Please tell me about your sleep problems

[MonaCat]

Wondering what kind of sleep problems you all have ??

[Siren136]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

I can't. That pretty much sums it up.

Seriously, though. I always thought I was an insomniac but I'm hoping it's just due to the alcohol. I usually would pass out around 10 after drinking way too much wine and vodka. Then I would wake up in the middle of the night - say 1:30 or 2 - be awake for 1-2 hours, then go back to sleep until it was time to get up. Those were the good nights.

Now, since being AF for 10 days (:yay my sleep patterns have changed. Now I find it very difficult to fall asleep, but when I do I typically sleep through the night. Not always, though. The worst nights are when I can't fall asleep until 11:30 or 12 and then pop awake at 3 or 3:30 and can't get back to sleep at all. I have been using OTC sleep aids to help and the best I have found so far is ZZZ-Quil, from the makers of Nyquil. Others use relaxation CDs and more natural sleep aids, such as melatonin and Valerian root.

[Cinders]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Hi, Mona,

:welcome: back my friend.

I have always had sleep problems, well before drinking started. My father did, too. It must be genetic or something.

I sleep roughly 4-6 hours a night and have all my life. I wake up about every hour during my sleep and have to work hard to get back to sleep.

When I started drinking a couple of glasses of wine in the evenings, I started falling asleep so much easier!! Of course, it didn't help me with staying asleep.

Little did I know what path those couple of glasses of wine would take me on.

Today, with just a couple of weeks sobriety under my belt, (again, sigh) I am taking Seroquel 25 mg prescribed by my doctor. This is really only to get me through the early days where sleep is horrible no matter what. I have found in the past that by week five or so, my sleep is back to "normal" sleep without meds. However, for me that normal sleep is still only 4-6 hours a night.

That 4-6 hours a nights sleep without meds or alcohol is incredibly rejuvenating and restful. Unlike sleep gained from alcohol or meds.

Love,
Cindi

[iknowicandoit]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

I never slept a lot even before drinking. The lorazapam I was on for the past ten days helped me sleep through tonight. Tonight I'll see what happens. The last time I quit two years ago I was in the hospital for two weeks and they gave me stuff to sleep. When I got home I had no trouble sleeping and some nights was in bed by 7 or 8 PM. I think I was still so sick( I had severe pneumonia) my body needed the sleep to heal. I'll see what happens tonight and let you know.

[Nelz]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

I too have wrestled with sleep issues for as long as I can even remember. For some reason right when I quit drinking, I had INCREDIBLE sleep. Id be tired at 700 pm, drag my butt to bed and sleep all night.

Didnt take long to get back to my old ways......medicate myself to sleep, wake up 3 hours later, stay up for hours, then try to get back to sleep. I was probably getting around 6 hours a night. Im not sure "everybody" needs 8 hours.

Just FYI melatonin wokrs pretty well....some sleepy time tea.....but to date for me there is nothing like Ambien. Man, talk about coma induced sleeping............:H

Only issue I had was it seemed to make me blackout....I didnt do anything stupid, I just couldnt remember even getting to bed.

[paulywogg]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

ive always had sleep issues too,i used to drink nyquil or take benaryl everynite,then i discovered heineken and that started my whole 7 year alcoholic career,now i take mid-nite and sleep about 6 hrs,i agree with nelz to not everyone needing 8 hrs,if i sleep that long i feel groggy all day

[aihflvt]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

I went on the mother of all benders last May and didn't sleep for about 80 hours after I detoxed. I was an insomniac even before I was a drunk, so I have a prescription for trazodone, but my head was so profoundly messed up the traz had no effect until my body readjusted. Regular exercise combined with the traz seems to do it for me. There's nothing that makes me want to drink less than that post-workout high.

[aihflvt]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

The other sleep issue during my bouts of heavy drinking is teeth grinding. I will actually wake up with sore jaws and it's so noisy it can wake my wife. After being dismissive of the problem for years, my dentist has even finally taken note of all the chips on the edges of my teeth. The traz knocks you out pretty good so you are actually in a deeply restful, teeth grinding-free sleep.

[decided]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Intersting read, Pauly and Nelz: you made me remeber that that's how I went from "social dinking" or getting drunk with friends in high school, to drinking every night to fall asleep! I would smoke grass back in the day, so I guess that hid the insomnia from me but then I stoped and started taking over the counter sleep aids. I eventually got use to them I guess and also discovered hiniken seemed to make them "kick in". Eventually I got scared because I couldn't wake up sometimes and was up to several pills and a six pack a night. So I droped the sleeping pills and upped the beer. Until recently I was drinking until I passed out.

Now I don't sleep lol but still prefer it to drinking. Soon ill trow some exercise back into the mix I'm sure it will help.

What about your sleeping problems?

[MonaCat]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Here is a great website that will help you learn about sleep and you can even ask the doc a question........Dr. Robert S. Rosenberg | Answers For Sleep

[SKendall]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Hu Mona

[MonaCat]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Hi SK

[MonaCat]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

Insomnia caused by going AF, is the most common reason that they fail

[Hippyman]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

MonaCat;1451554 wrote: Insomnia caused by going AF, is the most common reason that they fail

Mona, I really hear what you're saying about that! I have had many times at getting sober and each and every time I went for many nights without sleep. When I did sleep I had bad dreams. Dreams that I was drinking again. After a while I would cave in and go back to the bottle. This time I have over 4 months sober and I'm sleeping like a baby. I'm never ever going to back to the bottle. Not NOW...NOT EVER!!!

[MonaCat]

Please tell me about your sleep problems

HippyMan...well, that is awesome...you are sleeping...well then...Sweet Dreams !!