hallucinations

[[Ti...]]

Reason I was prescribed ativan was for severe insomnia, up days at a time. So it helped a lot but doesn't anymore and I've been up for 3 days straight, going on 4. I have had visual and auditory hallucinations. Has anyone else? I have not had a wink of sleep and I'm in so much pain. Eye pain mostly, and head. Like it's too much pain to handle. And the hallucinations are making me crazy. I'm still on a real high dose of ativan, and just started to taper.

[[Th...]]

That's the major problem with ALL Benzos, they eventually stop working at the current dose and after you reach tolerance (where the current dose no longer works) it's next to impossible for them to work like they first did no matter how much you up dose.  I had the same thing happen to me as far as sleep and Benzos.  I went about 10 times with 3 to 4 nights in a row of no perceived sleep.  I never hallucinated although I did have DP/DR (Depersonalization and Derealization).  When I didn't sleep for even one night it always felt like someone punched me in the eyes.  

Benzos and all drugs designed for sleep are a dead end road.  They all stop working at some point.  CBT-i is about 80% or more as effective as Benzos for sleep.  But at this point, with you being on a high dose and reaching tolerance, nothing will touch your Benzo-induced insomnia short of another Rx drug.  Some people have had success taking low dose Remeron or Seroquel.  

Sleep does return, but it takes way more time than we'd like.  Ashton says 6-12 months for most.  Some take less time but many take more time.  That doesn't mean that your sleep is zero nights for years.  It slowly gets better.  I had about 70 zero nights or nights of no perceived sleep over the first 9 months off after my cold turkey from Benzos.  Lack of sleep will NOT kill you.  Your body will get all the sleep it needs before something bad can happen to you and micro sleep, or sleep you are unaware of, will sustain you.  

It's not easy, but you can get off of the Ativan and get your sleep back.  I did and so did hundreds, if not thousands or others.  Read the post pinned at the top of the insomnia board "2400+ days off, my insomnia/Benzo advice."  Good luck.

[[Ti...]]

I'm on day 6 of no sleep, none. Been hallucinating for days and this has happened even before i began benzos. This is why I was prescribed them. I was not sleeping for a week or longer all the time. Not sometimes. Always. Nothing has helped and docs ruled out everything. Seen top sleep specialists (3 at 3 diff top hospitals) and can't find anything wrong except insomnia but it's destroyed my life. I'm so scared.