Restful Sleep?

Hi

 

I have been taking lorazepam for sleep since Oct 2019 (due to bipolar disorder). The lorazepam stopped working in Nov 2019. So I have started tapering lorazepam since it was not giving me restful sleep anymore and affecting my memory. During my taper I have not been getting deep restful sleep.

 

I am wondering what percentage of people here who were taking lorazepam for sleep have been able to completely come out of it and still have deep restful sleep and how long it took to get to that state. Any anecdotes/links would be very helpful for me to read on what worked and what didn't so that I can add things to my practice to get deep sleep.

 

Andy

I sought Klonopin for sleep not knowing that it would rob me of it once my body got dependent on it.  When I quit and recovered from the drug I learned how to sleep on my own and its so much more restful and satisfying than drug induced sleep.

 

Here are some tips for sleep.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=235100.0

Andy,

 

Are you tracking your sleep with some sort of sleep tracking device such as a FitBit?  If not, how do you know if you're not getting any deep sleep?

 

Seroquel aka Quetiapine allows deep sleep and I see you are taking that along with Remeron aka Mirtazapine...

 

I wouldn't expect sleep to improve much or at all in length or quality until you are off of the lorazepam aka Ativan!

Hi Theway2, I don't feel mentally rested when I wake up. I don't know which stage of sleep that it corresponds to.

It's pretty "normal"  to not feel rested even if you get Deep and/or REM sleep along with light sleep.  IMO, I would say the Ativan is no longer doing what it was for you in the past...providing sleep that feels restful.  All Benzos eventually stop working at their current dose...that's called tolerance.  Once that is reached, the only solution is to increase your dose, but that is a DEAD end road.  It's much better to taper off of the Ativan and then supplement with the Seroquel and/or Remeron as needed.

 

It's not easy but you can get off of these drugs and let your body sleep on it's own, without trying to "knock" your brain out at night in order to sleep.

 

It took months for me to feel rested after my sleep returned and sometimes I felt better (during the thick of my WD) when I had no perceived sleep versus an hour or 2 or 3...

 

What you are experiencing is "normal" and eventually, your sleep will feel restful again after you are off of the Benzo!

 

As a side note, REM sleep is the most restorative psychologically and Deep sleep is the most restorative physically...

 

There is a great section on this forum for how to do a slow taper...that is recommended...I'd taper off of the Ativan, then your sleep will slowly improve after you are off!

 

Time is the healer...you'll get past this after you are off of the Ativan!