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Insomnia

These are descriptions of how individuals experienced various symptoms during withdrawal. While everyone's withdrawal is unique and symptoms will be different for everyone, it may be useful to know what others went through.

All withdrawal symptoms can be caused by things in addition to withdrawal. If a symptom is persistent or you are worried by it, it is always a good idea to get it checked out by your doctor to ensure nothing else is going on.

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Definition: (n) Insomnia is characterized by an inability to sleep and/or to remain asleep for a reasonable period. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes or "rest their mind" for more than a few minutes at a time.

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What I've Felt:

"You might feel like you cannot, nor ever will be able to, sleep. Your insomnia can take many forms: trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, or trouble with waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep -- or all of the above."

"I felt like sleep, a luxury I had long taken for granted, because it came so easily while I was zapped by benzos, had deserted me for good."

"Toward the end of my taper, the sleep problems became pronounced. I was often awake until 2 or 3 a.m., partly because I had slipped into a bad pattern of staying up late and sleeping in, but mostly because my symptoms dropped away around midnight. I would stay up and savor those precious hours of peace, reading, playing video games, watching TV, asking the powers that be to extend this feeling of wellness into the next day (they did, occasionally). But soon, even those hours were gone, and I'd stay awake solely because I was too tortured to do otherwise."

"At the hospital in which I was CTed, I began to have the most marked sleep problems of all - being awakened by an all-encompassing, non-specific feeling of terror, or jolting out of bed into panic attacks that would send me running down the halls. " - Matt

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What I've Felt:

“To date I have escaped bad insomnia. In the early and middle part of my taper I was an over sleeper – able to sleep well at night and needing a nap during the day. Towards the end of the taper I have had a lot more difficulty getting to sleep – it often takes two or three hours. On a bad night I can wake up several times but I do get four or five hours of good sleep towards morning “ - Anthea

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What I've Felt:

"I have one thing that I noticed in the months I could not sleep was that my speedy withdrawal caused my heart rate to be up in the 85 bpm range and it did not slow down at night. So the racing heart feeling coupled with the occasional palpitations were the primary reason I stayed awake." - Carter

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What I've Felt :

"I do manage to get some broken sleep most nights. I still sleep for an hour or two and wake up. I would say I sleep on an average of 5-6 hours a night." - Sandy's six month update

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What I've Felt :

"I suffered from parasomnia – This is when your body gets stuck between asleep and awake. You are paralyzed, but wide awake and dreaming. Scary. This was a real problem the first few months out." Alli

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My Coping Strategies

bullet Acceptance
bulletDrink some chamomile tea; microwave two teabags in a mug for 1:20
bulletHeat an 8-ounce mug of milk for 1:30 in the microwave (until a skin forms over the top), then let it cool a bit before drinking
bulletPractice good sleep hygiene: don't take naps during the day, and use your bed only for sex or sleeping, not for reading, eating, or thinking. If you can't sleep, get up and go to another part of the house -- anywhere but the bedroom -- and engage in mild exercise or some other form of distraction.
bullet Progressive Muscle Relaxation
bullet Sleep Resources
bulletSleep Therapies

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Disclaimer:  The information contained in this website was not compiled by a doctor or anyone with medical training. The advice contained herein should not be substituted for the advice of a physician who is well-informed in the subject matter discussed. Before making any decisions about your health or treatment you should always confer with your physician and it is always assumed that you will do so.

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Last updated 21 July 2020