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Help with sleepers, which ones?

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xuser

Greenlighter
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
34
Location
Melbourne
Hi all, my partner is a recovering heroin addict and has severe sleep issues because of this. He has had a hard time adjusting to sober life even though it has been almost 5 years since he used daily and about 2 years since he really used at all. He does take valium 5mg a couple of times a day for his anxiety (due to being straight) but he is still having issues with getting and staying asleep. It's gotten so bad it's borderline insomnia.

His GP has prescribed him several sleeping tablets including Seroquel which made him hallucinate. And most make him feel hungover and unable to work.
Obviously he would prefer something that has minimal addiction rates (is that even possible!?)

So anyone have any ides or experiences? Recommendations?
 
I can't comment on the vast majority of sleeping aids-the only one I've taken is doxylamine. It was okay for a short term measure, but I found that due to the long half-life it made me considerably drowsy and spaced out the next day. Seemed to defeat the purpose!

Has your partner considered melatonin? It is a hormone that helps regulate the body's cicardian rhythm. I used it in the past and believe it was of some assistance. I don't recall any negative effects.

From memory, only the homeopathic version is available in Australia. To obtain the 'real deal' you most probably will need to order it from overseas.

All the best; I have had sleep issues for years...and certainly understand it isn't an easy problem to crack!
 
mirtazapine, it is really effective but left me a zombie during the day. it is also an antidepressent (worked for me), and non addictive.
 
Depending upon his anxiety he could try not taking the valium all day then dropping 10mg before bed. His tolerance may still be a factor but most people should get to sleep. The problem is using benzo's to sleep is a short term measure. Tolerance and dependance develop quickly so it is only delaying his problem.

Personally I embrace insomnia when I do suffer from it. Rather than sit in a darkened room, praying for sleep I get up and use the extra hours of my day for something positive. I don't mean become a zombie in front of the television but actually using this time for productive things you need to do. Even doing as many push ups until you collapse exhausted can sometimes help. You then push through the exhaustion until you literally collapse the end of the next day. I almost consider the hours awake as a bonus.

People get up tight about not getting 8hr a night but some people function fine on a lot less than that. Eventually even one or two decent nights a week are enough to recharge your body. it can be almost mind over matter at times.
 
fully agreed with busty there.

i suffer from chronic insomnia and unfortunately dwindle all the extra hours i have on useless, mindless shit at the moment because of an acute spike in my overall pain and a numbness down my right arm (again) so certain exercise is out of it. winter time especially has me cramped up and feeling all aches and pains no matter how minor; i wake so suddenly.

i've somewhat traded the benzo affliction for an anti-psychotic (risperidone) through nights; it's the first time i've had proper results from any of the anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, maoi's, etc. i'm not saying go take risperidone but it's something you may consider discussing with your doctor if all else fails.

i'm one of those pricks where if i don't get 12 hours sleep i feel cheated so you can imagine my mood when i'm running on a weeks worth of 3-4 hours/night:|
 
Whoa 12 hours of sleep? I find if I get too much sleep I'm more sleepy (go figure :P)

Sleeping meds aren't the answer in this case I don't think.

There's lots of things he could try. I used to have horrible insomnia in high school, my school ran a bunch of sleep info sessions and the stuff I learnt helped me big time.

1. - Don't go to bed until you're feeling sleepy. (main thing that helped me) If you still feel wide awake after half an hour, get out of bed..don't just lay there getting worked up about how you can't sleep. Obvious but effective.

2. - Make your bedroom a kind of sacred place - only for sleeping. Don't watch TV or use the computer in the bedroom, this stuff keeps your mind stimulated. Minimize distractions.

3. - Set a wake up time every morning. If your partner has been out of work it's probably way too easy to lay around all day. Around 7 or 8am is pretty reasonable. Even if he slept 5 minutes during the entire night - doesn't matter, get up at that same time. Have a minimum bed time of about 10pm, don't sleep before this or get into the habit of taking naps.

4. - It helped me to picture going to sleep as catching a wave...as soon as you start feeling sleepy go to bed and catch the sleep wave. If you miss it, another one will come around in an hour or so. The 'wave' is a feeling of sedate sleepiness, it only comes around if you're relaxed.

5 - Get some exercise during the day, get some sun. Even walking or gardening is good for a start.

6 - Bath before bed. Your body temperature slightly rises while in the bath, but what makes you sleepy is when you get out and it starts to slowly fall.

7 - Solitaire. With playing cards not on the computer.

8 - Camomile Tea just smells like going to sleep for me...it's good stuff.

9 - Get rid of ticking clocks or LED lit alarm clocks in your face. Time can be distracting, I just turn my alarm clock around facing the wall.

10- Reading a book on the couch (not the bedroom) helps me chill out, but I guess some might find it too stimulating.

Lots of stuff to try. Getting him to try them out might be hard. Maybe try and get a referral to a sleep specialist if it continues to be a problem.
 
^^My mum always said that reading a book is the best way to tire yourself out and that TV and computers are stimulating therefor not good for you within about 1-2 hours of bedtime. So your on the money Christ!

Melatonin is a good suggestion and there are a lot of tea's designed to aid in sleep, just make sure it has no caffiene in it.

Im on Seroquel and I found that after a few weeks you build a tolerance and the sleepiness the next day subsides dramatically and also acts as an anti-depressant(only taking 100-150mg) at 7:30pm every night. Ive been doing this for about 3 years and havent found anything better yet. Think I might try this melatonin though, sounds like a lot of people have had success with it.

Good luck to you and your partner :-)
 
The best sleep aids for me personally are the z-drugs zopiclone and zolpidem, without a doubt they are pretty much the tablets that will reliably knock me out and never leave me feeling shitty the next day. Really though you can't take these everyday without developing a tolerance and addiction, which is a bad idea. In my mind the only sustainable long term sleep aid is cannabis, but for many people suffering from anxiety cannabis will worsen their symptoms, and really relying on any drug for sleeping is less than ideal.

The best thing your partner can probably do is get into a regular exercise routine and try go to bed at a consistent time every night. Relaxation techniques may also help. For me personally, the only times in my life where I haven't been either a bad insomniac or relied on drugs to help me sleep were the periods that I involved myself heavily in boxing/martial arts and weightlifting. When you wreck yourself with a workout or two every day sleep comes a lot easier in my experience.
 
Whoa 12 hours of sleep? I find if I get too much sleep I'm more sleepy (go figure :P)
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i'm much the same. i just like sleeping especially when i'm depressed and feel i have nothing to live for when i've got a compendium of reasons:P i'll i had near 10hrs efore waking up around 7:30 this morning in a shitty mood because it was "too early and i was still tired".

really, there just wasn't enough sun and warmth and drive to get me out of bed. coupled with fluey dopesickness, so i sucked down a joint, some risperidone and muscle relaxants, put on a few concerts while i lay in bed and drifted in and out of sleep until just now where i've just had to run to the shitter again...and check the plants.

practising proper sleep hygeine is where most people go wrong, myself included. i'm terrible at wanting to d rift off in fron of the telly or computer screen; just some kind of background noise seems necessary unless i'm already drifting off.
 
Im with busty on this one, OTC sleep aids always gave me a hangover, effecting my work. If you get sleeping pills prescribed thats just going to make the problem worse as you become dependant on them to sleep, just sit tight and one night without sleep will make the body exhausted enough to sleep. Its just a matter of getting the body in a pattern, once you achieve that your golden.

Christ makes good points and d_m second paragraph has some good tips aswell. Hope your partner gets the sleep he needs as i know how bad sleep deprivation can be.
 
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Sleeps regenerative effects have fuck all to do with how long you're actually asleep and everything to do with the REM you experience during that sleep. People can function for the rest of their lives on 2 hours sleep per day, assuming they reach REM each time and don't miss naps.
 
are you saying u can get to REM sleep, the second you close your eyes?

I highly doubt you are able to do that.

Unless, you've been practicing meditation for like the last 20 years of your life etc etc, and can change your brain's wave patterns on demand yo. Well, if you can do that, can you please show me bro? ;p

Seroquel is what I reconmend!
 
Because of our circadian rhythm our brain is more receptive to enter REM at different points of the day
There's also a study in favour of smoking Cannabis greatly increasing the amount of melatonin, which is obviously linked to this.
There are various set ups, what we do is just sleep the night away. Look up polyphasic napping man.
 
Cannabis has the completely opposite effect for me. If I smoke after 7pm I am no chance of falling to sleep easily. Weed "super charges" me and I am more likely to kick a rugby ball around for three hours or work like a banshee in the garden than sit on the sofa like a zombie. I don't get the munchies either, in fact it suppressers my appetite.
 
I've had insomnia for years, meditation just before bed helps a lot for me and seems to be more effective then any sleeping medication. I downloaded this audio online and found it the most effective "Healing Meditation Accelerate Healing and Recovery (Brain Wave Therapy)". Hope it helps.
 
When I smoked all day, every day, smoking in the morning would always kick start me with energy and so long as I kept on smoking to avoid burnout I would stay energized. Other than that, it has always been relaxing to me. Some types of weed are a lot better than others for helping you sleep, but in my experience most will help a little if you smoke enough. If I smoke just a little to moderate amount of sativa then I wouldn't say it gives me less energy, but it definately doesn't make me as relaxed/content to do not much as other buds can, smoke a bit more though and I always end up relaxed.
 
Busty St Clare said:
Cannabis has the completely opposite effect for me. If I smoke after 7pm I am no chance of falling to sleep easily. Weed "super charges" me and I am more likely to kick a rugby ball around for three hours or work like a banshee in the garden than sit on the sofa like a zombie. I don't get the munchies either, in fact it suppressers my appetite.
Click to expand...

you sure it aint meth your smokin brah? :p

jokes aside, interesting cannabis effects a select few the complete opposite of the majority..

@ OP; besides drugs, intense exercise during the day/afternoon has always helped me with insomnia.. that and an early alarm clock :p
 
WTF? I wrote a big reply to most of you last night and now it's not here?:?

Thanks guys!
He goes a bit spaz on weed so I don't think that would work. maybe that's why H was his drug of choice? lol May consider melatonin though, never heard of it, may do some research. We have tried all the traditional stuff like reading, no TV etc etc.

Busty: Using the hours is a good idea. And it may just wear him out more.

Drug-mentor: He is fairly fit and likes to work out, has all the stuff, he used to box. He has a habit of being a zombie in front of the TV so this sounds like a much better idea.

DeathDomokun: Interesting. He does nap during the afternoon sometimes, but it's usually when he's taken Valium and then had a few beers. He drives a truck for a living and sometimes I wonder how he can drive all day on a few hours sleep. Maybe this is why......

The Future: I will check it out. We are willing to try anything at this point!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Hopefully something will work and he can just get some bloody sleep! :)
 
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