I Drink to Sleep - How To Fix?

[Coquette]

Hello all - and a Happy New Year to everyone.

I find that I might be a little different than others on here. While I do like the drink a little too much, I drink mainly to sleep. My meds (Trazadone, Ambien, Lunesta, etc) just don't seem to be as effective if I'm sober. I can't remember the last time I slept sans meds and vodka.

Right now I'm on a "borrowed" script of Ambien, as I went to rehab and can't get a script from my doc since it was on the no-no list. For the past 1.5 years, I've been on Trazadone (gradually going from 50 mg to 200 mg), which helps me fall asleep but wakes me after 3-4 hours of sleep. NOTHING seems to give me a decent night's sleep. And I'm afraid to try sleeping without liquor, as screwed up as that sounds.

I've had sleep studies done, where it's been determined that a)I wake 52 times/hour from REM sleep (not necessarily waking fully) and b) there's not a whole heck of a lot they can do about it. It's just a mess, and the thing is I can't seem to find a doc who specializes in sleep abnormalities. Everyone is so quick to whip out the script pad and hope you don't come back anytime soon.

I just want to be normal....I want to be able to lead a normal life and not wake up aching for my next drink so I can go back to sleep. Any suggestions?

(I've tried therapy, exercise, yoga, baths, etc. My brain simply won't shut off. The last time I tried to sleep without liquor I was awake for 30 hours before I caved. The last time I tried to sleep without liquor AND meds, I was awake for nearly 72 hours before I found myslef in the ER, hallucinating.)

Thanks in advance for the input. And good luck to everyone here.

[nandm]

I too fight with insomia. As I am a recovering alcoholic drinking to sleep is not an option for me. My sleep problems have worsened since I got sober but as I have come to find out they are related to PTSD.

I have tried ambien but it did not help much with the sleep and left me groggy for days afterward so I flushed it. I have tried trazadone but it did not seem to do much for me. My psychiatrist finally gave me a prescription for seroquel. It helps substantially. It might be worth discussion this as an option with your physician.

Mixing alcohol with sleep medications can be quite dangerous. It is playing Russian Roulette. I would hate to see the day that you do not wake up because the combination finally caught up with you. Please reconsider the combination of sleep meds and alcohol.

Welcome to SR. Glad you are here. Please keep in touch with the boards and let us know how you are doing.

[crutch0108]

During my worst bout of drinking I was violently ill from a bug for about two days and it was pure hell. I couldn't keep down any alcohol to continue my addiction but I also couldn't sleep and put myself out of my misery. So it was a mixture of withdraw and a very bad illness. Finally I put down some shots with a couple sleeping pills and I went into this state where I was awake but more groggy than I'd ever been and in some crazy state. Very scary.

If it's a pill problem keeping you awake this won't help. But I read alot on needing alcohol to sleep and when you have a drinking problem your body forgets how to fall asleep. Even something as small as 5 or 6 beers a night can put your body into a different state where it doesn't function to sleep normally. That's why even with a small amount of alcohol you might wake up the next morning and not remember the details of a tv show you watched. It has to be conditioned over time to remember to sleep again.

[Wii]

Geeze, that Sure sounds familiar. That's how I started, I couldn't sleep.

The problem was my Life. I was in a marriage I didn't want to be in with a man I couldn't stand and had a baby I didn't want. I was very young and STUPID. I was raped by this man then forced into the marriage. EVERYTHING turned out HORRIBLY and it ruined my life.

That was 38 years ago so I have some perspective on the whole thing now. It was a disaster.

[pumkin]

hi
my husband has the same issue
he had tried self healing techniqe , Reiki and he is quite satisifed
he now falls a sleep during the day
ıt is totally different than Yoga, yoga is more into mediation and the healing of mind and reiki is the self healing of organs and well being
ı suggest you try and see

[seriallogic]

I think that the sleep medication isnt really helping much becuase its trading apples for pears. I think the only way to get back to normal sleep is to stop it all. I know you will have to suffer for a while, but eventually your body and mind can/will repair itself.

[best]

Originally Posted by Coquette

(I've tried therapy, exercise, yoga, baths, etc. My brain simply won't shut off. The last time I tried to sleep without liquor I was awake for 30 hours before I caved. The last time I tried to sleep without liquor AND meds, I was awake for nearly 72 hours before I found myslef in the ER, hallucinating.)

How about trying... exercise your butt off so you are tired at the end of the day and only take the pills "your" Dr ordered and no alcohol at all.
Your playing a dangerous game. Mixing pills that are very addictive and alcohol could be what had you go to the ER when you tried cold turkey for a day.

With no sleep I drag my butt all day.
With no sleep and alcohol ..I drag my butt and feel like crap.
My choice is without alcohol.
My Dr won't write me a RX for the sleep aids because they are addictive. He won't write them for anyone, not just me.

No matter what you do... You need talk it over with your Dr and let the Dr know "ALL" that you take. Who knows...maybe the mixing of the different drugs counter act one another and that could be part of the problem.

Talk it over with your Dr...truthfully.

[AbsentFriend]

My boyfriend - recovering in NA, clean for over a year - takes a VERY low dose (15 mg, I think) of an antidepressant at bedtime. The dose is too low to actually ACT as an antidepressant, but it's enough to help him "shut off his mind" enough to fall asleep. And they're NOT addictive.

I was once in a lot of pain from a freak injury and couldn't sleep because of it. We both have asthma, so it's not really safe for either of us to take Benadryl (or anything else that depresses the central nervous system). And I'm always hesitant to put things in my body that haven't been prescribed to me or researched by me, even OTC meds and supplements. But I was in enough pain that I eventually agreed to try one of his antidepressants. I fell asleep easily, despite the pain, with no side effects or grogginess.

[marcuswr]

The only thing that has worked consistantly for me is SleepMD. It's supposed to be all natural which made me suspicious at first, but it seems to do the trick. Slept the last 2 nights in a row without having to drink and it only took about 30 minutes or less to actually fall asleep.

It's available at K/Wal-Mart, 7-11, Loblaws, GNC and a few other places. Google it to find out more.

[soidog]

I became an alcoholic precisely because I could not sleep without getting boozed up. Most of my stress was work related, as I have a pretty high pressure job. Sounds to me like you have tried most of the usual remedies. Exercise has been a tremendous help for me personally. The only other thing that I could add that hasn't been stated so far in this thread is that when I finally quit and tried to sleep sans alcohol, I did it at a time when I knew work stress was at its lowest, and that helped to gradually "break me in."

[Hazel83]

I have the same problem.Before I started drinking,I used to take 1or2 advil pm,and it worked like a charm.Now on the nights that I dont drink,I can take 4 advils,and toss and turn for 2 hours before I go to sleep.Very hard to stop drinking when alcohol is the only thing that will make you sleep.Also the advil has started giving me strange and graphic nightmares.anyone else ever take advil pm and expeirence this?

[aldo1980]

i'm surprised nobody has mentioned yet that the quality of alcohol induced sleep is bad and lacks certain elements that only occur in normal sleep (something to do with the rems or something, i don't know).

i relapsed after 6 years because i could hear my neighbours f**king night and day and i couldn't sleep. so i started drinking myself to sleep everynight. that was when i went mad.
now i don't drink anymore and i don't have good sleep. i'm ssooo stressed. i have a 24/7 panic attack. it won't go away anymore. but i'm not drinking and i'm not on medications. the lack of sleep doesn't worry me. nobody's ever died from not sleeping and i know that whenever i will become really tired my body will just catch up and sleep for as long as it needs to.

[least]

I've been told that melatonin is a natural safe substance that helps get you to sleep. Worth a try.