Insomnia

[ChemicalSmiles]

Ok so I have been going through the worst period of insomnia in my life. Ive had times like this before but never for this long.

Some background info;

Kicked heroin w/ methadone 4 years ago. Went clean off everything except marijuana and lots of alcohol. A year later picked up the opiates again and started using oxy 4 times a week for 3 years. Then I picked up a benzo habit as well.... cut back to maybe 2 days a week of opiates and 4 days a week of xanax (usually 3-5 mgs). I stopped taking an anti depressant about 3 months ago because I felt it had a few side effects and wasnt work well, or at all. I took ecstasy 6 weeks later (made sure the SSRI was completely out of my system. I took a fairly high dose. A month ago my oxy habit had picked up some (to 4 days a week like my xanax use so I cut them both out, the opies cold turkey, and I weaned down the benzos (in a quick fashion but not at a dangerous speed)... Usually marijuana will help me sleep at night but that has stopped working. After some good time away from the xanax ive started eating those not even to get fucked up, in desperation of sleep. Last night I took 75 mgs of temazepam and 5 mgs of xanax I was slightly buzzed and then smoked 2 bowls of high grade pot. This made me drowsy but all I could do was toss and turn. I couldn't believe it!!! Im starting to think depression has snuck up on me (I feel sad 5 out of 7 days a week these days) and im sure the ecstasy in Miami didnt help my situation..... Ive had about 15 hours of sleep in 5 days.... only 4 in the last 48 hours or so..... I just took a handful of xanax and am about to commence smoking a gram of marijuana in attempts to sleep even 4 hours... just 4 would be so nice....Do you guys think depression is playing a big roll in this? I have a two week supply of anti depressants I could start taking until I get a refill (personally I want to try a new one but I could talk to the doc at the next appointment and take paxil till then...) Im not sure but i'll take any advice.

PS; benadryl and valerian root have not helped a bit.

 

[AfterGlow]

1. stop taking recreational drugs
2. accept that you will suffer poor sleep for some unknown period of time
3. start a regular program of daily exercise
4. eat healthy
5. do not give in to the temptation to take any recreational drugs
6. repeat steps 1-5

 

[ChemicalSmiles]

1. stop taking recreational drugs
2. accept that you will suffer poor sleep for some unknown period of time
3. start a regular program of daily exercise
4. eat healthy
5. do not give in to the temptation to take any recreational drugs
6. repeat steps 1-5

agree with all but I refuse to give up pot. I only smoke half a gram a day when im not trying to smoke myself into sleep......

 

[ChemicalSmiles]

trying sonata for the first time today.....

 

[skinnylegz]

I also suffer from insomnia and I took a sleep-aid the other night called Unisom and to my surprise, it actually worked. It said take 1 but I knew that 1 would not really help so I took 3 of the small gel-capsules and I was knocked out within 20 minutes. Slept all the way through the night too and woke up at 6am and then keep dozing on and off from 6 to about 10 or so. I don't know if you've tried this yet, but I was very skeptical after trying every other OTC sleep aid but this one, to my surprise, actually worked.

 

[ChemicalSmiles]

Isn't Unisom almost indentical or identical to benadryl???? Benadryl doesnt work for me

 

[n3ophy7e]

Hey CS, I really feel your pain man. I'm experiencing anxiety and insomnia at the moment as well. A lot of the time insomnia can be primarily caused by anxiety related to the process of sleeping and the pressure that builds up around needing sleep. I.e. the more time that elapses where we haven't had adequate sleep, the more anxious we get, therefore the less likely we are to relax and allow ourselves to sleep.

First things first:
*reduce your caffeine and sugar intake, particularly within the last 4 hours leading up to bed-time (if you're having trouble sleeping you should not have ANY caffeine or other stimulants at all)
*limit your TV and computer usage before bedtime
*use your bed ONLY for sleeping, i.e. don't sit/lie in bed using your laptop or watching TV, ever
*stretch or do some yoga before bed to relax your body and allow yourself to unwind

It's all about relaxation, and winding down, and preparing your body for rest. Sometimes it's unreasonable for us to expect our body to just shut itself off. We need to help it along in the relaxation process.

I must say, it sounds like you're quite dependent on medications/substances to alter your cognitive states. Would you agree, or not? Are you getting any therapy at the moment? If not, have you had any therapy in the past?

If you have problems such as depression and anxiety which keep rearing their ugly heads, it might be worth getting some therapy to help you conquer those problems in the long-term, rather than just trying to get a quick-fix solution with meds/drugs.

Let me know what you think

 

[skinnylegz]

Isn't Unisom almost indentical or identical to benadryl???? Benadryl doesnt work for me

It has another chemical in it, Doxylamine succinate. I think this is also in NyQuil and both Unisom and NyQuil provide more of a knockout effect than Benadryl ever has imo. Diphenhydramine by itself does not help me sleep either.

If you are looking to fix your sleep patterns without chemicals, then I suggest listening to n3o :]

 

[Captain.Heroin]

trying sonata for the first time today.....

I would just take Wellbutrin if you need an antidepressant (and yes, depression can play a part with insomnia, so can ADHD - which can account for depression in some people, and other disorders), and Atarax for sleep (hydroxyzine hcl).

If you find benzos addictive, then I wouldn't even recommend Sonata or any other Z drugs. Temazepam by itself is most ideal for sleep if you don't need to take benzos every day (I don't though I do have occasional insomnia).

PS Don't take large amounts of benzos, nor benzos at night (except for temazeapm) because they will interrupt your REM sleep, causing you to feel groggy when you wake up, or to sleep in way too late.

I would suggest getting exercise daily, eating the right kinds of food and the right amounts of it, drinking plenty of water, and maintaining good sleep hygiene. I tried all of these things and still needed temazepam, until I got ADHD meds. Now I could live completely without benzos. %) I choose not to because I still have immense anxiety sometimes but I haven't taken temazepam in weeks.

1. stop taking recreational drugs
2. accept that you will suffer poor sleep for some unknown period of time
3. start a regular program of daily exercise
4. eat healthy
5. do not give in to the temptation to take any recreational drugs
6. repeat steps 1-5

2 - I would not tell someone this. I am able to avoid insomnia entirely with the right changes in my life.

I also suffer from insomnia and I took a sleep-aid the other night called Unisom and to my surprise, it actually worked. It said take 1 but I knew that 1 would not really help so I took 3 of the small gel-capsules and I was knocked out within 20 minutes. Slept all the way through the night too and woke up at 6am and then keep dozing on and off from 6 to about 10 or so. I don't know if you've tried this yet, but I was very skeptical after trying every other OTC sleep aid but this one, to my surprise, actually worked.

Yeah, doxylamine succinate works much better than diphenhydramine in general IMO. However I still think hydroxyzine is the best unless you need "very sedating" sleep (aka if you are really upset and need to pass out to avoid mental anguish).

 

[unsettled]

In a perfect world dealing with perfect people I think that the first post is the best advice, but even then it doesn't always work. I've suffered from insomnia for as long as I can remember. I would try to limit your drug use to minimal amounts and try and stick to a regular schedule. Cut out any drug that isn't absolutely necessary.

I can't remember all the things you said you were taking but if you're on Xanax I would try and switch to something with a longer half life, or add something with a longer half life. When I was just on Xanax I'd always wake up after 4 hours in mild benzo withdrawal.

For me personally Ambien works the best when I take it at the same time every night right when I go to sleep. Lunesta worked well the few times I tried it as well.

I think Doxylamine works way better than Diphenhydramine, which I can hardly even use anymore unless I'm on a lot of opiates.

I've been taking Ambien nightly for years and then a month ago my doc stopped prescribing it to me and it's really fucked up my sleep schedule, as in I don't get much more than a few hours of sleep a night. I'm seeing a Psychiatrist this week and hopefully she'll put me back on it, I know it sucks to rely on something to sleep but it's far superior to being sleep deprived every day.

I don't have a regular work schedule, sometimes I work till 3am, and sometimes I have to be ready to go at 8am so I've always relied on something to sleep, I'd imagine it would be easier if my work hours were the same every day.

 

[Sweet P]

I'm a chronic insomniac, meaning I can't sleep naturally and haven't been able to for years. Forget benzos and Z-drugs like zopiclone and zolpidem - you'll just become tolerant, and eventually dependant upon them. I now take 100mg's of Seroquel each night, about an hour before I'm ready for bed, and it works like a charm. It is very sedating (you'll feel like a zombie the next day until you become used to them) but at least it isn't addictive. I get a good 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.

 

[Detrevni]

Before reading your post I'd just like to say that coincidentally I have been up all night and decided to get back on bluelight as i also have bouts of insomnia so i know what you're going through. It's 5a.m. at this point in time. Trying reading up on sleep tips if you already haven't. Good luck and hopefully it'll straighten itself out.

Oh and as far as advice I think everyone else pretty much summed up your options. The one's not involving meds, or at least the least amount of non-addictive meds would be the ideal way to go.