No problems falling asleep, but waking up early?

[[Be...]]

I rarely visit post/visit here anymore, but i thought i would chime in.  I am 7 months out and sleeping well. Some nights are better than others.  But for the most part sleep isn't an issue anymore.  I was actually recently experiencing some insomnia along with soem other nasty symptoms and thought it was the famous 6-7 month wave.  it turned out I was simply overmedicated on armour thyroid.  A few weeks on a reduced dose and I am back to living life again.  Wish you all the best.  Someday you will look back and chuckle over all of this.  I don't even recognize who I was a year ago.  It's quite a trip actually. 

[[ma...]]

benzobattle you are really fortunate to be sleeping well with only 6-7 mos. I am 20 months of and struggling terribly to sleep. Consider yourself very lucky. I do.

[[ar...]]

been there done that and is still doing that.

arcey

[[Be...]]

Insomnia wasn't was one my worst symptoms throughout all this.  Depression and anxiety were/are my toughest symptoms followed by joint/muscle pain.  I am far from fully healed.  And my sleep could use much improvement.  not tooting my own horn or anything..

 

[[Ti...]]

Benzobattle-

Glad your sleep is improving.

 

Tina

[[...]]

Glad to see this thread again.  I've been having my consistent 7am wake ups again.  I've never been so capable of getting up early in my life.  I even tried staying up super late last night but still woke up right at 7am.  I wish I knew what was so special about that number.  I have darkening curtains, darkening blinds, and blackout curtains so my bedroom is pitch black.  So I guess it's definitely hormonal or something.

[[La...]]

Well, I am coming up to 3 weeks from my final small dose of sleeping medication after taking a pill for over 15 yrs to sleep. I truly am unable to remember what my old s leeping pattern was like, its been so long, I think I could fall asleep but had frequent wakening leaving me exhausted and not fit to work most days in a very stressful hospital environment, well , some things never change I am falling asleep and waking up like clockwork after 2-3 hrs , then a few more hours of restless sleep. I am dreaming and remembering my dreams, a positive, I never dreamt on benzos,  right now I am thankful for what I am getting and only hope that some day it will improve. Night sweats are happening again too , adrenalin?.cortisone? , not working right now makes it easier to accept, my heart goes out to those that are working and dealing with this

LG

[[Ti...]]

I have been waking right at 3 or 4 the last week and a half and can't get back to sleep. My heart beats all night and I feel the adrenaline. I am so tired but can't sleep later. My body just automatically triggers itself to wake up in the middle of the night!!

 

I never have any problems falling asleep.

 

Anyone else experience this??

[[ar...]]

yes tina i do, and its not fun.  i have never had any problem with sleeping before  BENZOS.

arcey

[[ma...]]

I have been waking right at 3 or 4 the last week and a half and can't get back to sleep. My heart beats all night and I feel the adrenaline. I am so tired but can't sleep later. My body just automatically triggers itself to wake up in the middle of the night!!

 

I never have any problems falling asleep.

 

Anyone else experience this??

 

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sounds familiar.  i make sure i have a book available.  i read for about one hour and then fall back to sleep.

[[Ti...]]

This kind of scares me though because you are both off Benzos and I am still tapering. How am I going to complete my taper if this doesn't resolve?  Also, you both quick-tapered or cold-turkeyed. My body must be at the extreme end of sensitive.

 

Has anyone tapering gone through this and it got better with holding. Insomnia ruined my last taper. I cannot cannot cannot fail again.

 

Tina

[[he...]]

I have been waking right at 3 or 4 the last week and a half and can't get back to sleep. My heart beats all night and I feel the adrenaline. I am so tired but can't sleep later. My body just automatically triggers itself to wake up in the middle of the night!!

 

I never have any problems falling asleep.

 

Anyone else experience this??

 

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sounds familiar.  i make sure i have a book available.  i read for about one hour and then fall back to sleep.

 

Hi TinaCa,

 

That kind of waking up is one of my symptoms, and it does not stay, thankfully.  I never had it before tapering (sometimes trouble falling asleep).

 

but the waking up at 3 or 4 full of adrenaline is a benzo thing for me.

 

I hold and it goes away, within days. but I'll hold for a week or two to settle my nerves.

 

hth,

hbam

 

 

[[...]]

Holding helps me also. I also get in trouble the first 2 weeks during my cycle when progesterone is low. I think people have said having a small snack before bedtime might help too.

[[Ti...]]

Thank you HBAM and MM74. Tonight slept from 11-1, then wide awake with adrenalin. It is now almost 6 am and I am so exhausted but not sleepy.

 

I wasn't having any issues with insomnia until about 2 weeks ago. And its escalated into unbearable the last week.

 

Here are some factors:

 

-Stopped Ativan 18 days ago

-Switched to all liquid Valium 10 days ago

-was supposed to get my period at least a week ago but it never came so I must not have ovulated last month . Therefore my progesterone is very low right now.

-I dropped from 1.25 mg Valium to 1.22 over the last 10 days.

 

I believe the combo if all the above has made a recipe for disaster.

 

I am going to slightly dose adjust back up to 1.23 mg. Valium. My body is so hyper aroused right now. It won't settle down. It is screaming at me that it doesn't have enough benzo.

 

My kids are 2 and 4 and were 1 and 3 when this began almost a year ago. I have to get some stability back. They need me and I love them so so so so much. I am sad and scared and very sleep deprived right now.

 

I will make it through this right???

 

Has anyone dose corrected a bit and did it help? I held for 2 weeks last february after a big cut and things got progressively worse so that is why I am thinking a dose adjustment of .01 mg is needed, yet I hate doing it. Maybe even .02. Ugh!!!!!  Hate hate hate this!!!

 

Tina

[[fr...]]

Without fail, I wake up with a rapid heartbeat almost exactly six hours afer falling asleep. I've tried sleep maintenance, different snacks before sleep, and supplements (anything intended to help me sleep worsens symptoms of depression during the day for me). Holding cuts doesn't help, so I'm going to continue pushing forward and be happy I get six hours. My day definitely goes better when I get out of bed once I know I'm awake and eat something immediately. I also use a "sun" light until the sun itself comes up.

 

In addition to the taper I've got a bunch of stress in my life, so I'm going to focus on dealing with that, learning some relaxation techniques, and getting off this drug.

[[...]]

Tina-

I have 2 kids too and feel the same way. I'm tapering slow. But the last two weeks were bad because of my progesterone dropping. I was crying and felt like death was better than what I was feeling. I had enough! My kids have been through enough! I updose by .02 and stopped crying . Now my pr

[[...]]

Sorry- hit send before done. Now that my progesterone is increasing I'm feeling much better and sleeping better. I think u did have a lot of factors. I did experience symptoms every time i dropped a pill for liquid. So that's one thing. Progesterone drops are HUGE factors for me. I almost need to hold for those 2 weeks. If I cut right before the progesterone drops its disaster. I've decided for my kids sake to take it really really slow. When progesterone is high I'm going to cut slowly. When progesterone drops I will hold or go even slower. I know this will take a while but I don't want to be ill any more and miss out on my kids childhoods. I over tapered one time and was holding for a few days and then got my period. I was sick for 2 weeks. Thought I wasn't going to stabilize. I did once pr

[[...]]

Sorry- did it again- I felt stable when progesterone rised again. Unfortunately progesterone is like a benzo and we have no control over it. If I need to updose slightly during that time to function then I will do it. Tina try and stabilize by holding or updosing. I think if we can stabilize when progesterone is lowest and not over taper when progesterOne is high we can do this. It might just take lOnger. I wanted to be off in a year. It's not going to happen. I've accepted this and will manage my symptoms to stay happy and functional and sleeping well. If it takes another 2 years and me and my family are well I'm ok with that. You need a doctor that is ok with that too. I feel for you. We are in the same boat but you are closer to being done than I am. You will sleep again soon. Your body just doesn't have enough benzo to keep your receptors happy right now.

[[Ti...]]

Thank you MM74. I am praying that with a little updose I can stabilize. I feel like we have a lot in common. I also want off so badly but know that that's not going to happen if I am going to stay functional for my family. I want to enjoy their childhood too-that is my priority. They were so little when this happened. Still are so little. I know you understand. This is all so wrong. I want to feel better. I had some good days before this latest disaster. I appreciate good days and moments so so much. My life is so wonderful and I want it back!!!  Thank you for sharing your experience with me. It is good to know I am not alone.

 

Tina

[[ma...]]

just read your recent posts on sleep deprivation and rapid heart rate for a period (in many cases a significant period) after benzo free.  i experienced it big time.  i'm sure it's part of the journey.  suggest you tough it out because IT WILL PASS.

[[Ti...]]

Hi Managed,

 

I am sorry you had to deal with this as well. How are you now?  The problem is that I am not yet benzo free and doing a microtaper. I cannot continue my taper in this state. The 1 am wake ups are so bad and I am so sleep deprived that I can't continue my taper for now and have to hold. I hope it evens out soon. I was doing good and making progress until the insomnia and tachycardia hit me.

 

Tina