BullDog777

just what it says....i'm back in the throws of insomnia. It SUCKS. I'm getting between 2-3 hours a night and it's wearing me thin.

I got a cold this weekend and while it only lasted 2 days, i know it was because i'm not getting enough rest.

I gotta go get my annual 6 month physical on the 24th.

At least it's not every 3 months anymore...those were the worst.

I'll mention it to the dr, but i know all the tricks. it's just bulls#it anxiety and nightmares when i actually do sleep.

i'm tired all the time, draggin my a$$ like a tired old dog. I think i might join a gym in the next few days.

there's one open 24 hours up the street.

I might as well try to make the best out of a mind numbing, frustrating, situation.

With the lack of sleep my arthritis has been really bothering me and i've been taking ibuprophen but even that is no substitute for real rest.

time to solider through another bump......yay...


thanks for listening at 5am...i'm gonna try to get some sleep...i gotta be up by 8am.

August252015

I feel you. Sleep issues have plagued me most of my sobriety. I've got a challenging complication of nocturnal hyperhydrosis (think, sweating to the level you change shirts as many as six times a night, soak the pillow til no dry spots, etc). I recently tapered off my sleep meds (taken since I got sober two and a half yrs ago, as directed by my psych) and so far that has dramatically helped with the sweats....but melatonin is not cutting it for sleep. Note- I also switched my anti depressant to the am so I take no prescription drugs at night- his is supposed to help with both my issues too so here's hoping...

The pattern is about two nights of sleeping an hour or so at a time then if I am lucky, one like last night where I think I got four straight at one point. Five of those has been my max lately and it does suck. I had been trying not to nap(I have pretty much done that every day in recovery) or to limit it to an hour or less but when my collective exhaustion builds....

We are doing things like turning the tv off before bed, not falling asleep to it, got sheets of a different fabric/construction meant for better temp control, and I am trying one or two 10mg pills of melatonin. If you do find helpful ideas let me know, and I will too!

Take care best you can.

matrac

Ever try melatonin? It’s over the counter. I never take more than 1 mg, but I think it’d be better than Benadryl or prescription? Hopefully, your doctor can advise you.

matrac

Ever try melatonin? It’s over the counter. I never take more than 1 mg, but I think it’d be better than Benadryl or prescription? Hopefully, your doctor can advise you.
Also, found this. https://www.omicsonline.org/insomnia....php?aid=38691

Briansy

August,

I use Nytol which is also called Benadryl - it works for me but the problem is if I find myself in a situation where I don't have it it's a disaster and I won't sleep. Prob not a road you want to go down! In fact, getting off it is a goal - but not one I am going to actively pursue in day 8 of sobriety!

Cheers,
B

August252015

Briansy - early sobriety was a different time of sleep struggles for me. My body was so damaged and all over the place that I was pummeled with exhaustion and slept for hours as a nap, tossed in night,ares then vivid dreams at night, all kinds of stuff. I just had to get through that. Especially at 8 days you are good to take caution....and it took faith and patience it would improve for me. It did - and I am dealing w different (yet still challenging!!!) issues this much further along.

Keep going sober, and we have the best chance of dealing with all this stuff even when it's not easy!!

biminiblue

I know bipolar can do that, too.

I have trouble sometimes in the summer, due to the heat and long days.

Blackout curtains and a box fan (I don't have AC) and a good long walk in the mornings seems to do it for me. But I know people who are bipolar and untreated really struggle with sleeping when they're in a hypo state. I used to think maybe I was bipolar, but with good nutrition, exercise, and a bed-time, I do fine.

ScottFromWI

I had a lot of sleep issues related to my anxiety. Most of the things I did to help with that ( counseling, exercise, meditation etc ) helped a lot. Also staying away from TV/internet/screens for at least an hour before bed, cutting way back on caffeine/sugar, and getting at least a little exercise during the day. Hope things get better for you soon Bulldog.

August252015

^ my mom's struggles with bipolar have included periods of what you describe for sure, Bimini.

steve-in-kville

Melatonin made me fierce irritable. I read up on side effects, and sure enough, that was one side effect.

BullDog777

I thought i might be bi polar too, but turns out it's just anxiety. I heavily depend on caffeine during the day which does not help me at all, so i'm going to stop all caffinated drinks by 2pm or so.

I tried melatonin, years ago, and i didn't do well with it. It makes me twitch like crazy. It's a rare side effect.

The benedryl does help me a lot, but it can make me nauseous on my BP medication if i haven't eaten a good sized dinner.

I think the exercise will help a lot. Maybe I need to amp up my AA attendance.

I run so hot and cold with AA. Some days I love it, other days I wanna run for the hills at the thought of it. You know what it is about AA that turns me off is that I get sick of myself really easily. So when I'm around it a lot, I get burned out . Between me and the 12 steps and a room rull of sick people...there's only so much chaos I can handle in a day.

For the most part I really do love it though. I say that last sentence because I still need to be able to inject some humor into my typhoon of a calamity, i call life.

I was gonna head out to the barn and work on my truck but i think I might be too tired to work with tools right now...so perhaps a nap or some netflix.

Thanks to everyone who posted. It always means so much to me that you people take the time out to help.

biminiblue

ooohhh, yeah. I'm down to one cup of coffee per day. Maybe one green tea - but more than that and my sleep and thinking goes kaput.

AA. *nods*

SnazzyDresser

I am also a veteran of the insomnia wars and continue to do righteous battle whenever mine flares up. Hang in there, Bulldog.

Briansy

How often do you go, Bulldog? Just out of curiosity. As someone who is well into the other side of the really rough stuff. I hear of people going every single day for years and years and it kinda scares me. Will I be going to AA several times a week for life?!

ScottFromWI

That's completely up to you Briansy. The real "work" in 12 step programs is mostly in working the steps themselves, which is generally done on your own time and not during meetings. Some people do feel that going to meetings regularly, even many years after they quit is helpful. Others don't. But just like any program or therapy, every person is different and you do whatever you need to do to make things better.

Briansy

Yeah, am on the lookout for a sponsor. I can't see a reasonable alternative to AA at the moment. I am getting seen by an addiction counselor on Thursday but not sure if that will result in them giving me a therapist on the NHS (ie free). Also am on the lookout for a sponsor and am not making any plans on weekends so I can work on recovery materials and prioritise it. Something I didn't do previously. It's just scary.

MindfulMan

Lifelong insomniac here, plus I have sleep phase disorder, which means I go to bed later and later until I settle at my natural sleep cycle, which is 4am - 11am or so. Obviously hard to live in this society on those hours! It's a real thing, some people are just night people, and waking up early is a struggle. Morning people are just genetically lucky that their bodies tend towards a sleep cycle that society values, it shows no moral superiority, despite what Ben Franklyn said.

For years I took a number of sleep meds to knock myself out by midnight on top of alcohol, and then wake up groggy until noon. Booze, Lunesta (like Ambien only longer acting), Unisom (a benadryl relative), and Trazadone. Plus melatonin.

When I stopped drinking I was also cross-addicted to Lunesta, having taken the max prescribed amount for about 5 years, so while they were giving me a Valium taper to get me off of the alcohol they were also tapering my Lunesta. It took two weeks to get both the Valium and the Lunesta down to zero. Medical detox wasn't fun, but it was better than the alternative; I was basically told it would have been EXTREMELY dangerous to detox cold turkey.

So when I got off everything, I had to find a better way. Lunesta was DEFINITELY not on the table, and I didn't want the morning grogginess associated with a 200mg dose of trazodone and/or the Unisom, plus the latter caused rebound anxiety and nightmares. Treating my bipolar disorder helped a great deal. Honestly my sleep improved tremendously on its own without all of the crap I was taking every night.

I still take trazodone, but instead of 200mg I take 25mg. At this point I'm also on 3 mg of melatonin, sometimes less. I want off of that as well, as I think it's causing some psychological symptoms of anxiety and mild depression.

What has really worked the best is hard physical exercise.

August252015

Focusing on others in meetings is the way I deal with ones I "don't like. Also, asking myself why I am I disturbed by whatever they are doing or saying and figuring out what my problem is. Not my business to decide what theirs is.

My meeting needs have changed a little since the start. I did about eighty two of the ninety in I dry AA suggests. That proceeded to a sweet spot of. Four to six a week, an occasional seven, and in the last few months. It is about three to four which is ok for now, could always add an extra when I can. I am two and a half yrs sober and never r great upping my mtgs.

Briansy

I went to a meeting tonight that was really really nice. The people, the furnishings, what they were saying, everyone was articulate and it was very "mumsy" - a lot of entertaining / genial women in their 60s. Outside afterwards I had a really interesting conversation with someone about the idea of liking some meetings more than others and kinda feeling a bit weird about what I perceive to be a "bad" meeting and she was like: I've been doing this for 30 years and I feel the exact same. But we are in London and so it's so easy to have a rotation of ones you will find agreeable every day. And that was very comforting. It was also really comforting to have a proper chat with someone at AA for the first time. It was a very low key, welcoming group. So I think I'm starting to get it. Now going through the steps, that's a whole different story! Anyone, we're digressing...

Keto

Have had insomnia for years...

I have just accepted it
-5 or 6 hours on a good day, less on a bad.
Tried everything from otc to atrong prescription but there are always groggyness issues.

Unisom & Mirtazapine were prob pick of bunch