karate

Been having a little trouble falling asleep ,on workdays .

I have to get up very early and I cant seem to get to bed on time and be sleeping .

I do have doctor prescribed 1 Mg klonopin ,and .5 Mg Xanax .
Some nights ill take a half of a Xanax , .25 mg .

While I know that's a very small amount ,I still don't want to take them .

Before everyone jumps on the bandwagon on how harmful /addactive these two drugs are - I already know .

I have been prescribed them for 20 years ,I don't take very many .
The majority of the time the pills expire before I take them .

I have a legitimate medical reason for both of these ,I do have anxiety attacks .I had the first about 20 years ago . But the attacks are a lot better being calm and non angry .
In fact they are almost gone . and that's great .

The getting to sleep is a bunch worse not drinking ,Im a naturally high energy person and its difficult to "turn it off ".

I don't think its alcohol withdrawal , and not anxiety .

I just have trouble winding down .

Im wanting some suggestions on a good OTC ,med to take when I cant wind down .

Its not stress ,I just get to thinking about all the things I need to get done .And work on solutions to these things . I have a lot to do on the farm and both jobs .

I like what I do ,so its not worry . As CRAZY as this sounds ----
I enjoy sitting down ,closing my eyes and getting a mental picture of what I need to do .

Thanks Everyone

doggonecarl

There are a number of techniques for falling asleep. Some as simple as changing what you do before bed, or relaxation exercises.

Google it.

jdooner

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GracieLou

I take generic Unisom (Diphenhydramine) and have since I got sober. I have asked my doctor twice, a year ago and last month about the fact that I still take one every night and she said that is fine. They are basically an antihistamine that causes drowsiness and there is not addictive properties.

It helps me get over that hump. She said there is no concern about my continuing to take them.

I take a 50mg gel tab every night.

PhaseTwo

I take diphenhydramine as well pretty frequently and my doctor has said the same thing. Some people do have an opposite reaction to it and it makes them hyper, it depends on the person.

Ryno03272009

Do you drink coffee, tea, soda with caffeine?

About 6months into my sobriety I gave up caffeine. It took about a week or so but eventually my sleep patterns returned to normal.

I did not drink caffein often or even before bed but caffein during the day mixed with my daily and nightly activities kept me up at night.

If thats not something you can relate to then there are dozens of OTC sleep remedies available today. Advil, tylenol and nyqull all make sleep pills without the cold/flu drug in them.

grubby

Nyquil has alcohol in it, i think it's 10% or 20-proof if my memory serves me correctly.

Stay away!

karate

I have a cutoff time of noon for caffine , none after that .
I drink about 2 cups of coffee and 2 - 12 oz diet cokes normally . total daily consumption .

Where im failing is I work like a mad man on the farm until dark ,about 9 pm ,
then need to hurry up and shower and get in bed .

Failing to wind down properly ,But im feeling good now .
I work too hard and too much , but I enjoy it .

12-18 hour work days are common ,and that's by choice . yes that's crazy I know .

Without alcohol slowing me down ,I can go on working 20 hours if needed .

A portion of my downtime ,almost all is spent here .

This site is addactive ,but I see no harm in that .

Johnston

I do valerian and melatonin sometimes, but find that reducing caffeine has helped the most. Two cups of coffee and two sodas a day would mess up my sleep.

Bostonsportsfan

I take 2 generic Benadryl, same thing basically. Any Diphendydramine will do the trick and isn't addictive. Taking something like Benadryl beats dinking. It's not something I wanna do forever obviously, but if it helps me stay sober I'm all for it at this point.

zjw

all of the OTC pills gave me shortness of breath and interfere with my exercise. I saw my running take a nose dive for speed when taking those pills i'd be sluggish the next day I never noticed that till I got fit and it mattered to me. I've since sworn them all off.

But then how do i sleep I like you cant just shut off either. I've tried all sorts of herbal stuff and teas. some stuff helps.

I'm trying something now its a GABA supplement it seems to be helping me relax and I'm doing a little better with the sleeping.

In my case I run a lot and I cant help but wonder if this isnt causing me issues. But if i dont run i have more anxiety and also cant tired at the end of the day etc.. so I dunno.

karate

Thanks ,If anything alcohol would disrupt my sleep .

I get tired initially , then wake up from lack of REM sleep ,and hot .
From alcohol disrupting my bodys temp regulation

karate

Went to wally world ,got everything BUT sleep meds .

Plenty of other staples to sustain life though .

karate

Thanks all

I'll avoid the alochol products , don't want to feel bad next morning .

It seems NyQuil would disrupt good sleep

Gottalife

The 12 steps are the cheapest sleep med I know. Very effective and only one side effect, serenity.

ScottFromWI

It took several weeks for my body to get back into a normal sleep pattern, keep in mind you are still pretty early in recovery Karate.

I personally don't feel comfortable taking ANY med, either OTC or prescribed to help me sleep/relax/etc....I honestly fear it would lead to some kind of abuse on my part. Doing something calming like reading or listening to some mellow music,etc and not eating too much close to bed time helps me a lot.

huntingtontx

I have used guided sleep meditation music. It is really lovely. You can find it on utube, and it has no side effect. You are doing great Karate. Keep up the good work.

Hearts

You work on a farm? That's pretty cool.

There is a certain amount of time needed to wind down and get to bed and I can see how working until 9pm would hinder that. Target has a generic sleeping pill where two pills is a "normal" dose. One works just fine for me. If you have too many thoughts racing through your brain... I do, too, going through a break up... I pick some movie that doesn't seem to have much conflict from netflix on demand, and then roll over and just let it drone on. Similar to falling asleep during a car ride. A hot bath before bed is also great. I read that it's your body dropping down to normal temperature afterwards that lulls you into sleep. Also, if you drop some epsom bath salts in there, it will help any sore and tired muscles from working on the farm.

Carlotta

Your body will adjust, most people in early sobriety have sleep problems. In my case I was sleeping all the time. Sleep meditation is good, I like to listen to recordings of rain when I fall asleep (although I do this fairly rarely since I live in Seattle and I get the real McCoy live).
If it gets to an unbearable point, take a couple of tylenol pm providing you don't have an allergy to them (I know Dee, we are not supposed to give any medical advice).
Be careful with the Xanax and Klonopin even though you take them rarely and as prescribed, we alcoholics are addicts and our drug of choice is alcohol but given an opportunity we can easily substitute one drug for another. This is why I quit smoking pot altogether when I got sober. I never had a problem with it and it's legal in my State but I just don't want to take any risk and replace one addiction with another.
You seem to be doing real good these days. Keep up the good work it will get easier

MIRecovery

I think the big question is. Are we take any medication as directed or prescibed? I know my addict mind. If one works good 4 will work four times as good. As a result I stay away from anything that alters me.

That is not to say potentially abusable products don't have a place in recovery