Insomnia

[[Da...]]

I was on Xanax for only about six weeks but didn't taper when I went off as I didn't think I would have a problem with withdrawal. I have had a range of symptoms (anxiety, back spasms, numb face, sore stomach) which have been reducing. But insomnia has been a real issue. At first I could only sleep for one hour blocks at night and only a couple in a row. Now I can sleep about three hours. But this has been going for two months. How have other people experienced insomnia and does anything help?

[[Re...]]

Hello @[Da...], Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

I am really sorry you have been experiencing insomnia, it is very uncomfortable yet very common in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Dependency to these medications can indeed form in just a few weeks, these are powerful medications that can cause trouble in a relatively short time. 

May I ask what dose were you taking from Xanax, do you have a history with psychiatric medications? It would be also useful for our Buddies to know what the original reason was to start them.

I personally don´t know about any supplements or medications that would clearly help everyone in this very early stage in benzodiazepine withdrawal . Acceptance of our symptoms is clearly helpful - as fighting against them clearly causes unnecessary worry. I believe it is really promising that many ouf your symptoms already subsided. 

I found a post one our member started on insomnia, I believe you will find it useful: https://benzobuddies.org/topic/270442-2400-days-off-my-insomniabenzo-advice/

How are you holding up, can you still fulfill you daily duties and responsibilities?

I am sure our Buddies will soon comment on you thread too  I am glad you joined us, 

RR

[[Da...]]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

I have had a terrible year: back injury (7/23) which gave me insomnia, then gut injury (11/23) from duloxetine adverse reaction which gave me insomnia from severe acid reflux. I substantially recovered from acid reflux early 2024 but relapse brought back insomnia.

I took Xanax 12/23 1 mg nightly for two weeks with no problems (though it only gave me about 3 hours of sleep) with no withdrawal. I then started Xanax 1mg 27/4/24 and got 9 hours of sleep that night. After that I started using .5mg 3 times a week but that crept up to more frequent use often at 1mg. I used 19mg in total and can give you the useage if you want. I started withdrawal 12/6/24 and I used 10 mg Valium on 18/6 and 19/6 as I thought it would help with the symptoms but it just brought them back more

Part of the reason I started increasing my use was because the Xanax made me feel good the next morning - this was partly due to a good sleep but it also seemed to soften acid reflux symptoms. It also seems that it was giving me withdrawal symptoms on my off days which may have contributed to it making me feel better the night after taking it. 

Thanks for asking after me. Due to my back injury I retired a bit early - luckily I was in a position to do that. The situation is starting to wear on me particulary as I feel so alone in this problem. I really do appreciate Benzobudies. I have seen that I am not the only one to suffer withdrawal from what seems to be minor use. It really is a nasty drug - I wish I had seen Benzo Buddies earlier but at least I have found it now. 

[[vo...]]

@[Da...] The article @[Re...] referred you to is one of the best articles I have read about someone's experience with insomnia. It has every answer about insomnia that there can be....in my opinion. Of course, I have no knowledge of what you already know about all of this, so please forgive me if you already know what I'm going to tell you. Shortly after I stopped using Xanax I had insomnia and after 3 mos. of what seemed like not sleeping at all, I begged my doctor to prescribe something for sleep. My doctor prescribed Ambien (Zolpidem). Little did I know that Ambien was a Z=drug and affected the GABA receptors the same way Benzos do. It never helped me to sleep, but it did help the withdrawal symptoms from benzos, so I started day dosing to relieve the symptoms. Fast forward to 11 mos. later, I learned about this on the BIC's (Benzodezapine Information Coalition) website and discovered BB, I had to be tapered off of Ambien because of that. So if you weren't already aware of this, I hope it helps guide you to stay away fromZ-drugs. In addition to the article ReubenRalph suggested, here is another article you should read about insomnia that may offer insight. I wish you well with what you are dealing with and welcome to BB!

https://benzowithdrawalhelp.com/for-bwd-bind-sufferers/recovery/the-elusive-thing-called-sleep/

[[PE...]]

Hi.

I get helped by THC from indica strain. No high just calming.. but if you have anxiety it can make it worse for the first hour or so.. but it probably will make you sleep good.

[[Da...]]

Thank you for these comments and resources. It's good to know I'm not special and things will resolve. I appreciate that drugs have a place in the health system but given my circumstances and the problems drugs have caused me I'm going  down the patience route. I did get some sleep last night. Hopefully with time to heal I'll see more of that:)