theHomerSimpson

Hi, its just about 3 weeks for me, doing AA and therapy. 1st question is I have been smoking more and drinking lots of coffee(alternate regular and decaf) ,remember I was a high volume beer drinker. I do drink soda and water also when I have had enough coffee. I am not using coffee for the head change effect but seem to always need a beverage with me as that was what I have been used to for many years. Any opinions on that?

2nd question is about sleep. I cannot get a full nights sleep, I wake almost every 90 minutes but am able to usually get back to sleep averaging about 5-7 hours per night. When I was drinking and smoking weed I would sleep for about 8-10 hours per day but always woke up around 2AM(probably when alcohol wore off). Again, any opinions or suggestions?
Thank you very much.

Patrick

Grymt

1. no particular opinion.
2 it'll pass. Try to step towards a regular sleep time and try to be active during the day.

whiskeyman

Good morning
My coffee intake went way up when I first quit. And my smoking, it was something to do. my escape to think.
And my sleeping was horrible. Like you, up all the time. remember when you had booze in your system you weren’t actually sleeping, you were passed out.

I think it took me a full year to get to the point where I can say, boy that was a good sleep.
But every once and awhile I have restless nites. That when I need to meditate or talk to my sponsor cuz I believe there is something in inside that needs to be talked about.

It gets better

tomsteve

good on ya for 3 weeks, goin to AA and getting therapy.
there could be a link between all the coffe and soda and sleep problems. Caffeine is a stimulant. It gives the central nervous system a boost, so you feel more awake and can concentrate better. For some people, caffeine causes overstimulation, resulting in restlessness and a racing pulse. Too much caffeine before bed can cause irritability, anxiety, upset stomach and muscle tremors. If you already suffer from anxiety or insomnia, caffeine may exacerbate the problems.
ya may want to stop caffeine consumption 4-6 hours before bedtime.

Kawboy

I constantly need to have something to drink (even while I was drinking alc). I limit my mornings to coffee (except for the rare occasion), then switch to tea (green & white) in the afternoon and evenings. I'm a big tea fan so I've got many flavors/blends to mix it up. I found that drinking seltzer worked well for replacing those cans/bottles of hoppy suds.

RE: sleep, you may want to cut the coffee from your mid-late evenings. Try switching to herbal tea or seltzer during that time frame. Not sure how you feel about sleep aids, but a kid's dose (12.5 mg) of Benadryl or Zzzquil (same thing) knocks me out for the night with no medicine head feeling in the morning.

Pixienottipsy

I think that what you are going through is perfectly normal. The first few weeks after I quit drinking I was drinking gallons of coffee and smoking like a chimney. I have just over two months now, and I have given up coffee entirely. I am also down to a pack every 2 1/2 days. I think you're going to be just fine. Your sleep situation seems normal too. It will definitely get better.Everything will.

Patsfan

If you really like always having a beverage try to make as many of them as you can be water Use the flavor packets if you want, or that MIO stuff... 2 things: One - I echo everyone else above me, try to not have so much caffeine (don't forget about the caffeine in soda) before bed. Two: You didn't mention it, but do you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? Sounds like you are drinking an awful lot of liquid. You might try to cut back on the liquids a couple hours before bed.

I think eventually, your sleep will get better...your body is just reacting to this new way of life.

BEST OF LUCK!

theHomerSimpson

Thanks for replies. I am sensitive to caffeine. I try not to have any coffee after 3 or 4PM and only drink caffeine free diet sodas, and at least 1 wake up is to relieve my bladder. Maybe I am getting to bed to early(around 8pm) because I get up at 6AM so as to be ready if a job comes my way, dont want to be in a bad late sleeping habit.

I really need to quit smoking but not sure if that would be trying to do too much all at once, but I also think it may be good time to quit since I am not 'comfortable' yet from getting sober, not too sure about what to do there.

Patsfan

Thehomersimpson - a friend of mine, who is a RA, is also a smoker. He has 4 months under his belt at this time. One of the reasons he relapsed last time was trying to do too much all at once - quitting drinking and smoking at the same time. It was just too much for him. Not saying that will be the case with you, but maybe you want to give your sobriety a little longer than 3 weeks before giving up cigarettes? Maybe you could try to cut down a little each week instead of going cold turkey. Just a thought. GOOD LUCK on your journey.

laurie6781

One step at a time Patrick, lol

First the bad sleeping. It will take time for your body to learn how to actually sleep again instead of passing out. I used to get so pizzed at the peeps in AA when they would say

"no one dies from lack of sleep", lol

and they were correct. Slowly my sleeping patterns got a lot better.

As to quitting smoking right now??? Well I would not suggest it, but it is your decision.

How about getting some good step work and recovery under your belt and revisiting the quitting smoking at say 9 months to a year sober??

Have you found a sponsor yet?

I am so happy for you that you are at the 3 week mark!!!

Love and hugs,

hiho

One of the things a lot of people don't know about caffeine is that it has a really long half life in the body - eight hours. So if you have a coffee at say 2pm then there is half that caffeine in your system at 10pm. If you add up a few coffees over the day then you have enough caffeine in your system overnight to mess up sleep. The same goes for nicotine.

I think a lot of us early non drinkers go for the coffee and cigarettes in a big way because we are fixing up brain chemistry. Caffeine and nicotine raise dopamine in the brain, which is what alcohol used to do. That high, talkative stage of getting drunk is the dopamine at work.

Slowly taper off the regular coffee and cut back on the cigarettes if you can. I'm doing the same thing (6 weeks sober).
I wish you the very best!

oakwood

Can't comment much on the coffee, etc.

Sleep - I agree, this is pretty normal and it will pass in time. Google can be your friend with this; there are many herbal remedies that may help with sleep.

Spirit08

I'm sober 4 years and still drink coffee and smoke ciggies to excess!

theHomerSimpson

I slept better yesterday, I think it was the coffe,I didnt know it stayed in system so long. Thanks
The cigs need to wait,too much too fast equals failure for a guy like me.

Patrick