MattAbroad

Hello everybody, I am Matt and I am wrapping up my second day sober and have had probably 14 hours total sleep over the last 7 days. As many of you guys I'm sure have experienced, the combination of early sobriety with the accompanying emotions is wrecking havoc with my sleeping patterns, which is not helping the depression. I am looking for a sleep aid that will help me get me a good night's rest but I am living in India and they don't have simple Tylenol or Advil PM here. At the "chemist," their term for pharmacy, I have been met with no's when asking for sleep help, until tonight when a guy reluctantly gave me diazepam. A quick Google search revealed some risky possible side-effects, including worsening and prolonging depression, especially after extended periods of use. I am planning on going to the hospital tomorrow to see if I can get something less risky prescribed to me, but I'm torn between the possibility of a good night's sleep with its use and the risks it poses. If anyone has any experience they could share to make this decision any easier for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks and be well!

ReadyAtLast

You're right to be cautious. I have taken it and it is extremely addictive. I'm very much of the thought now that it's best to let nature take its course-you will sleep. It is rough in the early days but you will sleep eventually. Replacing one addiction for another is a very real risk with diazepam.

biminiblue

They can be addictive. I've heard them called booze in a pill. They affect me the same way alcohol did, so I stay away.

They are frequently used for detox.

It is common to have sleep problems in early sobriety. It gets better. I didn't use any medications for sleep. Many nights I would wake after four hours sleep and have to get up and eat something in order to fall back asleep. It all worked out, later on I would sleep twelve hours.

Hang in there.

ScottFromWI

I'd highly recommend waiting until you go to the hospital tomorrow. Sleep is going to be bad the first couple weeks no matter what you take, and you definitely don't want to get addicted to something else while you are still coming off alcohol.

MemphisBlues

The hospital and seeing a doctor is always the best advice. We can't give medical advice here, as it violates the terms and conditions of use.

However, for alcohol withdrawal, it's common for doctors to prescribe a few days worth of a benzodiazepine to reduce the chances of seizures, but an addictive benzo is also something any addict or alcoholic like me should me extremely wary of.

gettingsmarter

Man be careful with the Benzo's. The withdraw can be worse than alcohol and last a lot longer. Talk to the Doc.

MattAbroad

Boy am I sure glad I asked. Thanks for the very, very helpful advice guys. After reading your words I walked out back, popped every pill out of the sleeve they came in, and threw them over a wall. Does anyone have any advice for sleep help. I am fully aware of the difficulties within the first few weeks, but any advice at all would be beyond greatly appreciated. Thanks again, you guys saved me from something I very likely would have hugely regretted.

biminiblue

For sleeping:

Make your room dark and quiet, use a fan for white noise if you live in a noisy place. Keep the temperature on the cool side.

Turn off TV and computer and extra lighting 30 min before bed. Semi dark helps to quiet your mind. Reading helps.

Drink herbal tea - like SleepyTime. Chamomile is known to induce sleep. Milk helps too.

Limit caffeine during the daytime. I have one cup of coffee a day.

Go to bed at the same time every night.

If I woke in the middle of the night, I would have hot chocolate and toast, and that seemed to make it easy to go back to sleep.

Just know that your sleep is going to be disrupted. Small price to pay for healing, and it doesn't last that long; just a couple weeks to a month.