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2 months with no sleep aids. Does this torture end?


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Going 0-2hrs of sleep per night. About 8hrs per week. This is insane torture and is showing no signs of improvement.  Makes me feel so hopeless. I don't know what to do. Need to hear from those who have recovered from this extreme insomnia.
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I now consider myself recovered and I had pretty bad insomnia for a very long time. Got a full 8 hours+ sleep last night and have been falling asleep very fast most nights for a fairly long time now. I'm just telling you this so you can have some hope to hang onto. It does get better.
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Dr. Ashton suggested Promethazine.  It's a nausea pill but it helps you relax and get some sleep.  It's antihistamine effects though but it helps if you take it once in a while and Melatonin can help at times.  I was thinking of Trazadone ...LOW DOSE.  Heard you don't have to take it every night, only when it's really bad.  I don't know though, only heard this.  I have not tried it yet myself.  But Yes, I've gone weeks without sleep myself, it's very hard. 
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Aloha, you were there when I had my original withdrawal. Always encouraging. Thanks for that. It did get better before after a few months off.  This time I am worried and don't know what is going on. Intense life stress and/or alcohol put me back in this state way back in October 2018. Without any relief for 6 months I broke and took the Remeron then Ativan. This made everything worse.  I wonder if I would have gotta better in the last 3 months if I avoided pills.  I wonder if the nervous system has a breaking point and if reached it with my history.  I just need a damn sign that this is gonna get better. Whether that be 3 or 4hrs of sleep one night or less extreme head pressure or easing of derealization.

 

I tried melatonin for months now at different dosages.  It only worked a few times early on. Now I have to stop it.  Don't think Promethazine is available in Canada.  I think I am out of med options. The strongest marijuana did not even work. Clonidine has been suggested but I think that is hardly safe since my BP is already slightly low.

 

If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations of specialists to see, I am all ears.

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Maybe you could ask a Doctor because I feel wrong in telling you what I take but Melatonin in 10 mg Trazadone just 50mgs and some Benadryl Benadryl  is what they gave me in detox to sleep and I did get my gabapentin in detox too There's something wrong with my neck what ever You take please use caution
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Not encouraging more pills to take, but If anythings better than going back on a benzo, you could try an antihistamine such as hydroxzine. I am takin small amount of remeron which also acts as a longer acting antihistamine and helps for my sleep, especially post jump of ativan when insomnia was unbearable. Hang in there buddy
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I very much know how hard it is to not sleep night after night, but it is a price worth paying to get off the pills and return to a normal life.
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I have nights of 1-3 hours. Lately three nights like that (fingers crossed it gets a bit better, please). I'm obsessed with asking if people are working through this sleepless stage? I have to work and I wonder if this is doable and for how long. How you all get better sleep tonight.
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Mine started improving a bit in month 4, and we have taken some similar stuff. I think you'll find that things will just slowly get better the further away you get from taking pills. Much of the shittiness is withdrawal, not insomnia. Even when you have bad periods later on, say 8 or 10 months off, they won't be as torturous as the current period. Just stay away from the psychiatric poison. Use non-pharmacological coping mechanisms and learn what works and what doesn't, so you have a full toolbox. That way you'll be less tempted to take anything later.
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I am dying to see improvement. 9wks now and still regularly going 2 nights without sleep then one night of two hours.  The head pressure is becoming unbearable. I cannot believe that I can be in such pain without it killing me. Without any signs this is really feeling like a permanent hopeless situation.

 

Nothing is helping with sleep. Never feel sleepy and never drift off normally.  Been doing regular 5 to 6km walks in the sun and nada.  I decided to do weights today for the first time in ages. Made my head pain even worse and was dizzy.  I am so weak too.  I can only lift a third of what of I could last year when I was well.

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I did not sleep normally for a year. NO lie. All I got was what is called "micro sleeps", moments when my brain just blinked off. This is what POW's do if deprived of sleep. You will not die from lack of sleep although you THINK you might!

I began sleeping more normal my second year out. And only by listening to sleep hypnosis videos on YouTube. Took several months for the hypnotic  to sink into my old messed up benzo brain. But eventually they did.

Give this a try for at least 2 months, and see if it works for you too.

east

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I am dying to see improvement. 9wks now and still regularly going 2 nights without sleep then one night of two hours.  The head pressure is becoming unbearable. I cannot believe that I can be in such pain without it killing me. Without any signs this is really feeling like a permanent hopeless situation.

 

Nothing is helping with sleep. Never feel sleepy and never drift off normally.  Been doing regular 5 to 6km walks in the sun and nada.  I decided to do weights today for the first time in ages. Made my head pain even worse and was dizzy.  I am so weak too.  I can only lift a third of what of I could last year when I was well.

 

It's actually very common to feel the situation is permanent and hopeless in the acute stages, but that is just the chemical depression and anxiety talking. That is great that you are able to walk 5-6km regularly, much better than I was able to manage at that stage.

 

I think the main problem with the acute phase of withdrawal is that there are things you can do to help yourself, like take a warm bath, do deep breathing, exercise etc. but at that stage it is very easy to forget those things exist or convince yourself they won't work before even trying them. You almost need someone with you all the time to guide you.

 

I don't know if you've tried the ketogenic diet, but you might find some near term relief with that. That was really the only thing that worked for me early on. Carbs seem to have a stimulating effect.

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East - It is unreal how long you went on just microsleep.  Guess you never had the sleepy feeling?  How did you function?  I can hardly think with my sleep deprivation and have almost become mute.  Which sleep hypnosis worked for you? Don't you think time played a factor in getting your sleep back? 

 

As for keto diet, I have not tried that.  But I stay away from sweets and caffeine.

 

After getting 8hrs of sleep per wk, this past one I only had 4.  When I thought it couldn't get worse, it did.  This is really becoming too much and making quality of life zero. 

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