Sleep Disorder After Being Clean For Months

[aac]

I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the right place. I'm not sure if it belongs in TDS or Other Drugs, but I figured people in TDS might have more experience with sobriety issues. Feel free to move it if it's not TDS material.

I've been clean for almost nine months now. About a month or so ago my old roommate got out of jail after being in there for a year and a half. It caused a lot of anxiety - mainly overreacting to having to meet up with her/face her and give her all her stuff back. I had nothing to do with her incarceration but I felt really guilt for a long time about the way everything went down between my roommates (one basically turned on the other).

All the anxiety (I had thought that's what it was at least) lead to me developing insomnia. I'd stay up for hours just obsessing over things that had happened, over having to see her, etc. Eventually I did meet up with her to give her all her stuff and I had assumed that'd make the anxiety/insomnia go away. It didn't.

I still can't sleep and I still will lay in bed for hours obsessing over stuff. It's like I need to just shut my brain off to get some sleep. I've missed class over this and not getting sleep in general just causes me to overreact to everyday things and be pretty emotional. Bottom line is I need to sleep.

Been seeing a pysch for a little over a year. We've tried trazadone (which didn't do anything) and now seroquel which knocks me out but has horrible side effects. I can't get up in the morning when taking seroquel... it makes me incredibly groggy. The psych's response to that was to just lower the seroquel dose which hasn't helped. She doesn't want to put me on anything I can abuse (which I understand) but surely there has to be other options??

I've tried exercising. All that seems to do is make my body tired but I still can't "shut off my brain" at night. I've tried forcing myself to get up early without sleep or just not sleeping at all in hopes I'd fall asleep the next night at a decent time/restart my sleep schedule. It doesn't work.

Has anyone tried meditation for sleep? Has anyone found a solution for insomnia with medicine that doesn't give you horrible side effects?

Thanks.

 

[villian]

diet (cut caffeine and sugar)/meditation/exercise/regular sleep schedule (get out of bed at the same time even if you get no sleep and go to bed at the same time even if you aren't tired)

it doesn't just start working one day it is a gradual process.. you might want to consider getting off the seroquel all together if you aren't getting any benefit from it because it isn't helping your natural sleep restore.. I used to take seroquel as well and any effective dose for sleep ( at least 100mg) would leave me with that hours long hangover the next morning

I'm the the same boat and I completely empathize with you. I'm lucky to get a good nights sleep once a week..

phenibut can work in the short term but it is nothing more then a band-aid and it will stop working as well..

 

[aac]

diet (cut caffeine and sugar)/meditation/exercise/regular sleep schedule (get out of bed at the same time even if you get no sleep and go to bed at the same time even if you aren't tired)

Thank you Villian for the reply. Several people have recommended I try meditation since my problem seems to be "shutting off my brain". Have you ever tried this? If so did you have any success? I'm not sure how one even goes about meditating, really, so any tips on that? I can google, I know, but are there any sites or any books that you can recommend that worked for you or helped you you? If not, no worries, like I said google is my friend just wondering if you had personal experience.

I empathize with you as well! Getting no sleep is horrible. I try to not take the seroquel because I don't see the point in taking something that makes me feel like I didn't sleep anyway, but after a few nights of getting extremely little to no sleep, and my emotions seem to be going haywire, I usually end up buckling and taking it just so I can get some sleep. It's definitely not a real solution for me though, and I'd like to find another way to get to some sleep, or to find a different medication that has no recreational value but wouldn't give me such nasty side effects.

Thanks again.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Hi aac, I frequently suffer from insomnia and the chronic racing-thoughts thing, and lately I have been having increasingly severe bouts of anxiety. I am an alcoholic and whenever I go sober obviously I have massive problems sleeping. My anti-insomnia artilliery consists of (all over-the-counter):
* chamomile tea
* a similar tea blend called "SleepyTime Tea", which is a mixture of chamomile, spearmint, and other herbs
* valerian root extract tablets
* melatonin tablets
(* other natural "sleep remedy" tablets from the drugstore)

Of all of the above remedies, I find that melatonin is the most effective at enabling me to sleep without the drowsiness in the morning. Even valerian root and other natural remedies that you might find at the drugstore may be really effective at inducing sleep but can make it really difficult for me to get up in the morning.

BUT the one problem I have found with melatonin is that if I am suffering from severe anxiety and mind-racing-ness, melatonin does nothing to help that. This is where the chamomile tea really helps me. If I have a few mugs of chamomile tea before bed I feel just fine, and if I couple that with 2-3 melatonin tablets I will have no issues sleeping.

So pehaps give those a try. I used to be of the opinion that pharmaceuticals were always a far superior option, but my personal experience has since proven that wrong.

In terms of the actual inability to shut your thoughts off, which I suffer from a lot as well, I honestly think that meditation could help you with this. In my personal experience it IS possible to change your pattern of thinking, and to "strengthen" your mind enough to be able to overcome the racing-thoughts when they are occurring.

 

[villian]

the book i started with is 'mindfulness in plain english' but it has some spiritual undertones. I heard '8 minute meditation' is good as well. You certainly can train your mind to stop all the chatter.. It is not easy and you have to stick with it but it works. i have a ton of ebooks about it if you want to pm im sure i have one you can relate too.

 

[Regenesis2]

i think meditiation and not medication could be great for what you are describing. using drugs for sleep can get messy quick. Do deep breathing for at least 7-8 mins. this would be more difficult at first but much better in the long run. Even herbs and supps. like melatonin can cause some weird effects. Good luck to you.

 

[aac]

the book i started with is 'mindfulness in plain english' but it has some spiritual undertones. I heard '8 minute meditation' is good as well. You certainly can train your mind to stop all the chatter.. It is not easy and you have to stick with it but it works. i have a ton of ebooks about it if you want to pm im sure i have one you can relate too.

Thanks Villian. I can't send out PMs to non-staff since I'm a greenlighter but I'll check out Mindfulness In Plain English. Any other recommendations? I don't mind spiritual undertones.

 

[aac]

Hi aac, I frequently suffer from insomnia and the chronic racing-thoughts thing, and lately I have been having increasingly severe bouts of anxiety. I am an alcoholic and whenever I go sober obviously I have massive problems sleeping. My anti-insomnia artilliery consists of (all over-the-counter):
* chamomile tea
* a similar tea blend called "SleepyTime Tea", which is a mixture of chamomile, spearmint, and other herbs
* valerian root extract tablets
* melatonin tablets
(* other natural "sleep remedy" tablets from the drugstore)

Of all of the above remedies, I find that melatonin is the most effective at enabling me to sleep without the drowsiness in the morning. Even valerian root and other natural remedies that you might find at the drugstore may be really effective at inducing sleep but can make it really difficult for me to get up in the morning.

BUT the one problem I have found with melatonin is that if I am suffering from severe anxiety and mind-racing-ness, melatonin does nothing to help that. This is where the chamomile tea really helps me. If I have a few mugs of chamomile tea before bed I feel just fine, and if I couple that with 2-3 melatonin tablets I will have no issues sleeping.

So pehaps give those a try. I used to be of the opinion that pharmaceuticals were always a far superior option, but my personal experience has since proven that wrong.

In terms of the actual inability to shut your thoughts off, which I suffer from a lot as well, I honestly think that meditation could help you with this. In my personal experience it IS possible to change your pattern of thinking, and to "strengthen" your mind enough to be able to overcome the racing-thoughts when they are occurring.

n3ophy7e, I was told that melatonin can elevate depressive thinking. I'm not sure if that has any backing to it.. I guess I should research that more before just thinking of it as fact. Thanks for your recommendations. I will definitely try them out. I could see the chamomile tea really helping me out, and it's something I wouldn't have thought of on my own, so thanks again.

 

[villian]

If you get the Sleepytime Extra tea it has chamomile and Valerian. I'm not sure about melatonins roll in depression but it certainly helps insomnia in some people.. I never got a worthwhile effect from it.

 

[n3ophy7e]

n3ophy7e, I was told that melatonin can elevate depressive thinking. I'm not sure if that has any backing to it.

I hadn't heard this before, but I too will look in to it. Thank you! I'll let you know if I come across any info regarding that.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Has anyone found a solution for insomnia with medicine that doesn't give you horrible side effects?

Yes, you just cannot take it every day, and should only take it once or twice a week at most. I am referring to a sleep medication called temazepam.

This isn't to say it will work well for you, and you could very well have side effects from it. Everyone is unique.

However, when you say "I tried exercise" - I don't think you "tried" it. You should exercise every day. This is how it helps you with sleep, when you consistently do it on a daily basis. All adults need exercise. Some people have disabilities or diseases which restrict their ability to have exercise. If you are a healthy adult, and are not a pain patient, there is really no reason you aren't getting exercise.

Just "trying it" for a few days isn't going to help you. I would say most people mean they "try it" for a day or two and if it doesn't work as quickly as Xanax does (i.e. start working within the first day) then they give up out of disappointment.

Some people have this problem despite daily exercise, so I'm not going to say that it is going to magically help you out, it is possible to exercise thoroughly, every day for a year, and still struggle with this problem.

 

[phactor]

I am sober and have to take seroquel for sleep. I am trying to taper back as it makes me groggy in the morning. Exercise helps. I also try to spend time with my dogs at night as it relaxes me. Dogs are great therapy animals. I have seen them display some unbelievable intuition when it comes to recognizing a struggling human.

I have always had sleeping problems, I remember struggling even as a young child. Its better but not perfect. I am struggling with having a roommate right now (I live in a sober living apartment with 2 other people) but I am leaving that after 5 months at the end of this month thankfully.