Goosie: insomnia crisis

[dj2010]

15 hours ago, Goosie said:

Thanks songbird I will do more of that.  Today is a bit better.  It seems I sleep every other night.... I’ve had this happen often before.    @dj2010  did you find that some turmeric was excitatory or only the one with piperizine?     I have a lot of headaches and sinus issues so I was thinking the turmeric might help.   I am so glad you are a success story.  

 

hi goosie, turmeric really helped a lot during most of my taper and withdrawal, I was using just plain turmeric capsules without piperine most of the time, had to stop though when my acid reflux got bad, going to try and start taking them again soon, been dealing with a bit of acid reflux again over this last week as ate really spicy food a couple days on row last week and seems to have triggered it a bit again, 

 

take care

[Goosie]

Each capsule of the herbal mix contains: Passion flower 150 mg 

Lemon balm 100 mg

hops 100 mg

califirnia poppy 75 mg

 valerian 75 mg

Theanine 50 mg

Lavender 20 mg

melatonin .25 mg

 

i will updise back to 75% of a pill.  

Zero sleep last night.    

Feel so suicidal.    

Thank you for the responses.   

[Goosie]

It’s called sleep aide by vital nutrients.  The dose is 3 capsules.   I’ve been taking 1 and trying to taper that one.    

[dj2010]

24 minutes ago, Goosie said:

Each capsule of the herbal mix contains: Passion flower 150 mg 

Lemon balm 100 mg

hops 100 mg

califirnia poppy 75 mg

 valerian 75 mg

Theanine 50 mg

Lavender 20 mg

melatonin .25 mg

 

i will updise back to 75% of a pill.  

Zero sleep last night.    

Feel so suicidal.    

Thank you for the responses.   

 

I am not surprised you got zero sleep taking that supplement, we do not tolerate supplements very good in withdrawal, I tried many and 95% of them worsened my insomnia, I can now tolerate most supplements now my nervous system is not as sensitive,

[eymen23]

24 minutes ago, dj2010 said:

 

I am not surprised you got zero sleep taking that supplement, we do not tolerate supplements very good in withdrawal, I tried many and 95% of them worsened my insomnia, I can now tolerate most supplements now my nervous system is not as sensitive,

 

DJ,

 

We appreciate you’re trying to help but Goosie appears to be having such bad insomnia due to a reduction of this supplement. Although many people report being sensitive to supplements during withdrawal or whilst using psychiatric drugs, everybody is different and in this case it appears less of the supplement is making things worse. 

[dj2010]

52 minutes ago, eymen23 said:

 

DJ,

 

We appreciate you’re trying to help but Goosie appears to be having such bad insomnia due to a reduction of this supplement. Although many people report being sensitive to supplements during withdrawal or whilst using psychiatric drugs, everybody is different and in this case it appears less of the supplement is making things worse. 

 

Apologies I should of read through goosies thread before making a comment

[Goosie]

One other thing is that I’ve been on this herbal blend, along with melatonin for 8 months- since I was forced to take it at inpatient.    They put me on hydroxizine and phenibut too, but I CT the phenibut and am down to 4-6 mg of the hydroxizine.   I don’t know if the melatonin and the herbal blend are just not working anymore and I am going going into withdrawal from that. I tried to taper down everything but there were just so many things and I was barely stable as it was..... I’m so sorry for this mess.  

[Shep]

Goosie, are you taking an additional melatonin tablet in addition to the melatonin that is in your herbal supplement pill? If so, please list the dose. 

 

So we don't bombard you with repeated questions, please add your supplements to your signature, along with your current dose. Please also add the dates and dose when you started them. A direct link to your signature is here:

 

Account - Settings - Create or Edit Your Signature

 

Please let us know how you slept after going back up on the herbal supplement dose. 

[Goosie]

Hi shep yes, I take another melatonin.   About 75% of a 1 mg tablet from Douglas laboratories.  I will update my signature like you ask.    I was put on buckets of supplements at inpatient (Atmc).      

I slept ok last night.   I seem to be sleeping every other night so we will see how tonight goes after the updose of the herbal blend.    

 

This is what sleep looks like for me:  I take the melatonin and tryptophan  , magnesium.   30 minutes later the hydroxizine and herbal blend.    I start to feel sleepy and start to go to sleep.   I never actually fall asleep at this time.  I can literally feel the sleepy feeling ebbing away.     I then meditate.   If I am lucky I fall asleep in 1-2 hours.     Ok nights I fall asleep in 3-4 hours.  Bad nights not at all.    If I fall asleep I sleep for 3-4 hours.   I sometimes get some half sleep after that where I am half asleep half awake.     

 

Thanks si much for checking in on me.  

[Goosie]

Hope my new signature isn’t too confusing.   I ran out of lines.    

[Shep]

Thank you, Goosie, your signature looks great.

 

17 hours ago, Goosie said:

I slept ok last night.   I seem to be sleeping every other night so we will see how tonight goes after the updose of the herbal blend.    

 

I'm so glad to read you started sleeping again. I hope the updose continues to be effective. 

 

The every-other-night is a classic phenomenon seen all over the benzo forums, so you may be dealing with a lot of GABA dysregulation.  

 

Please hold everything steady and give your nervous system time to settle down from these latest changes.

 

Let us know how you're doing over the coming days. 

[Goosie]

Hi shep.  Thanks for the message.   So last night I was able to get some light sleep.   This is a big improvement.  Last night was the “ no sleep” night in the cycle.  It didn’t feel like I slept but I know I did because my partner told me so. I fell asleep around 3 after going to bed at 11.    Woke at 6 , and then had a little more light sleep.   It felt like I was awake but then I remember some strange thoughts that I wouldn’t have had unless I was partially asleep.

All in all I am thrilled.   I feel like the cycle is breaking.   Thank you so much for your support.  

 

I also saw that sleeping every other night appears in the benzo forums.   I just started looking at them.   I had the cycling pretty bad last July and my shrink told me I had bipolar.    He said he had never heard of anyone sleeping every other night and the only solution was lithium.     I  tried the lithium but got terrible headaches so didn’t continue it.   The headaches continued so they were probably from the seroquel ambien or lack of sleep.    I am starting to wonder if all of this is gaba disregulation ad you say.   If it is I guess I have a long road ahead.    

 

It it is beautiful day today.   I feel well enough to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.    I think I can make it through today without crying fits.  💕💕💕💕💕💕

[RichT]

Excellent news Goosie!

 

R

[Goosie]

Thanks @RichT!!!! Sending love

[ChessieCat]

It's a good idea to document your good sleep/days either in posts here, or personally so that you can refer back to them for encouragement.

[Goosie]

Thank you @ChessieCat I will do that.    💕💕💕

[Goosie]

Still hangin in there.  3 hours of light sleep from 5amto 8.   

[Goosie]

Still doing well.  Will try to be stable for a week before resuming any taper.   

[Shep]

Goosie, how much were you sleeping prior to this last insomnia wave from reducing the herbal supplement? Was it more sleep than what you are currently getting?

 

If so, you may want to hold a bit longer and see if you can reach more stability with your sleep.

 

Please post your thoughts. Your last sleep update was only 3 hours, and I'm concerned if you start tapering again, it could get worse. 

[Goosie]

Hi @Shep    Thanks for the message.   Before the wave in my previous window I was sleeping in two installments.   Sleep 1 was about 3 hours and would start anywhere from  2 am to 6 am.    After that I would get some light sleep which didn’t feel like sleep for 1 - 3 hours.    I would go to bed by 11 so it took many hours to fall asleep.  I take the melatonin at 10, it makes me sleepy- I start to fall asleep, but never get there and end up more awake than before the melatonin.   

 

for the past two nights sleep has been better.   I fall asleep within an hour after “waking” from the melatonin and sleep for about 5 hours.   At this point I just get up.    So no second sleep.   This is the best sleep I’ve had in months.  Of course it’s only been two days- so it definitely not a trend yet.    I was for sure going to wait a little bit before tapering again.   How long do you think I should wait?    My one concern is that the melatonin will poop out on me.  It’s definitely making me sleepy when I take it now.   

[Songbird]

I'm glad to hear you've had a couple of better nights! 

 

I think it's unlikely that melatonin will poop out on you.  If it ends up making you feel more awake, that's a paradoxical reaction, which could be because you may be taking too much.  For example, I found up to 1mg helped me sleep, but 2mg had a paradoxical effect.  See: Melatonin for sleep

 

As for how long to hold for, I wouldn't put a time limit on it, but see how you feel over time.  Ideally you would get really nice and stable before recommencing a taper.

[Goosie]

Hi @Songbird  thanks for the message.   I was wondering if you might share with me how long you took melatonin?   

 

When say 2 mg had a paradoxical effect did it make you sleepy before being activating or was it activating right when you took it?

 

thanks!

[Songbird]

3 hours ago, Goosie said:

I was wondering if you might share with me how long you took melatonin?   

When say 2 mg had a paradoxical effect did it make you sleepy before being activating or was it activating right when you took it?

 

I've taken melatonin off and on for years.  If I'm having a "bad patch" I use it for a while until things settle down.  It doesn't really make me feel noticeably sleepy, just allows me to go to sleep.  When I took too much, it made me feel more awake than before, so I couldn't get to sleep.  Melatonin dosing is very individual.  Your dose doesn't look very big, but you're also taking other sleep aids around the same time.

 

If you're still getting quite good sleep for now, I wouldn't change anything at this time.  See how it goes, and keep us updated.

[Goosie]

Still stable - what a gift.   I think I will hold for two more weeks and then drop ~10% on the herbal blend.   From 70%to 60% of a pill.   I know it’s a little more than 10% but hopefully will be ok.     

Sadly my dog just got diagnosed with cancer.    😕

[Songbird]

That's good news, Goosie.

[Miko789]

Hi Goosie,

 

read yr intro,

read about yr sleep problem

 

🙂🙂its good that the sleep cycle  is breaking and you got some sleep.

which melatonin brand you use?

keep walking

[Goosie]

Thanks @Songbird and @Miko789 for the positive posts.   I use Douglas melatonin- it dissolves under the tongue and definitely has a sleepy effect on me.   

[Goosie]

Hello. Can anyone recommend a dr in the San Diego area that is familiar with withdrawl?   My current dr just said he doesn’t believe I have an illness.    Thanks!!!!!

[ChessieCat]

You don't need a doctor who is familiar with withdrawal and tapering.  You just need a doctor who is willing to write the scripts you need for your drugs and tapering.

[Goosie]

I would like a dr that can help me with the disability forms as I have been unable to work for a year and it looks like I will not be well enough to work for a while.    

[Adriane]

Hi I see that you took natural herbs and Gabba ,did these help you?I am planning on taking same herbs and supplemnts when i taper off celexa.

 

[Goosie]

HI @Adriane  I was in a really bad state so it’s hard to say if the herbs helped.  I do think they would help a “healthier” person.   However, now after being on them for 8 months I am having a hard time stopping them.    Good luck with your taper!!!

[ChessieCat]

2 hours ago, Goosie said:

I would like a dr that can help me with the disability forms as I have been unable to work for a year and it looks like I will not be well enough to work for a while.    

 

That makes sense.  Thanks for clarifying.  Have you posted in the relevant topic here?  And I suggest that you put the reason too. 

 

"Check in" topics: SurvivingAntidepressant.org members near you

[Shep]

Goosie, you may want to also check out the MiA site's provider directory.

 

Mad in America Provider Directory - California

 

I'm not familiar with California to know if any of these are close to your city or not, but might be worth checking out. Some do Skype consults, so you may be able to find someone that's far away, but would still work with you. 

 

There are some doctors listed in California here on SA: 

 

Recommended Doctors

[Goosie]

Thanks @Shep and @ChessieCat  this is really helpful!!!!

[Goosie]

Just wanted to update everyone.   I kept all supplements /meds the same for 1 month and then went down from 70% to 60% of the herbal blend.   It has been a week and I am still stable.  

I have a bad night about twice a week where it takes me 6 hours to fall asleep, but the other nights I fall asleep within 2 hours and sleep for 4-5 hours.   It’s far from perfect and I am still chronically tired but this is a huge improvement.    

 

I have decided to try grounding sheets.    Has anyone else tried them? What do you think?  

 

My my main plan of action is to get as much sun and fresh air as possible and to spend at least a few hours each day at the beach.   I am lucky that I can easily drive to the beach.   

 

I hope you are all finding joy each day.  

I’ll let you know how the grounding sheets work out for me