[Neal Thornton]

I finished the course 3 weeks ago. Before taking the course I was sleeping intermittently ( a few nights a week no sleep at all) taking medication a few nights a week and very anxious about sleep, spending a lot of time in the day worrying about it. At the end of the course I wasn’t totally comfortable but had managed to stop using medication on a regular basis and had begun to get decent sleep most nights. But wasn’t back to normal and unsure whether I was going to keep improving. However, I have continued to improve, so for those on the course naturally wondering “will this work?” stick with it. Martin gave great advice helping me to get a much better understanding of how sleep works and how we can reframe our thoughts and behaviours around sleep (or not-sleep!). I’m still sticking to the bedtime window limiting me to 6 hrs a night but it works fine for me and the main thing is the gradually improving attitude to sleep, allowing it to come when it does, not stressing about it during the day, gradually settling down after 18 months of stress over insomnia. I was at times really bad a year ago getting by on an average of 3 hrs a night and lots of prescription medication – so stick with Martin’s advice and ideas – life can settle down again.

[kdonahue10]

How did you stop using the medication? I want to stop using mine, but when not sleeping, it is a difficult thing to do. Thank you. Good for you for getting better. I would like life to settle down again. 🙂

[kdonahue10]

Good for you. I have been an Ambien user for 25 years and would sleep fine and then all of the sudden it stopped working and I have been battling insomnia for over a month now. Now, the doctors are prescribing benzodiazepines and I took them last night and they didn’t even work. I guess the answer is to not take them and see how it goes. I am already not sleeping, so I guess it can’t get worse! Thank you for sharing.

[Neal Thornton]

Well I guess I was lucky in that the ZOpiclone I was using quite quickly stopped working so I came to the conclusion like you that I’m not sleeping with the meds so I might as well see what happens without. I kept on taking a low dose occasionally for a few weeks when I couldnt stand being awake all night but have gradually got to the stage where I feel I’m better off having the odd bad night than going back to meds. We’re all different of course but at present it feels ‘cleaner’ just to stay off the artificial help and let the body do its thing.

[kdonahue10]

Sounds like a great plan. Thank you.

[Martin Reed]

Thanks for sharing, Neal — I appreciate you taking the time to share your progress!

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Grace]

Thank you for sharing – Neal. I feel like this issue will never end but it is good to know that putting in the effort is going to help. Not sure if anyone is also working through a relationship because this puts a lot of strain,

[Author]

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