Advice anyone?

[Kairos]

Hi there,

Wondered if anyone could shed some light on my mood. I'm in week 5 of sobriety and have been doing fine except for sleeping really poorly and low mood/depression.
I was at least getting a certain 'quality' of sleep when drinking - i.e 4/5 hours then early morning wakefulness, not great.
In fact one of the main reasons I stopped again was because I thought it would improve my sleep cycle- how wrong was I?
Seems to be getting worse with early morning racing heart most nights. I don't really feel anxious so it doesn't seem like anxiety per se more a physiological thing? I'm 62/F.
I also suffer from heartburn even though I'm eating pretty well. Got checked for thyroid and diabetes the last time I was feeling these symptoms but thy say my test results are normal.
Must say it feels like thyroid. I get cold all the time wrapped in a blanket like an old timer in the evenings and nails are brittle but what can I do if they tell me the results are normal.
Was in tears this morning after 3 really disturbed nights sleep in a row. HELP! I've made an appointment with the doc but dont hold out much hope of anything except the offer of sleeping pills which I really don't want.
I exercise 3 times a week at the local swimming pool.

X K

[Kairos]

Hi Kairos,
Firstly well done on your sobriety! Great job.

What you are describing is probably a mixture of deficiencies.

I also hated the effect of sedatives to sleep.

Try adding a multi mineral, multivitamin (high dose vitamin B)

Specifically for sleep I used tryptophan and melatonin from a company call biorecovery and recently I use high dose vitamin D 3. If you do not spend much time outside in the sun you may be deficient in D3.

Thanks kuya

I'm taking the vit/mins thanks, but cant do melatonin which gives me bad dreams, as does tryptophan. I am thinking you could be right about Vit D. I've hardly been outside for 6 motnhs as the weather has been so cold and wet where we are. I have to address that.
Thanks again
K

[available]

Hi Kairos

I slept like crap for months and i just accepted that my body was healing in its own way. I put al into it for so many years that it would take time for things to settle down. Now i sleep like a baby though it did take awhile. I napped when i was tired but by the end of a work day i was wiped out. Go with the flow but nana naps are my advice. Even if i was awake later at night i had recharged my body. Be gentle with yourself you are still healing inside and out.

[Kairos]

Thanks Available,
Got something that resembles a night's sleep last night for the first time since stopping al. ( I didn't sleep well before either)
But maybe, just maybe beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Insomnia is the pits.
I know it's only a matter of weeks and not months so I will have to suck it up but it makes SUCH a difference to life and your moods when you get a half decent sleep.
Thanks
Kairos

[Kairos]

Hi Kuya,
Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
I agree that you can't get too much vitamin D from the sun or diet but have yet to be convinced about amounts from supplements.
5 X 5000 seems excessive to me. Has someone told you that you can't overdose? I ask because I'm interested, not to be provocative! It's just that I have read repeatedly that too much can cause too much calcium in the blood. You haven't read any of that stuff?
K

[Kairos]

Thanks for your input. I'm so grateful.
K

[SKendall]

Hi Kairos, Kuya has great advice with the Vit D-3. I had chronic insomnia and anxiety. My dr. told me 99.9% of people have Vit D deficiency. You would have to lie naked and w/o suntan lotion nr. the equator to get it from sunlight. I am on the same dosage as Kuya. It as shown great results in aiding the heart and preventing some types of cancer. I also added magnesium and now sleep much better.

[Kairos]

Now in week nine of sobriety and apart from eating too many chocolates am feeling good and sleeping a bit more soundly. Soon I can think about watching the sweet things but allowing myself time to adjust to al free life. Don t miss it too much and can even watch my husband drinking wine without feeling bad about it. I am dreaming like mad maybe due to the magnesium ?

[Change]

I would still follow up with the doc on the thyroid though. You never know.

Peeps: is vit D3 the same as regular vit D?

[NoraC]

Also does it matter what form of D3? Gel, pill, liquid, etc?

[NoSugar]

D3 (cholecalciferol) is the most bioactive form. A fat-soluble gel is likely better absorbed than a tablet. In either case, good to take with fat-containing food. All the best, NS

[Eloise]

Agreed Available, I slept like crap too. Regardless of what I tried.
I have to admit I now listen to deep sleep hypnosis recordings on Youtube, it helps mostly because it 'shuts up' those annoying thoughts that won't let me rest.

Hi Kairos

I slept like crap for months and i just accepted that my body was healing in its own way. I put al into it for so many years that it would take time for things to settle down. Now i sleep like a baby though it did take awhile. I napped when i was tired but by the end of a work day i was wiped out. Go with the flow but nana naps are my advice. Even if i was awake later at night i had recharged my body. Be gentle with yourself you are still healing inside and out.

[Kairos]

Hi,
I'm coming up to three months by now and feeling a lot better. Did really well this week. A friend stayed- a heavy drinker. Her trip had been planned for a long time and coming from another continent I thought it would be unkind to tell her to stay away so I dealt with it. She stayed with us for 4 days. She and my husband had a lot of wine to drink over the 4 days. I chauferred them around when needed, poured her another glass when she wanted it, visualised it going down her throat like the toxin it is, watched her defend her 'habit' every which way and listened to her 'stream of consciousness' as she got more and more pissed. All I could think of was how grateful I am to be where I am right now. Yes,
they irritated me at times, yes it was hard to remain pleasant and yes, I felt the stress but if I am serious about this hard won sobriety I have to deal with life as it is and not how I might like it to be. It's the first of probably many scenarios where I'll be tested but hopefully in time it'll get easier. The main thing is I wasnt tempted to drink.

[frances]

Congrats Kairos - sounds like you are doing great! Keep it up :-)

[Kairos]

Thanks frances. I think we've spoken before a few years ago. Is that right?