Please Help Me Sleep!

[madriley]

I have resigned myself to this way of thinking: Every night that I can not sleep is a night that I am giving back to myself in the future for getting the drugs out of my system. So, I am going to repeat this to myself tonight and hopefully I don't go crazy! Thanks!

[Sugah]

I have this most excellent Timex alarm clock. It has a sleep timer with ocean sounds, bullfrogs & a running creek, and wind chimes. I hit the button, and it plays for 59 minutes. I only use it at my apartment in the city when hubby's not next to me (his snoring has the same effect). I have a really hard time going to sleep in a strange place (and this place is still strange, believe you me), but since I started using it, I have yet to hit the button for a second cycle. That, hot baths/showers, valerian root when necessary (melatonin gives me a headache if I don't get at least six hours sleep, which I rarely ever do), scented candles, no scary movies before bed, reading....

I used to be an insomniac regardless whether I was using, getting clean or clean. Now, I try to work on my relaxation with the same dedication that I put into my recovery.

Are you eating a healthy diet? And not too close to bedtime?

Peace & Love,
Sugah

[Latte]

I took Trazadone as needed for the first few months. I didn't want to abuse it...there was really no reason. My addictionologist actually perscribed it. Out of the 90 pills he gave me I still have 80 of them. Like I said, I didn't want or need to abuse it.

It is not addicting and I could still wake up with kids if I needed to.

[madriley]

Thanks Latte. I have been prescribed Trazadone, Buspar and Lunesta for sleep disorders (I have always had a hard time sleeping but not like this). For some reason I have a very high tolerance for sleep aids, they seem to have no effect. I have never had a problem abusing them I was only drawn to the drugs that gave me a boost, I guess that's at least one addiction I don't have to worry about.

So far today I have exercised for an hour, danced with kids for an hour and we just came in from cleaning up the back yard. I am trying to completely tire out my body and mind, when I am tired enough I guess the sleep will come.

[Latte]

Someone on my other board said something about Magnesium. I don't know much about it because I've never needed it. Magnesium and Calcium together maybe. I'll be back later and look it up.

Kiddo1 (10) has a concert tonight.

[madriley]

Thanks again Latte! You are a fountain of information! Tomorrow I will get both and see what happens, I have not tried them so it can't hurt right? Tonight I picked up some Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea. I just had a cup with honey and I feel tired but I think I will have another and do some breathing and music before I attempt to go to bed. I am trying not to think about it, yeah right I already have OCD so why not obsess over this!! Thanks again for all of your help. I hope that you have a great night!

[emmer]

Hi ... When I was going thru benzo withdrawal I had many weeks of darn near no sleep
( 1 hr -2 hrs - No hrs) so I decided to help me drift off, I would write a boring novel in my head. The novel was about a man who crashed a plane in the northern woods in the 1940's and lived off the land for many years before he finally was found.lol

Anyhow it did help me drift off. Also as someone else has mentioned ,melitonin is really helpful.
I'd stay away from sleep meds (anti/hys) can make some people excitable and of course thats no help and the sleep meds (via a script) are
just plain addictive.

A hot bath helps too.

hope this helps some... Joe

[madriley]

Thanks Joe! Do you have that novel handy so I can read it?! JK. That is a pretty good idea. I will try that also, I'm open to anything. Maybe tomorrow I will have a new story line to help you sleep!!
Sweet Dreams!
Jess

[emmer]

Can't wait to hear it !! ... Sleep tight.

[madriley]

Don't let the bed bugs bite... I know I'm overdoing it. Just trying to tire out my ol' brain....

[sunflower1776]

Originally Posted by madriley

Okay, today is day 12 for me being clean. Everything is going great except for one vital thing..... I can only sleep for about 2 hours every night. I have to be up by 6:30 to get my daughter ready and bring her to school and then I am with my son for the day. I feel bad because when morning comes I can hardly open my eyes and I am SO cranky. I have tried meditating, drinking milk, velarium root, showers nothing helps. Does anyone have some words of wisdom that may help me get some more sleep so I can function during the day? Thanks for your input I appreciate it!

Madriley--are you taking any types of vitamins? They may help. I'm not very good at taking them, but when I do I've always slept better for some reason. Also, try taking melatonin--it's all natural (it's naturally made by your body)...it regulates your sleep/wake cycle. You can take it at night (usually 3 mg) and within 30 minutes you're pretty tired. It's not the type of med that knocks you out cold. You just get a peaceful, restfull sleep. The good thing about it is that if you wake up in the middle of the night you can take another one without having the fear of being drugged and hung over in the morning. You can buy it anyplace vitamins are sold. Good luck!!

edit--I just read through some more posts and saw that others recommended melatonin also--did you by chance try it yet? Also, Im the same way you say you are about being immune to the effects of OTC sleeping pills--if you didn't know, most sleeping pills are made up of diphenhydramine which is the ingredient in benadryl. So if benadryl doesnt help you most OTC pills won't either. Same goes for the ingredient in Nyquil (posted by someone else on this thread). Nyquil I used to abuse because it got me high when I'd take alot of it. So, I can't take any OTC sleeping aids--not even tylenol pm or the similar. I take xanax for anxiety, so that is what I use to help me sleep at night. I don't recommend starting to take a benzo just to sleep though!!! If you decide to go the melatonin route, the best thing to do is to take it (3mg) then do something to kind of settle your mind for about 30 min--read, do a puzzle, something, then head to bed. Also, if you wake up in the middle of the night, get out of bed--don't lay in bed hopig to be able to fall back to sleep--that is one of the worst things you can do. Doctors and studies say that you'll get even less sleep if you keep yourself in bed. Get up and read or watch tv--if youlie in bed you're going to obsess about it (and you said you already have OCD!) and you will not sleep. It will happen in time, though...it does get better, I promise!

[sunflower1776]

Originally Posted by lostbutterfly

Why is that the second the alarm goes, I fall into the deepest sleep imaginable after being up all night? I should set my alarm for midnight - let's see if that works!

That is so true!! After I push "sleep" after the first alarm, I fall into the best sleep for the next 10 minutes--makes no sense and makes me crabby! Me-pills-sleep=crabby