Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

[Terri1965]

Hi all,

I have been modding (1 standard drink pd) since Feb 15th, and I have been sleeping really badly.

I am really tired, I go to bed about an hour past my normal bedtime (of AL induced pass out) and I lay awake until about midnight. Then I wake up at about 5am, pass out for another couple of hours and then drag myself out of bed, feeling like a bus has run over me.

I feel worse than when I was drinking and this is dangerous, cause then you start to think - I might as well just drink again!!!

Has anyone else experience similar sleeping patterns after cutting way back or abstinence. Is this normal?

:h
Terri

[A Work in Progress]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

You cut back, what, 5 days ago? After quitting alcohol altogether, it can take weeks, maybe a couple of months, for the sleep cycle to normalize. It took that long, for me. It was certainly worth it. My sleep was crappy, anyhow, and the rest of my life was going down the tubes... so, the fact that my sleep wasn't great for a while was not that big a deal.

[CS04]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Hi Terri,
Difficulty sleeping is a common symptom of AF or cutting way down. So many of us are accustomed to passing out as a result of drinking. Yes it sucks, and is very, very frustrating. They say that it does get better, but I have not gotten to that point yet.

Some people take sleep aids, such as melatonin. I really do not know much about this; you may want to check the Holistic Healing threads for that.

Hang in there! I am as frustrated as you.

[lilmea]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Terri,

I had trouble sleeping for awhile when I first stopped drinking.

I started some light exercise. It not only helped me sleep a little better but made me feel better during the day. I also cut out all caffine after 12:00 noon and went to herbal tea. It really does get better.

[swans]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Hi Terry, I had the same experience when I first quit, try drinking some warm milk with ovaltine or horlicks before bedtime. Another member here suggested it and it worked for me, another option is taking melatonin along with calms forte sleeping tablets before bed, it gets better.

[Terri1965]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Thanx everyone, I was after other people's experiences with this problem, and thank you to those who offered their stories, I didn't know what to expect, after at least 20 years of AL induced sleeping, I guess I thought that I would magically sleep much better.

If I know that this is quite common, then I can cope with it, and know sleep will come eventually. I haven't been sleeping well for about 18 months now, and wondered if AL had anything to do with it, I am in my 40's and I guess my sleep patterns/body is changing. This is another reason why I have decided to cut way back.

Thanx once again, for sharing and caring,

Hugs
Terri

[Sweaty Betty]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Hi Terri,

I also had problems sleeping, but it does get better!

Keep Going

Bx

[Boss.man]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Terri, sleep and I have had a lot of issues over the years. I've read a lot of books lately, and they have helped a lot. A summary from my reading:

Natural sleep comes from your circadian rhythm. Sleep comes because magically, by itself, your Pineal gland decides to produce Melotonin and then you go to sleep. You then have 4 types of cycles, and you move in between them sometimes dreaming, sometimes not. Any failure of this system can result unexpected waking, inability to return to sleep, lack of sleep, and also daytime grogginess.

Alcohol sleep is not sleep at all. Alcohol makes you drowsy and feel good, but it doesn't engage the Pineal gland and in fact can shut it off. Alcohol energizes your brain, at the very time it should be de-energized. Alcohol suppresses correct sleep. So while your eyes are shut and you are not awake, your body is not resetting properly.

Stopping alcohol deprives the brain of serotonin, which is an alcohol byproduct. Your pineal gland makes Melatonin out of Serotonin, so if it's missing, the pineal can't do it's job and you wont fall asleep. Natural serotonin production won't kick in for at least a week or two of being AF. So for this time, you will not be able to fall asleep. In the US you can buy Melatonin pills (I hear not in UK or Aus). Take a 3g pill at bedtime to supplement your lack of it. According to Wiki you can half the pills to 1.5g for the same effect. I found, from experience, you cannot take the pills later in the night (like 2am) because they wrongly timed Melatonin will reset your whole body clock to a totally different cycle.

I've had great results using Zolpidem (generic Ambien). This is prescription only and you won't be able to get it online because it's a sleeping pill. However, Doctors consider it non-habit forming and will readily prescribe a short dose like 30 days. Just find a doctor or nurse practitioner, and say "Someone said Zolpidem works very well and I'd like to try it". They should get you a 30 day supply without a fuss. You'll need a followup to get a repeat dose. But you can then split the pills to get 60 days.

Again, you MUST take Zolpidem on a schedule, or else you'll mess up your sleep cycles. They appear to work by turning off your short term memory "ticker" allowing your brain to settle into an easy sleep. I dream just fine with them, and wake up a bit groggy but it quickly clears. You should not take Zolpidem if you've been drinking. Common caution is Zolpidem shuts off your short term memory, but does not force you to sleep. People who take them in the morning have found the woke up, showered, dressed, drove to work or engaged in other normal activities while having absolutely no memory of the activities. Very scary.

Other sleep aids are Valerian or natural sleep pills that use Valerian as an ingredient. Sometimes called a natural valium, I find Valerian stays in my system for 24-48 hours so I'm groggy for a day and a half after taking it. You can find these OTC and you can take these when you've been drinking. I just find it strange when the booze wears off, and still feel groggy.

The natural way to enhance your sleep cycle, according to my books:

1) Exercise several times a week. Get your body tired.

2) Get a set schedule for bed, no TV, action or work for 90 minutes before bed. Warm milk and/or mint tea at bedtime. If you lie in bed more than 20 minutes, get up for an hour, do something quiet, and then try again. Bed time should always be a set rhythm that doesn't include "Law and Order" or even a murder mystery.

3) Always wake up at the same time for the rest of your life. This is the foundation of your circadian rhythm. If your wake up hours vary, you'll never know what time your body will be ready to sleep. No naps, no rests. Reserve sleep to a set time in the evening, and in particular always wake up at the same time.

Hope the info helps.

[Doggygirl]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Terri, I will be 51 next month so I can relate to the changes you speak of in your 40's. I survived my 40's with AL induced sleep for a few hours (sometimes I'd get lucky with more) and then tossing and turning. When I quit drinking, the sleep problems got worse since "passing out" was no longer one of the night time phases I went through.

After seeing a re-run of a Suzanne Somers interview on Larry King Live, I read her book "Ageless." I found a doctor and have gotten my hormones balanced with bio-identicals. I'm like a new woman, and when my progesterone and estrogen are correctly balanced I sleep like a baby for 8 full hours and NO night sweats at all, and NO hot flashes during the day. (symptoms differ by individual.)

Yes, sleep problems also come with the territory when you quit AL. BUT...for me, the source of the problem was hormones. Just want to throw that out there as something else to look into if your sleep does not normalize as you would expect once you get some AL free time under your belt.

DG

[Terri1965]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

That helps a lot thank you Boss.man.

I think i will stick to the natural way, not matter how long it takes. I live in Aust, so the Melatonin pills you mentioned will not be available to me. I am happy to go with the herbal tea before bed, and have done on a couple of occasions, but it is still early days.

I guess I was naive to think that sleep would return relatively quickly after I cut down the AL, we are all still learning about one thing or another. I know one thing, even if it takes 6 months, I would rather have real sleep than AL induced sleep.

I thank you for taking the time to explain this in such detail for me. It is very informative and much appreciated.

Hugs
Terri

[Terri1965]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Thanks also Doggygirl (love the name and the avatar)

I had wondered about the hormones, they are nasty little things. I have had an overactive thyroid about 9 years ago, and it wreaked such havoc on my system, I almost went mad. The meds were worse than the disease. I have since spent the last 8 years recovering from metal scars also. Nasty stuff.

Anyway, I love a good book, so will seek out this book and read. I said earlier in another post, that I have been badly fatigued for about 18 months (2 blood tests found nothing wrong), so this is another avenue to investigate. I will find the answer, and you lovely people on this forum have given my new ideas to ponder. For this I am truly grateful.

Thank you all so much,

Hugs
Terri

[polaryzed]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Hi T.

Have you tried any sort of meditation / relaxation techniques?

A few years back I went to my local library and got some CD's on Relaxation techniques. If took a couple of nights but then I found I was not only able to calm myself for sleeping. I found I could calm myself for job interviews, office meetings, all kinds of stressful situations.

Just a thought . . .

[Terri1965]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Hi Polaryzed,

Yes, I have been doing Holosync for about 5 - 6 years now, and I am no longer that horrible, angry person with voices in my head telling me how useless and stupid I am. I am very calm these days.

More recently I have changed to LifeFlow meditation and have joined a mentor group, this is fast tracking me to wellness.

I know without a doubt that had I not been meditating all these years, I may just well have become a full blown Alcoholic. I was miserable and hated myself. I always kept Alcoholism at arms length, but indulged way too many on a nightly basis - i still got quite numb, just not written off every night - I saved that for the weekends. So I guess I was an Alcoholic in the early stages (we just don't like to admit it to ourselves) I used to refer to it as my "Alcoholic Career", which spanned some 20 years.

These days, I am still working on it, but am much closer to loving myself which is a blessing.

Thanks for your support
Hugs
Terri

[polaryzed]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Place HuGGable here

Hey T.

Place little stick notes by each mirror, that say 'I LOVE YOU' then look in the mirror and repeat those very words each day. 'I LOVE YOU'. Look deep into your own eyes and say 'I LOVE YOU'

After a while you will Really Believe it and Rightfully So.

You've helped me along this crazy path of I've followed.

:l

[Lavande]

Ok, I thought I'd be sleeping really well, but....

Terri,
I mentioned this in Holistic Healing but thought it may be worthwile repeating. I have dealt with insomnia for 12 years now, for a number of reasons-Menopause, chronic depression, anxiety, drinking too much....
I'm a health care professional that doesn't like to take prescription meds. They often don't work and leave you feeling terrible. After some research I found a natural herbal product called Amoryn to treat my anxity and depression. It worked wonders! The same company also makes a sleep aid product called Mellodyn, again - amazing. Mellodyn is a combination of safe, non-addicting herbs including melatonin, valerian, chamomile, passion flower and lemon balm. I do not work for this company but I do highly recommend this product to anyone suffering from sleeplessness. Both products have great websites, I order them on line. Just a thought, you may want to give it a try.
Sleep well, it helps
Lavande