No problems falling asleep, but waking up early?

9/10 nights i am asleep within minutes of laying down.  What I find odd is that I tend to wake up at the 7hr mark (1 hour before my alarm) and can't seem to fall back asleep.  No mater what I do, i just lay there awake.  On some occasions I am able to fall back asleep.  Most time I lay there angry, thinking about how I will most likely be tired alll day because of it.  But to my surprise, the days I wake up early, I seem to have good energy & reduced symptoms, it's rather odd. 

 

I used to have problems FALLING asleep, but could sleep until 2pm if i wanted.  Things seem to have shifted  180 degrees.  My best guess is that I am no longer being sedated from the K, and my body only needs approx 7 hours of sleep.  I'm sure there really ins't a true explination as to why I am experiencing this, prob. just part of healing. 

 

Just curious, is anyone else like this?

I do the same thing, but my body wakes me up after 1-4 hours of sleep  .  7 hours sounds like heaven.  I'm sure it will all even out for you soon as your body gets back to regular patterns--I see you jumped recently so it's quite early in the game...

Yeah, we'll see how tonight goes, but the last four nights on this initial taper have been falling asleep with no problems only to wake up 5 or 4 hours afterwards with no return to sleep. And actually, I count myself fortunate to be getting that.

Waking up after 2-3 hours has been the norm for me almost every night since I jumped 6 months ago.  It's been hell on earth quite frankly and has to be THE worst symptom I have because lack of sleep exacerbates my other symptoms.  What seems to be happening is that my brain has lost its ability to shift into the deep sleep phase which kicks in about 2-3 hours after falling asleep.  Seems this has to be the case because I wake up like clockwork every single night.  What really stinks is that I can never fall back to sleep.

 

From what I read, 7 hours a night is enough sleep for most (emphasis on 'most') people unless you're under 30 or thereabouts.  Try not to be hard on yourself because you're doing really well getting that much sleep. 

 

Mal

 

 

I've either gotten better with sleep the last two days because of being on the second half of my taper, response to sleep deprivation, or introduction of Unisom. I tend to think the latter because I'm still waking up at the normal time(s), but I'm able to get back to sleep.

Sleep?  What's that?

 

I'm averaging 2-3 hours a night...I would KILL for 7!!!  It takes me 2-3 hours to fall asleep and then I wake up a couple hours later and don't go back to sleep...I used to be able to sleep 16 hours a day on benzos so this new "sleep" pattern has been a rude awakening to say the least...as a matter of fact it 3:20am as I type this :'(-

 

I think there are a LOT of us who would kill for 7 hours sleep - yikes even 4hours solid deep sleep oh and bring on a dream or two - I miss those. :'(

 

 

7 hours?  Oh, my.  Count your blessings.  That is wonderful, and I hope you can keep it up.  ~~mbr

Mal i think what is going on with your sleep is very common and it certainly happened to me for months.  And it really was bad......light sleep only....awful.

 

After 5 or 6 months i noticed that my sleep was very shallow and that I would get 6 hours but it was light sleep not the good deep restorative sleep that I needed so when I would wake up I would feel like I didnt even get any sleep.....becasue I think that the damage the benzos do is it prevents our brains from getting into level 3 or 4 of the Slow wave sleep or REM sleep.  This is so awful I understand.....so it is not about how many hours a person get but it more about how deep the sleep was.....so when somebiody says that they are getting 5 hours of sleep....well my quuestion is what kind of sleep....personally I would rather have 3 hours of deep level 4 sleep than 7 hours of light level 1 or 2 sleep.  Deep sleep is the best.....it will return to you so keep the faith.

 

I got this bad light sleep from months 5 to 10...but now at 12+ months off I am starting to get better quality sleep...so it is finally reutning at 1 year off......wow it took a long time but it is just starting....and this make everything better during the next day....and it help control the w/d symptoms and keep this in check.  Very encouraging development!

 

So I just wanted you to know that you will probably be able to get that deeper sleep you need in a few more months...hang in there.

 

Andy

The "waking up" thing is definitely related to the Z drugs. The pattern seems to change with time on a given prescription. I have found two things helpful. The first is standard, (imagine a pleasant garden, tell myself not to be anxious about being awake.)  the second will probably seem "wacko". I found accidentally that if I put on a sleep-mask -- the flimsy kind you get on an airline flight kit -- even though the room was actually dark, just the physical sensation of the mask resting on my eyes acts as a relaxtion. I usually go back to sleep until morning. Even if this is only "in my mind" that's where the damn Z's have been doing their unpleasant tricks, so I like to think I'm giving them some of their own treatment in reverse!

On another sleep-related issue: dream activity also seems very closely linked to Z changes.

I think that the sequence is as follows: first use of the new Z induces deep sleep, which hides both the "waking" and the "dreaming" effects. Then as the body gets used to the new Z, the waking and dreaming which were there before (as the previous Z wore off) come back to the surface. Perhaps other people can tell me if this makes any kind of sense?

I will say that Oxazepam is a Z drug from a place the BB Rules prevent me from naming

I also am able to fall asleep easily but wake up 5-6 hours later with anxiety and cant fall back asleep. Before benzos I couldnt fall sleep but when I did I could sleep forever but that wasnt possible because of work and kids.  So I feel reversed too. Im glad for the sleep but wish i could sleep in and not have the anxiety in the morning. Makes for an awful start to your day. I take 2 mg of valium in am and 3 mg at bedtime. I guess the valium is helping me fall asleep. Im worried for when my dose gets lower that I will have no sleep.

I wanted to bump this up to see how everyone is doing with these issues. This is a big problem for me. Either I sleep seven hours but feel totally unrested upon waking (no deep sleep) or, much more frequently, I am up at 4 or 5 am (after only a few hours of sleep) exhausted, but can't fall back asleep!

 

Have either of these types of issues resolved for anyone?

 

Can anyone else relate?

 

Thanks!

Tina

I'm having a terrible time with sleep. I quit klonopin 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. I'm trying to sleep without any meds and it's not going very well. I only slept a few hours last night and I'm having a really tough time at work today. I may cave tonight and take a trazodone, which doesn't always work. This is soooo hard. It takes a toll on me emotionally. I'm trying not to cry here at work. I keep having to run outside so nobody sees me.  :'(

I knew sleep would be an issue for me once I jumped as it has been in the past.  I start feeling panic if I just walk in to a dark bedroom.  Luckily, I've been able to fall asleep pretty good for a while.  But I'm having nights where I'm just waking up constantly.  Or I'm up hours earlier than I ought to be up and completely unable to fall back asleep.  Today was a combination of both.

 

Sleep deprivation and anxiety form a nice little feedback loop in my case so if I stop being able to sleep, I start developing worse panic which makes sleep worse, etc.  This is where the pills where always the most useful.

 

Now I'm just trying to use meditation and exercise instead.

I think 7 hrs sounds fabulous. I should be so lucky. Even at 18 mos off, I'm very lucky to get 5 broken hours. I struggle to go to sleep, lying awake for hours, then awaken 1.5hrs later, then again 2 more times. Then it's 5am, and I usually get up. So tired. I'm going to try some new things recommended by sagemom. Reflexology, lite yoga, and finger holding. Can't remember the official japanese name for that.

I even got a grounding sheet yesterday. I was so excited to have some help sleeping. Didn't seem to do anything for me last nite. Maybe it takes a while. Sure hope so.

Complaint for 7 hours of sound sleep in insomnia section? Frankly, this is heaven for me. Perhaps should change the perspective if you have enough energy for the day and if everything is ok, why upset and complaint?

I'm having a terrible time with sleep. I quit klonopin 3 and 1/2 weeks ago. I'm trying to sleep without any meds and it's not going very well. I only slept a few hours last night and I'm having a really tough time at work today. I may cave tonight and take a trazodone, which doesn't always work. This is soooo hard. It takes a toll on me emotionally. I'm trying not to cry here at work. I keep having to run outside so nobody sees me.  :'(

 

Oh Bee-I know, this is so hard. Hang in there.

Complaint for 7 hours of sound sleep in insomnia section? Frankly, this is heaven for me. Perhaps should change the perspective if you have enough energy for the day and if everything is ok, why upset and complaint?

 

Ok first of all, 7 hours is very, very rare. And when I do get it, my complaint is that I still don't feel rested and don't feel I have gotten any deep sleep. Sleep is not just about quantity, but quality. I wake feeling like I got hit by a truck even after 7 hours-which in itself is distressing. Why isn't 7 hours rejuvenating me? That is my "complaint."

 

However, like I said, 7 hours is NOT the norm. The norm is much less sleep with early wakings at 4 am with the inability to fall back asleep. And, for the record, I never ever ever feel energized. So why would you assume that and point fingers? I have been suffering severe fatigue/insomnia or both, along with other severe w/d sx for the last 8 months. Feel free to check back on any of my past posts and that will be quite apparent.

 

Please refrain from making assumptions or judging people when you have no idea what the situation is. This is a support forum and we are all here for just that-support! Believe me, if I had energy and felt good, I would not be here "complaining."

 

Tina

Complaint for 7 hours of sound sleep in insomnia section? Frankly, this is heaven for me. Perhaps should change the perspective if you have enough energy for the day and if everything is ok, why upset and complaint?

 

Hello JC201101,

 

We all have our frustrations with this process and insomnia is one of the most terrible symptoms.  What one person experiences might make them pretty non functional where another person can live on very little sleep.  I do not believe you were not trying to belittle Tina's sleep issues, I think she did clarify what her sleep problems are.

 

Everyone is very senstive and rightly so, lets just try to support each other no matter what situation they are in. The beauty of this forum is that we support everyone, no matter what their individual perspectives are.

 

pianogirl 

Oh the fatigue after a 'full nights rest' oh yeah.  I feel your pain there.  It's such an awful troubling feeling and I'm probably my own worst enemy because I fight the feeling all day.  Instead of taking it easy I force myself to do things when I feel that extreme fatigue.  I don't know if that's the right thing to do or not.  In my case the bad fatigue will usually clear up within a day or maybe two.  I don't know if it's lack deep REM sleep or what.  It can be common in the postdrome phase of a migraine so I wonder if it's that sometimes as I've been getting bad headaches a lot.  Some migraine suffers prefer the headaches to the extreme fatigue the next day.

 

So when you get this, do you listen to your body and try to rest and take it easy or nap, or do you caffeine up or just brute force through it?  Some days I feel like I can't even stand up when I have the fatigue.

Hi Paniogirl/TinaCA

 

My comment is not for TinaCA, it is for BenzoBattle - the original thread.

 

TinaCA, if you feel offended, please accept my apology but like I say, I don't mean the comment for you as I more than understand that most people in the insomnia section has no to little sleep including myself.

 

Regards

 

 

JC

here's my journey since i ct'd:

  for the first several weeks i got one hour.  then for months it was 3-4 hours.  at 20 months since ct, it's 6-7, after which time i'm unable to go back to sleep.  about half the time 7 works for me. the other half i'm not fully rested.    less than 7 hours sleep is never enough for me.

i always fell asleep immediately, for the 25 years i was on lorazipam.  that has not changed since i ct'd.  my problem before hand, if one considers it a problem, was waking early and not being able to go back to sleep, which is similar to my current experience.

 

i suspect ones sleep pattern is person specific.  i hope to get back to an 8 hour sleep pattern some day.  oh yes, i currently get up to pee 3-5 times each night.

Hi Paniogirl/TinaCA

 

My comment is not for TinaCA, it is for BenzoBattle - the original thread.

 

TinaCA, if you feel offended, please accept my apology but like I say, I don't mean the comment for you as I more than understand that most people in the insomnia section has no to little sleep including myself.

 

Regards

JC

 

Hi JC,

 

No worries.  Thank you for the apology. I just assumed your comment was directed at me since I

bumped the thread. I wish you all the best.

 

Tina

Hi TinaCA,

 

Read your question, I think our body is constantly fighting and it is hard on us. So I guess your problem is quite common to most of us including me.

 

I have a feel that those who start the micro-tapering in high dosage (> 5 mg) tends to have less problem but what can you do.

 

Hopefully thing will turn around once we are off.

 

All the best,

 

JC

 

 

 

 

 

im with tinaca,----i would love to get 7 hours of sleep.

i get an average of 4 hours a night. that means some nights less like last night (3  hours)

arcey