one possible reason we are all suffering from terrible insomnia

Ive battled with insomnia for many years and I have always wondered why the universe has inflicted us (even though some times its abusing benzos) with it.

After many years I feel i have come to an amazing realisation.

I believe its because when we die and go to heaven (im not religious!!) we can click our fingers and fall asleep instantly when ever we want.

You can lie on your bed a and go click...then sleep for a week.

Now if we had never come to earth and experienced terrible insomnia, being able to fall asleep in 0 seconds for as long as you want would be only mildly amusing.

But can you imagine how incredible it would be to sleep in 0 seconds for as long as you want after months or years of torturous insomnia?

Its like being out in the freezing cold so that when you get into a hot bath its bliss.....

I believe we suffer so that our future selves can fully enjoy our selves more....no pain.no gain..

Wonder how happy you guys would enjoy sleeping instantly for as long as you want? I know im looking forward to it...

 

Very strange

Yes i know its pretty far out...i kinda expected 95% of people to ask what i was smoking lol...

All i ask is that you be open minded...

I always thought the universe was very cruel to people but i now feel it is part of a greater plan..

Tough love so to speak...Everything happens for a good reason...There is no such thing as un-necessary pain..

One day your insomnia will be a thing of the past.

I just wanted to give you guys some hope and for you to realise why we suffer with insomnia so much..

I don't mean to come across as some lunatic...lol

Sorry but I believe once we're dead that's it.

Sorry but I believe once we're dead that's it.

 

Same here sleepyjo. It is also what I believe. Why some ppl have a hard time sleeping even prior to benzos....I have no clue. I do think life stressors play a huge role. I slept good as a child, teen, and young adult and no meds, Rx or OTC.

Yeah it was my first post on this forum and over the years i have been on and off reading about you guys and i feel so sorry for you all having problems....

Years ago before benzos I used to sleep on ghb when it was legal and every time the following night id be up all night with 0 sleep..

Would have to wait over 35 hours to sleep....Just watched tv for 35 hours...

I read about people on this site going multiple days with no sleep and i honestly cant imagine how bad that must be because just one night for me was hellish...

I just thought I might have found the reason behind the suffering..

I was in 2 minds as to if I should of started this post because I knew some people dont believe in heaven or life after death or the universe being part of gods mind/imagination.

I hope I haven't upset anyone and my posts from now on will be more down to earth...

If there is life after death or not, then whatever I just hope either way you guys all  see improvements in your insomnia over the coming years even if you don't fall asleep for a week in 0 seconds! lol

I have been addicted to benzos for over 12 years but I usually sleep well probably because I always take mine in the morning and never take them in evening or before bed..

If you guys are tapering and having sleep issues I recommend you slowly try to take your meds earlier and earlier on gradually so you are sleeping with less in your system when you go to bed.

 

I think you make a valid point @ DJMaux214. I have never taken benzos in the evening or prior to bedtime. I always took them 1st thing in the morning and never multiple times per day.

Djmaux, what's your signature? What benzos do you take? They'll still be in your system wether you take them during the day or night

Djmaux, what's your signature? What benzos do you take? They'll still be in your system wether you take them during the day or night

 

5 mgs (Valium) according to  DJMaux214's 1st post. I have never used benzos for sleep (the sedative effect goes away (tolerance) rather quickly but the anxiolytic effect can last for years, decades (for some fortunate individuals) before tolerance kicks in.....I took them for panic and anxiety, not sleep. If I took them at night, they would actually interfere with me sleeping.....seems counterintuitive I know, but this paradoxical effect was true if I took my dose at night.

I started off on 15mg zopiclone which i took in the morning about 12 years ago...

I then moved on to 25mg diazepam 6 years ago prescribed by local health team which i think was too much cause that's like 37.5mg zopiclone..

 

They tapered me down to 4mg over several months.

I got an increase after a while up to 10mg per day and went onto 1mg xanax a day (wanted to see what the fuss was about)

I then got switched back to diazepam after a while cause it lasts longer at 15mg per day.

Spent some time on zopiclone again for a while....Got it down to 3.75mg in morning for or 6 weeks and just couldn't lower it.

 

Over past few months got 30-40 2mg bars of xanax as well as my diazepam. Went a bit crazy.

Lowered it slowly down to 10mg diaz and no xanax (which i think its more psycologically addictive as I end up snorting bars)

Then 7.5mg after 2 weeks..

Been on a taper and now been on 5mg diazepam for 18 days....So this is day 32 of my taper from 10mg....Its been hard at times and i drink a fair bit of alcohol as well which only helps in the short term...Trying to drink less..

 

I feel like my brain should have a 6 volt battery but someone has put a 9 volt one in. I over react to little everyday things all the time.

I am now slowing way down...Plan to stay on 5mg for over a month before I drop to 3.75mg..

Some people jump of diazepam at like 1mg but I think that can cause protracted withdrawal...

I'm going to take till the end of the year and get down to about 0.1mg diazepam before I stop. Hoping it will stop protracted withdrawal.

Ill just be taking tiny tiny crumbs of it for a month or two before I stop..

I am also currently on 18.75mg olanzapine for sleep and have been for about 18 years..

The reason I need olanzapine is that unlike benzos it has helped sleep for 18 years and theres no sleep tolerance..

I sleep about 9-10 hours with it and about 7 hours without.

 

The reason is I ordered some so called smart drugs online that increase your acetylcholine which is responsible for dreaming..

Before I took them I slept 12 hours a night...After I took the smart drugs I started hallucinating and dreaming whilst awake.

When I realised it was them (after a very scary hospital visit) I stopped but my acetylcholine is higher than it should be and wont go down.

My sleep was reduced to 7 hours and I spend most of it dreaming which isnt restful deep sleep so 7 hours for me is like 4-5 hours for you guys.

But im always terrified of running out of olanzapine more than benzos. Olanzapine withdrawal is as bad as or worse than benzo withdrawal. You can be up for over 6 weeks without sleep even CTing on a low dose.

I am taking over a year to get stable at 5mg. Then staying at that.

So that's my story!

Ok so the half life of benzos has me confused.

The half life of olanzapine is about 30 hours.

After 30 hours half of the dose is in your system and you feel like 1/2 is still working..

Whats all this rubbish about diazepam having a half life of up to 200 hours?

I that were true you would only take like one tablet to last nearly a week!!

After multiple doses of say 15 mg a day over several days you would have like over 100mg in your system after a week and be totally out of it..

I feel the half life of vallium is like 5-8 hours...When I take some, about 6 hours later I can feel it rapidly waring off. 200 hours my ass!!

Now what I have heard is that this 36-200 hour half life thing is crap.

It is in fact a semi active metabolite called desmethyldiazepam that lasts 36-200 hours NOT diazepam.

Anyone care to comment?

Check out medschat.com, half life calculate both have an average half life of 39.5 hours,. but if you know better Dr DJ MAUX....... maybe you should get educated before commenting on things you know nothing about. It just makes you sound thick

Ok maybe im wrong then...But can you explain why if diazepam has such a long half life it only seems to last a few hours?

OK so say im wrong...Why does the effects of diazepam not last long if levels in blood are really high? If im wrong or right about the semi active metabolite then why do some people have to take diazepam 3 times a day?

It seems to me that the active effect of the drugs and the half life have nothing in common.

Surely we can at least agree on that...

I didnt mean to patronise anyone or upset anyone, I just dont understand how this long half life works....

Best ask a pharma expert.

Also i used to take zopiclone which has a half life of 5 hours.....Diazepam only seems to work a couple of hours longer at best...not 36-200 hours

Im sorry if I angered you sleepy joe I didnt mean to...I just dont understand it....

The half-life of a drug is the time taken for half the dose to be eliminated from the body.

 

This has nothing to do with the time it has an effect on the body.

 

Hardy.

Despite the half-life, if you take a benzo right before bed, it should have a more profound effect on sleeping right before bedtime. The complete opposite was true for me. That is why I took one dose early in the morning and no more. Also, the development of tolerance to the sedative effects (IOW sleep inducing) happens rather quickly, but the anti-anxiety effects happen more slowly over time. When I was on klonopin before it stopped working (tolerance), I took it every morning before going to work. I felt absolutely nothing except what I considered normal and the complete absence of abnormal anxiety and no panic attacks. It was the same feeling I had prior to taking the drug before panic and anxiety entered my life. There was no high or drowsy or euphoric feeling.

GM Buddies

 

6 hours of fair quality sleep for me according to the FitBit.

 

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone.

Wrong thread....I will repost! 

That's ok DJMAUX, I'm not angry, I just don't like it when people make statements about things before they know the facts

Yes your right.... I should of posted what i said as an idea that may or may not be true....

Didn't mean to come across like everything said was gospel....Point taken....

I think I came across the way I did because people are like oh go on diazepam it lasts upto 200 hours..and I just didnt understand.