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Offering hope; healed from chronic insomnia!


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Severe insomnia started my psych drug nightmare 9 years ago today, and I am here to tell you natural sleep has finally returned! I did not sleep for 7 weeks in 2006 and was hospitalized. Left on 3 psych drugs and didn't get off the merry-go-round until the drugs had me so very sick at the end of 2012.

 

I stopped the Benzo in April of 2013 but stayed on seroquel to mask the symptoms and for sleep. I slowly whittled the seroquel down to 6 mg in early August of 2014 and jumped! I did take Benadryl and had some sleepless nights, some with 2 or 3 hours and some better. I weaned off the Benadryl and have now been free of any sleep aid for several months. It's been up and down but overall I get 6-7 very solid hours. I NEVER thought I would sleep normally again! At one point in the psych ward (1 of my 7 stays!), I was on 5 sedating meds and only slept one hour!

 

I am here to tell you your sleep will return, sleep panic will be a distant memory and you won't even think about not sleeping when you go to bed! It feels like a miracle! Given enough time without added meds your brain will figure it out and sleep will return! The meds which we think are helping eventually turn on us and CAUSE insomnia.

 

Be encouraged, I had SEVERE insomnia for years and am doing great!

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You give me so much hope.  Between my benzo ct, the Seroquel and the Remeron, I fear my sleep is destroyed forever.

 

You are a beacon in this dark cave of withdrawal.

 

Thanks for all you do.

 

Chris

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Thanks for this.  I often wonder if I will ever sleep normally again.  I've had insomnia off and on since I was a teenager - it runs in my family.  My father was always up in the middle of the night, doing something or other.  I use natural sleep aids, but they don't always work.

 

~K

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Hi Hoepful-One CONGRATS upon your recovery. Last night was the first night that I was able to sleep all night without taking anything. I'm only 9 weeks off a Benzo....YES I am healing and sleep does come back on it's own. I woke up this AM feeling beyond fabulous. Everyone will heal. Stay positive and sending good vibes.

Francesca

 

 

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Dear HopefulOne,

 

I have followed your posts, saw your video, and am so happy for you.  You have really struggled and now are working your way out.  What a blessing.  This is such great news and DOES give all of us hope too.

 

You will keep getting better and better.  Thank you for letting us know.

 

Love to you.

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thank you so so so so much for this post. I FINALLY found someone with an insomnia record more impressive than mine?! I thought I held the world championship title at 5 weeks no sleep. Lol. but not really. I have only been in hospital twice and I hope to never return. Over the past couple weeks I have seriously considered going back. But I am seeing slow steady improvement from 0-2 hours to 3-6 now. Thank GOD. If I feel this amazing on 4 hours, imagine how great I will feel on a full nights sleep every day ! I am excited and hopeful. I am SO SORRY for what you had to go through. It is unbelievable. I am SO HAPPY for you that you have healed. Let's compare notes. Would you consider reading the post I just put up here on the insomnia board? I am curious to know if you have heard of any of the things I am researching that could explain this crazy severity of insomnia, on a chemical level. The more I can understand the science, the better I feel. I have a youtube channel too.  :smitten:
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Hi Getfree,

 

I did read your insomnia post. I was on Trazadone for sleep right out of the hospital in 2006. I stayed on it until 2012 when it just stopped working and gave me major bladder issues. I was on so many drugs at the same time I really don't know what was doing what.... they  all made me so sick. Please be careful with the Trazadone; though not a Benzo, all psych drugs disable the brain in some way. It should be tapered too to avoid any issues when your ready. As much as I hated taking Seroquel I am glad I stayed on it until my brain healed enough to sleep on its own. Insomnia on top of all the other hideous symptoms would have done me in.

 

I have not tried some of the other things you mentioned. Having done this now for  over 2 years and after reading many scenarios I have come to the conclusion time is the only true healer. I have been fortunate enough to be in a private FB group which has a nurse practitioner as the administrator. She is incredibly wise and well informed and has been in her own hell now for 4 1/2 years. She is also convinced after doing nothing but healing in isolation this entire time, that nothing anyone has tried has  ultimately helped other than a clean diet, staying hydrated and avoiding all stress when possible. Other than the supplements I had been on when this started, for the most part, I  have done the same. I do not want to do anything else to possibly mess with my gabas, cortisol or nervous system in any way.

 

I wish you the best with your endeavors. We all heal in time; Im sure of it (most days that is)!

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Thanks for the post Hopeful-One. I needed to know that people do heal from severe insomnia. Insomnia is the one symptom I fear the most and the one symptom I seem to struggle with the most. I have to believe that once I'm off these meds my body will relearn how to sleep on its own and your story gives me some much needed hope.

 

Good to hear you're doing well and I wish you continued healing and a long healthy life.

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I have had near total insomnia for a year now. I have only slept on my own about 20 times (3-5 hours) unless I take an OTC aid like Benadryl, then I get a few hours. I can't take Benadryl every day because it loses it's effectiveness, so I go days at a time with no sleep. I fear I have done something permanent. This has taken such a toll on my health. I am not being dramatic when I say I don't know how much longer I can last.
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Severe insomnia started my psych drug nightmare 9 years ago today, and I am here to tell you natural sleep has finally returned! I did not sleep for 7 weeks in 2006 and was hospitalized. Left on 3 psych drugs and didn't get off the merry-go-round until the drugs had me so very sick at the end of 2012.

 

I stopped the Benzo in April of 2013 but stayed on seroquel to mask the symptoms and for sleep. I slowly whittled the seroquel down to 6 mg in early August of 2014 and jumped! I did take Benadryl and had some sleepless nights, some with 2 or 3 hours and some better. I weaned off the Benadryl and have now been free of any sleep aid for several months. It's been up and down but overall I get 6-7 very solid hours. I NEVER thought I would sleep normally again! At one point in the psych ward (1 of my 7 stays!), I was on 5 sedating meds and only slept one hour!

 

I am here to tell you your sleep will return, sleep panic will be a distant memory and you won't even think about not sleeping when you go to bed! It feels like a miracle! Given enough time without added meds your brain will figure it out and sleep will return! The meds which we think are helping eventually turn on us and CAUSE insomnia.

 

Be encouraged, I had SEVERE insomnia for years and am doing great!

 

Thank you for sharing this. I'm suffering very badly and I'm so grateful that you shared your success story.

I cried pretty much all night last night and have been crying all morning....

Thank you.  :'( :'( :'(

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Misty93 try Meditation Oasis it really works. You can listen to it on your iphone under podcast or on line.

 

You don't want to take Benadryl you want to learn to sleep on your own. Try not to worry about it before you go to bed. My sleep finally came back!!

 

Hang in there!

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Hopeful,

 

i need some help and don't want to resort to taking any medications. the insommnia symptom is creeping up on me big time again. i haven't really slept much at all these last 31 months but now i've only slept 11 hours in the last 7 days.

 

i don't know what to do? i fear it might be worse because i had two small hits of MJ 5 days ago and i think it does cause insommnia but not having anymore. i only take melatonin and sometimes 1/2 benadryl but lately nothing is working.

 

is this something that just needs to heal on it's own? i don't know if i will live through it. i don't mind getting at least one hour. even one hour is okay for me but absolutely no hours and looking at the clock every five minutes all night long is too much.

 

i am going to have some warm milk and cocoa by my beside tonight to just sip on through the night and see if it helps at all.

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Oh Pretty, my heart just aches for you! You have waited so very long for any relief and to not have sleep on top of it is just too much! I wish I could whisk you away to slumber land! I know how exhausting o dominated can be. I believe with all my heart the drugs have ruined our sleep and we just need enough time under our belt for our brain to figure it out. I did take Benadryl as I transitioned from Seroquel; and although it's not ultimately the solution Im glad I did. Benadryl does stop being effective after concurrent use; but I am wondering if you could take it here and there just for some relief?

 

My thoughts and prayers are with you dear.

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Keep it moving,

 

You are very welcome! I can hear the exhaustion in your words. Please believe me it will get better! I have slept a solid 7-8 hours for the last week and I had AWFUL sleep issues! Your brain will figure it out in time. Let the tears flow; they are healing!

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thanks Hopeful,

 

i do take just 1/2 benadryl on ocaasion. my mother gave me some trazadone of which i don't want to resort to. i slept last night and the night before although it's always broken. it's better than none at all. i don't know what tonight will bring. my head symptoms are off the roof tonight when it was better last night. it seems to be the every other day kind of thing lately. i am truly suffering tonight though. my head just pulls and feels locked up and has a vibration running through it -- it sucks.

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This post has given me a ray of hope when i really needed it. I have been dependent on psych meds for several years for insomnia. I hope to be free of meds and sleeping naturally in the near future.
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This post has given me a ray of hope when i really needed it. I have been dependent on psych meds for several years for insomnia. I hope to be free of meds and sleeping naturally in the near future.

 

EclecticSoul-I've had three nights in a row of getting 8 hours of sleep pe night. If I can sleep 8 hours a night with out any sleep aids you will too. Sleep does return and everyone heals.

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i had taken the smallest amount of trazadone last night.

 

not only did it not help me sleep but made my brain insane. was having gruesome and disturbing images and thoughts that were not my own and i couldn't have a thought that was my own. it was truly like my mind had been hijacked.

 

that is cery scary. i simply cannot take any other drugs or medications. ever!

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Prettydaisys-I'm so sorry to hear this and I hope it gets better. I know this is going to sound crazy and I am sure people will attack me for saying this but since I started eating broccoli at dinner I am sleeping 8 hours a night drug free. I am only 13 weeks c/t and my sleep has been restored. If I can sleep all night without popping a valium you can sleep too.

 

I'm hoping you are feeling better and I am sending you a hug.

XO Fran and Casey

PS My hair finally stopped shedding:)

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Prettydaisys-I'm so sorry to hear this and I hope it gets better. I know this is going to sound crazy and I am sure people will attack me for saying this but since I started eating broccoli at dinner I am sleeping 8 hours a night drug free. I am only 13 weeks c/t and my sleep has been restored. If I can sleep all night without popping a valium you can sleep too.

 

I'm hoping you are feeling better and I am sending you a hug.

XO Fran and Casey

PS My hair finally stopped shedding:)

 

Fran,

 

so glad to hear your hair stopped shedding.

 

i actulally slept 8 hours last night even though it was still a little broken but got some good sleep and didn't take anything. :)

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PrettyDaisys- that is FANTASTIC and I am so happy to hear this...great news!! Once your sleep starts coming back I read that you are on your way to a recovery. I hope you have a nice Easter.

Fran

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pretty...I am sorry to hear of your struggles.  I am there with you as of late.  I too go through some fairly descent nights which seem to get me on track.  Unfortunately, I seem to have more bad than good nights.  Zero sleep many nights in a row is so hard to deal with.  When I finally get a few hours the sense of relief is enormous.  What I keep on doing is living my life the best I can even though my thoughts drift to how will it go tonight.  I amaze myself that I can get through days of working or whatever with no sleep.  I guess I am just not willing to throw in the towel.  I have a good job that pays very well and will do what I have to do to keep it.  If I gave up and lost that income it would be such a huge loss to myself and my family.  I just can't let it happen.

 

Keep living your life.  I am still hopeful that good days are coming....they can't be as bad as they have been as of late.

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HopeFul, such an amazing and inspiring story of hope.  Insomnia is so awful.  I was never one that could get any help from OTC sleep aids, I don't know what that says about my insomnia, but like you, I use Seroquel for sleep and it also is helping with my w/d from the Xanax I believe.  My plan is to continue the Seroquel about a year past my Xanax jump date and then start tapering the Seroquel.  I want to sleep normal again.  I need to find a way to not let the stress of my work interfere with my sleep.  I think that is a mindset thing.  I'm going to have to work on that.

 

Thank you so much for coming back to post your story of hope and health.

 

Hugs to you,

 

Bunny

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This thread has given me hope as well. I'm also determined that no matter how bad my insomnia may be, NOT to resort to benzos again.

 

Hopeful, but scared of what lies ahead when I am off Traz and Zoloft.....

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