How long off and how are you sleeping?

I'm 8 weeks off a 5 month course of 1mg/day Ativan, and sleeping very erratically when I'm sleeping at all.  I go a day or two with little or no sleep then crash for 5, 6, or 7 hours.  Sleep is usually very light, just get off to sleep and wake right up.  I can do this 7-8 times in a night and not much of anything else.  Sometimes, I knock off 2-3 hours of solid sleep, but sometimes just 1/2 hour or 1 hour.  I cannot nap, I'm still too wired.  I'm always tired, even when I sleep many hours.  My longest non sleep has been three days with 4 hours sleep total, twice.  My longest sleep is 10 hours.

 

I slept better when just off ativan, then it got worst.  I also tapered remeron right after so that is a contributing factor, but I think it's mostly benzo related.  (I do all the sleep hygiene stuff).

 

I'd appreciate hearing from others because this is unsettling.

When I first came off klonopin, my sleep was really messed up. I would lay in bed by 11pm.. and not fall asleep until between 3 and 4am. I had to get up at 6am most days for work too.

 

The insomnia isn't as bad in the beginning because you still have some of the benzo in your body. But as less and less of it is left over things get a little harder. I think insomnia is one of the worst symptoms because sleep can be an escape from the symptoms of benzo withdrawal.  

 

Just know that you can't force yourself to sleep if your body won't let you. You can however encourage your body to get sleep. Some things that work for me.

 

-Warm milk with chamomile half an hour before you want to sleep

-Warm bath or shower (not too hot)

-A fan or ceiling fan on low setting blowing air against you.

-Watch a comedy in bed

-Meditation and breathing relaxation exercises.

-Relaxation cds with headphones.

 

Your body will eventually correct itself over time. Don't be discouraged. I think many people believe that each night will get a little easier than the previous. That is not always the case in the short term (usually gets worse), but in the long term you will be fine.

I've been off for 2+ years and sleeping fine.  I can even take naps now which would have been out of the question a couple of years ago.  It was a long haul to get to this point, though.  I think Crono is spot on. 

I'm over a month off of clonazepam and my sleep has improved quite a bit.

This seems to be the exception and not the rule, however.

 

I'm not really sure why I'm sleeping better now than when I was tapering, but I'm not going to complain

Now if only my other symptoms would disappear as quickly as my insomnia did...

 

 

 

thanks for your reply.  I think it's important to report the positive as well to show that not everyone experienves sleep disturbances.

I'm one month off today.

 

I have had windows, but for the majority, I still don't sleep. Last night, I was awake all night it seemed.  I think I may have dozed off because I remembered a dream.  I have had some vivid dreams all of a sudden. 

 

Crono, I'm just like you with going to bed at 11, not falling asleep til 4 or 5, and then I have to be up for work at 6:30.  It's awful!

 

My good points: I don't have any more stress or anxiety.  The anxiety was awful.  I've learned to accept that I may not sleep very good for a while.  I'm also 2 sessions into therapy. 

 

Determined7

I am 3 weeks off and I am able to sleep a good 8-9 hours with 1-2 wake ups. Sometimes in the mornings the sleep is broken with weird dreaming and some anxiety about having to get up for work. This was not always the case for me in the beginning of my taper my sleep was HORRIBLE. sometimes 2 rarely 4-6 but always light and broken with several wake ups and lots of anxiety.. Then I went from that to too much sleep about midway through my taper I was sleeping 12+ hours.. Then it kinda went back to normalish towards the end and once I jumped. For me i finally realized that sleep supplements hurt my sleep quality appose to helping. And most importantly I realized that everyone is different and things can change around when you least expect it. Thats what happened for me. I am wishing the best for you! Take care!

 

Ashley

I get those vivid dreams too. And it is about the weirdest stuff, I can't even remember any of it.  Kinda becomes one of the those wtf moments when you wake up

 

And accepting that you won't sleep well helps because it takes away some of the anxiety about the sleeping. And when you take that away, you aren't disappointed in how you slept... which in turn lessens your anxiety about the day ahead of you.  I remember getting up and kind of laughing about it "Another 2 hours of sleep and time for work, woohoo!"

 

And as for supplements, I was trying SleepMD back when I first reinstated... but I think that had valerian in it which is a no-no.

 

 

I am 4 months off..at first I wasnt able to sleep but an hr or two..usually I took an aspirin and that helped me get 3-4. Then it improved greatly, but now I just got off Buspar after trying it for a month and now my sleep has gone to crap again..waking up 5 times a night...suuuuccckkkss. also does anyone have like a pressure or ache ok the top of their heads when trying to sleep? Like your brains being strained? Lol

week 10 and average sleep is 4 hours but still eratic.  Last 30 days I had about 10-11 nights with little or no sleep.  I sleep about 5 long nights in the last 30 days.  Very difficult to cope with the lack of sleep.

Is it normal to have insomnia after two years off?  I hvae had it the past couple of nights--no sleep at all.  then again I am going through pre-menopause too.

Hi - I'm almost 48 and going through pre-meno too and I'll bet you anything that that's your culprit with your sleep.  There are so many resources on line about it and worth discussing with your ob/gyn to see if he/she can help you in any way.  Hopefully, they can adjust your hormones (I take a little estrogen) rather than give you a sleeping pill. That's a common response and in the end does more harm than good. IMO.

 

Give it a few days and see if it gets better. I've had 3 crappy nights in a row and can tell with a glance at the calendar its' cuz I'm ovulating. Ugh!  I've only been on the extra estrogen about a month.  I guess it takes a while to work. 

8 months off

 

most nights 5 hours min

good nights 8 hours

 

 

always wake up 2 or 3 times.

Hi - I'm almost 48 and going through pre-meno too and I'll bet you anything that that's your culprit with your sleep.   There are so many resources on line about it and worth discussing with your ob/gyn to see if he/she can help you in any way.  Hopefully, they can adjust your hormones (I take a little estrogen) rather than give you a sleeping pill. That's a common response and in the end does more harm than good. IMO.

 

Give it a few days and see if it gets better. I've had 3 crappy nights in a row and can tell with a glance at the calendar its' cuz I'm ovulating. Ugh!  I've only been on the extra estrogen about a month.  I guess it takes a while to work. 

 

i can guarantee you that I will never take a sleeping pill again after Ativan.  I tried lavender last night and never did well with that either.  It go t me to sleep but the after effects were almost just as bad as Ativan.

I've been sleeping on and off for about 5 or 6 weeks,  one night I get some sleep, the other almost none.  Has anyone else have this? I'm week 12 off, and yes, I know, I'm early in my recovery, but still, it would be nice to get input on what others are experiencing.  Thanks.

ok now i am consistently sleeping at least 5-1/2 hours a night. great scott! not too much chemical assist either!

week 13 (3 months) and my sleep is starting to return.  I'm now averaging about 5 hours a night, and the one night on one night off parttern is subsiding that I had for several weeks.  The nights of zero sleep slowly gave way to nights of one, two, three etc. and the nights of 7 and 8 hrs gave way to 6, and 5 so that I'm sleeping most nights between 3.5 and 7 hours.  Last night I had mini panics right as I was going to sleep and again when I woke at 4 am.  I could really do without the night panics.  I wake up tired, but better than before.

I had 3 nights in a row where I slept for around 7 hours.  The very best part was that when I woke up to use the restroom I felt blessedly calm- my heart wasn't pounding and I was able to go right back to sleep.

 

And then WHAM-  last night was a rough one. First- instead of falling asleep around 11 pm as usual I was all revved up at 1:30 am. I forced myself to lay down and then slept only fitfully.

 

I'm not sure what time I woke up in a panic with adrenaline rushing but it was still dark and I lay there trying to calm myself for hours until I finally gave in and decided to come here.

 

It's so discouraging because sleep has been my biggest improvement.

 

I know there is no logic to any of this but I'm reaching for causes and could possibly attribute it to one of 4 things.  1)  After 3 great nights sleep my body was simply more rested  2)  I took a long walk/hike yesterday and that could have revved things up  3) Work has been intense for about 6 days now  or (could this be the most likely factor?)  4)  I typically don't eat sweets at all.  I haven't had much of an appetite since this began and I try and eat natural, simple, healthy foods.  Last night I ate half of a chocolate muffin after dinner.  Could something as silly as half a muffin stirred everything up that much???

 

 

rebecca,

 

I think that our bodies can only produce so much sleep right now, you you're right I think, that after a night of several hours sleep out brains just cannot produce more sleep.  As for the muffin, I'm thinking more chocolate-caffeine than sugar.  I know a lot of buddies avoid sugar, but I'm a sugar junkie and have not seen any correlation (or refuse to see it), but avoid caffeine (even in chocolate).  Thanks for posting.

Rebecca, I'm in the same boat.  I am sleeping now 3 days a row for the past two weeks (glad I am getting some sleep, finally!) And then its followed by rough nights! 

 

I try to pin point the cause too, but there is no consistency.  I thought it was taking too much calcium, but I don't think that's the case anymore.  I also thought it was too much sugar and sweets for dessert, this is not the cause either bc I slept a full night (yes!  ) and still had a lot candy.  However, the caffeine in chocolate like wellness mentioned could be a culprit.

 

Hope you sleep well tonight

You too wellness and determined

 

I wish you both deep, peaceful, restful sleep

 

and wonderful dreams too

 

It's been one year for me. Insomnia was the worst and still is the last symptom to leave. By trial and error (and I know my body pretty well by now), I will say that if I have a glass of wine or even one cocktail, my ears will be ringing the next day. I know better and avoid all at costs. 

Be strong and keep up the battle. I'm so much better and I know you will be too.

 

I'm 7 months 1 week and 4 days off and am only getting 2-3 hours of sleep per night. I recently tapered off of trazodone and reduced my dose of Seroquel so that may have something to do with it...but I am LOSING MY MIND!!!   

Sunny, I think these adjunct medication we are given just add insult to injury when time comes to taper.  I too am doing a double taper and I'm being hit, but I'm getting closer to 5 hrs.  Still not enough but better.  Was your sleep anybetter earlier?  Ashton says sleep returns in  months 6 to 12.  Something to really look forward to.  Take care.

Sunny, I betcha it's the trazodone taper.  I tapered off that and had severe insomnia for 6 full weeks or so afterward.  Most nights 0 - 3 hours per night. It's awful. Hang in there.