Insomnia due to tapering alprazolam and zolpidem

[[fu...]]

Hi I am Japanese.

I am suffering from insomnia for long years.

Last year I used zolpidem 5mg for a couple of months, but my insomnia did not get better then I quit using it.

After that I started to get a lot of symptoms and couldn't sleep at all.

So I went to see a doctor and got alprazolam 0.4mg for my symptoms.

Now I am using alprazolam for almost 1 year and tapering by water to almost 10% of 0.4mg.

But I still have a lot of symptoms especially insomnia.

I want to get any idea to get better sleep.

[[Pa...]]

Hello fumin, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

It looks like you're taking the correct path to get your sleep back and that's to taper from the Alprazolam, become free from it and find better ways to get to sleep.  Most of us have discovered that once we're free from benzo's and z-drugs that natural sleep finds us again.  There can be short periods where we still struggle but reaching for these types of drugs doesn't work in the long term.

 

We have lots of suggestions for sleep since this is a major withdrawal symptom but it all boils down to acceptance that this situation is temporary, a long temporary but it does resolve.

 

I'll provide some links to help you navigate the forum so make yourself at home.

 

Pamster

 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Insomnia 

[[fu...]]

Thank you for your kind reply.

Advices from people with similar experiences are really encouraging.

There are so many experiences about benzo in this web site, this is amazing.

Yesterday I couldn't sleep at all and my heart was beating all night.

I just lay down and waited until sun rose and sat up and started a day.

I am not so afraid of being awake, but my blood test result is getting worse in some respects.

Hope that is not because of insomnia.

[[Pa...]]

You did the right thing by staying in bed and giving your body what rest you could.  Being awake when we should be sleeping is terribly lonely and can make us feel desperate but acceptance can actually help us find peace of mind.  Sometimes we actually get what we call micro-sleep which only lasts for seconds, we're not sure if we've slept, but instead feel a loss of time, this happened to me when I couldn't sleep.  I feel like it helped keep me functioning even if I didn't feel rested.

 

What sort of blood tests are you concerned about?

 

 

[[fu...]]

Yes I feel lonely when I cannot sleep, but there is nothing I can do.

It's getting less these days, but I also experienced micro-sleep a lot of time. And sometime I wake up by hypnic jerks and/or palpitation and/or depression.

I have never thought micro-sleep helps me because it is strange and uncomfortable but as you say it may keeps me work normally.

 

I have High cholesterol (LDL=190), hyperuricemia, and kidney trouble.

I am around 30 and my parents don't have such problems.

And I don't drink and smoke and am not fat.

[[Pa...]]

I found the microsleep to be comforting, it was like a puzzle trying to figure out if it really happened and when I realized it did, I knew my body had what it needed to keep going, even if I was exhausted and worn down.

 

I've not read of members who linked benzo's to what your blood tests reveal, what is your diet like, do you eat a lot of meat, cheese and processed foods? 

[[fu...]]

I see I will try to concentrate on understanding of how microsleep affects me. If I feel the same thing it is great.

 

I understand that my blood tests results are not common symptoms in benzobuddies.

It is good to know because I have a strong assumption that insomnia causes those results.

If it is statistically uncommon then the causes might be from something else.

Actually I eat meat a lot because I have read that protein support my recovery, so it might be one of the reasons.