Insomnia/Trouble Sleeping, anxiousness

OK...waiting on the book but I have put together a "cocktail" of supplements which I've been taking for the past few days (from lists on this site and others).

On the supplements, I do believe they help, perhaps it is all in my head but my "urges" yesterday were a bit diminished...but I was cooking dinner (and I usually have a glass or two of wine when doing so) and suddenly got a bit anxious. I took another dose of some of the supplements and seemed to be alright after awhile. Anyone else experience this? Perhaps the book explains some of it.

I did down a bottle of wine later in the evening. Not because I just had to have a couple of glasses...just wanted to so did...you know how it is....I get home and usually just can't wait to grab a few glasses of wine and then graduate to a few shots of something stronger;.

Before I went to bed I thought of having a shot or two to help me sleep but decided against it...though I "kind of wanted it" I just didn't feel like going down that road.

The problem is...I have been pretty much drinking myself to sleep for a few years now and so laid in bed tossing and turning most of the night. I did take a sleeping pill to see if that helped but it didn't. I got a little sleep but not nearly enough. How do you sleep at night when your body is used to being drugged with alcohol before bed?...I have tried meletonin and valerian in the past and perhaps will try that tonight.

Any comments? Thanks!
Tony

Tony,
I had trouble sleeing the first few days of abs. After the 3rd or 4th day I slept much better.

Marcie

Hi Tony, at first I had a real hard time sleeping. It probably took at least a week or so before I started being able to sleep more than a few hours. I did start taking meletonin for a couple of weeks & it helped. I think it just takes time for your body to adjust...? Hang in there! Hugs, Judie

Welcome Tony, I didn't even try to obstain until I had every thing in place. It all worked together for me. Go ahead and do what you have to do to sleep until you are ready to begin. That's what I did. Like the others said. I too had trouble sleeping for the first 3 or 4 nights into the program, but then with the help of the Calms Forte and the Sleep to Sleep Learning CD I started going to sleep quickly and sleeping all night and have ever since. I am now in day 17. Hang in there and Good Luck. Eliziby

Tony, I forgot to mention, I'm taking topa, just 100 mg, but now that I'm working nights I've been exprimenting with when to take it, so I'm not quite so affected by the "DOPA" affect.
I've been waiting to take my afternoon dose till after work(around 9:30 or 10:00) it puts me right to sleep, before I even get a chance to finish a second glass of wine! That'll work!

Last time I quit drinking (don't laugh!) a physician friend of mine suggested I take a Benadryl ... not Nyquil, Benadryl! It's an antihistamine with drowsiness as a side effect.

Comments?

Benadryl really works!

Donna

Hi Demi,
I am with you with the sleeping thing as I had for years drank myself stupid just so I could sleep! I have had trouble sleeping since zi have stopped drinking (I am still in early stages) but it is getting better all the time. Even the anxiety is starting to pass so that even when I can't sleep I haven't the stressed out feeling, I just look at it as an opportunity to think things out. But I do know it's a worry when you know you have to function the next day. Keep being strong, you are doing a great job! I found the calms forte has worked abit. I take 3 at bedtime but none during the day. Hopes this helps.......I will be thinking of you.
Shas

The "last" time I was in re- hab thats what they recomended,(Benedril) for sleeplessness. Apparently, it doesnt harm your liver so much as sleep meds.

Demi - now here is something weird. Last night I just couldn't get to sleep. Only second day on 25mg Topa and starting to feel better health wise.

About 1:00 am, I decided to listen to the Clearing Track 2. Even tho' I don't think I went very deep, I did feel ripples of water flowing through my body from time to time. Very strange feeling indeed. Only prob with that was I was told I was 'wide awake' at the end of it ... so that sorta defeated the purpose.

So I then put on the Sleep cd. And yeah - went off to sleep. Only to have "water" dreams all night long!!!!

But the main thing is I woke up at around 7:30am feeling like I had slept a full 8 hours.

I am wondering whether the absence of an alcohol induced sleep means that it is the quality of the sleep that you should be considering, not the quantity. Coz I am really sure that heavy dead sleep I used to have was next to worthless in terms of refreshing the mind, body or spirit. Poor old body was so busy trying to detoxify me, it had no chance to do anything else.