Still suffering from severe insomnia

[[Gl...]]

Still having major problems sleeping.  I was up for 5 and a half days, slept 17 hours, then the next day (yesterday) I was up 21 hours and decided to go to sleep..was exhausted and couldn't sleep at all.  Now I've been up 40 hours, still exhausted and can't sleep.  I am really wound up for some reason.  I think it's because I get hypnagogia when I do get close to sleeping and I don't actually fall asleep.  The hypnagogia is aggravating enough to get me really wound up.

 

Right now I feel terrible and exhausted but can't sleep.  I'm not "sleepy" per say but my body is really tired and the insomnia has taken its toll on my system.  I don't know what to do..anyone have any suggestions?

[[Me...]]

Glyn I am sorry you still having such a hard time.  You had not posted for a few days and I hoped you were doing well.  Have you retained your dose of Zyprexa?

[[On...]]

GlynG,

 

I had insomnia really bad after c/t Valium, it hit 3 weeks after the last dose, and I swear to God I didn't get but maybe two hours of sleep in two weeks time. The best I could do was to lie there and rest, the same kind of "fake" sleep one might get while riding on a public bus. It still was of some benefit, because like your situation I was so damn tired but not sleepy. I'll never confuse those two terms again, sleepy from tired, two different things altogether. Eventually though your body will finally go to sleep even if it cycles back and forth for awhile, but if your off the benzo's completely you will finally get less and less of the insomnia.

 

One of the biggest culprits for insomnia with benzo withdrawal, is overproduction of adrenaline. I've read that Glycerol or Glycerin can be taken to knock back the adrenaline as well as watching your diet, as to not let yourself become hypoglycemic(low blood sugar), this produces adrenaline. Eating small amounts of low glycemic, complex carbs and proteins will help steady blood sugars if this might be problem for you.

[[Gl...]]

I've been up for 3 days now..laid in bed for 18 hours earlier and got hypnagogia again and couldn't sleep.  I'm pretty sure my blood sugar is alright.  Interesting on the Gylcerol and Glycerin with adrenaline..I'm not sure if adrenaline is keeping me awake or not. 

 

The thing is I've been off of benzos for 6 months and this insomnia is as bad as it was the first week I quit.  I don't understand.  I'm still on the same dose of Zyprexa (30mg's) and it's not working to put me to sleep.  On months 3 and 4 I slept every day for almost a whole month.

[[fi...]]

Hopefully it will pass soon, Glynn.  I see a number of buddies who report a turnaround in symptoms around month 6.

 

Wishing you the best ...

 

fg

[[Gl...]]

it just doesn't make sense that symptoms could get worse instead of better as time goes on..that's the part I don't understand.

[[Ga...]]

hi Glyn

unreal, huh? I know some of my earlier symps have come back even worse than when first started this nightmare. Hang tight Buddy hopefully we are in a wave.

 

[[le...]]

I noticed you taper was over 2 mo from 20 mg of valium.  Thats very very quick. Maybe you have protracted benzo withdrawl. I am an insomniac as well

[[we...]]

glyn, I know it's not possible to fix your circadian rhythms if you don't sleep for days.

 

It seems to me that your body is very capable of sleeping, what it's having trouble doing is following asleep.

 

I really had to learn some tricks to fall asleep, what has helped me is to focus on my breathing as I'm trying to fall asleep. I know it sounds a little New Age, but by focusing on your breathing, you're focusing on something that is really really boring for your brain. After a while, I fall asleep.

 

If your brain is too active, it will prevent you from sleeping. The idea is that you have to let go and allow your body to sleep. Easier said than done. One book I read said: just get out of the way and let your body sleep. Makes plenty of sense until you try to sleep.

 

Again, for me it worked. I really didn't get much sleep before my 9th month, but I slept most nights for at least 2 or 3 hours, but not always.

 

You know where I stand on this, I'm of the opinion that adding more stuff is not useful.

[[Gl...]]

yeah I'm not able to reset my circadian rhythm when I can't sleep for so long.  It's been 4 and a half days and I've been laying down in bed a lot and still can't sleep.  I tried focusing on my breathing but it didn't really work.  I just realized my breathing was really shallow for some reason.

 

I'm not sure what to do..I am desperate for sleep

[[we...]]

glyn, your shallow breathing is a great observation, good of you to have noticed it. 

 

The brain interprets shallow breathing as a sign that you need to be alert. If you force yourself into a slow deep breathing, counting one, 2, 3, 4, 5, inhale, one, 2, 3, 4, 5 hold, exhale, hold, you can force your brain into thinking that you are relaxed.  For some reason the brain interprets your breathing as a sign of peace. If you breathe peacefully you can trick your mind into thinking that everything is okay.

 

I'm sure that breathing alone is not going to solve all of your problems immediately, but it's worth a try.

[[Gl...]]

I try deep breathing sometimes but it's like I always default back to the shallow breathing.  I'm going to get back in bed and try it again and see if it helps.

[[Gl...]]

I was able to sleep for 1 hour but that was it..still really tired

[[we...]]

Sorry, that is not a lot.  When my circadian rhythms were really disrupted, it took me 3 weeks to get them back by going to bed at the same time in getting up at the same time. I'm not suggesting you do this, just letting you know that it took me this long.  Before then I could not sleep at any time for more than an hour here in an hour there.  Most buddies suggest to sleep when you can get it.

 

I am the last person in the world to advocate taking more medication, but you could look into melatonin. It is over-the-counter hormone.  Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland when the sun goes down to prepare your body for sleep. It's used by people who have jetlag.  There are 2 problems with taking melatonin, first is that the preparation that is sold over-the-counter is much much higher than what the body produces, I took it a couple of times, the pill was 10 milligrams, and I took about one milligram.  It can put you to sleep, but it may not keep you asleep.  The other problem with melatonin is that if you take melatonin regularly, your body's natural ability to produce it decreases, it's the same story of down regulation.

 

Here is one recommendation that was given to me a while back. After 2 days of non-sleeping, take melatonin, then take nothing for couple of days. The next time you don't sleep for couple of days, you take an antihistamine.  That way your body doesn't get habituated to either antihistamines or melatonin.

 

It can buy you some time until your body recovers. 

 

Maybe some other people can chime in.

[[fi...]]

My doctor prescribed Vistaril, which helped me sleep.  It does contain an antihistamine.  It is also called hydroxyzine.

 

Wishing you well ...

 

fg

[[Gl...]]

Hey..yeah I imagine it would take a long time for me to reset my circadian rhythm too.  I went and bought a CD with music on it that's designed to put you to sleep.  I'm excited to try it tonight and hopefully it will help.

 

I took melatonin before with the med Rozerem (8 mg's) and it didn't seem to help.  I also took Hydroxyzine and my psych took me off both of these cause she thought they weren't working.