Can't sleep at all week after usage.

[denuis93]

I have had extreme depression for the past 5 days after MDMA use. And only recently I feel like my old self. No more depression or anything. But here comes another problem. I was really excited and I couldn't wait until I get in my bed to sleep like before I used to, but I couldn't, I felt like my head wanted to sleep but when I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep it was just emptiness, I couldn't.

The weird thing is that when I had depression I could fall asleep just fine, and I usually slept from 8-12 hours a day. But now, I can't sleep at all. It's 8 am now and I haven't slept at all. Even I feel being tired, I can't fall asleep. What could this be? Any idea? I am honestly freaking out right now. And I can't yawn completely.

 

[matt2012]

Yep...that's what it does...very common to disrupt sleep schedule after mdma use. It more prevalent if you are taking too much and at too high a frequency. What's your usage like. High doses or multiple time per month?

 

[Kl519]

Hmm, I can absolutely relate to this. Having trouble sleeping 5 days after use is a bit of a problem though, and maybe the mdma exacerbated your situation but it's not the sole cause.

Do you have trouble sleeping properly when you're sober anyway?

Do you exercise? Do you eat healthily? Fried food, drinking any beverage with caffeine in it and eating late at night can all greatly affect your ability to sleep.

So the answer to these questions are vital.

Another thing is your age. Are you young? Younger people can typically handle staying up late at night and are more prone to it. If you look at all of the older people (40 and above), you'll notice that practically speaking, none of them stay up a whole night. That's because they just can't do it. They NEED their sleep. Of course there are exceptions, before anyone points it out, but typically this is the case unless they have full blown insomnia.

I can still do so, but at this point in my life I can tell it is becoming extremely detrimental to my health. I've actually done it too much, and I'm sure my life expectancy will forever be affected from it. The only thing is that I've had this problem long before I ever touched substances, and mdma particularly made this worse. So just quitting mdma isn't going to solve the problem (although weed does the job so well, heh). You either need to find some kind of supplement/substance that works for you, or you need to discover the root cause of your inability to sleep. Since everyone is different, I wouldn't be able to tell you what that root cause is. For reference, mine was simply my biological clock was shitted on and my mind becomes super active and able to work tirelessly beginning around midnight.

But abstinence, exercising, eating healthy and being productive helped tremendously. So much doing makes me sleepy. Not to mention herb/marijuana is such a life saver! It's literally helping me live longer by avoiding unnecessary all nighters.

I think I realized recently that, a couple years ago, what the doc prescribed me for my insomnia (which was much worse before) were benzos. But my sleeping habits became much better without using it, and not even weed is necessary (more like a 100% guarantee I'll get a good night's worth of sleep). I simply uprooted the root cause. Discover your own, take action and you'll feel the benefits if you keep at it.

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

In the short term I would definitely try extended release melatonin and make sure you're sleeping in darkness, in the long term mindfulness meditation will likely be of great benefit. If you feel your mind has a lot of "noise" mindfulness meditation, especially meditating on the breath, is what I would immediately start practicing. Exercise (especially cardio) has proven extremely beneficial for sleep for many, and the benefits of cardio on the brain are countless. I recommend trying melatonin, mindfulness, and cardio for about 30 minutes early enough in the day.

You may also try 5-HTP after trying the other suggestions and see how that goes, it has been shown to help recover serotonin after MDMA use. But beware of it causing restlessness or anxiety.

If this insomnia is sticking around months from now I'd suggest definitely keeping at the exercise (it builds new brain cells) and look into a non GABA drug medication, such as Trazadone, Mirtazapine, low dose Seroquel, or Clonidine to help shut down your adrenaline and wakefulness but take Clonidine with extended release melatonin for sure, it can inhibit melatonin production in some people, or the brand new Belsomra, which has low addiction potential even with long term use but there is no generic yet so it can be about 100$ a month. Though there is a coupon online for like 10 free pills from the drug company that makes it, I'm sure if you search you'll find it. But don't ever take ambien/lunesta/Xanax etc. for more than a couple days in a row.

Best of luck, any questions are welcome.