Can I take anything for insomnia

[[Ja...]]

@[Su...]

Thank you for your advice.  I have used Benadryl, herbal remedies and sleep sounds.  I love tea but am limiting it now.
 My chest infection is gone but I am barely able to function due to the insomnia.   I had to go to my doctor again this morning.  The pressure in my head is difficult, I’m sweating and feel generally awful.  She prescribed 5 Zopiclone tablets 7.5mg.  I am to take 1 a night for the next 3 nights and visit her again next Monday.  If I have not improved she will refer me on to a consultant.  I have to take them, I don’t want to be referred on.  I believe the antibiotics and the steroids triggered this impossible bout of insomnia. I am almost 8 months benzo free.  

 

 

 

[[Th...]]

I would highly recommend (in my opinion, not giving medical advice) against taking Zopiclone (Lunesta) as it is basically a "Baby Benzo" or Benzo in Disguise. It is a Z-drug much like Ambien and since you are almost 8 months off, it could reset your healing and recovery clock/timeline?  Yes it's listed as a non-Benzo drug, but I've seen too many people on this forum get the same sort of withdrawal as those that took Benzos after coming off of Z-drugs such as Ambien, Lunesta, etc. 

Insomnia is to be expected at 8 months off.  I had severe insomnia for 10 months after I jumped off.  Ashton says insomnia resolves for most in 6-12 months, but many take more time than that.  And it's not like you reach a certain month and suddenly start sleeping better.  It's very gradual and very up and down.

How much sleep are you getting per night on average?  If you made it 8 months, I would continue without resorting to Z-drugs or Benzos.  This is my opinion, not medical advice, but you do what you believe is best for you.

But it is very possible steroids and antibiotics could trigger insomnia given the fragile state of your central nervous system.  You said you "had to take them," but I don't see why.  3 nights of Zopiclone at 8 months off will most likely do nothing for your sleep and will only make your withdrawal worse?

Also, Taking 3 nights of Zopiclone and then going back to see your doctor is only going to get you back on the road to being prescribed drugs that are going to make things worse, not better.  Almost all doctors do not recognize nor understand Benzo withdrawal.  So they are going to say you need some other drug to combat what you are going through.  Insomnia is terrible, but taking more Z-drugs and/or Benzos after being off for 8 months is far worse, IMO.

Peace

Edited May 10 by [Th...]

[[Ja...]]

30 minutes ago, [[T...] said:

insomnia

 

30 minutes ago, [[T...] said:

How much sleep are you getting per night on average?  If you made it 8 months, I would continue without resorting to Z-drugs or Benzos.  This is my opinion, not medical advice, but you do what you believe is best for you.

I got 1.5 hours last night and 3 hours the night before.  It’s been like that for over five weeks now since I went on the antibiotics and steroids. The steroids destroyed me altogether.  However they did their job.  I’m five days off the steroids now and about 10 days off the antibiotics.   The darkest hour is just before the dawn.  I am very reluctant to take the 3 Zopiclone.   I will see how I go tonight. Many thanks for your advice.  

[[Ja...]]

I slept last night without using the Zopiclone 7.5mg.  I’m delighted I did not use the Zopiclone.  I used 10mg (up from 5) of melatonin and 2 insomnia tablets(0tc).  Hopefully this is the start of a new phase.

[[or...]]

18 hours ago, [[J...] said:

I got 1.5 hours last night and 3 hours the night before.  It’s been like that for over five weeks now since I went on the antibiotics and steroids. The steroids destroyed me altogether.  However they did their job.  I’m five days off the steroids now and about 10 days off the antibiotics.   The darkest hour is just before the dawn.  I am very reluctant to take the 3 Zopiclone.   I will see how I go tonight. Many thanks for your advice.  

I don't know anyone, including myself, that hasn't been tempted to take something for sleep, but I found mine getting better.  I'm tapering, one year into it, but I listened to others that recommend not taking some other OTC or 'script.  Those things can slow your progress, or make things worse is what I was told.  I do look up substances to double check, but I find it's true imo.

I have taken magnesium, long before my taper started, and I still take the glycinate form before bed, that's it, but it didn't help when I had some months of insomnia so I can't say it helps with that.

Hang on as I find just when I'm ready to lose my mind, I get better.  I now am getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night on a regular basis, OL,

[[Ja...]]

The five Zopiclone the doctor gave me are still in the packet.  Having them gave me some sort of reassurance.  I went back to my doctor last Monday and told her I did not use them.  I told her what I used instead.  Thanks to everyone here I got through a very bad patch.

 

 

[[Th...]]

This is my opinion and advice, not medical advice.  I know the feeling of having some type of "reassurance" by having some Rx drugs on hand, such as Zopiclone, but you might be tempted to take them in a moment of weakness?  To avoid that, I'd get rid of them.  I never kept any Benzos on hand and I asked that all future requests for prescriptions be denied (this was after my CT) because I knew it was highly probable that I might reach for a Benzo or Z-drug after several poor nights of sleep in a row.  But you do what is best for you.  Peace!

Edited May 14 by [Th...]

[[Ja...]]

I will have to cut back on the Diphenhydramine tonight.  I felt absolutely awful today.  Blurry vision and so tired.  I mowed my lawn but it nearly killed me.  It is lifting as the day goes on.  I took two insomnia tablets for the last four nights in a row.  It caught up with me yesterday but I did not know what was happening.  I looked up the side effects today.  Tonight I will stick to 10mg melatonin.
 

 

[[or...]]

@[Ja...] I feel for you. I had a devil of a time with insomnia after my taper. I tried just about everything and here's what helped me (it might not help you, but I'm putting it out there just in case): Unisom Sleep Tabs (not the gels). Doxylamine is a potent sedating antihistamine. It worked and still works for me. CBD gummies in a  20 mg strength. You can buy from a dispensary or order them online from Charlotte's Web or Lazarus Natural. They don't "put you to sleep" just reduce your bp and resultant anxiety. But they help me. I take 2 a couple of hours before I want to sleep. No phone or blue light(screen) time just before bed. About 2mgs of  melatonin. No need for a high dose. YouTube has lots of music intended to  ease you into sleep. I've found quite a lot of help there. Anyhow, I hope some of these suggestions help you. Insomnia is the pits. Best to you.

Katz.

[[Th...]]

Doxylamine (Unisom) not the Gel Caps as that is Diphenhydramine, is much more sedating for most people.  With any OTC drug, try to only take it a few times per week, if possible.  It's easy to build a tolerance to OTC drugs too.

[[mi...]]

To tell the truth, there are different ways for me to overcome insomnia. I've been studying this topic for a long time because I often suffer from lack of sleep. As strange as it may sound, I have taught myself to eat a clove of garlic before going to bed, I read about it here https://betterme.world/articles/eating-a-clove-of-garlic-before-bed/. And now I am quite satisfied with the result, because in addition to the fact that garlic has a lot of other useful elements and substances, it perfectly helps to overcome insomnia

Edited May 27 by [mi...]

[[Cr...]]

I have used Chamomile tea bags and warm milk to great effect. There is info that Chamomile may act on Gaba-receptors but very very mildly and not in the same way as a benzo does.

I have not had any reocurring symptoms or problems from drinking one cup of chamomile a nights. Most I do it for is 30 days then I switch to another tea like peppermint.

I am looking into Lemon Balm tea and it too appears to act on Gaba, but not to the extent that Valerian does. This may be a better safe than sorry situation.

As for anti-histamines, keep in mind that it would probably be a good idea not to take them consistently. Give yourself several breaks or eventually they will stop working or your baseline sleep will become even worse if you don't use them.

[[Ja...]]

On 17/05/2024 at 23:15, [[C...] said:

As for anti-histamines, keep in mind that it would probably be a good idea not to take them consistently. Give yourself several breaks or eventually they will stop working or your baseline sleep will become even worse if you don't use them.

Thank you so much Crono for your reply.  I used anti histamines for around 5 days over the past two weeks (diphenhydramine 25mg-50mg).  I had to give them a break as I felt awful the 5 following days.  They did give me some sleep.  For the last 5 days I have slept 6 - 7 hours.  I have taken 100 mg of magnesium glycinate and 5 mg of melatonin each night.  Hopefully my insomnia wave has passed.

[[do...]]

On 10/05/2024 at 21:41, [[J...] said:

@[Su...]

Thank you for your advice.  I have used Benadryl, herbal remedies and sleep sounds.  I love tea but am limiting it now.
 My chest infection is gone but I am barely able to function due to the insomnia.   I had to go to my doctor again this morning.  The pressure in my head is difficult, I’m sweating and feel generally awful.  She prescribed 5 Zopiclone tablets 7.5mg.  I am to take 1 a night for the next 3 nights and visit her again next Monday.  If I have not improved she will refer me on to a consultant.  I have to take them, I don’t want to be referred on.  I believe the antibiotics and the steroids triggered this impossible bout of insomnia. I am almost 8 months benzo free.  

Hi @[Ja...] have you tried Traditional Chinese Medicines [TCM]?

[[Ja...]]

12 hours ago, [[d...] said:

Hi @[Ja...] have you tried Traditional Chinese Medicines [TCM]?

Many thanks doodles.  I have not tried TCM yet.  I have made a note of it.  I am glad you gave me the full name not just the abbreviation as I have been trying to figure out what all the abbreviations mean since I joined last August.🤣

12 hours ago, [[d...] said:

Hi @[Ja...] have you tried Traditional Chinese Medicines [TCM]?

 

[[Hu...]]

On 26/04/2024 at 22:01, [[J...] said:

 I answered that people on Benzobuddies had mentioned Mirtazapam, Trazadone and Seraqual (sorry about the spellings). She immediately said she would prescribe Quetiapine  which I later found out was Seraqual when I picked it up at the pharmacy.

 

Mirtazapine. It's not a "pam". Now, I'm familiar with it, because I take it. But, I don't know if you can take that PRN. But for a lot of people with sleep issues it works good. Tapering from it is not really that hard.

Edited May 23 by [Hu...]

[[Hu...]]

- delete

Edited May 23 by [Hu...]
double

[[do...]]

On 24/05/2024 at 00:21, [[J...] said:

Many thanks doodles.  I have not tried TCM yet.  I have made a note of it.  I am glad you gave me the full name not just the abbreviation as I have been trying to figure out what all the abbreviations mean since I joined last August.🤣

I got it from my Chinese Medicine Practitioner who is also an acupuncturist.
I was given TCM which was specially formulated for my major withdrawal: insomnia, anxiety & depression. 

 

After sometimes, the TCM gives me adverse reaction, please becareful when trying. 

Edited June 4 by [do...]

[[Ja...]]

Thank you all for getting me through a very bad patch of insomnia.  My sleep has improved immensely over the the past three weeks.  Last night I slept for 8 hours.  I was up to the bathroom twice but I got 8 wonderful hours and to think I was on the brink of using the Zopiclone sleeping tablets.  Only for my Benzobuddies I would have taken them.  Thank you all most sincerely.

Now I can almost cope with all my present symptoms.  I say present as I notice they are changing continuously.  At the moment they are burning lower legs, sour saliva day and night, blurred vision, fatigue, feeling awful.

Despite all I will visit my son and his family this afternoon.  I have to keep going as some day, I know, I will come out of this withdrawal and I want life to be as normal as possible while I am waiting.  Also I don’t want them to know what I am going through as they don’t understand and I hope they never will.  How could they unless they they go through it themselves.  I would not wish it on anyone.

 

 

[[An...]]

33 minutes ago, [[J...] said:

Thank you all for getting me through a very bad patch of insomnia.  My sleep has improved immensely over the the past three weeks.  Last night I slept for 8 hours.  I was up to the bathroom twice but I got 8 wonderful hours and to think I was on the brink of using the Zopiclone sleeping tablets.  Only for my Benzobuddies I would have taken them.  Thank you all most sincerely.

Now I can almost cope with all my present symptoms.  I say present as I notice they are changing continuously.  At the moment they are burning lower legs, sour saliva day and night, blurred vision, fatigue, feeling awful.

Despite all I will visit my son and his family this afternoon.  I have to keep going as some day, I know, I will come out of this withdrawal and I want life to be as normal as possible while I am waiting.  Also I don’t want them to know what I am going through as they don’t understand and I hope they never will.  How could they unless they they go through it themselves.  I would not wish it on anyone.

That is a good sign @[Ja...].You can't ask for better than eight hours..  Don't be discouraged by the waxing and waning of Sxs. That is par for the course, after detox You sound very optimistic.

Exactly how long have you been off now? Did you detox zopiclone or a benzodiazepine? 

Edited June 9 by [An...]
addition

[[Ja...]]

4 hours ago, [[A...] said:

That is a good sign @[Ja...].You can't ask for better than eight hours..  Don't be discouraged by the waxing and waning of Sxs. That is par for the course, after detox You sound very optimistic.

Exactly how long have you been off now? Did you detox zopiclone or a benzodiazepine? 

@AntiBenzo7

I will be nine months off on 20th June.  I detoxed from benzodiazepine, Dalmane 15mg.  (Flurazepam).   I took it every night as prescribed for 24 years.  It was prescribed for sleep. I was in tolerance for the last two and a half  of those 24 years.  Nobody knew what was wrong with me.  I saw nine different consultants and in the end I had to diagnose myself.  I went to a facility last June (2023) and was brought off using diazepam over 3 months.  I was in the facility for one month.  I know now it was far too quick but I was in tolerance and I read recently that a quick detox maybe better in my circumstances.

 

 

[[An...]]

I hear you @[Ja...]. I was in one in 2006 for a whole month after I became completely tolerant to klonopin. This was the sickest I have ever been on benzos after over 2 decades of taking them.

I am really glad your sleep has gotten better. Sleep is the only escape many of us have from this nightmare, and it is so important to healing, feeling good, and staying physically and mentally healthy.