Insomnia Again

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I have been reading a TON of literature on the benefits of regular exercise on sleep disorders, anxiety, seizures, etc. There is a neuro peptide called "galanin" that is produced in pretty good amounts with good exercise and it really seems to make a difference in calming the brain down. It even has an anticonvulsant effect in regards to seizures so something has to be said for this neuro peptide. Understand exercise is NOT going to work like immediately like a pill of Mirt or Valium, Benzos, Z drugs or Gabapentin will. It will take TIME, but in the long run you will see the benefits. I just wish a doctor would of known about all of these studies and told me this. I had to learn it all on my own. 

And this is for X-ray specifically. There is something in the brain called  the Locus Coeruleus that when you exercise there is something with more galanin getting produced in this part of your brain. 

I have done lots of research on the LC as I believe it is a big part in hypnic jerks. It is what led me here and on Diazepam after a botched ER misdiagnosis the ended up in ICU and following an IV pharma cocktail from hell, I developed constant jerks after I got out and couldn't sleep for days straight for months and months.

I think meds can really dysregulate our brains then after awhile it makes permanent coding so to speak that even if the drugs are not causing it anymore we get in a negative feedback loop. I believe exercise can channel a positive reaffirmations that you are healthy and this in turn will undo the negative feedback loop in time.  

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And i have to stress the importance of OUTDOOR exercise more than gym stuff or indoor things. Nothing wrong with this stuff if it is ALL you can do. No prob. But the benefits of a walk in the woods with all of it's twists and turns and judging distances and going over logs is really a challenge to your brain and it has to work subliminally to navigate all of these things and it is a double benefit of an actual brain exercise as well as the biological aspects that cardio can give you. 

I find when I do my biking I have to do all of these things when I ride like balance and be on the lookout for traffic, braking all these different things that help my brain. It is not always easy and I sometimes get weird with things, but not too bad thus far. 

I pray I can keep doing it post jump (down to .66 valium as of today). It is the one thing I just don't know what I will do if I am not able. 

[[Th...]]

.66mg is a very low dose of Valium.  In some circles they call that amount "PIXIE DUST!"  You should be able to jump off fairly soon?  Good luck with everything.  Peace!

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TheWay:

Yeah for real. I am so close to the end for sure. It really is Pixie dust at this point and thank GOD I am still sleeping somewhat. Had a crap night last night. But then a great night before that. It is so weird all of this. I have so so many dreams nonstop. I have never dreamt like this. And usually not too many nightmares. Just weird things of people I haven't seen in years or whatever.  I am just gonna keep going til .30 (I do a steady microtaper daily) I think just to know I did everything I could do and whatever happens so be it. It is psychological at this point I feel. 

I would like to think that when I sleep it is my own brain doing it at this insane low dose and when I finally jump/walk off that it will stay that way. But what is odd is that I have taken two days in a row off biking because of the hardcore crappy weather and weird that I was so wound up last night. I usually alternate and only take 1 day off a week and only if it is really needed. I prefer to do lighter rides and or walks on 'rest days'. 

 

I dig all of the sleep info you give on here to members struggling. It is quite a no nonsense approach that i think people need to hear when they are in the thick of it. 

Props

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In all of this if i can sleep even a few hours a night I really could care less about symptoms during the day. I just want that crazy rebound REM. Cause like you I went about 6 months (you were about 10 months I believe) with pretty light (maybe stage 1-2?) dreamless sleep after I got home from the ICU with many zero sleep nights (sometimes 2 in a row) or micro sleeps and lots of hypnic jerking. 

Your posts have always given me hope that sleep returns. It definitely seems to be as I get lower and lower in my taper. 

[[Th...]]

I am glad that my posts can help you and others.  As you probably know, my sleep, when it did start to return, was a lot of REM sleep (REM Rebound) and very broken sleep for a long time.  I am not writing this to scare you or anyone else, but I really never slept more than 2-3 hours continuous without waking up for several years, but was usually able to fall back to sleep within 5-15 minutes, sometimes less.  However, the amount of sleep I received was enough to feel completely rested and ready for the day 99% of the time.  For the past 3 months, I've been averaging around 8 hours of sleep per night, every night and just over 7 hours per night every night for the past 3 years.

Those numbers and amounts are according to my Apple Watch and an app I use called "AutoSleep."   I still get a "one-off" night on average every 2 - 3 months where I struggle to fall asleep, but on those nights, 25mg of Doxylamine (Unisom) does the trick.  Back in the thick of my WD, Unisom did absolutely nothing to help with sleep.

And I still get hit about one time per year with a short-lived insomnia "wave," setback, or whatever you want to call it.  Usually they only last a week or two tops, but earlier, some of them lasted close to 2 months. Overall, my sleep is literally 100 times better than it was the first 9-10 months after I jumped CT.  I tried to keep a sleep log and I believe I had around 70 zero nights or nights of no perceived sleep during that first 9 to 10 months off? 

Hopefully your sleep will continue to improve after you jump off at .30mg.  I doubt that what you are currently taking is actually helping you sleep, but who knows?  Peace!

Edited May 6 by [Th...]

[[Ma...]]

3 hours ago, [[r...] said:

It definitely seems to be as I get lower and lower in my taper. 

My sleep is getting better as I get lower in dose too which seems to be counterintuitive.  I’m still on a somewhat non trivial dose of .25 clonazepam, but my sleep from the .6 to .4 mg range was so atrocious compared to what it is now.  I’m even beginning to have more dreams as I get lower.  Hoping and praying this can continue for the rest of this taper.  I’ve had very few other WD symptoms.  

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It is your first taper so if you keep taking it slow. The fact that you are sleeping like this again is a sign that you are going to have an uneventful jump. It happened to me my first taper. I started dreaming like crazy starting at .45 K and from there on down it wasn't perfect and I was still symptomatic, but not that bad. 

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TheWay:

You know I don't mind broken sleep at all. I could care less as long as I am getting a decent amount (meaning a few hours of dreamy sleep) off these pills. Ha ha it's amazing what a 'good' sleep is considered once you have been up for 2-3 nights on end with microsleeps or perceived NO sleep. Most of my friends would be zombies if they get any less than 6 hours. This is gonna sound odd. But I really think the healthier we are in regards to exercise and diet and lifestyle we really don't even NEED as much sleep and the sleep we DO get will feel so restful and non groggy. There are those special morning where I wake and I am actually calm and like I used to be before my dreaded summer event 2 years ago. 

Like many nights I get really good sleep for 3 hours and I feel totally rested and sometimes I go back to bed for another 2-3 hours BEFORE I even take the poison. Like last night the poison actually KEPT me in a weird state of extra light sleep. 

Before the advent of the industrial revolution people in the romantic age in Europe would get 'biphasic' sleep where they would sleep a few hours then wake up and walk around with friends or do different things then get back in bed for another 3 hours or so.  

Anyway once again thanks for all your knowledge and no nonsense approach. People sometimes need it over sugar coating things. 

[[Th...]]

I agree.  I don't mind broken sleep at all either.  As long as I feel rested.  And you are right, sleep is relative to your situation.  About mid way through my withdrawal, If I got 3 or 4 hours of broken sleep, I literally thought I was healed.  LOL.  As sleep slowly increased, it became easier to complain about less than 5 hours per night.  Like you, I would have given anything for even an hour per night early on. 

Most people complain if they "only get 5 to 7 hours per night." I have been a gym rat and have been trying to eat a clean Keto diet for the past 3-4 years and I believe that really helps with sleep. 

I read about the 2 sleep periods before the industrial age.  People would typically wake up around midnight and stay awake for an hour or 2 after sleeping for 3 or 4 hours then go back to sleep for another 3 to 4 hours. 

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20 hours ago, [[M...] said:

My sleep is getting better as I get lower in dose too which seems to be counterintuitive.  I’m still on a somewhat non trivial dose of .25 clonazepam, but my sleep from the .6 to .4 mg range was so atrocious compared to what it is now.  I’m even beginning to have more dreams as I get lower.  Hoping and praying this can continue for the rest of this taper.  I’ve had very few other WD symptoms.  

Mine is getting better too, and I thought it would be the opposite as well.  I think what's happened for me, someone who's really never experienced insomnia, I've learned it isn't life-threatening to lose sleep.  Now I just accept my most typical 3-6 hours, and sometimes even 7 without waking up once like lastnight.

I always have to throw in my healthy eating habits and exercise, have a lot to do with my sleep, oh, and small tapers then hold, oregonlady

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TheWay:

I love your pro active approach to your health. it is very inspiring man.

And you realized in your withdrawal that all the usual 'advice' from the medical/naturopath community is useless in benzo/psych med withdrawal. 

[[Th...]]

Revolutionblue: 

Thanks for the kind words and support.  It's post like yours above that keep me coming back here almost 8 years after I jumped CT back in August of 2016.