How long off and how are you sleeping?

[[ws...]]

10 months off

 

5 to 6 hours of light sleep....not deep sleep.....but getting  better

[[Be...]]

I sleep about 3 hrs at a time, wake up to pee, go back to sleep and enjoy my amazing dreams! My question is, when I have these dreams, is that productive sleep or a side effect of the benzo?

[[Su...]]

Hi Sunny,

 

I am taking 25mg now of Serouquel for 4 days now and am wondering how long the rebound insomnia lasted for,

and how bad was it.  I can't sleep more than 2 hours without it and can't take anything else for sleep or it makes

my w/d sxs way worse.  Also, if I don't take it I have horrible nausea.

 

Also has anyone else noticed the w/d sxs are worse the week before there period and once it starts it gets better?

 

Tink

 

Yes, many of us have a horrible time with w/d sxs getting much worse the week before our periods...my theory is it's the drop of progesterone..I'm 13 1/2 months off and all poo hits the fan the week before my period.

 

As for the Seroquel...I hated that stuff...it worked for sleep but caused my anxiety to shoot through the roof. I cut those little tiny pills in sliver and took away a sliver at a time.  The rebound insomnia was pure hell..fortunately for me the Trazodone worked well the 3rd time I tried to stop the Seroquel.

 

 

[Guest [Ma...]]

I sleep about 3 hrs at a time, wake up to pee, go back to sleep and enjoy my amazing dreams! My question is, when I have these dreams, is that productive sleep or a side effect of the benzo?

 

It's restorative.

Quote:

REM sleep

 

Just as deep sleep renews the body, REM sleep renews the mind. REM sleep plays a key role in learning and memory. During REM sleep, your brain consolidates and processes the information you’ve learned during the day, forms neural connections that strengthen memory, and replenishes its supply of neurotransmitters, including feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that boost your mood during the day.

http://helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm#deep

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

[[Be...]]

Oh goodie.....Great news that my crazy dreams are actually a good sign! If I could write them all down I would have a great novel inthe works...and be a millionaire!

[[ji...]]

My sleep is so strange. It follows NO regular pattern. The trazadone is helping some but the last two nights it hasn't worked that well. Plus, my baby has been up sick so that doesn't help.

 

My sleep cycles are SO short. They are supposed to average 90 minutes going from stage1-stage4 then REM sleep.  I swear I only go from light sleep to REM and back. Many times I know I've been asleep but I feel like I've been awake a lot. I think I probably wake up 10 times a night....geesh.

 

I often wonder if these dark black bags that have permanently made their under my eyes will ever leave......I'm approaching 5 months off and hoping the sleep turns a corner soon!

[[ma...]]

Hi Jittery. I know what you mean about the sleep cycles. Often I feel like I am not getting deep sleep. Once I wake up I can't go back to sleep. Last month it seemed like I was doing better. I would awaken a few times but always went right back to sleep. I find that if I don't go right back to sleep quickly, I can't go back at all. That has been the case for the last 3 nites.

Tues. will be 10 mos. Shouldn't I be sleeping by now?

[[Su...]]

Trust me, they will go away! But it took me 9 months to sleep well w/the Trazodone...I remember fearing that I was permanently going to look haggard and exhausted...I don't anymore! I'm 10 days away from 14 months off and am doing REALLY good! But it took a little over a year to start feeling it.

[[of...]]

Trust me, they will go away! But it took me 9 months to sleep well w/the Trazodone...I remember fearing that I was permanently going to look haggard and exhausted...I don't anymore! I'm 10 days away from 14 months off and am doing REALLY good! But it took a little over a year to start feeling it.

 

[[Su...]]

Trust me, they will go away! But it took me 9 months to sleep well w/the Trazodone...I remember fearing that I was permanently going to look haggard and exhausted...I don't anymore! I'm 10 days away from 14 months off and am doing REALLY good! But it took a little over a year to start feeling it.

 

 

  Love you Katie! 

[[ji...]]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement, Sunny. I really do appreciate it.

 

Off and running...I meant to comment on your success story but  think I got distracted and didn't do it....So glad sleep has returned for you!

 

Maltese....don't fret...you will get there. Have you been following the effortless sleep method? With my baby I'm trying my best but not sticking to it 100 percent.

[[ma...]]

No. I haven't been doing it all and haven't done the sleep restriction yet. She really is doing the same sleep restriction method, just maybe not as rigid. I still haven't given up reading in bed either. It relaxes me, but doesn't put me to sleep.

I just wonder if the sleep restriction will work since I can't sleep on my own. I am not ready to go back to the exhaustion of zero sleep which is what would happen. I really feel like I need to have at least a few nites where I am able to sleep naturally, before the sleep restriction will really work. I know my body well enuf to know I will just lie awake all nite and I just can't stand the thought of doing that even for one nite. If I was sleeping on my own even a little, it might make more sense. I just haven't had that sleepy feeling enuf to get to sleep...without melatonin, tryptophan, benadryl or unisom. The last couple nites I haven't even felt tired when I went to bed.

Are you doing the sleep restriction? What about the other stuff?

[[Ti...]]

Hi Sunny,

 

I am taking 25mg now of Serouquel for 4 days now and am wondering how long the rebound insomnia lasted for,

and how bad was it.  I can't sleep more than 2 hours without it and can't take anything else for sleep or it makes

my w/d sxs way worse.  Also, if I don't take it I have horrible nausea.

 

Also has anyone else noticed the w/d sxs are worse the week before there period and once it starts it gets better?

 

Tink

 

Yes, many of us have a horrible time with w/d sxs getting much worse the week before our periods...my theory is it's the drop of progesterone..I'm 13 1/2 months off and all poo hits the fan the week before my period.

 

As for the Seroquel...I hated that stuff...it worked for sleep but caused my anxiety to shoot through the roof. I cut those little tiny pills in sliver and took away a sliver at a time.  The rebound insomnia was pure hell..fortunately for me the Trazodone worked well the 3rd time I tried to stop the Seroquel.

 

 

 

Oh boy, I hope since I've only been taking it a few days, it wont be to bad to taper off of...  and I have nothing else I can take for sleep.  Shoot. Kinda scared because when I started taking the Seroquel I was only getting 2 hours of sleep per night and was loosing my mind and nothing else worked or else mae my w/d sxs worse.  This has been the only saving grace I've had.

 

Ah darn, even at 13 1/2 months....  Wow.  This stuff really messes with everything!  Worse part for me is that my menstral cycle comes a week earlier than most poeples so I get to get hit with it more ofter. 

 

Thank  you for your response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[Be...]]

I'm right there with you, Jittery. I'm carrying those nasty bags under my eyes- the unfortunate luggage of a long and painful journey through insomnia HELL. It doesn't help that I've recently fallen in love with a girl and am trying to navigate a relationship in such a sleep deprived state

 

What has it been, almost 6 months for me now? My sleep is just a screwy as ever. Some nights I wake up after an hour and stay awake pretty much the rest of the night. I have had some light 6 hour nights, but these are few and far between. All in all I'm in a really bad way sleep wise. No predictability, and now I have to get up and face the day in the morning. This is just cruel.

 

Good luck everyone!

[[ji...]]

Last night I took my usual 150mg of trazadone and got ZERO hours of sleep! I don't know what happened?  I didn't eat or drink anything unusual and I wasn't stressed at all. My baby was up a lot but that's not unusual either....

 

It seems like the traz keeps pooping out quickly and I have to increase the dose. I've heard that it work better in lower doses though so I'm a bit confused? I'm also scared of the taper. I really need to get this sleep problem fixed. I'm 4.5 months out of a 3 month total use and sleep is still a major issue. I'm scared my sleep may never be normal again since I started getting insomnia before the benzo mess. However, I am thinking it might have been a result of weening my baby quickly....a drop in progestrone could have done it to me. Then then darn kidney stone/cipro reaction mess then the benzo hell.....sheesh.

 

Overall I'm feeling better but still twitching. Anxiety is down a lot and sleep still is the biggest issue for me.

[[Su...]]

Last night I took my usual 150mg of trazadone and got ZERO hours of sleep! I don't know what happened?  I didn't eat or drink anything unusual and I wasn't stressed at all. My baby was up a lot but that's not unusual either....

 

It seems like the traz keeps pooping out quickly and I have to increase the dose. I've heard that it work better in lower doses though so I'm a bit confused? I'm also scared of the taper. I really need to get this sleep problem fixed. I'm 4.5 months out of a 3 month total use and sleep is still a major issue. I'm scared my sleep may never be normal again since I started getting insomnia before the benzo mess. However, I am thinking it might have been a result of weening my baby quickly....a drop in progestrone could have done it to me. Then then darn kidney stone/cipro reaction mess then the benzo hell.....sheesh.

 

Overall I'm feeling better but still twitching. Anxiety is down a lot and sleep still is the biggest issue for me.

 

Jittery...I used to think the same thing, that the Trazodone was "pooping out quickly" and I would try to increase the dose. The thing is I think it's just not powerful enough to put us to sleep when we are just a few months off the benzos...it didn't really work well for me until I was 9 months off, and once I was really starting to heal from benzo w/d, it didn't take a high dose at all...I was able to do 100mgs at 9 months off and it worked really well...I've been at 50mgs for several months now and it's still doing great! I average 7 hrs of sleep each night. 

[[Su...]]

Hi Sunny,

 

I am taking 25mg now of Serouquel for 4 days now and am wondering how long the rebound insomnia lasted for,

and how bad was it.  I can't sleep more than 2 hours without it and can't take anything else for sleep or it makes

my w/d sxs way worse.  Also, if I don't take it I have horrible nausea.

 

Also has anyone else noticed the w/d sxs are worse the week before there period and once it starts it gets better?

 

Tink

 

Yes, many of us have a horrible time with w/d sxs getting much worse the week before our periods...my theory is it's the drop of progesterone..I'm 13 1/2 months off and all poo hits the fan the week before my period.

 

As for the Seroquel...I hated that stuff...it worked for sleep but caused my anxiety to shoot through the roof. I cut those little tiny pills in sliver and took away a sliver at a time.  The rebound insomnia was pure hell..fortunately for me the Trazodone worked well the 3rd time I tried to stop the Seroquel.

 

 

 

Oh boy, I hope since I've only been taking it a few days, it wont be to bad to taper off of...  and I have nothing else I can take for sleep.  Shoot. Kinda scared because when I started taking the Seroquel I was only getting 2 hours of sleep per night and was loosing my mind and nothing else worked or else mae my w/d sxs worse.  This has been the only saving grace I've had.

 

Ah darn, even at 13 1/2 months....  Wow.  This stuff really messes with everything!  Worse part for me is that my menstral cycle comes a week earlier than most poeples so I get to get hit with it more ofter. 

 

Thank  you for your response.

 

You are taking 25 mgs of Seroquel right? I was taking 100! So try not to worry about it...The first 9 months off Benzos, Seroquel was the only thing that worked for me. I would REALLY encourage you not to go above 25mgs...it's a horrible nasty drug at higher levels than that.  I know for sure that it inflamed all benzo w/d sxs so that is my main concern for you...my advice is to just make sure you taper SUPER slow when you come off of it.

 

It took a a full year to really start believing that this nightmare does end...what you are going through right now is temporary...it will all slowly fade over months time...but yes, it has taken this long for me to really start believing that 100% healing is even possible. But we are all individual...some heal b 6 months, all you can do is take 1 day at a time..some are good, some are horrible...for me I had good hours and hellish hours each day...the intensity calms down each month so don't be discouraged by my time frame. It has been a very long and difficult and painful journey for me...but I think it just might be over for me...look for my success story soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[ji...]]

Oh Sunny, I'm so glad you are finally really healing. That is just wonderful.  Do you think I should lower the dose of traz? I think since I've been on it a month I probably would have to taper? My life stress is MAJOR right now...I mean MAJOR. Marriage issues and the baby girl I love so dearly but is definitely hard work! I really need to sleep. I can deal with a crappy 4 hour night but those 0 hour nights are really really awful.

 

What were your other symptoms Sunny? Did you have muscle twitching? My anxiety seems to come and go for weeks at a time. Right now it's gone, but its reared it's ugly head before.

 

The sleep issue and the muscle twitching/jerking has never left. The twitching has only improved slightly but then during a bad wave it's really bad again. I just thought that only being on benzos 3 months would work to my advantage. I guess not!

 

Thanks again,

Jittery

[[Su...]]

Oh Sunny, I'm so glad you are finally really healing. That is just wonderful.  Do you think I should lower the dose of traz? I think since I've been on it a month I probably would have to taper? My life stress is MAJOR right now...I mean MAJOR. Marriage issues and the baby girl I love so dearly but is definitely hard work! I really need to sleep. I can deal with a crappy 4 hour night but those 0 hour nights are really really awful.

 

What were your other symptoms Sunny? Did you have muscle twitching? My anxiety seems to come and go for weeks at a time. Right now it's gone, but its reared it's ugly head before.

 

The sleep issue and the muscle twitching/jerking has never left. The twitching has only improved slightly but then during a bad wave it's really bad again. I just thought that only being on benzos 3 months would work to my advantage. I guess not!

 

Thanks again,

Jittery

 

I just would hate to see you increase the dose of Trazodone at this point...my doctor said the most common dose for sleeping is 100mgs...now I've seen people on here taking 300mgs, my sister takes 300mgs...but she takes it for other issues also.

 

I took 100mgs of Trazodone for nearly a decade w/out having to ever increase the dose, so that's why I don't think it could already be "pooping out" on you...I think the sleep issues you are having are from benzo w/d and that the Trazodone is simply not powerful enough to over come them every night. If you can wait it out and heal some more, I think you will be happy w/how you start responding to the Trazodone. That I can sleep at least 6 hrs every night and even 8 hrs. some nights at just 50mgs of Trazodone REALLY speaks to the healing that has taken place in my brain.

 

I would not encourage you at all to start tapering off the Trazodone...1 drug withdrawal at a time! Trazodone withdrawal can be very painful...I C/T it once and it was as bad as benzo w/d...so wait til you are are more healed from the benzo w/d to tackle the Trazodone.

 

Yes, I had insane muscle twitches/jerks...I was terrified it was permanent...it only lasted a few months, but if I am tired and extremely anxious, it comes back still. It is very rare now.

 

The anxiety was by far the worst sx I had to endure...I suffered w/the most intense nervous/fear/anxious/apprehension that I ever knew could even exist.  The insomnia was neck in neck w/the anxiety...OMG I thought I would die from it! For 18 days I only slept a total of 19 hrs and then for 72 hrs I did not sleep 1 single minute...I had done a rapid taper off 4mgs of Klonopin over 10 weeks...I did not know anything about benzo w/d when that was happening...I had a seizure and was hospitalized. It was horrible. My sleep issues came and went for 9 months...but since 9 months and the reintroduction of the Trazodone at that time, sleep is consistently good...The week before my period it gets very bad, but as soon as I start, I'm right back to sleeping again..and it's WONDERFUL!

 

I am very sad for you that you were only on benzos for 3 months and having to deal w/this...I was on them for almost 7 years, so I can understand better what I've gone through...that they can do so much damage in just 3 months is just awful! But you will heal, if I have healed after being on them for 7 years and a high dose and w/a way too rapid taper, then you WILL heal too!

[[ma...]]

Hi Jittery. This insomnia with withdrawal is the most baffling situation ever. I can not believe that I slept last nite. I wore my zzz glasses from about 8pm and had my oat straw tea which I haven't had in about 2 weeks. I felt pretty sleepy while watching tv and went to bed at 9 which I never, ever do. Since my ipod broke the nite before I had no relaxing cds and that was kinda stressful but I felt very tired. Highly unusual. My husband was reading his Ipad and I actually fell asleep and slept till 4:30. Then back to sleep till 5:30 then again till 6:30. I can't believe how thrilled I was...knowing sleep is possible. Now why did I get sleepy last nite and hardly ever do most nites? I wish I could figure that out.

It is like you last nite with the trazadone not working. I've had nites where the unisom doesn't work. Why??? Then the next nite it does work. I don't know if it was the oat straw tea or what. I felt sleepy which is amazing. I truly don't understand why I was able to sleep last nite. It is the 2nd nite I have not read in bed, but I don't think that is it. I was reading in my chair and felt very tired. Usually by the time I get upstairs to bed, I'm wide awake. Last nite, for some reason, I was still sleepy and went to sleep after about 1/2 hour. The good news is, it gives me some hope. The bad news is, I can't figure out why I was sleepy last nite. Nothing really different. I just felt sleepy and I usually don't. I feel exhauste, but not drowsy.

Why can't some DR. figure this out???

[[ma...]]

Hi Jittery. How did you sleep? Better? After my fabulous nite, Sunday nite, last nite was back to normal. I was tired and relaxed but couldn't drop into sleep. 1/2 a unisom did the trick. Since I have an important decision making day today. I did everything the same as the nite before, when I slept with no drugs. So baffling.

 

I wonder what's happened to the rest of the insomniac group...Pacey, Rocko and Malcontent and Sarah. Can we assume they are sleeping? None are off as long as me and I've only had 3 natural nites of sleep in 10 mos.Normally I just lie there relaxing and waiting...then take a unisom. I'm ready for this to be over. I keep coming back to friends who can't sleep without benadryl every nite. Hope that's not me.

[[we...]]

11 months off and sleep is touch and go, anywhere from 2-8 hrs a night, solid or waking up every 30 minutes.  Usually can count on at least one night of 5+ hours contiguous every 3 days, except before periods.  Extreme fatigue still.

[[Ho...]]

Hi everyone,

7 months off and I actually got a decent night of completely drug-free sleep last night! I've had these before, maybe 3-4 times in wd, but they are a thrill every time - and this time I'm NOT going back to the Trazodone. It's my third night off Trazodone. The first two nights were rough, not much sleep and what little I did get was very uncomfortable. One thing that really helped me sleep last night was tart cherry juice. It knocked me out! And it's so good for you 

[[ji...]]

That's great guys. I tried tart cherry with no luck. I've yet to have a night of unbroken sleep. At six months out I'm getting about 3-4 hours a night. If I didn't the baby I would probably be getting more.

[[cu...]]

it takes a long time to get to sleep, but it always was that way for me. i wake often during the night, but i am in bed at least 12 hours a day sleeping on and off not counting naps. my dreams are unsettling but that might be from the melotonin, i'm not taking it tonight.

 

cupcake