Alcohol and sleep disruption.

[joerindge]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

in the past

In the past it always drove me back to drinking in order to sleep but this time I made it through 3 days and 2 nights and I hope this is the time I will experience my way out I am currently 4 days ALF

[geranium]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

Hi, I have always been a terrible sleeper ( even as child according to my parents!). My story the same, can fall asleep at the drop of a hat after wine then wake up at 3, feel remorseful, lie in bed then have to get kids up for school at 6. Sleep during the day if I can......when I am AF (day 1, again!) I sleep through the night almost straight away. I take the calms forte, but they do make me feel drowsy in the morning.

[Luba]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

so can relate

I had the same problems - would drink to stop thinking about work, to fall asleep and to get rid of back pain. Would fall asleep (nicely putting 'passing out') wake at 3am and have anxiety crazy attacks (eg stressing that the lawn was not mowed - seriously!!), get up, drink more and then the cycle would continue until it got way out of control.

Now on day 18AF and have stopped using natural sleep tablets (worked well for the first 2 weeks) and now can fall asleep unaided and stay asleep (have difficulty with back pain sometimes) and wake up feeling way tired for the 1/2 hour but fab after that. Taking loads of supplements, Vit B, sustained release multi, magnesium, kudzu and liver detox which gets me though the day. Use to have to have a nap either from exhaustion due to lack of sleep or due to being drunk on weekends. Nice. What a waste!!!

This site is a god send and really helps me keep on track. This time I think I had such a massive bender, horrible hungover and withdrawals that the thought of wine still makes my stomach churn....yuck. Never had this before, usually am thinking about wine as soon as I can stomach it. Think I am actually over wine and am praciticing constantly in my head being offered alcohol and saying 'thanks but I don't drink' feels quite good really.
Thanks everyone.
Luba

[moeskie07]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

ya, the more I drink the more I don't sleep

[BradyKelly]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

peacenik;568774 wrote: i would wake up almost every hour after 2 am and have massive anxiety attacks about health, life, death anything really...that is the main reason i stopped drinking, it was that bad.

I would not wake up every hour after 2am, but be awake every hour from 2am and remain awake having all those nasty things you mention, plus sweats and restlessness that prevented me staying in bed. I would get up and pace, get tired of pacing, back to bed, repeat.

This happens because the sedatory effect of the alcohol has worne off, leaving you in a semi-withdrawal state. At times I considered going to the casino for a drink (where else at 2am?) just to get back to sleep, but just 1 drink would not be enough, and the casino is about 20km away, on a scooter, so I just suffered the tossing and turning and anxiety.

[BradyKelly]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

Use technology

joerindge;697020 wrote: i get aweful insomnia every time i stop drinking it sometimes lasts 2 or 3 nights with no sleep at all but then it subsides

Zolpidem. If you can't get a script, any sedating antihistamine will do. Phenergan is king.

[sapphire1]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

BradyKelly;962600 wrote: Zolpidem. If you can't get a script, any sedating antihistamine will do. Phenergan is king.

Just a word of warning on Phenergan, it can depress your breathing a lower your blood pressure, can interact with other medications such as antidepressants. You could try Magnesium and Vitamin B3 before bedtime

[BradyKelly]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

sapphire1;962854 wrote: Just a word of warning on Phenergan, it can depress your breathing a lower your blood pressure, can interact with other medications such as antidepressants. You could try Magnesium and Vitamin B3 before bedtime

Yes, I should have added a warning to read up on Phenergan before using it. It is quite a strong antihistamine, and AFAIK depressed breathing especially is a common side effect of this class of drug. It's just that I have been using it as a sleep aid for so long with no ill effects I tend to forget these things. I have been using it with Prozac, Cipralex (Lexapro), and Effexor for years with no apparent interaction, but the effects of these 3 strange drugs on individuals are so varied that my experience cannot guarantee safety for others.

At high doses >50 mg it can also cause severe dryness of your mouth, throat and nose, and even at 25 mg if you're not used to it, it can make it damned difficult to wake up in the morning. It takes very long to take effect, and very long to lose effect.

[southernbelle47]

Alcohol and sleep disruption.

I find that a double cup of "Bedtime" tea helps also.