Dealing with severe fatigue

My fatigue is caused primarily by a sleep disorder than insomnia, although I do tend to waken early, which adds to the problem. Either way, I am severely sleep-deprived. Daylight saving has not helped as I think my body clock has not fully adjusted.

 

How do others feel? How do you manage it?

 

I am so tired sometimes I get scared.  I news to nap in the afternoons. My work and social life are severely curtailed. I go to bed early and avoid alcohol (mostly). I listen to relaxing music.

I have definitely noticed that the increased amount of darkness and lack of sunlight has really thrown off my sleep and at this point I’m closer to insomnia than I am good sleep. I’m in the middle of a taper but some nights I sleep half way decent and others I wake up a lot. One thing that actually helps is I take magnesium citrate before bed. It’s definitely worth a try if you are not taking it already.

How much sleep do you estimate you get each night?  In almost all cases we underestimate our total sleep.

 

It looks like you just got off, so I wouldn't expect your sleep to even out right away.  In fact, Ashton says 6-12 months for most; some take less time some more.

 

That doesn't mean your sleep is terrible the entire time, it just means that it takes time and more time to even out.

 

It's a very UP and down process getting sleep back.  You could start to sleep well for a few days or a few weeks only to go back to poor sleep for days or weeks or months.

 

But it DOES even out over time.

 

You have to COMPLETELY avoid alcohol as that works on GABA receptors just like a Benzo would.  You have to completely avoid Benzos too.

 

The problem is your sleep switch is TEMPORARILY broken, taken offline by the Benzos.  As I said it takes time to heal so sleep hygiene will NOT touch benzo-induced insomnia as it is a temporary brain injury that your body knows how to fix.

 

Please take the time to read this post:  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=235100.0

 

Good luck!

@[Tr...]

 

@THRwAy2 thanks also. I have part read the thread you link to and will continue.

 

I reckon I have been getting about seven hours lately.  Sounds fine, doesn't it? In fact, my insomnia is better now than it was pre-benzos thanks to practising mindfulness. Something I definitely recommend.

 

However, the problem here is that I have sleep apnoea which is far from optimally controlled by CPAP therapy. That, in combination with a certain amount of insomnia and regular waking owing to prostate issues, plus the benzo withdrawal, all conspire to leave me feeling totally exhausted on waking.

 

It is estimated I get maybe the equivalent of 2 to 3 hours sleep per night owing to the apnoea.

 

I tend to drag through the days, managing them as best I can, aiming to rest/nap for 1 to 2 hours every afternoon. My sleep is simply not good enough for me to recover from my tiredness so I never staff with my account in balanced so to speak. Any stress or being flat out working for too long will simply push me down into a state of total exhaustion.

 

I realise I'm not the only body to know what real exhaustion feels like, it's just that the causes of my poor sleep are a mixture of a certain amount of insomnia, and other issues.

 

 

 

 

Omg 7 hrs.  :'( I wish

Are you overweight? If your are very overweight that will contribute significantly to apnea. Even a CPAP machine may not be enough. I'd skip the Magnesium Citrate and instead use Magnesium Bis-Glycinate or Threonate, and also add Vitamin D if you can, and reassess after a few days how it's going for you.

Hi all, I have sleep apnoea and use a CPAP machine too. Chalkey, why is your apnoea not controlled well? Have you checked your CPAP settings? It took me ages to get the right pressure etc on mine. Also, do you know what your oxygen sats are during the night? You can get a monitor to wear overnight that constantly monitors your oxygen. I must admit that even though my apnoea is well controlled I do suffer from fatigue. I am hoping that as I reduce the Lorazepam, the fatigue will  lessen…….BUT…..it may not and I will have CFS/ME going forward. Then, the only way is to live within your energy bubble to avoid energy crashes. You probably know that this is very tricky and normal daily activities simply aren’t possible. I really hope that your sleep improves and you feel more alert as your body recovers from the benzos. It’s hard to explain to others why you have to stay in bed when you look perfectly well! Sending good wishes.