strawberryblond

Last night I didn't sleep well, been up since 4 a.m. and feeling completely exhausted. I don't feel like moving from the couch. Probably a little crabby, too. I definitely do not want to drink today but I worry that by this evening, I'll talk myself into that "just one to help me sleep". Talk me out of, please!

sunshinescooby

I tell myself the same lie.. oh, it will help me sleep, but it doesn't.. Whenever I drink I wake up at 3 am and am awake for at least an hour..

Last week I had 6 days sober. The first 2 nights I didn't sleep well at all.. The next 3 nights I slept the best I had in a long time..

One thing I notice is that no matter how little sleep I get when I haven't had any alcohol, I still feel better the next day than if I would have been drinking!

Michael66

Ah, poor sleep and crabbiness. That was me! I think you just have to be patient with your brain strawberryblond - you've just taken away one of it's favorite things, and it's sulking. It's going to struggle to re-adjust and in the meantime is going to act like a petulant child at times. It will readjust in time but it's going to let you know it's grumpy on the way.

Don't drink - life will get better if you don't, though some things are not as fast as we'd like. That's always seemed grossly unfair to me - we give up our favourite drug and we feel rubbish to start with rather than better. So we begin our sober life tired, grumpy, lethargic and we may have bad cravings on top of that. I complained to God a lot about that (still do).

Lifebeginsat41

SB I've been sleeping and still been exhausted (day 12) but today - WOW I have bundles of energy and feel amazing.

I have not felt this alive in 15 years+ so it is worth it - in the first few days I was taking a long bath before bed (I treated myself to nice bath oil with the money I'd saved on wine) and asked my hubby to give me a back massage and that helped me relax if not sleep. It does get better, honest. I also used the extra wake time to do something nice for me - read a favourite book, gave myself a pedicure - all little luxuries that don't cost a lot but showed me that I care about me.

Hope that makes some kind of sense? And I hope you have a better nights sleep tonight.

ScottFromWI

It took a few weeks for me to get back into semblance of a regular sleeping schedule. Your body is just adjusting to not being constantly sedated.

If you have any inking at all of drinking again tonight, go back and read some of your posts about how bad you felt the next day after a relapse...works every time for me.

Anna

The nights were the worst for me, too. Do you have alcohol in your home? I got rid of the alcohol that was around and it really helped to not have to worry about those long nights. Congratulations on Day 3.

Pondlady

Stick with it and tomorrow can be Day 4 rather than Day 1

Dee74

Yeah the early days are rough but every day you don't drink you will feel better SB.
Stick with it

D

Chuck48

I also had a hard time sleeping during the first few weeks. However, I've heard that alcohol-induced sleep isn't as good as "real" sleep, so think about that. Your brain and body need to be able to rest without trying to process alcohol.

I'm not providing medical advice, but Valerian root worked really well for me. I'd check with your doctor to make sure it won't interfere with any medications you're taking, but it really helped me relax and fall asleep. (Warning: It smells terrible when it's in the bottle!)

GreenEggsAndHam

Oh my goodness I felt this way too and still do a bit. The first two days I sat on the couch so long that my tailbone hurt. I'm on day 5 and still feel very tired and unmotivated but hoping it passes soon.

stark6935

Some light walking will make you feel like conking out.

quitforme79

So much great advice here already. I barely slept in the first four weeks ( a couple hours here, there etc). But I read- recovery literature, on SR, posted, took baths, worked on my budget, journaled. After work, I ran if I had the energy but if not a walk would even help. You won't regret not drinking tonight. Just believe all of us when we say it does get easier!

Malachi

Your body and mind are going through so many amazing changes, working so hard to regenerate and repair. It does take a lot out of you, but hang in there. Drinking might make you feel better in the immediate short-term, but much worse in the long-term. Try to stick it out, and be easy on yourself.

And whenever I think, "just one," I remind myself that if I was able to have just one, I probably wouldn't be here posting.

Good luck! It will get easier and better!

DrakeCKC

I can only add the trouble is worth it and the quote your "worst day sober is better than your best day drunk."

strawberryblond

Thank all of you, I am still not drinking . I didn't nap like I wanted to simply because it messes up my internal clock if I do, so just waiting this out until I can turn in for the night. Oh, and I have some melatonin that may help (I hope!). Day 4 tomorrow..
Wow.

silentrun

It's horrible at first. It really does get better fairly quickly. I'd get the urge to drink "Just tonight" I would tell myself "Let's pretend like we already did that last night like you relentlessly pestered me to do all day yesterday."

strawberryblond

Lol! That's a good one, thanks!

EmeraldRose

After the sleepless restless nights are over you can look back and realize that it was part of getting your head right! It takes a minute to lift the fog -give yourself a chance. Once the fog lifts, energy returns...and for some of us its been years since we've had energy and clarity...and I remember one day I was just beaming. I had so much pent up energy and happiness and pride that I felt like I was going to explode into the universe. From then on, I remember 2 things...the way I felt on the last day I drank and the way I felt on the first day of the rest of my life.
Peace.

strawberryblond

Oh, how I hope that can happen for me. Right now I can't see that far, but me and my HP have been talking to just get me through this. And.... I'd forgotten how good hot chocolate is.

Lifebeginsat41

I love this - thank you!