Insomnia

[sickk&tired]

Hi-

Its 3am and I can't sleep. I conked out at 11pm thanks to some sleeping pills prescribed by my doctor (trazondone....part anti depressant, part pill) but inexplicably woke up at 2am for no good reason. I lay there for an hour trying to will myself back to sleep; obviously it didn't work.

So here I am; because if I don't do something I'm going to a) go nuts, and b) take more than the prescribed Rx; which I don't want to do. The last thing i need is to trade in one addiction for another.

Has anyone else experienced random insomnia 2 months into sobriety? This blows. I have to get up for work in a few hours, and i KNOW i'm going to be exhausted. But the evil cycle is that I stress out about not getting enough sleep, and then I lay there trying to sleep, getting more and more stressed out that I can't do it. ANd all the things i worry about during the day (relationships, my health, work, etc) also keep me wide awake.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H! This sucks so much. THanks for listening.

[Guilty Spark]

Do you get any exercize? I used to have bad insomnia when I worked as a hotel night-desk clerk because I didn't get any exercise. I ended up quiting that job and getting a job that required more physical work...and then I slept like a baby.

Seriously, if you can't sleep, try doing some hard exercize; sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, run around the block a few times, whatever. You should sleep like a baby after that...and it's good for you...

I don't know if that's your problem - it was my problem when I had insomnia.

[sickk&tired]

Hi Guilty!

I had no idea anyone else was up =).

I do get excersice, at least i did today. I went to the gym for a cardio kickboxing class that was intense. But I might just go running around the block for awhile if i don't fall asleep soon :-).

[lulu70]

Hey hon'. I hope you don't get this for a while because you are SLEEPING! Anyway. Just wanted to let you know that I have heard many people say they have problems with insomnia in early sobriety. My sleep patterns pretty much leveled out after my first month, but I have been plagued by horrible nightmares in the last few months. Hope you get through the day okay. At least its Friday!!!!

Hugs--

[justine]

I am 6 mths clean from Herion and Meth and I still cant sleep without some aid.I dont know what the answer is but after awhile (after the craziness of sleep deprivation) your body just gets used to it and soldiers on.I feel for you as it is the worst thing to struggle with.I wouldnt wish Insomnia on anyone.It sucks big time!!!
Keep Strong and try to cope without the medication as this will cause larger problems for you.
Good Luck!!!!

[mill]

Only way I can ever actually sleep is if I subject my body to brutal workouts and just physically beat myself up untill my body says "that's it boys, I'm done". I know it sounds simple, but working out is the only thing that even remotely keeps me sane I think. Give it a shot.

Mill

[splendra]

I used Melatonin to help me sleep. I only had to take it for about 3 weeks before my body got used to its new schedual. You can get it at health food stores....

[tryinagain]

My doctor put me on meds to treat the underlying problems of my 20+ years of alcohol abuse. Slept like a baby for about the first month. One day, I missed my pills and not wanting to mess up the schedule I decided to just continue as normal the following day. Guess what...symptoms just like alc withdrawal. I weened myself off the pills as well and I may only get an hour or two of sleep a night but I am no longer on medication or alcohol so at least it is honest sleep. Warm milk, vitamins, exercise, reading, writing lists of things to be thankful for to calm my worries, you name it, I will try it as long as it is not a drug. I got about 5 hours sleep last night and feel great. Keep trying until you find something that works for you but I would stay away from the drugs...that is just my opinion.
Best Wishes,
Roy

PS..Since I had plenty of time on my hands due to not sleeping, I have found out that you can help yourself in many ways by modifying your diet. Bananas contain potassium which aids in muscle pain and paranoia, certain poultry contain natural sleep aids, etc. Red meat (although necessary for the iron to produce red blood cells) in excess can hinder the sleep pattern...just do a couple of yahoo or google searches on nutrition and whatnot and try it out, some is just hot air but others work very well. Sure beats taking a prescribed mixture that has things most cannot pronounce much less have a clue of where it came from or is made of.

[michski]

Insomia was a real pain in the butt for me too! I loved to drink myself to sleep and it took me a few months to sort my sleep pattern out. I replaced booze with calming teas for the first year of my sobriety. "Stash" teas makes one called "Nighty Nite" that is fantastic.. harder to find though. I mostly drank a Celestial Seasons tea called "Tension Tamer" There is an "Extra" Tension Tamer tea that has valerian root (natural valium) in it that really put me to sleep fast. Also a "Sleepytime" with valerian and St Johns Wort. Make sure you get some good exercise every day! It does the trick better than anything else besides pills.. and I don't recommend taking any kind of sleeping pill for very long in early sobriety. You've got a whole bunch of real good advice here.. hope it helps you out some! Sweet Dreams!

[Time2Surrender]

If your Doc prescribed you Trazadone chances are he also put you on Zoloft too?Zoloft causes insomnia.I am not taking meds this time.And I hope I can stay off them.For some people its ok.I get more out of the gym than anything.Also proper diet.Another recommendation is a juicer.You would be surprised how healthy this is,and how good it makes you feel.Hang in there.

[mill]

Chop wood. Spent a chunk of the weekend chopping the hardest wood I have ever seen in my life, once again, body totally worn out, slept like a rat. Feel like crap during the day still though.


Dan