ElegantlyWasted

Wow... I think my system is hypersensitive here on day 22. Couldn't sleep last night and figured what the heck; I'll take a recommended dose of generic OTC sleeping pills (zolpidem). Woke up this morning in a Fog and felt sluggish and a little hung overish. Not going to do that again... Anyone have a similar experience?

Dee74

Never taken sleeping pills EW.

For me looking at lifestyle factors is a better way to go - less caffeine, no late night snacks, keep active in the day, no afternoon naps, don't stay up too late etc....

D

mfanch

Zolpidem is not OTC. It is a schedule IV controlled substance and a prescription medication. It is common to be drowsy in the morning with this drug. (Trade name is ambien).

I don't touch the stuff.

chrissp

Agree with Dee. Caffeine was the big one that got me back on track.

Dee74

seems like mfanch is right EW.

I wouldnt repeat that experiment.

D

ElegantlyWasted

Meant Diphenhydramine.... Brain froze... GF takes the heavy stuff. I know I need to cut back on the caffeine.. I've been drinking the stuff through out the day to fill some kind of void... Eating well though and exercising and generally feeling a lot better though.... Thanks guys.

Justfor1

Those don't help me sleep & yes it is very common to wake up "sluggish". The prescribed sleeping pills give me nightmares so I don't take those.

Elisabeth888

The only thing that really helps with sleep for alcoholics is time. I saw logs every night at just over seven months. Time and doing steps 4 and 5 gave me peace of mind.


When I did take sleeping pills, I took trazadone and if I was really wound up, even double the dosage would not knock me out. But I would look like a mack truck ran over my face in the morning. I hate sleeping pills.

bigsombrero

In my early months of sobriety I struggled to even get out of bed - and then the following month, I couldn't sleep a wink. Like others said above, it just takes time. Restlessness is part of the reason many of us drank, and it's common to have trouble sleeping early on. And also, do your best to eat healthy and stay active, no naps.

I still have some trazodone left from old prescriptions. I won't touch the stuff, it would likely take me days to come out of it. I have also recently tried some sudafed for a cold, and I also felt a bit off-kilter and knocked out. At 10 months clean from pills and booze and feel much better overall. In my experience I find it best to avoid OTC meds, aside from mild pain relievers.

CharlieNoogan

Diphenhydramine always gave me restless legs and a general feeling of unease, not to mention made it almost impossible to get moving in the morning. I made the mistake of combining it with valerian root and melatonin once and the result was not sleep. It was that weird state of half asleep/half awake and each time I almost achieved REM sleep, I would feel like I fell through the bed and then would awake violently. Other times benadryl would give me vivid nightmares. I actually woke up once convinced I had murdered my dog (until I found him sleeping under the covers).

If you happen to have depression or anxiety issues, ask your doctor about Remeron (mirtazapine). It's an antidepressant in a class of its own, not an SSRI so few side effects. The main ones being sedation and increased appetite. It helped me get my sleep schedule back on track.

Natural sleep is best though. It is extremely rare for someone to have insomnia to the degree of Christian Bale's character in The Machinist. If you don't sleep well tonight, do your best to get through the day tomorrow and chances are you will get good sleep if you start trying early. Things finally returned to normal for me about 4 months into recovery.

mfanch

For me, diphenhydramine is a trigger drug. It actually triggers cravings for my doc, so I steer clear of that one, too. I figure I will sleep sooner or later. And I always do.

Sally1009

Diphenhydramine gives me restless legs too, which is hell, and zolpidem gives me terrible nightmares. Stay away from sleeping p

instant

I put alcohol and any sedative inthe same category. In the past i have tried to wean off/ cut back etc using this sort of stuff. It never worked, i abused anything that gives sedation or a buzz.

flutter

That's the same thing as what's in Benadryl. I take them for sleep sometimes, but I haven't experienced feeling sluggish in the am.. that's no fun! Maybe try a late night workout. I used Sleep MD for a while and it worked great, but some people are really sensitive to Melatonin (it also has other herbs in it).

sparky78

Zolpidem is actually Ambien. Some people it helps go to sleep, others blackout, drive, get in accidents and wake up with a dui & no memory of what happened. Not something I would be willing to gamble with. Alcohol already gave me enough problems!

Natural sleep comes the longer you are sober. Getting through a few nights of restless sleep helps set your normal sleep rythmns back so that you don't have to take anything. Sober sleep is the best, very restful as you go through all of the natural stages of sleep. Drug or alcohol induced sleep doesn't do that.

ImReadyToQuit

I use melatonin. It's a natural hormone which most alcoholics lack.. It's not a "sleeping pill" but after taking it.. 20 minutes later the yawns come.. 15 minutes after that I'm sleeping like a baby.. Wake up feeling great..

munchkin05

I do have to admit that the few times I've taken Unisom I feel HORRID the next day.
I actually don't consume caffeine too much but it's usually hubby who keeps me awake with his tossing and turning. The only thing I will even come close to taking more commonly is valerian, chamomile or catnip.
That's it.
Melatonin gives me freaky dreams. LOL

jmnyc

munchkin05, I hear you on the tossing and turning! Add to that the snoring. Sometimes separate beds (or a comfy couch?) isn't a bad thing. It's not unusual for me to move to a better sleep location and in the morning he's like, "where'd you go last night? i wasn't snoring, was i? no way" lol

munchkin05

Well, he sometimes offers to sleep on the couch but he's military and he's been deployed so much, and I've missed having him in bed so I usually tell him no way. You're staying. He is preparing to go through a sleep study because he has two issues. His lower back which makes it uncomfortable sleeping and symptoms of PTSD.

courage2

My AA sponsor "suggested" that I stop taking benadryl (Diphenhydramine) even though I swore to her it only had a placebo affect -- but I was fantasizing about snorting it, which is idiotic, but my addiction will use any excuse.

I have a healthy fear that if I lose my sobriety it has at least an equal chance of being due to drugs as alcohol. It would be SO easy for me to rationalize taking "medicine." So I'm steering way clear.

And tho at 2 months, I couldn't sleep much and had lots of bad dreams when I did, at 5 months I could sleep 24/7! No matter how much caffeine.