Insomnia can heal/improve - mine did

I’ve had insomnia and a benzo dependency for 16-17 yrs that started in 2003 when I took Ativan for extreme insomnia 0-3 hrs sleep/night after developing PTSD from being in a new, really difficult marriage, losing a baby to cancer, having 7 mos chemo and more. Finally, I found the answer to what’s going on physically. After a traumatic holiday in Mexico last year (2019), I contracted shingles, knew I couldn’t continue with all the meds and that I needed help. My band-aid approach of 7.5-10 mg of Valium, nightly alcohol and pot to help me sleep was taking its toll on my body and I knew I had to stop. I had tried weening from benzos a number of times (first time cold turkey and learned how serious this is).

On a google search I discovered Anthony William ‘Medical Medium’, began his shingles protocol in May 2019 (tho I still drank until the last few months), and now am down to 1.25 mg Valium, no alcohol, and a little pot/CBDs. My sleep is now about 6 hrs/night average. I had also developed chronic fatigue and spend a lot of time in bed. A few keys to understanding my insomnia are 1. my illness is largely viral and 2. I need massive quantities of nutrition- the right nutrition to kill the viruses and support my body 3. 20 mg of melatonin/night. I bought all his books and I know it’s the answer I’ve been looking for for 20 yrs. Anthony William (celery juice trend) knows chronic illness. Insomnia is a symptom of chronic illness and may be much less benzo related than we think.  Weening from Valium is easy and I’ll be off soon. The diet is expensive but I know it’s the answer. I highly recommend it. I’ll update when I’m off the Valium.

I also posted in celebrations if you want to know more.

Sorry your insomnia may or may not be Benzo related, but I would say that 95% or more of the people on this forum have insomnia as a direct result of tapering off or going CT from a Benzo?  Sure, some of them may have had insomnia before going on Benzos (I did), but the vast majority got hit with insomnia after stopping their Benzo.  And a lot of us that took Benzos for sleep learned to deal with some off nights of sleep here and there.  I now sleep pretty well almost every night, 6-8 hours without taking anything.  About 4 years ago, I was averaging 5-10 hours per week.

I understand the need to find something other than Benzos as the cause because if it isn't the Benzo, then there might be something you could use to treat it. A good diet and exercise to the extent you can handle it, will almost always help people.  Getting healthy is a good thing.  Healing your gut is a good thing.  Unfortunately for almost everyone here that has Benzo induced insomnia, the Benzo was and is the cause of their insomnia, not some other underlying condition.

Good luck.

Ashergee,

A month ago, I was having lunch in an organic cafe where I began reading a copy of the Medical Medium's Celery Juicing book.  I read about how it can help to heal anxiety, depression and insomnia.  What really struck me was that he talked about the MTHFR gene mutation, which I have, and how it can be attributable to a Riboflavin deficiency.  About 2 years ago, when I was tapering off Ativan, I was told by a Functional Medicine doctor that I have a Riboflavin deficiency.  I bought the bottle of Riboflavin, but did not take it as I was too afraid to add any other supplements. 

When I got home from the cafe, I began taking the Riboflavin and started celery juicing.  I have noticed a big improvement in how I feel.  I have also seen an improvement in my sleep.  In the past 4 weeks, I had a good week, then a few bad nights, then a good week and now I'm in a wave the past 3 nights.  Good nights are around 5-6 hours, bad nights are 2-3 hours.  I only take Tart Cherry pills and Magnesium before bed as I do not want to be reliant on anything to sleep.  I weaned off of melatonin, l-theanine and lactium.  I just ordered 2 of his books as I want to explore his protocols further. 

Ashergee,

 

A month ago, I was having lunch in an organic cafe where I began reading a copy of the Medical Medium's Celery Juicing book.  I read about how it can help to heal anxiety, depression and insomnia.  What really struck me was that he talked about the MTHFR gene mutation, which I have, and how it can be attributable to a Riboflavin deficiency.  About 2 years ago, when I was tapering off Ativan, I was told by a Functional Medicine doctor that I have a Riboflavin deficiency.  I bought the bottle of Riboflavin, but did not take it as I was too afraid to add any other supplements. 

 

When I got home from the cafe, I began taking the Riboflavin and started celery juicing.  I have noticed a big improvement in how I feel.  I have also seen an improvement in my sleep.  In the past 4 weeks, I had a good week, then a few bad nights, then a good week and now I'm in a wave the past 3 nights.  Good nights are around 5-6 hours, bad nights are 2-3 hours.  I only take Tart Cherry pills and Magnesium before bed as I do not want to be reliant on anything to sleep.  I weaned off of melatonin, l-theanine and lactium.  I just ordered 2 of his books as I want to explore his protocols further.

Just curious - why did you wean off Lactium? What was your experience like with it? My naturopath just recommended it and after doing some research, looks like it’s non-habit forming, no side effects and many bento withdrawal professionals are taking a strong interest in this supplement. I’m about to try it and wanted to see why you stopped