MycoolFitz

Don't know how many of you experience insomnia on a nightly (or daily) basis but its a big stumbling block, trigger for me. I lie awake at night thinking about lying awake at night and this is the time I think I'll do anything to sleep, but I can't really just do anything or there I go again. Getting through the days, not so bad, getting through the nights a different story. I can talk about depression, anxiety, PTSD, all these things as triggers, but not sleeping, night after night, dang. Still looking for relief and not giving up but get to the point where I( don't want to count sheep, just shoot the fluffy bastards. I think insomnia is a common concern for addicts. Insomniacs of the world unite.

"In its early stages, insomnia is almost an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge."
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

tomsteve

yes, it can be. but the progress is ya wanna shoot sheep and not yerself!!

Luling

Exercise is supposed to help with insomnia, but it's not doing much to help me. I guess in time it gets better?

DayTrader

I finally gave up on sleeping - lol. I pulled a LOT of all-nighters early in sobriety. Did it on work days too. I figured that fighting to get to sleep and failing was worse than not sleeping so I just stayed up. Painted a more than a couple rooms in my house that way - haha. ..but that was a while ago and I have to tell you, once and a while, it's still an issue - not as bad and not as often.

I've got a sponsee right now fighting the same battle. He can't sleep so he's tired the next day. Then, because he's tired, he drinks again an gets to start all over from scratch the next day. The crumby part is......sooner or later he's just going to have to get through it. Think of it as a right of passage. Sure, it blows......but it's not forever.

Jitterbugg

I am a chronic insomnia sufferer. I used to drink to fall asleep, then that progressed to full-blown alcoholism. Now I am sober, but still can't sleep too well.

Chrisy

It is becoming the norm for me. Sleep a couple of hours soundly and then get up for a few more, and when tired another nap. I am just listening to the needs of my body. I feel it knows more of what it needs then I do. I just drink lots of water and eat bananas and lots of yogart.

Think of all those toxin poisons in our bodies for so long. I love to keep a journal so I journal my experiences. What would be worst is to forget and let them ever put another oxycodone or opiate pain pill or pill that has some drug in it that I am allergic too. I also do a lot of reading. I have always soaked up knowlege like a sponge soaks up water.

Well, it is nice to know I am not alone.

Love and Blessings
Chrisy

HitRockBottom70

I am having horrible insomnia Fitz. I am also having severe sleep anxiety because I need sleep before I go to my high stress job for 13 hours the next day. Not sure what to do about it. I hope it gets better for us all. I believe it will, until then we spend sleepless nights in great company here on SR.

lydiebreeze

Yup - it was always the deal breaker for me.
Go 3 days without sleep - drink to break the cycle.
However - I once went a whopping 2 months without a drink...
It took close to 2 weeks before I stopped seeing the sunrise everyday - but when the insomnia was over I had the BEST SLEEP EVER!!! (and I've never been a good sleeper)
I'm on day 5 again - and I can't WAIT to sleep like a baby in another 8-10 days
Hang in there - it gets better.
Exercise helps - but don't do it right before bed

Jeni26

Insomnia is dreadful! I had years of it, always fell straight to sleep for a few hours, then woke in a panic, just generalised anxiety, often with no root cause that I could think of.
Good news is that once I became sober it gradually improved. Recently had a spell of 7 weeks sober and was sleeping like a baby!
Back on day 6 now, and it is settling again.
It is one of many benefits of sobriety for me.
Keep going Fitz, it really is worth it xx

onlythetruth

I had horrible insomnia for the first several months. Night sweats, too. Those lasted nearly a year.

This sucks, of course. I don't think anything is more unpleasant and takes more of a toll than not being able to sleep.

Still, I can remember lying there, looking at the moon, thinking "well, no one ever died from lack of sleep, but if I drink it'll kill me."

Which didn't fix the problem, but helped me put it in perspective.

BTW this did end. I've been sleeping like a baby for years.

Elisabeth888

I still get insomnia from time to time. I don't lie there and have an anxiety attack like I did when I was drinking though. That is the definition of miserable for me.

Go ahead and just get up and go read or watch Tv for a while. If I don't get much sleep one night, I am almost guaranteed to sleep like a log the next.

If you really have a problem:

Take a nice hot bubble bath- lavender is super soothing
Drink some sleepy time hot tea with honey

gordano

I thought I had insomnia, until I quit drinking. My excuse to drink used to be for sleep, but I never really slept that good anyway. Now that I am 45 days sober I have never been sleeping better. If you still have insomnia when sober, how long has it been since your last drink? The first two weeks were bad for me, but after that I was able to sleep like a baby. Insomnia which was a problem for me for about 10 years is now gone!

MycoolFitz

Well I got some sleep last night but at 4:30am my body said enough is enough and forced me against my will to arise and await the dawn's early light. I felt like the Star Spangled Banner.

"When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep, and you're never really awake." ~From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palah

lydiebreeze

MyCoolFitz
I'm with you. I am on day 6 now and I think I've gotten a total of 16 hours since I quit drinking... Oh well. It'll get better. For both of us
I'm just trying not to bite the heads off of all my loved ones!

MycoolFitz

I think I've discovered a cure for insomnia--don't go to bed

OklaBH

HAHA Thats why Im on here at 3 in the am. Thats why I love this forum. Its 24/7.

Chrisy

checking in of the people who are not able to sleep a good night's sleep. I do these two hour naps and wake up kicking and moving my feet and talking out loud. It will take awhile from what I hear for my brain chemicals to get sorted out? I would rather not sleep then to ever go back to the oxycodone and all the pain pills they had me on.

DarkDays

Big ex insomnia sufferer here, years and years of dreadful sleep or no sleep all caused by alcohell. Nearly 5 months sober and sleep has improved immensely , still get bad patches when I get little sleep or very bad broken sleep but it's easy to handle as long as I am sober. Said so many times on here, at worst you feel real groggy, but just forget it and you can function as normal. The fear and worry of not sleeping was the problem for me, soon as I was told to stop worrying if I sleep or do not sleep the problem subsided , now I just do nt care what happens at night, what will be will be. Have a great jubilee weekend to you all.

MycoolFitz

I actually got a decent nights sleep last night so I now know that all things are possible. It certainly gives me hope. I wish the same for others sleep impaired.

“Last night I dreamed I had insomnia. I woke up exhausted, yet too well rested to go back to sleep.”
Bob Ingman