mwstylee

I'm 6 days sober and I also haven't been getting much sleep. I'm just going to be patient and let my mind re-adjust itself. Also...hope we don't pull a Tyler Durden*!

*Fight Club reference.

Dee74

If you haven;t gotten a Dr involved Daniel it might be a good idea - self medication usually doesn't work out that well for folks like us.

D

wpainterw

I agree with Chicago. It's important to try to relax and not buy in to the idea that you have to sleep all night six or seven hours without waking up. So if you do wake up then try to just chill out, stay cool, don't obsess about getting back to sleep. Maybe make yourself something warm to drink, like bouillon or beef or chicken broth. Read a boring book for awhile. As to distressing family issues, try to leave those for dealing with during the day and even then focus on what you can change or help with and don't bang your head agains the wall over stuff you can't change or help. If you persist in sobriety your sleeping situation should improve dramatically. Deepest sympathy about your mother. It takes awhile to recover when something like that happens. I have lost all my family at one time or another. Not drinking about that helped me get better much sooner than otherwise.

W.

danielmalice

Hallelujah, this seems to be working! I'm getting at least 5 hours solid sleep a night by taking 20mg valium before bedtime and 10mg during the day. At the end of this week I'm gonna drop to 10mg in the morning 10mg at night. I know my Pdoc won't be happy, she wants me on Abilify and some other thing I can't remember but I'm not going to spend 6 month tapering. Why prolong the inevitable!

EmeraldRose

I'm not a doctor but from my own personal experience I prefer to stay away from any meds of ANY form. I will do a natural remedy but no OTC or presriptions of any kind.
I spent 30 years drinking...my life has had its ups and downs...I can not expect perfection in 30 minutes. I took a long time to screw up my life and it will take time to get everything to where it should be.

Booze was an easy high...you take a few shots and immediately you feel better. When you subsistute meds to help you, I feel you are replacing one with the other. It is our addictive minds that like things fast and furious. Sobriety is a slow heal forever.

@ danielmalice....again, I am not a dr. but I would think that valium is something you'd want to stay away from at this point.

LoftyIdeals

At 4 months now, I totally relate to the early sleeplessness. What worked for me has been mentioned, but I'll list:

Warm Bath
Hot chocolate
no caffeine after noon, 3 at the latest
work out in the a.m., not pm
reading to settle the mind
Prayer and meditation. Letting go of the day's anxieties to God.

I will try the stretching. That's a good idea!

I still have an occasional sleepless night, or awake at 3 or 4 am, and sometimes can't get back to sleep thinking about my day, but I think thats normal.

Congrats on your month! It will get better in short order!