to get off them it is very difficult. My titration is very slow.

[[si...]]

i think peoples immune system is somewhat compromised when going through withdrawals and for a short time after.

 

i also think you are dealing with an awful situation - but then life is  just like that sometimes -

[[Li...]]

Hi All

 

Yes, I am still here, struggling with the insomnia! Had a few days of good sleep but it didnt last

Back now to a max of 5 hrs but that's waking two or three times a night!

Still got my acceptance thingy going, although it's been hard of late to go back in time!

Keep the thread going - glad to see that you have

[[si...]]

hi diane - you were missed - it is good to stay in touch and see what works for people.

 

we have a member "Sandy" who is having an awful time with sleep - would you mind visiting her blog and sharing how to deal with little sleep.

 

whatever works for you could really benefit her right now.

[[el...]]

Hi All

 

Yes, I am still here, struggling with the insomnia! Had a few days of good sleep but it didnt last

Back now to a max of 5 hrs but that's waking two or three times a night!

Still got my acceptance thingy going, although it's been hard of late to go back in time!

Keep the thread going - glad to see that you have

 

Hi Diane I'm about to post something in "insomnia" that you might find very helpful.

[[...]]

The best thing for me to sleep is an antidepressant called remeron. I take 30mg at night and sleep like a baby...even with the nervousness and anxiety of klonopin tolerance withdrawal. Same with my mother who takes on 7.5 mg. She doesn't have benzo problem, jsut loneliness of my father passing on.

 

The other thing I do is listen to old time ratio shows on my mp3 player. A website that has 1000's of hours of old time radio shows is otrcat.com. Each cd contains about 50 hours of shows (they are compressed into mp3 format), and cost only 5 dollars a cd.

 

I love to listen to the Lux Radio Hour from 1936 on. They are so well done, and intersting that your mind becomes occupied and you fall to sleep. The thing though is that you need a mp3 player, not a regular cd player. I went out and bought a boombox that included mp3 playing ability. About 50 bucks. Best investment I ever made for sleep, and enjoyment.

 

I mean this site has got every show you can imagine, from The Shadow to Tokyo Rose. I love listening to the commericals. Also the prices of things mentioned in the shows will blow your mind. On one Johhny Dollar (best detective show in radio history) episode from 1956, Johnny Dollar is beaten up and spends a day in the intensive care room of the hospital...cost...15 dollars!!!! A doctor could drive 10 miles past the hospital you are in and try to remember your name and you get charged 1000 bucks today. So you get historical information you could never get in a book. The World War II cd covering actual radio broadcasts of D day is so interesting.

 

Not trying to sell anything here. Just passing on something that works for me, and sure enriches my life. How can you beat 50 hours of entertainment for 5 bucks.

 

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar...oops, I mean...INB

[[Be...]]

Sort of along the same lines as listening to old radio shows, I like listening to audio books (mostly on CDs) which I get from the library.  I tried listening to meditation tapes and have some CDs with relaxing nature sounds, but they don't help me get to sleep anymore.  Now I listen to a story and it takes my mind off of obsessive thoughts or my w/d symptoms.  I generally fall asleep witin 1/2 hour and wake up later to remove the earbuds and fall back to sleep. Of course, I am careful about the stories I pick - no violence, eg..  There are some nights when I go through a number of CDs before falling asleep but usually I don't make it through one.  I    libraries!

[[Li...]]

 

Well I have gone back to no sleep at all for nights on end and just one hour during the day!

 

Maybe it's because I took Phenergan (1/2 a tablet) for 6 nights at the beginning of March :'(

 

All I know is that I cannot go off at night time now at all, if I sleep it's from 3 a.m. for 2 or 3 hrs.

 

During the afternoon I go off within 10 mins once I feel my brain allow it but never sleep for more than 90 mins.

 

I am so exhausted.

[[br...]]

Hi Diane. I feel for you. I really do. I've been placed on Klonopin because I had severe insomnia. Sleeping 0-3 hours a day before the Klonopin. With Klonopin 4-5 hours and if I take other supplements like tart cherry (natural source of melatonin)  I can get in a few more hours if I'm lucky.  I've stopped tapering this month because I couldn't handle the withdrawals. I'm also taking a saliva hormone test this month. I'm not sure about your history but have you been checked if you have hormonal issues?  I heard a lot of people get relief from insomnia issues if they are treated correctly with bioidentical hormones.  I had an adrenal stress index done which only checks cortisol levels and dhea-s. It showed mine was high at night and low in the mornings which was the reason why I couldn't sleep.  Now I'm getting my progesterone and estrogen and other hormones to check to see if there's any other imbalance.  Do you think this can be an issue for you? 

 

 

[[el...]]

  Now I'm getting my progesterone and estrogen and other hormones to check to see if there's any other imbalance.  Do you think this can be an issue for you? 

 

 

 

Hi Brite, I'm doing this too!

This is the program I'm doing biohrt.com

I just started, I slept so great for 8 days, and not for the last 4.

How long did it take you for your sleep to improve?

 

I"ll pm you incase you don't see this.

[[bl...]]

I find that vigorous exercise + small dose of inderal really helps my sleeping.  I have suffered from insomnia, on and off, for a decade.  I now take 5-10mgs of inderal at night.  Sometimes I'll take 5 at bedtime and 5 more if I wake up in the middle of the night. 

[[bl...]]

for those who don't know, inderal is a beta-blocker mainly used to treat hypertension.  It is also commonly used to treat stage-fright type anxiety.  It has very little mental effect - mostly it works on the physical aspects of anxiety like a racing heart beat, which can keep people up at night.