TheRock

OK, I have it really bad and I mean really bad. I'm going on 26 hours of being up at this current moment. I know I'm tired, but when I lay down, I can't seem to clear my mind of things. I'm NOT thinking about drinking or anything like that. Just crazy other things such as work, weather, kids, family, etc. It just never seems to end.

Just curious since this seems to be a MAJOR side affect of quitting drinking. I'm moving into day 6 now and things are starting to calm down. All except for the insomnia part.

If anyone has had this issue, please let me know on the following:
- Do you ever get back to NORMAL
- How long does this usually last
- I DO NOT want anymore drugs like Zanax, the withdrawl symptoms are as bad as quitting drinking and I won't do that again.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John DeRocker

Nevertheless

Hello John
I think most of us have had this problem when we quit drinking. It will go away in time. I sleep better now than I ever did when I was drinking. In the mornings I was too hungover to sleep in.
I take Melatonin. It is a natural sleep aid. Any drugstore has it in the vitamin section. You should be taking vitamin B also if you aren't already. Alcohol depletes vit B.
Fred

endzoner

good morning John , were all different when it come to the lack of sleep in early recovery thing , Some take longer then others , Try Meletonin its not a drug and its not habit foring , now it wont keep you asleep but it well help you fall asleep , helping you get back on a pattern of sleep . Your body is used to being drunk to sleep now it just dont know what to do . It will pass . this is one of the hard side effects . the meletonin will shut off that brain train lite switch . take it bout 20 minutes before bedtime , mite wanna try and stay clean from coffee for a lil while or limit it to the morning hours when you get up . Meletonin can be purchased at any drug store in the vitimun section . its not dangerous , there many around here who swear by it and helped get them thu this stage of recovery . pending on the person depends on the amount . it take 2/3mg pills and works great . i so know what you mean tho bout the thoughts its like a race track .. runing from one thought ot hte next thought to the next .. not fun ... just gotta remember this WILL PASS .... huggles Endzy

TheRock

Thanks Fred. Is the Melatonin a vitamin or something like Tylenol PM?

I'm currently on B12 and have been for 18 months. I take this because of the surgery I had and they wanted to make sure that my had enough of it. I think vitamin B and B12 are the same? Correct?

TheRock

Thanks Endzoner, that's what I wanted to hear. Don't really want another habit forming drug, just something to make me go to sleep. I'm sure I will get more as time passes. I just need the first step, and from what it sounds like this does (Shutting The Brain Off) sounds like a great start.

Thanks,

JD

omegasupreme

When it comes to the B vitamins there are several, I feel they are all important so some sort of B complex might be in order. I know my entire diet needed an overhaul in the beginning. It was not high on my list of things to do, but I notice now after a short period of sobriety that how I eat affects how I feel.

CarolD

John....
Please see if this link helps

Insomnia? 42 Simple Tips to Help You Get to Sleep - Insomnia treatment, cures

however....it has nothing to do with de tox
which is where I think you are just now.
Racing thoughts are a de tox symptom.

TheRock

Thanks Carol.

aqua4017

My last time detoxing, I was up for three days straight. It was absolutely terrible, and then the next few days I slept, but it was restless. But after a week, I slept like a baby, and have ever since. Melatonin gets my vote too!

TheRock

I picked up some Melatonin. We'll try and see what happens. It's been almost 36 hours now since sleep, trying to at least stay awake for another 2-3 and then drop the hammer in the Melatonin. Got my fingers crossed.

Thanks Everyone.

TheRock

The Meletonin worked GREAT !!! Almost 7 hours of SLEEP !!! OMG, do I feel GOOD.

Thanks everyone for the help. It was greatly needed and the best thing is, it's NOT another DRUG !!!

TheSunAlsoRises

Hey I took valerian root early in recovery... somewhere around day 70 ish I dropped that too now most night I sleep better than ever... certainly better than when I was drinking...

Clayton

endzoner

I was hoping to see a post from you this morning John .. Wahoooooo im so glad it helped you .. thats flipping fantastic ..... massives hug sending your way... hope you have another great day ... Im sure Ill see you in chat sometime later .. ~ huggles Endzy~

Texasblind

Both melatonin and valerian work great. My issue with melatonin is that I began to build up a tolerance so I had to knock that off. With valerian, I noticed an increase in wild and crazy dreams.

The best sleep aid I've found is plenty of exercise. I know a lot of people don't want to hear that, but it's worked for me.