Centered3

I've been off-line for a while dealing with some health issues.

For the past month or so, I've been experiencing insomnia every night. I wake up three hours after falling asleep and I cannot get back to sleep. It's hard functioning during the day with so little sleep.

I think my body is completely exhausted. No fuel left. Running below empty. I've worked so hard in my recovery that I think I overdid it and now my body is just drop dead tired. I've never been this exhausted in my life.

I stopped all caffeine and sugar hoping that'd help but it hasn't.

I try deep breathing but I end up deep breathing for what feels like hours and it doesn't do anything.

I do find when I do things slowly--like, if I need to clean and I move slowly I am okay for the most part. But my energy is still crashing really badly. I've never experienced this before.

trachemys

It will get better. Insomnia nearly drove me mad.

Treerat66

Hi Centered3,
First don't lie in bed worrying about not being asleep that will keep you awake! Get up have a milky drink (or stroke the cat/dog/pet of choice), then go through your bed time routine.

Hope this helps.

Andante

Chronic insomniac here! *waves* It's so maddening, frustrating and debilitating, isn't it?

I don't recall how long you've been sober, but for some people, it can take a long time -- months, or even years -- to stabilize. My insomnia has gotten incrementally better over the 3-1/2 years I've been sober.

I'm assuming you're already following all the standard recommendations for good sleep hygiene, including exercise, diet, meditation, participation in recovery methods, etc.

I needed a bit of extra help, and got it from Ambien. I know any sort of psycho-active drugs can become a hot-button topic around here, Ambien especially because there are so many apocryphal horror stories about it, so I'll just say that my experience with the drug was close to 100% positive and leave it at that.

Sorry for what you're going through, but I can definitely relate. Good luck whatever you do!

stevieg46

Hi C 3 .

While back after experiencing my spiritual awakening , I actually believe I ''overdosed '' on really going all out at maintaining ''conscious contact '' I was reading AA history every single day , I was on 6 recovery forums trying to carry the message , I was getting PM s , I was going to meetings and believe me it wasn't funny , I got that I could not switch off , I was pleading with God to please just let me sleep , I was going to the gym 6 days a week from 7am with little sleep ''but full of energy ?'' honestly . It was a nightmare until I deliberately cut down the pattern I had got myself into , I actually started saying to God ''enoughs enough '' to shut my head off , I cut down on a lot of AA activity and got ''balanced '' I started reading some non recovery books , dropped forum activity and try to keep off forums after 8 pm . I never was a great sleeper I sleep for a couple of hours if I am lucky then nod off and on until about 5 .30am , I go to bed about 10.30 pm , I now do the gym doing a full work out Mon Wed and Friday and include sauna and steam room and Jaccuzi , Tues Thurs and Saturday I do sauna/steam/Jaccuzi /swim for relaxation purposes .

Discipline was the key for me , looking at what needed changing what I knew could not go on , the way I was, was not what you could call normal , it was all excessive , so I got balanced out, I still continue with conscious contact, and some forums I do 3 meetings a week now, that has became a ''way of life '' like you I do most things in a relaxed manner , no hurry no worry , if I lie awake sometimes it does not bother me too much , at least I am resting, ''I stopped telling myself how much sleep I needed '' I nod off for about an hour most afternoons , , I am sleeping a bit better than I was , now ? I do not worry about it . take care .
Regards Stevie recovered 12 03 2006

JesseJe

I feel for you! I have periods of insomnia regularly. Theres some herbs you can try but consult with your doctor first. Valerian seems to relax some, chamomile too, even supplementing with GABA or melatonin has improved life for some.

Again, consult your doctor maybe he can help you!

CLAS

Centered- I feel you. Insomnia is tough stuff. Couple things that have really, really helped me:

1.) On youtube there are sleep/dream music selections. Type in "8 hours of sleep music." I leave my laptop on my nightstand and the music softly plays as I drift off. Really helps with better thoughts and reducing anxiety.
2.) A fan blowing helps me too.
3.) In my experience melatonin has helped. The key for me is to take it early. If I go to bed at 10 I take it at 9:15 or so.

SoberCAH

When I get occasional insomnia, it is frequently an indicator that I have a slight bit of depression.

If I take a little extra meds, it goes right away.

I'm sorry you're struggling with this, Centered.

I sure hope it goes away soon.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Zanna

Have you tried having a radio on really low next to the bed? Have it almost too low. I find it stops me thinking about problems as I'm focussing on what's being said on the radio. Music doesn't work for me though, has to be some chat type thing or news channel.

BrendaChenowyth

I've been dealing with it since my last drink Saturday... I slept all day Sunday but haven't been sleeping well since. Rather I've had trouble falling asleep because my mind just won't stop. It's been bringing up all the painful things from the past that I'd been turning to alcohol to avoid thinking about. Or else it turns to fantasy to feel good and avoid letting the painful thoughts come up. Either way I'm WIDE awake. It's one of the hardest parts of sobriety for me because I just want those thoughts to stop and alcohol always killed em.

Going to start trying a few things:
No caffeine or sugar past 4pm
Stay out of the bed once I'm up in the morning (that's hard since it's where I usually relax.. going to have to bring the laptop to the living room lol outside my comfort zone)
Read or write for an hour before bed
Make up my mind to sleep once I'm in bed

Dame

So very sorry you're dealing with this, Centered. Difficulty with sleep for 4 years. After detox, practically NO sleep for over two months. I was an absolute mess. And when you lie down, but your head won't stop thinking, worrying, etc.,......ugh.
I'm not a fan of Ambien. It didn't work well for me; I was even afraid I might be developing an addiction. It can also be hard to get because it is a controlled substance.
I finally went to a dr. and asked for Trazodone (it had been advised by another dr.) It's an ant-depressant (but not a very good one), but one of the side effects is pronounced drowsiness. I started taking it and slept right away - although one doesn't go from 0 to 90 right away, lol. Took 2 or 3 nights to "adjust." I tried all of the "natural" stuff too. Sometimes you just need some extra help.
I hope you get relief soon.

RoyGBiv

I, in working with my physician, have tried every non-habit forming medication there is for my sleep issues, and I still have them. I have sleep onset insomnia, and Ive always been a light sleeper after that.

We finally ran out of things to try. The best for getting to sleep is seroquel, an anti psychotic. Problem is, I feel awful when I wake up for about an hour. And this is on 25mg. I'm quartering 200mg pills then halving those. We started on 200mg and it just knocked me out and I felt horrible for 24 hours.

So I only take that on weekends. The rest of the time I just deal with it.

I also have RLS. Average time to fall asleep is 1-2 hours. sometimes its 3-4. I'm at 11.5 months sober.

But you know what, I still feel better than I did when I was hungover all morning, every day.

SpaceMandrill

Aye, sleep really is a big one, isn't it? I was wondering, was it the alcohol that caused the insomnia in most of us? Or did we start medicating anxiety, and by extension insomnia, with alcohol? I honestly don't know which one it was for me. Bit of both, probably.

Don't have much advice apart from what others said. Getting exercise in the day, whatever you can manage, helps. Also, hot milk with a spoon of honey. I'm serious, its the dogs bollocks. Full of tryptophan and melatonin.

Mattq2

Insomnia is what I hated most about each time I tried to quit. As others pointed out it was easier not to fight it and stay calm. Don't toss and turn in bed. I also love my noisy little fan.

Gottalife

C3,
how is your step 11 pratctice? Before we retire at night..... are the decks clear of the day's accumulated baggage?

Jeffery

When I cant sleep I get out of bed, Eat a snack in the living room, then try to go to bed again. It seems to work. If I just lay there I cant fall back asleep.

zjw

one other kicker with lack of sleep i read about just yest how high cortisol can cause insomnia then insomnia can cause low serotonin and depresson and also how yoru receptors for serotonin get screwed up etc.. then this can cause cortisol.... so it s a cycle then it can take 7 days of good sleep for your to normalize back its like Oh great seriously? i dont recall the last time i got 7 solid nights rest!!(@!*(

so anyhow with all that being said I started to realize why i'm such a mess. they gave tips tho.

shut off all tv no unnatural light try and relax etc.. all this when going to bed. I guess that all sounds good but tell that to my 6 kids *sigh*.

Centered3

Thanks, Treerat. I actually don't lie in bed worrying about not being asleep. I used to do that years ago if I was anxious about something, but this is different. I just sort of lie there. Sometimes I get heart palpitations, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I get up and pet my dog but she'd rather sleep, I think. Good idea about the milky drink. I try chamomile tea but that doesn't always work.

Maybe I need a new bed time routine with some better "sleep hygiene".

Centered3

Ugh I feel for you. I never experienced insomnia like this before. In the past, it'd be an occasional night or two and that was it. Wine used to help me sleep a few years ago, but I'm sure I wasn't really getting good sleep from it.

It'll be four years next month.

I haven't.....what's a good resource to learn more about "good sleep hygiene"? I did try a meditation app last night and that helped me fall asleep. But sometimes if my heart is palpitating, deep breathing is hard to do.

I don't blame you for trying Ambien. I seriously never thought I'd be one to try something like that, but now I understand why people take them. I've heard horror stories about Ambien but everyone's biochemistry is different. I am glad it helps you. I have a friend who has taken it for years and it helps her a lot. My psychiatrist last year wanted me to try Trazadone but I read too much negative online about it, and I stopped taking it. He wasn't too pleased. I think I probably should've stayed on it.....

Centered3

Hi Stevie,

I think we're similar in this case. I got absolutely obsessed with my recovery. My sponsor knew it, too, but I think her soft methods did not work with me to snap me out of it. My 4th step took a very long time, and because I wasn't working, recovery was all I ever thought about. It made me extremely anxious thinking about it all day long. I, too, became obsessive with meetings, forums, reading stuff about recovery online, etc. It was bad. Then I got obsessive about making sure I understood all the steps correctly, and how to follow them. I'm sure my anxiety came across on the forums here. I think I completely and utterly burned myself out these last 4 years which has led to the insomnia and other health issues.

We were taught when on your 4th step, to write for 20-30 minutes in the morning, and then to go on with your day. Unfortunately I was burnt out from my career so I wasn't working at the time. I had all day to think about recovery and replay crap in my head.... a recipe for disaster. Even my therapist was concerned about something called "abreaction" from how long I was sitting in the muck in my 4th step writing. I wish my sponsor had been more forthright with warning me about this, and not so "hands off" with things.

I, like you, could not switch it off. My brain was obsessing about recovery and my step work 24/7. I am dealing with the after affects now. You are the first person who has shared a similar experience.

Good for you for catching it. My husband would try to prod me off the computer, off of all the recovery stuff, but it had become a mental obsession. I did find that when I started to read non recovery books (I was also obsessed with spiritual books.....) and tried to limit my time online, that it helped. I also got a part time job not in my career, and that gets me out of my head, too, and has been a healthy part of my recovery. Unfortunately, my energy still crashes after that as well so I have to be careful.

I used to be a great sleeper in that my mind would so exhaust myself, that I'd fall asleep the second I'd get into bed. This nightly insomnia is new for me.

I do need to discipline myself, too. It's as if recovery became my new addiction. My therapist calls it "wack-a-mole" but I would think after a spiritual awakening, I wouldn't have had this happen. I need to "get balanced out" as you wrote. I used to go to the gym, too, but I have zero energy lately. I am not even running on fumes at this point. My body has nothing. All fuel and fumes are used up. I need to recharge in a major way.

I also try to be more relaxed now with whatever I am doing. I used to rush with everything; as if I was addicted to the adrenaline rush or maybe it was just anxiety. I feel so much better when I am able to do things in a relaxed matter, whether it's driving, preparing food, working, etc. I've been relaxed like this for a while now, and it's been helping a lot with recharging.

Hmm that's a good point about "resting". I do try not to worry about it, and I notice that I'm still able to get through the day even if I don't sleep much, although I do end up "crashing" later on. I've stopped all caffeine so I know I have that as a backup if I really need it.