Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Scott, thank you for your reply, I appreciate the feedback.
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner but I did something this week that I thought I could do but now am having some regrets. I did what every doctor I’ve gone to recommended I NOT do, I went cold turkey. I’ve now been 5 straight nights without any sleep medication (except some Tylenol PM which I don’t really count because it doesn’t really help and is OTC).
The first few days I was able to get through my days OK and in fact up until yesterday I was still able to get my daily 2 mile walk in. But this morning I am feeling dizzy and had to call in sick at work because I can’t concentrate. I’ve been horizontal all day.
I thought that I could force my mind to finally fall asleep naturally without help by just stopping the pills but it doesn’t work that way. Fortunately my vital signs are fine. The only sleep I got was an hour or so every night of vivid dreams (light dozing is what I call it, it’s not the restorative kind of sleep I need).
I feel really really stuck now. I’m not getting enough sleep with the pills and feel lousy during the day but I can at least function. And then when I stop using the pills I feel even worse and even may be putting my health in danger.
I think I may be ready to sign up for this course, I’m so desperate. Unfortunately my living situation isn’t ideal for trying CBT-I at this point, I’m living in a bedroom at an AirBnB while I wait for my condo to be finished so I can’t really do that whole “get up out of bed when you cant sleep and go to another room routine” and my bed is basically my couch where I do all my work and lie on all day.
I want to wean myself off of my pills and even have a lower dosage version of Restoril for this purpose but I am really stuck right now. I don’t feel safe driving but I need to get out from time to time for family obligations. Tonight I will take my medication again.
During this week I decided to stay off the insomnia boards including this one because I thought “maybe if I don’t read about it and obsess over it, I’ll be able to put it out of my mind.” But that didn’t work either.
