StevenBills

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for sleep aids after you quit drinking?

I was drinking a 1.75L of vodka a day for around a year and recently had to ween myself off. I haven't had a drink in 2 weeks, but I cannot sleep. I literally stayed up for two days until I couldn't do it anymore. My sleep schedule is all over the place. Its hard to maintain work and not sleeping. While I was detoxing all I did was sleep, puke and shake for a week. Now I have energy and can't get a damn bit of sleep "sigh".
My doctor knows that I stopped all meds, quit smoking and quit drinking so he's reluctant to prescribe me another potential problem (don't blame him). However though, I don't want to go crazy! Lol

I have two bad knees and a stomach ulcer so I can't really get up and do a whole lot to wear myself out -_-'

ScottFromWI

I had insomnia or interrupted sleep for at least a couple of weeks too, it does take time for your mind to get used to not being sedated all the time by alcohol. One thing that helped me was to stay away from stimluation right before bed - avoid TV, music, anything on the internet that might get you riled up. Reading, soft light, even some basic meditation exercises can help too. And don't worry...it will get better!

skg

Try a glass of fresh orange juice if your stomach can take it; otherwise, try a piece of chocolate... If you work your way up to a pint of ice cream an evening, count on some other health concerns...

JeffreyAK

Trazodone was a sobriety saver for me early on, I took that nightly for the first six weeks. It's prescription only, so you have to see a doctor - an addiction medicine doctor could probably suggest other options. For me, nothing else worked.

LBrain

meditation/breathing exercise works for many

ru12

A few weeks... It takes time to reset your sleeping patterns.

Dee74

I did not take any meds and my sleep got better, progressively, over the initial week or so

There may be something in this link to help

Relaxation Techniques | University of Maryland Medical Center

D

Fly N Buy

Steven - Glad you're here with us, Welcome!!
Man, I am impressed ditching all your bad habits at once, WOW~

I did some tossing and turning as well for awhile.....it does pass. It's laudable that you don't want to replace your difficulty falling asleep with another med - Good For You!


Sounds like your doctors in on your issues as well, keep up the efforts - -you'll be highly rewarded.

Keep posting us your progress

Crossfitdad

I drank chamomille tea. Helps a lot.

Bostonsportsfan

Sleeping is difficult for a lot of us early on. It's very normal and honestly just part of the process. I was used to having extreme amounts of vodka and beer knock me out, so trying to sleep without booze at all is a challenge early on. I've used 2 generic Benadryl to help me sleep and it's worked wonders. It really helped me early on and helped me actually get some sleep.

Best of luck to you.

frankh77

Prescription drugs like benzodiazapines and sleep medication may help but are seriously addictive. I had an addiction to benzos and other drugs so those were out of the question for me when i stopped drinking.

I drank a lot of chamomile and other sleepytime teas. Melatonin and Valerian root. L-theanine, lemon balm, lavender herbs. Didn't work at first but I stuck to it and it eventually helped out a lot.

Della1968

I use Sleepy time extra and melatonin. I also think trying to keep a consistent sleep schedule is really important. I try not to vary by more than an hour even on weekends. I have used Trazadone in the past and it worked great and I had no problem getting off it.

H2SO4

I'll second the trazodone. I had started it because I was doing shift work, so it came in handy when I finally addressed my problem.

Anything over 100mg and dry mouth becomes a serious issue. Also after a year or two of off and on using this drug, it only seems to last about 6 hours. But hey, that's better than 3 of really crappy sleep.

thisisme

Exercise.

Ionray

2 Valerian root capsules and a 3mg melatonin tab.

Nighty-night.

Timmy1028

Hmmm...had the same problem. With me it just took time. Sleep pattern were goofed for a month or so.

MelindaFlowers

I take melatonin nightly.

Dreaming123

Melatonin, which your body makes naturally but is sometimes lacking especially after alcohol abuse, or Valarian Root capsules.

Dave36

Other meds may help. Even OTC stuff but as someone else said do not touch benzos of any kind. It works in the brain just like alcohol. I've taken Xanax for anxiety and in the first couple weeks of sobriety for withdrawl And anxiety but no more. That stuff is very addictive. It will scratch the same itch as drinking and lead right back to the bottle

Soberwolf

Reading a real book helps tire my eyes at night