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Misc Can't sleep

suessmayr

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
1,067
Location
Sydney, Australia
I was on 60mg Avanza until about 4 days ago, at which point I began reducing my dose. Last night I stopped entirely. This was all sanctioned by my doctor. I start Wellbutrin today.

I barely slept a wink last night. I have some Serepax (oxazepam) but I really didn't want to use it and it lingers into the next day and makes me feel all weird and stupid. I tried to sleep at 10pm with 25mg of doxylamine succinate. At 2am I was still wide awake and had 30mg oxazepam. I drifted off around 4am into a really bad sleep.

Given that I really don't want to use oxazepam, is there anything else I can possibly combine with the doxylamine to help me get to sleep? Could I mix it with promathezine or diphenhydramine? I exercise daily, for what it's worth. Sleep will probably be even harder tonight because I hear Wellbutrin is stimulating.
 
Yes I exercise daily. I saw a GP today and got some temazepam (just a few day's worth) so I'm going to try that with the doxylamine tonight.
 
I'd kill for temazepam or any other benzo besides alrpaz in that case...

I use diphenhydramine every single night to fall asleep...I usually take 150mg.
 
Temazepam is weak.

Temazepam is definitely not weak. It's one of the most highly abused benzos around and, in my experience, one of the most euphoric.

Anyway. I think I need to give up on the idea of not using any benzos during this transition: last night I took a maximum dose of doxylamine and 20mg temazepam but only slept from 12am-4am. I then took another 20mg temazepam at 4am and slept from 5am-9am. I'm nervous about using benzos daily and (relatively) heavily like this but I don't know what else I can really do.
 
Maybe the stimulation from wellbutrin is interfering with quality sleep?

I'd ask the doctor for a lower dosage, or ask if a different "slow release" mechanism might be better than the one you're on now?

I would make sure to get plenty of exercise during the daytime. How much walking do you get in per day?
 
Maybe the stimulation from wellbutrin is interfering with quality sleep?

I'd ask the doctor for a lower dosage, or ask if a different "slow release" mechanism might be better than the one you're on now?

I would make sure to get plenty of exercise during the daytime. How much walking do you get in per day?

I think it's a combination of the Wellbutrin and the cessation of the Avanza. I do 30-40mins of cardio daily and on most days also do weights for about an hour. I have to walk around at uni but I couldn't say how much walking exactly.

I'm on (I think) the lowest dose of Wellbutrin already (150mg). And I think there is only one formulation here in Australia.
 
^^ Take no notice of him seussmayr.


Anyway, what time of the day are you taking the wellbutrin?? The earlier you take it the less stimulated you'll be at night. So could you take it at, like, 7 or 8am??
And C.H is right also, after being on wellbutrin for a week or two, you'll get a tolerance to the stimulatory effects so the insomnia won't be as bad.
 
I saw my shrink and he gave me stilnox CR tablets with 12.5 zolpidem. STILNOX WTF. I had 2 last night a few hours after some beers and when I woke up all the furniture in my room was out of place. And there were little scrunched up bits of paper between all the furniture and the walls. I remember (dreaming about) trying to talk to some sort of creature that I was sure was between the walls and the furniture, and I was trying to feed it bits of paper. This is hilarious.
 
I mentioned this in another insomnia thread today, and believe me I really feel for you as a long time sufferer of insomnia, sleep hygiene is very important for getting yourself in to a cycle of natural, healthy sleep. The general idea is just things like changing out of your street clothes in to your underwear or pajamas, having a regular bedtime, a comfortable, dark, and quiet place to sleep, using your bed only for sleep and sex, having a relaxing pre-sleep routine, not caffeine in the evening, and things like that. I also mentioned that something like keeping a journal can help your put down the thoughts racing through your mind as you try to sleep in a notebook and out of your head. Also as you mentioned, being active during the day is very important. I recommend using whatever sleep aid works for you in the short term while you work on your bed time routine. Medicating sleep issues long term is a bad idea for most people, try to use sleep medications as a temporary tool to establish your sleep cycle rather than a permanent crutch. Sometimes people with psychological issues or drug problems might need to use sleep medications for a longer period of time, but the goal is to take them as needed and try to get yourself some natural sleep. Doxylamine succinate helped me very much as far as knocking me out for the night, but the right medication for you might be different. If things are really rough I would try to get a system down where you focus really hard on sleep hygiene and relaxation techniques, there's a lot of good material on insomnia on the web, and use a medication that works for a couple days, and then try a few days without even if they are sleepless. Eventually your body will start to know, "this is the time I get my sleep", and you should hopefully be able to sleep naturally through the night. Sometimes the hardest thing about insomnia is the fear of not sleeping keeping you awake, and a good medication for a few days can help break that cycle. I'm recovering a long term heroin addiction and a few years of working third shift with a very erratic sleep cycle in which I would stay awake for days on end when I was dopesick or on a crack binge, and I would sleep once I had enough benzos, opiates, or alcohol in my system that I could pass out. It was very difficult after getting fired from my job and getting on soboxone and staying sober from other drugs to establish a normal sleep cycle, but I'm happy to report that I can now go to sleep at night naturally when I'm tired, and I'm sure that you will too if you put in the effort. Good luck and sweet dreams, I'm pullin' for ya bro!
 
I woke up today with a feeling of dread. I checked my sent folder and found I had alot of apologising to do. Stilnox is making me totally obscene. I have no memory of any of this stuff. I sent the most absurd shit to virtually every girl friend of mine. Tonight I'm going to lock myself in my room and take my phone apart.
 
As a fellow sufferer my advice is "give it time". Some months ago I got off opiates and I am just now able to sleep 8-9 hours continuously. I wouldn't sleep for days at one point and while it wasn't great I was alright.

IMO ambien is a misunderstanding. It just feels wrong. If its making you do stuff you can't control at all that's really dangerous. What if you do something much worse that you have already? I say drop it. For me xanax works the best, the only benzo that can make me sleep. But it takes like 6-8mg for that so I don't use it. And it has no side effects when used rarely.

In time you'll sleep just fine. How ever long it takes, take the least dangerous way. It's better to not sleep that to not know WTF you're doing.
 
Is it though? I don't handle it well. I feel like I'm losing my mind and feel so alone and just can't take it. Maybe I'm just a pussy.

I think I'll give myself a maximum of 10 days with the zolpidem/temazepam and hope that's not enough to put me back in dependence.
 
Eeeek, stilnox!!
Maybe only take 1 tablet, and NO alcohol, and see how that goes.
 
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