Where's the insomnia buddies? no action on the threads.

[[ne...]]

My sleep watch shows 7 hours but I wake up at least 10 to 15 times.  I get short blocks of sleep but very disjointed.  When I am awake, I am wide awake but not anxious.  This has been going on now for five months with little to no improvement.  What gets me through this is my acceptance and that I don’t fear not sleeping.  A BB reached out to me who was a user of only 4 weeks who shared that her broken sleep lasted for 30 months so i just need to be prepared mentally that this could take awhile.  I guess we can all agree that we will never take a benzo again!

 

who was this?

[[Ne...]]

My sleep watch shows 7 hours but I wake up at least 10 to 15 times.  I get short blocks of sleep but very disjointed.  When I am awake, I am wide awake but not anxious.  This has been going on now for five months with little to no improvement.  What gets me through this is my acceptance and that I don’t fear not sleeping.  A BB reached out to me who was a user of only 4 weeks who shared that her broken sleep lasted for 30 months so i just need to be prepared mentally that this could take awhile.  I guess we can all agree that we will never take a benzo again!

 

who was this? 

 

Veggiebuddy

[[He...]]

I am still stuck in the pattern of 4 to 5 hours a night with the occasional 8-hour night and some 2- and 3-hour nights mixed in. I have only been off Xanax for 3 months and started getting my sleep back in August, 2 months before I jumped.

 

I wish Xanax worked for me and I could still take it. I get anxious and can't take anything except Vistaril, which barely works. I suppose it's better than nothing.

 

My aunt has been taking Xanax for 25 years and it still works like a charm for her every time she takes it. Wish that were me!

 

HM

[[Th...]]

I am glad I am off the poison...Maybe your aunt never reached tolerance?  It must be genetic as to why some people can be on it for 25 years with no "perceived" issues and I was on it 6 months and it stopped working, but I am glad I am off.  It's just a band-aid that doesn't treat or cure anything and there are numerous studies that suggest it increases the risk for dementia and alzheimers!

 

Xanax worked like a charm for me too, for about 2 months, then it didn't work at all even at 2 and 3mgs...Even if it would have kept on working drugged sleep is not the same as natural sleep for feeling fresh and restored. 

 

In fact, CBT-i is 80% effective for garden variety insomnia (not Benzo-induced insomnia) and has no side effects. 

[[Sh...]]

It works like a charm until one day she thinks “ I don’t need this anymore” then the wheels fall off the wagon.

 

Honestly I can’t get my head around why u would want to stay on them 25 years.

[Guest [An...]]

I am glad I am off the poison...Maybe your aunt never reached tolerance?  It must be genetic as to why some people can be on it for 25 years with no "perceived" issues and I was on it 6 months and it stopped working, but I am glad I am off.  It's just a band-aid that doesn't treat or cure anything and there are numerous studies that suggest it increases the risk for dementia and alzheimers!

 

Xanax worked like a charm for me too, for about 2 months, then it didn't work at all even at 2 and 3mgs...Even if it would have kept on working drugged sleep is not the same as natural sleep for feeling fresh and restored. 

 

In fact, CBT-i is 80% effective for garden variety insomnia (not Benzo-induced insomnia) and has no side effects.

 

A pharmacist told me he knows people that have been on Zopiclone for 2 decades. I was floored. I was already getting side effects within 3 DAYS! and by 2 weeks I felt like death, even at a higher dose than normal and yet still only sleeping 3hr with it, but that fake sleep where you're not really rested at all.

So how are there people that are able to handle that for 2 decades? I suppose I was lucky my body rejected it so quickly, and my hell on earth was only around 2 months (would have been much longer had I not embraced other drugs and supplements to sleep).

 

I just recently learnt that my aunt was on a benzo for over a decade, and she just quit it cold turkey, with no apparent side effects. This was 5 years ago, and she is fine, no apparent damage or side effects.

 

That is effin' nuts. This is why I think benzos and Z-drugs do something to our body far far worse than just "downregulating Gaba receptors". Otherwise all the natural stuff we eat would be "downregulating" those receptors to eventually give us W/D, but it doesn't happen. Only the benzo and Z-drugs do it. I wish we had the answers, but the pharm industry is not interested in that.

[[Sh...]]

I don’t understand who would think it’s totally ok to take it long term. Sorry but they’re the same people who probably hate street drugs.

 

I know some people will probably lynch me for thinking that. But a drug is a drug, ur dealer was just wearing a stethoscope around his neck.

[[Sh...]]

Yeah U were ok until u stopped. That’s what I’m saying, it makes changes in ur brain as we know. Any drug that effects the brain in my opinion is a one way ticket to disaster.

 

Drs are drug pushers plain and simple. Big pharma doesn’t have patients they have customers. Any dr that says they didn’t know drugs could cause these problems is a liar, or totally ignorant. They’ve known about benzo issues since at least the 70s. So after that it’s no excuse. They knew. And once the internet was a thing, we knew. So long term after that period ur just taking drugs. Tell urself whatever u need to but that’s just a fact. Whenever I took a sleeping pill I felt guilty. I never thought it was ok. I never took them every night until this mess started. I knew they were bad. That’s why I never took them more than a few times a week. My dr said that was ok. Nope.

 

If u think u didn’t know they were bad u must have already been in a deep sleep. Not directed at u Leanne just telling it like it is.

 

I took street drugs when I was young. Not proud of it, but I did. Never experienced anything like this from street drugs. Maybe I was lucky. But u would expect the reverse. Street drugs to cause this kind of suffering, not the very “safe” drugs dealt out by someone trustworthy like a dr.

 

Rant over.

[[le...]]

i just don't think people should be forced to come off meds if they are happy on them as I was. People are left on AD's for years no one says a thing.

[[Th...]]

There are several studies that suggest that long-term Benzo use vastly increases your risk for Dementia and other brain degenerative diseases.  Benzos don't fix, treat or cure anything.  They are merely band aids and short-term band aids at that, not meant for more than 2-4 weeks of use.  I am sure most on this forum already know that? 

 

IMO, taking Benzos whether you can stay on them long-term or not is like making an argument for being able to take rat poison long term because you haven't died yet.  People need to do what is best for them, but IMO Rx drugs are never the answer, unless they can save your life and those drugs are usually administered in an ER?

 

Doctors need to explain the risk associated with any drug BEFORE prescribing it. But since 98% or more of doctors don't recognize Benzo WD as even existing, they can't warn their patients.  Pharmacists are much better at explaining the risks and one pharmacist talked me out of taking hadol for sleep, which I am thankful that I never took.

 

 

 

 

[[He...]]

I felt spacey and like I had dementia when I was taking Xanax. I backed my car into objects more than once when I was 'high' on Xanax. Nonetheless, I miss how it abated my anxiety beautifully. My aunt has been taking Xanax for 20+ years and it works every time she takes it. At times, I admire that because I wish I could use it to take care of my anxiety. I try to look at the bright side of not being able to take it; I won't suffer the long-term brain issues of people that take it forever.

 

I had a man tell me yesterday that he really admires my 'strength' in avoiding Xanax and my resilience to not taking it again. I told him I am NOT 'strong' and I WOULD be taking it, if it worked for me but I reached tolerance and it does NOT work, so I had to taper off. He STILL didn't get it and asked again if I am ever 'tempted' to take it. I explained AGAIN that it doesn't work for me so there is nothing to get tempted about. He still didn't get it and kept commenting how 'strong' I am to avoid the 'temptation' of the good feeling of Xanax. I gave up. Some people don't understand tolerance. They don't get it.

 

Have a great day.

 

HM

[[An...]]

There are several studies that suggest that long-term Benzo use vastly increases your risk for Dementia and other brain degenerative diseases.  Benzos don't fix, treat or cure anything.  They are merely band aids and short-term band aids at that, not meant for more than 2-4 weeks of use.  I am sure most on this forum already know that? 

 

IMO, taking Benzos whether you can stay on them long-term or not is like making an argument for being able to take rat poison long term because you haven't died yet.  People need to do what is best for them, but IMO Rx drugs are never the answer, unless they can save your life and those drugs are usually administered in an ER?

 

Doctors need to explain the risk associated with any drug BEFORE prescribing it. But since 98% or more of doctors don't recognize Benzo WD as even existing, they can't warn their patients.  Pharmacists are much better at explaining the risks and one pharmacist talked me out of taking hadol for sleep, which I am thankful that I never took.

I agree. My fear is that I have done perhaps permanent damage to my brain after 30 years (who knows). I have always kept my benzo doses low and spent many years in tolerance withdrawal (grin and bear) bc I would always refuse to up my dose. You are correct.  Rx meds are never the answer for both mental and physical chronic health impairments. I hear some ppl say well Type 1 Diabetics need insulin or they will die. This is true, but insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas to regulate BG, not a Rx drug. Lowering cholesterol can be done better with lifestyle changes (strict whole food / plant based diet) than taking a statin and the healthy diet is a lot more cardio-protective bc you have gotten to the root of the problem. Statins are helpful but they are no substitute for a healthy diet. Do not expect a statin to save you from the next heart attack if you are still smoking and eating unhealthy foods and are overweight just like you can't solve your mental health issues by taking psychotropics. Used short-term,  drugs like benzos are remarkably helpful and safe. The problem is using them long-term for lifetime management. That never works for the majority of ppl.

[[Ac...]]

I thought I was being safe by "only" using them 4 months.  Even going into my use I knew it was "short term".  While that might have been a short term horizon for SSRIs it apparently was not for benzos

[[Sh...]]

Any dr who allows a prescription for Benzos to continue longer that a few weeks IMO should be should be disciplined. What a mess they make.

 

Then no one would be in a position to stay on them long term choosing to or not.

 

By the 90s….. they knew. Shame on them 

[[Ac...]]

Wide awake at 3:45.  The earliest in a month + since a zero night.  Last week I made it until 5:45 a few times and got my hopes up. Just feel like I'm getting worse instead of better

[[Bl...]]

I'm back in the club...I have not posted here for awhile because my sleep was ok at 6 hours a night...I did get 5 hours last night and I am grateful...but woke at 2am and I'm frustrated..sleep seems to declining the past week ..its 524am now...I tried praying repeating images of my spiritual guides..it has helped either put me in a light sleep or knock me out again...the still of the night drives my anxiety up...I broke down and woke my wife up...she is very understanding but I hate doing that...I get desperate....

 

I read some of the posts...I took Valium for sleep for 16 years...I could stop taking them for months with no issues...then 9 months ago I stopped and all this happened..I knew it was narcotic and could be a problem but I thought I Was different and I did not want to believe what we all know now the hard way...I can't blame any doctor...I took them and it was foolish..If you read my posts, I have healed a great deal...my last big ones are the big 3: anxiety, depression, insomnia...waves are less intense and less frequent as Ashton mentions..Yes, I do agree big pharma is evil...but I take my responsibility in this mess I got myself into....

 

My God I am so frustrated with all of this...I just want to feel, sleep, live normal again...

 

Blue

[[Ac...]]

Blue- welcome back, I hope you don't need to stay too long.  Your experience at night sounds a lot like mine.  I've only woken my wife up a handful of times.  She doesn't usually take too kindly to it, but sometimes I've needed it!

[[Bl...]]

Thanks for your reply. Wife has not always been understanding waking up to me complaining…I hate myself when I do it…I don’t do it but every two weeks but a few months ago it was every night! Jeez

[[Ac...]]

Thanks for your reply. Wife has not always been understanding waking up to me complaining…I hate myself when I do it…I don’t do it but every two weeks but a few months ago it was every night! Jeez

 

Wow, that's way more understanding than mine, but I get it bc we have young kids who are taxing- it's best she saved her energy for them. 

 

But the still of the night/early morning is an anxious lonely time.  It's usually a ghost town here on BB.  I've often thought it'd be nice to have a benzo chat room for when that happens to stop by and see who else is up. 

[[Bl...]]

Thanks for your reply. Wife has not always been understanding waking up to me complaining…I hate myself when I do it…I don’t do it but every two weeks but a few months ago it was every night! Jeez

 

Wow, that's way more understanding than mine, but I get it bc we have young kids who are taxing- it's best she saved her energy for them. 

 

But the still of the night/early morning is an anxious lonely time.  It's usually a ghost town here on BB.  I've often thought it'd be nice to have a benzo chat room for when that happens to stop by and see who else is up.

 

I thought the same thing but given that the moderators can't supervise it, the potential of not following the rules is there and the whole thing going south fast...What do you think about setting a Night Owl Section in the blog together? Where are you located? I'm in LA..I'll set it up for those in need and we can see it how it goes?

 

Blue

[[Bl...]]

 

Online Bluemoon2021

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Night Owl - A Safe Place for Insomniacs to Chat The Night Away/Not Feel Lonely

« on: January 30, 2022, 05:28:03 pm »

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Hi Friends,

              We (another Benzo Buddy) thought of a chat room for those who can't sleep at night but I know the moderators would not be able to supervise it. So here 's the next best thing. Nighttime is an especially hard for many of us recovering from Benzos. This Section is for those who find themselves in the nighttime alone and suffering. Feel free to jump in anytime. I know we are all in different time zones but let's try it out.

 

Let's heal Together and give support.

 

Blue

[[Ac...]]

Thanks for your reply. Wife has not always been understanding waking up to me complaining…I hate myself when I do it…I don’t do it but every two weeks but a few months ago it was every night! Jeez

 

Wow, that's way more understanding than mine, but I get it bc we have young kids who are taxing- it's best she saved her energy for them. 

 

But the still of the night/early morning is an anxious lonely time.  It's usually a ghost town here on BB.  I've often thought it'd be nice to have a benzo chat room for when that happens to stop by and see who else is up.

 

I thought the same thing but given that the moderators can't supervise it, the potential of not following the rules is there and the whole thing going south fast...What do you think about setting a Night Owl Section in the blog together? Where are you located? I'm in LA..I'll set it up for those in need and we can see it how it goes?

 

Blue

 

Sounds good. I'm on central time- looking forward to seeing how it goes.  I'll post over there to get myself on that board

[[Sh...]]

Well, I made it to midnight last night. I don’t know why u guys are complaining. Get up and go to gym.

[[He...]]

I wish I had the strength to go to the gym. I am just so tired. I admire you, Shayna. You're a rock star. I went to the gym for a couple months back in August and September and I dragged myself through my workouts. I keep telling myself when my sleep improves, i will go back to the gym. We'll see.

[[Ac...]]

Well, I made it to midnight last night. I don’t know why u guys are complaining. Get up and go to gym.

 

Haha, a challenge!  I like it!

 

But seriously, sorry you had such a bad night.