Benzo free 18 months but still suffer from Insomnia

[[fl...]]

 

I have been off Klonopin for 18 months now and doing great other than I still have insomnia.  I have tried OTC supplements but they really didn't help. My question to others that have this same problem, what do you do at night when this is happening?  Do you stay in bed and let your mind wander, get up and read, watch tv, stay up extra late?

I force myself to stay in bed and eventually get a few hours of sleep.  I know from reading other posts that this will get better.  I can have 2 nights in a row that are good sleeps, but never more than that.

Any help appreciated !!

 

[[An...]]

How much average sleep would you say you get on a poor night?  I have some of the same sleep patterns you describe and I am still tapering. I will have a really good night of sleep followed by several nights of not-so-good sleep. It is almost like a bad sleep cycle reset, LOL. Congrats on the 18 months of benzo freedom btw.

[[fl...]]

39 minutes ago, [[A...] said:

How much average sleep would you say you get on a poor night?  I have some of the same sleep patterns you describe and I am still tapering. I will have a really good night of sleep followed by several nights of not-so-good sleep. It is almost like a bad sleep cycle reset, LOL. Congrats on the 18 months of benzo freedom btw.

I maybe get 4-5 hours of sleep on a good night.  Bad nights it feels like I could run a marathon at 3 am.  Otherwise all my other side effects have subsided, maybe a little anxiety pops up once in a while but I can manage it with my thinking

[[Su...]]

I'm about 5 months off of klonopin [bad rapid taper] and ambien free since September. 

My sleep was bad before klonopin cessation but fell off the cliff since ambien cessation. 

I get 2 to 3 hours on a good night. My problem seems to be staying asleep. 

I have tried hot baths , hypnosis and relaxation apps, eating before bed,  not eating, heavy blankets,  etc. Nothing works consistently. 

The fact that you are 18 months out and still having insomnia horrifies me. 

I used to stay in bed and try to sleep. It just resulted in a lot of thrashing around. Now, besides waking to urinate,  if I am awake I will watch some TV .  I still stay in bed.  I also am having 2 or 3 unsatisfactory naps every day. 

[[An...]]

@[Su...], sorry to hear. Were you on the K and Ambien mostly for your sleep issues? Have you always had sleep issues as long as you can remember even before the Rx drugs? I can remember sleeping good only as a small child and a young teen. My sleep became a little erratic after graduating HS and starting college but it was still acceptable, even tho I was not getting as much as I would have wanted then.

[[Su...]]

@[An...]

I was on k for anxiety and ambien for insomnia. It had been so long that I can't remember the progression clearly,  but I was a lucid dreamer as a child.  In college,  I started with more troubled sleep. I struggled with worsening sleep after that but didn't get on these benzos until I was 40. I have been wondering whether I am reverting to my old insomnia problems,  but with my other withdrawal symptoms it is hard to sort out. 

[[ba...]]

I have been dealing with this sleep issue for a while now. Seven months without benzos (clonazepam) and still having trouble dozing off. I've tried all the usual tricks too...staying up late so you're tired, reading before bed, no screens, hot baths, herbal tea. Nothing's really doing the trick...It's been difficult for me to fall asleep lately. I've been staying up for over 24 hours at a time, so by the time I go to bed I'm really tired. But it still takes me 30 minutes to an hour to actually fall asleep...and what I do, I keep having nightmares and dreams..at one point, I used to dream about snakes on a daily basis..I'm lucky that I get to work from home. If I had to wake up early for work every day with no sleep, I don't know how I'd manage it...

Edited November 4, 2023 by [ba...]
Typos

[[Co...]]

Hello @[ba...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Unfortunately, it can take some considerable time before the return of normal sleep patterns.

You might investigate hypnotic medicines which do not operate on GABA receptors (the receptors upon which benzodiazepines and some other medications act). For example, I used (sparingly) Atarax (hydroxyzine) - an older antihistamine - to help me when my insomnia was at its worst. But - for Atarax at least - we usually develop tolerance very rapidly (within a few weeks) and it can result in some cognitive impairment (fogginess) too. Typically, I would take it for no more than a few days and then not again for some months. I think the longest I ever took it was for about 2 weeks (the first time round) after experiencing appalling insomnia for several months. For me, it helped to reset a more normal sleeping pattern.

Of course, you would need to discuss this or any other potential medicine with your doctor. But it is very important to avoid anything which acts upon GABA receptors. Other members night have other suggestions - medicines or 'tricks'.

[[Th...]]

I think you are wise to stay in bed on the "bad nights" as your body needs rest too even if you cannot sleep.  Your insomnia will not respond to normal sleep hygiene if it is the result of coming off of Benzos.   That's why you feel like you could run a marathon at 3:00 am on the bad nights.  I too tried everything OTC, herbal and non-Benzo Rx drugs for sleep and nothing worked for me for more than a night or two, so I just let my Benzo-induced insomnia run it's course.  Eventually I started sleeping a lot better around month 10 after my CT.  Your sleep will slowly improve over time.  Try listening to "Green Noise" as that could help you drift off and maybe you could get an hour or two of sleep on those bad nights.  Hang in there, it will get better.

[[fl...]]

On 21/10/2023 at 18:27, [[S...] said:

I'm about 5 months off of klonopin [bad rapid taper] and ambien free since September. 

My sleep was bad before klonopin cessation but fell off the cliff since ambien cessation. 

I get 2 to 3 hours on a good night. My problem seems to be staying asleep. 

I have tried hot baths , hypnosis and relaxation apps, eating before bed,  not eating, heavy blankets,  etc. Nothing works consistently. 

The fact that you are 18 months out and still having insomnia horrifies me. 

I used to stay in bed and try to sleep. It just resulted in a lot of thrashing around. Now, besides waking to urinate,  if I am awake I will watch some TV .  I still stay in bed.  I also am having 2 or 3 unsatisfactory naps every day. 

I can have good nights but more bad nights. I would think after 18 months I would be sleeping great

[[Sa...]]

Hi, @[fl...]! I'm glad you're doing great! The insomnia is not fun, though. I'm 2 years off and still struggling with it, although it has improved a lot. Had it really terrible the first year, getting zero sleep for several nights in a row and 4 hours of sleep in the best nights, so I really understand what it's like.

So for starters I find it's really helpful to have a routine where you go to bed at roughly the same hour every day, and do something like watch TV or read. I watch a 20 min episode of a comedy tv show every night, it's like a ritual, and then if I'm not sleepy I read for a bit. When you have this kind of routine your brain gets used to it and eventually you start to feel sleepy at that time. It won't always work but it helps. 

The rest of the sleep hygiene advice hasn't worked for me, and has only brought more anxiety to the matter. Also, supplements have done more harm than good, so I don't take any. 

What I do when I'm in bed and can't sleep is read a few pages of a book -something light and captivating, I'm re-reading Harry Potter 5 right now- and then try to sleep again. I find it's much better than just laying there, unable to sleep, and a good amount of the times I can fall asleep after reading. If I have bad thoughts, I also like to read jokes or anything funny and light online. It really helps the bad thoughts go away, and it helps me relax. 

I hope some of this helps and you can notice your sleep improving gradually. I believe 18 months out is still not that long and you most likely have a lot of healing ahead of you. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by [Sa...]