otter

I've been experiencing crazy bad insomnia for a little over a week now. I come home from work exhausted and lay down only to fall asleep for about 20 minutes and wake up only to lie awake with my eyes closed until about 20 minutes before my alarm goes off before work.

Took an ambien last night and all it did was make me hungry for vanilla ice cream for some reason but didn't help with sleep at all. That doesn't worry me, pills aren't my vice I'm a 3rd generation alcoholic that could walk away from pretty much anything but booze.

Asking because the only other time I've went through this is when I was quitting alcohol. I've been sober about a year and a half and this came out of nowhere. Anyone else ever experience this? Not asking for medical advice and will look into it if necessary.

I just don't understand how you can be this tired and not be able to sleep. I'm taking off work today for the better of both parties and am going to try and hike myself to exhaustion.

This is crazy.

Ken33xx

I`ve got to get my sleep and have taken over-the-counter sleeping aids but not prescription medication. Strange you can`t sleep after taking ambien. That should knock you out.

Have you got a lot on your mind?

Jsbodhi

I get this, pills don't work either- though I only tried once.
It just goes away, hard to explain, but I feel for you, its hard to even just function in a basic level
Xo

ScottFromWI

I get insomnia from time to time as a function of my anxiety I think. Being worked up or watching things that excite my brain prior to bed are sometimes a precursor. Any chance something has changed at work or in your life that would be making you more anxious, depressed, etc?

BBQBOY

It could be PAWS...post-acute withdrawal syndrome. It can hit you at any time after your initial withdrawal.

Pipefish

Yes, throughout my recovery (that's the good news ;-)) Having experienced it thus, it bends me out of shape less than it used to, but is never ideal.

As per Ken's post above the anxiety related insomnia experienced can be one of the causes. Sometimes this is resolved by writing out whatever is bothering me, sometimes by reading something, either related or not. The other insomnia is hormone/cycle related which may or may not apply to you?

The approach that has developed over time is a simple acceptance, oh hello you again! It may not sound like much but it was a learning process....the more tense I became about not sleeping, the less I slept.

It may help to see your GP if you're taking sleeping meds & still not sleeping, as this may warrant some investigation.

Wish you well

Soberwolf

What Scott said

otter

Thanks for the input guys. It always helps get some insight from others.

I've been having some financial stress as of late but didn't think it was affecting me maybe as much as it could be at this point. It's certainly not game breaking issues.

I hiked 25 miles today and am going to try and get some sleep. It's feeling promising. I hope it's not PAWS. Been pretty lucky in that regard so far. I usually give things about 10 days to take care of themselves before going to the doctor but I'll certainly take that route if it continues. This is day 8.

On a side note, when I spoke to my sister today and told her I took an ambien and still didn't sleep she looked at me like I just took off my hat and had a unicorn horn.

Thanks again for the input. I'm off to see if the sandman visits.

advbike

Personally, I'm super sensitive to caffeine. I can't drink it after noon or I have difficulty sleeping. Any changes or increased consumption? Or other dietary changes?

Exercise always helps too.

Grungehead

I've suffered from insomnia my entire adulthood (before and during recovery) so I feel your pain. My mom is the same way and always used to tell me that insomnia won't kill you and is "self curing". Not something that someone currently suffering from insomnia likes to hear LoL. I've found the best thing I can do is not fight it. Instead of laying in bed tossing and turning I usually get up for awhile and do something to try and get my mind off of it (read a book, play a game of solitaire). Sometimes I have even given up on sleeping for the night if it gets late enough and gotten an early start to the day.

Good luck...feel your pain.

Soberwolf

Have a good day today Otter