2400+ Days Off. My Insomnia/Benzo Advice

[[Th...]]

On 18/05/2024 at 06:45, [[M...] said:

These people are total leeches.  I called and talked to them out of curiosity about their Flumazenil Tx.  While they were willing to provide me some testimonials from a select couple of patients, somehow nobody seemed to have any statistics about their success rate even though they have presumably treated thousands of patients.  Hmmmm.  They continue to call me every couple months even though I’ve told them my plan is to keep tapering.  
    Like many things in medicine, beware of people promising miracle treatments.  This is true whether it’s a psychiatrist charging hundreds of dollars to be your taper coach, or a detox center promising to make you all right in a couple weeks.  People are desperate to be off these pills and that desperation creates a market for people to take advantage of you.  Caveat emptor (buyer beware).  

Dr. Coleman retired a year or two ago.  I am not sure who is running the clinic now that still bears his name? Flumazenil may have shortened the length of my withdrawal, reduced my symptom intensity, etc., but I'll never have a way of knowing that as there is no way to go back and see how my withdrawal would have played out w/o the Flumazenil.  Peace. 

[[Bl...]]

Thought this was an interesting article.

Elminating-Top-Causes-Insomnia-Townsend.pdf

[[En...]]

Great post very inspiring. This can be applied to any withdrawal symptom you are experiencing. I am lucky that I do not suffer from insomnia right now but I did have insomnia at the start of my taper back in January and February. I read to get up out of bed and do something until you are tired. You are right that doesn't work. Just like trying to take an antidepressant for anxiety during withdrawal does not work either until you are out of the thick of withdrawal. I am experiencing that as well. All our symptoms are chemical induced and are out of our control. All we can do is wait and be patient and be careful to avoid stimulants that will rev our symptoms worse. Watch what you consume in your body. Eating clean is important.  Acceptance of your situation is important. Not overreacting to the symptoms is key. Easier said than done during the thick of things. You have no control over your symptoms or the time it takes to heal. You are just along for the ride. Like in a carnival ride you have no control other than your reaction. You can enjoy the ride or be horrified of it. It is all how you respond. This drug does lie to you. It is the devil's drug when used long term. Having coping skills in your mind is crucial during deep withdrawal.  Reassuring yourself this is only temporary and will pass. Again easier said than done but it is what makes us stronger. It doesn't kill you as the saying goes. I am almost done my taper I am at the ending part of my journey. I have been to hell and back many times. I have an unsupportive Dr so I only rely on him for prescribing. I use this website and my own inner strength to get through. Telling myself this is temporary and will pass and taking each minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day is all I can do. I have to ride this scary carnival ride. 

[[Th...]]

On 26/05/2024 at 06:14, [[B...] said:

Thought this was an interesting article.

Elminating-Top-Causes-Insomnia-Townsend.pdf 118.52 kB · 6 downloads

That is good information and possible natural treatments for regular "garden-variety" insomnia, but I highly doubt any of that would work for benzo-induced insomnia as the insomnia is being caused by down-regulated and damaged or destroyed GABA receptors.  A literal "physical" injury that only time can heal.  Peace.

[[Zi...]]

I have recently ( 5 months ago) right after Christmas, sopped cold turkey from the supposed supplement called phosphetydylserene or seriphos.  I took it to help me with recovering from Xanax.

I think it helped me, and as it was a supplement, l failed to read the fine print on how long is safe to take it. After three years of continual daily use, l suddenly found myself with every other night of zero sleep.

My sleep for the last four months has been several nights of sleep and then a no-sleep night.

lately the no sleep night is feeling much worse.

what can l do? 

 

 

[[la...]]

Hey @[Th...] your story really resonates with me. I also got off cold turkey and sleep has been the worst symptom for me, with about 60 days of non-percieved sleep. sleep came back for a bit but only like a couple hrs a night and now I'm back to no sleep or perhaps I'm sleeping but it doesn't feel that way. Your story gives me hope because I was thinking my brain was damaged. I will say this drives you crazy, I'm sure you can remember. Did you also have intense brain pressure or tingling? That's the only two symptoms I feel like are lingering, and some vision issues like darkness. I'm being prayed for on Wednesday, which is keeping me hanging on. 

Edited June 2 by [la...]

[[la...]]

whoops didn't mean to post twice 

Edited June 2 by [la...]
posted twice

[[Th...]]

@[Zi...]

I took Seriphos too but only for a few months.  It's amazing that something natural can cause sleep issues coming off, but then again, in this azy cray world of Benzos, not much surprises me any more.  How long have you been off?  Luckily for me and somewhere between 9 and 10 months off, my sleep started to return almost every night for at least 3-5 hours, but I still got hit with zero nights or nights of no perceived sleep about once per week.  The rest of the details are in this post and/or my success story.  I'd ride it out.  Nothing much worked for me early on (the first 2 - 3 years after my CT), but now I have good success with Doxylamine (Unisom) an antihistamine that is somewhat sedative.  I usually take it one time every 2 or 3 months for those nights when I find it difficult to fall asleep.  CBD works for me as well.  I like the Lazarus sleep gummies.  Peace.

[[Th...]]

@[la...]

Hi,

I did have a lot of symptoms and head pressure and tingling were 2 of them, but they really faded and ended after my sleep started to return as did all of the other symptoms I had.  It was as if I came out of a "dream" and was back into reality.  I never thought I would heal  and I'm sure you're having the same thoughts and doubts.  God is in control.  He won't give you more than you can handle.  Praying for relief for you soon.  Peace! 

Edited June 4 by [Th...]