sleep progress thread

would anyone like to comment on how they are doing with their sleep progress, things that help or don't help, and observations? I'm a scientist, I love to track data!

 

I started a new routine of mindfulness meditation at night, before bed. Some nights I do it a few hours before, sometimes right before. I semi-doze off during the meditation which I think prepares my brain for rest.

 

I stopped taking my turmeric supplement which I was taking every night before bed. I'm probably going to restart it again.

 

I tried 5HTP before bed, as prescribed by my naturopath. I gave it 3 nights and decided NO MORE. Two of the three nights it kept me up and the next day I would feel depressed, similar as when I was on zoloft. Think my serotonin receptors are uber sensitive.

 

This week, I took mirtazapine one night and unisom two other nights, and slept without anything a few days. Last night I ended up taking a unisom pain pm (basically unisom + tylenol) because my back is so tweaked and it hurts when I move a certain way. I had taken mirtzapine to knock me out wed night because I was doing an at home sleep study and I had all these tubes connected to me, and I was worried it would keep me up. Well, I must have slept in a compromising position and my trapezius and neck are so tight and painful! I usually try not to take any sleeping pills on weekends but I didn't want to wake up in pain all night. I woke up a few times but it was okay, but it still hurts this morning of course I've been doing a lot for it - saw chiropractor, went to yoga, movement helps, etc.

 

I track my sleep with two apps (because I'm insane and obsessive, LOL) and the ongoing data has really helped me. It's like a sleep diary that I don't have to write anything down for. I also enjoy playing back the recordings the next day. I have had some amusing recordings of me talking in my sleep (i yelled in my sleep the other night and then had a conversation with my husband I do not remember at all), and of our pets doing things.  The data has shown me my sleep efficiency is better than I think it is. But I think more important is how I feel the next day. I can tell if I've had enough sleep or not, regardless of the data.

 

My anxiety in general is down and my mood is up, although I still have my moments and days (don't we all). Running + yoga are helping me. I've also had a lot of realizations about things in life that need to change, and my insomnia is a symptom of a greater problem. I feel like I'm on the verge of a great life breakthrough! It's kind of exciting but also scary.

 

Sorry this was so long! I'd love to hear from others. Even if your progress is minimal, what is working, what is not, and how are you doing? I hope we can all continue to support each other!

Hi Tealwater,

My sleep has greatly improved over the past several months. Most nights I now fall asleep right away, but usually float up into a lighter in and out sleep after about 4 hours. I really don't mind that because I feel fine the next day and really think that I now need far less sleep than before this whole mess started. I still get an odd night from time to time where it takes a long time to fall asleep, but things are overall so much better that it is no big deal.

 

The drag is that I hurt my back and I am getting strange rapid contractions of my front thigh muscles on one of my legs that produce bad pain after a few minutes. When I fall asleep and relax the muscle goes nuts, but I don't feel it until the pain sets in and wakes me up. Just sort of feels unfair after all the nights of poor sleeps. I'm waiting for an MRI to find out what is going on. Just goes to show that life if full of problems other than benzo and z-drug withdrawals.

I've got such weird sleeping patterns. Sometimes I sleep all night, 8 hrs. Other times I sleep about 4 hrs, then wake up the rest of the night, and can't get back to sleep. Tonight is one of those nights. I slept 9 pm to 12 30 a m. Now it's 3 am and I'm wide awake. On these nights I feel like f,ing smashing my head against the f,ing wall. My husband sleep all night, then expects me to be normal. What a f,ing nightmare.

Hi Tealwater,

My sleep has greatly improved over the past several months. Most nights I now fall asleep right away, but usually float up into a lighter in and out sleep after about 4 hours. I really don't mind that because I feel fine the next day and really think that I now need far less sleep than before this whole mess started. I still get an odd night from time to time where it takes a long time to fall asleep, but things are overall so much better that it is no big deal.

 

The drag is that I hurt my back and I am getting strange rapid contractions of my front thigh muscles on one of my legs that produce bad pain after a few minutes. When I fall asleep and relax the muscle goes nuts, but I don't feel it until the pain sets in and wakes me up. Just sort of feels unfair after all the nights of poor sleeps. I'm waiting for an MRI to find out what is going on. Just goes to show that life if full of problems other than benzo and z-drug withdrawals.

 

So sorry about your back injury!! That sounds like an awful situation! I also recently got hurt too! My trapezius/neck. It happened Wednesday night when I slept weird, and then was worse the next two days. It seems to be gradually improving but night is hard because when I lay down or move a certain way it brings on the pain, and I wake up like you said.

I've got such weird sleeping patterns. Sometimes I sleep all night, 8 hrs. Other times I sleep about 4 hrs, then wake up the rest of the night, and can't get back to sleep. Tonight is one of those nights. I slept 9 pm to 12 30 a m. Now it's 3 am and I'm wide awake. On these nights I feel like f,ing smashing my head against the f,ing wall. My husband sleep all night, then expects me to be normal. What a f,ing nightmare.

 

I can relate to that! My nights are vastly different too. I have the sleep onset problem, the problem you are talking about (waking up wired in the middle of the night), also waking up every hour, etc. It's pretty unpredictable right now, and like you said, people don't understand. It's hard for me to make plans to run early in the morning with my friends because I never know how i will sleep. It's hard enough to be able to get through work! I'm sorry you had one of those nights again. I hope your Sunday is peaceful, and you can relax at least.

Yesterday was an odd day for me, we (husband and I) did something we hadn't done in awhile.. we went out to visit friends who live 1.5 hrs away, and got home fairly late (around 11pm). Normally I start my bedtime routine around 8 and am in bed by 9, so this was a different experience. I was concerned about it, thinking maybe I would get a second wind and not be able to sleep. I was nodding off in the car ride during conversations with my husband. I laid down when we got home, didn't immediately fall asleep but eventually did, and don't remember waking up until 5am when my husband woke up briefly too, then I tried to go back to sleep and did - until after 7! I haven't slept past 5:30 in weeks. My brain really likes the 5-5:30 time, probably because that's when my husband wakes up for work and alarms go off, so now that's my cue, even if I barely sleep the night before. This is probably a sleep hygiene follower's dream, but I would prefer not to be up at this time always! So I feel pretty good, and I feel like I got enough sleep. I decided not to track my sleep with my apps last night and just wing it and not pay attention. I'm not sure about how many hours, but my sense is, it was enough. I saw light outside when I woke up and was encouraged, and then went outside and exposed myself to said light because I've heard that is good for circadian rhythms, etc. Hope everyone has a relaxing, nice Sunday. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

My hubby works nights, so our sleep patterns are very mixed up. He complains of never getting caught up on his sleep, but in my opinion he never has trouble sleeping.

Today I feel horrible . I'm cross, angry, and tired. I nodded off around 4 a m. Hubby asked me what I felt like doing today, and I said, I don't feel like doing anything. Lol..oh well, not every day is perfect.

I'm still having a lot of dental pain, and that is seriously messing with my sleep. Last night was bad enough I took 1/2 an oxycodone, and that makes sleep even lighter than normal. I think if this was not going on, my sleep would actually be pretty good! Hopefully before too long, I'll have an idea if this is the case.

Pain and sleep do not go well together. An injured shoulder is one of the reasons why I started overusing Ambien in the first place.

Pain and sleep do not go well together. An injured shoulder is one of the reasons why I started overusing Ambien in the first place.

 

Couldn't agree more. Whether it is muscle/joint pain, or a headache, or illness... it makes everything 10x worse!

 

I had a difficult night last night regarding sleep. I meditated and got really relaxed and calm, and was laying in bed resting, and stuff my husband was doing kept semi-waking me, and then he opened a squeaky window and it jarred me awake. I got kind of pissed, which I feel bad about, but you guys can understand. I switched between the bed and the sofa several times over several hours, and the last time I saw a clock it was 11:13pm, and I fell asleep sometime after that on the couch, and then woke up and moved back into bed until morning. Not knowing what time it was or how many hours I got is actually kinda helpful because I don't have that numerical knowledge in my head. I definitely was stressed out about it though and worrying. The anxiety makes it so much harder - I think if I just didn't care, it wouldn't matter as much and I would just slowly adjust and probably be okay with it. I think it's all about the having to get up for work thing and imagining being tired, and scared of driving if I don't sleep at all. Ironically the meditation I did was mindfulness, so that SHOULD be helping all this, but last night was just a crappy one.

^ not sure but to me it seems like you sleep like an almost normal person for the most part.  I think everyone suffers from some restless nights and bouts of insomnia here and there but I constantly see you posting you sleep hours and what you take etc....

 

I think you just need to relax and go with the flow and not pay so much attention to your sleep and keeping track so much you seem to be in pretty good mental shape from what I see.

 

I dont post everything I do daily as that means I am giving my sleep issues too much control over me and my mind.  I just go to bed, get up and do my thing.

 

I think you just gotta realize you arent doing that bad 

^ not sure but to me it seems like you sleep like an almost normal person for the most part.  I think everyone suffers from some restless nights and bouts of insomnia here and there but I constantly see you posting you sleep hours and what you take etc....

 

I think you just need to relax and go with the flow and not pay so much attention to your sleep and keeping track so much you seem to be in pretty good mental shape from what I see.

 

I dont post everything I do daily as that means I am giving my sleep issues too much control over me and my mind.  I just go to bed, get up and do my thing.

 

I think you just gotta realize you arent doing that bad 

 

Hi Murph,

Thanks SO much for saying this! It means a lot to hear that perspective coming from an objective person. I guess I struggle with this so much, because I used to be able to fall asleep immediately if I went to bed, even if I just laid down for a nap, the cue worked. Now I have this other weird pattern going ever since this started. I think once I get some time off work, I can let things sorta shake out and not worry so much about being tired the next day. That's the main thing that creates the pressure. That, and fearing there is something seriously wrong with me that is preventing sleep. I actually didn't feel too crappy today despite not getting a lot of sleep, I didn't take a nap but did a 15 minute mindfulness meditation after I taught my morning class, which relaxed me for a little while. And I went for 4 long walks today instead of running - one tendon is a little sore. I saw my doctor today, she's referring me to a regular sleep clinic, and she prescribed some hydroxycine. I'm holding onto it but not using it yet. I have tried a lot of things, and I try to use stuff one at a time. Knowing I have options is comforting.

hi Teal  I think some of us have it worse than others and i think you are on the better side of things so that should be good for you to hear 

 

I am not med free myself which kinda sucks but I give my sleep issues as little priority in my life as i can now.  Sleep use to be on my mind 24/7 making it almost impossible to sleep.  I still dont sleep perfectly but things are 90-95% better at this point.  I have some waves but I have found it to be related to over drinking of hard alcohol so i am staying away from that!

 

Once i was able to get this off my mind I was able to relax and let sleep come back, last night was another 7 hour night so i am taking it in and enjoying it.

 

Went to gym today and rode my mtnbike, its great feeling like a normal human again 

hi Teal  I think some of us have it worse than others and i think you are on the better side of things so that should be good for you to hear 

 

I am not med free myself which kinda sucks but I give my sleep issues as little priority in my life as i can now.  Sleep use to be on my mind 24/7 making it almost impossible to sleep.  I still dont sleep perfectly but things are 90-95% better at this point.  I have some waves but I have found it to be related to over drinking of hard alcohol so i am staying away from that!

 

Once i was able to get this off my mind I was able to relax and let sleep come back, last night was another 7 hour night so i am taking it in and enjoying it.

 

Went to gym today and rode my mtnbike, its great feeling like a normal human again 

 

Agree so much, when one stops focusing/caring it seems more effortless. Last night I got upset, I did my meditation and was SO relaxed on the couch, I didn't want to open my eyes and I was drifting off to sleep even after the meditation ended. I got up and got into bed, and then was back "awake" again! So i took a 7.5mg mirtazapine, which I thought would do the trick...and put on a deepok chopra meditation to listen to. Well, after 45 minutes I was still awake so I moved to the couch, talked to my husband for a bit and was frustrated and having the "this will never end!" feeling, and worrying about work.. I told myself "if you are awake all night again you can take the day off"( i did this the previous night when having trouble) and we went back to bed and I fell asleep. Like you, I had close to a 7 hour night after all that. We were awakened by our pets at 3am but i was able to get back to sleep. My husband had a rougher night than me, but he didn't have mirtazapine juice in him! I don't like depending on these meds, but if they will help for now, and help me get through the next few weeks, I don't mind. My main problem right now is sleep anxiety (not being afraid of sleep, being afraid of not sleeping) and hating being alone at night with my own thoughts. I swear if my husband stays up with me, or if i had some other insomniacs with me, being awake wouldn't suck as much and I wouldn't feel so awful and worked up! The being alone with yourself part and not being able to shut down your mind is the worst.

 

My doctor prescribed me hydroxyzine to try next, as I've had positive results with antihistamines. I probably annoy many of you who are worse off, because I'm constantly trying things and doing things and I do get some results. I just have the thing about control right now. Murph, thanks for commenting back and acknowledging that I'm doing okay. I started this thread because I hope to hear from more people too, about what works, and other coping strategies people have. Apparently telling myself not to worry about getting up at a certain time or taking that out of the equation helps? I'm not sure.. will continue and see what happens. Less than 8 weeks left until my semester break and I have a month off work..