Having a really difficult time getting to sleep and staying

Having a really difficult time getting to sleep and staying asleep :sleeping: anxiety sucks

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Hello Magen: if it's early in your recovery, then this is normal and to be expected. Things will get better with the passage of time.

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Yes it does

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It is early in my recovery. I’m so sleepy with a full schedule at work. I would love to call out but i can’t.

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Ask your dr about maybe some hydroxyzine, I have the ADHD so with my Vyvanse I’m able to stay up all day and work but i take another one at night and it helps me sleep.

DISCLAIMER: if you are not on ADHD meds, it will definitely put you to bed lol they recommend as needed, forgot to take my Vyvanse one morning and I had to head back home and sleep lol

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Unfortunately this is all part of getting sober …. I’m 59 days sober today… in the beginning my anxiety was so bad I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t even stay still to the point I got out of bed and had to go out of my house for a walk around the block to just calm the anxiety down a bit … it sucks but totally normal

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Avoid the coffee at meetings would be a good idea. If the insomnia lasts too long seek help.

Trazedone works wonders for me!

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Agreed.

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But if you’re going through withdrawals, that’s a different story. That usually involves benzos, which are not always a good thing if you have an issue with that I would consult your doctor.

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On the natural end try CBD gummies, melatonin, chamomile, valerian root
CBD helps me a good bit. Melatonin works a few nights, but I used to use about a fifth of vodka to sleep so those aren't quite strong enough usually. I've been prescribed Seraquel, which is similar to Trazadone they speak of in prior replies , and hydroxyzine, which is an antihistamine similar to benadryl but gauged more toward sleeping. Try CBD and melatonin first, perhaps with some sleepy time tea. If that's not enough, any practitioner worth their salt will prescribe Seraquel and hydroxyzine to a recovering alcoholic. Both aren't scheduled or habit forming. The seraquel is the most crucial for moi. Good luck

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Lofi, chamomile and reading fiction do it for me.

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Download the dare app for anxiety. It helps a lot

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A hot bath might help. Good luck!

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It's early yet. I believe if you keep going to meetings and ask someone to sponsor you you're right where you are supposed to be. I would Not recommend any medication for sleep yet. Try chocolate for the sugar withdrawals if you were a drinker. Our first hope should be "I just don't want to have to Pick up (drug of choice) today." Above All else.

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Hey Magen, I can give you days worth of info on sleep tips. Some work better than others but I have had insomnia since a kid and been physically disabled and in pain for every sober moment of the last 20 yrs. Kava kava is VERY helpful for falling asleep. Wild lettuce can be helpful also and can be found almost anywhere weeds will grow.

For me, not working out nor consuming caffeine past 11am is necessary. More days than not I sleep less than 4 hrs and often go days without, even though I am on meds that would tranquilize most. Clearing your mind thru journaling can be helpful as well. ZMA is a supplement that promotes healthy sleep as are magnesium, banana peel tea etc. I still go void of sleep to the point of hallucinating though, often enough so hopefully these things work better for you. I can't much imagine they wouldn't as my case is pretty ridiculous and even still there are things that I could do to sleep better I'm just not willing to do them as they would either jeopardize my sobriety, my beliefs, my sense of identity ect.

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Go to your doctor maybe they can give you something that’s what I did

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Crazy as it sounds I had hallucinations on that stuff and I’m a former hippy that has taken a lot of shrooms, lsd, mdma, and others. I guess it’s not GeForce everyone. The nightmares and hallucinations made it to where I couldn’t get out of bed.

Stay with it dear. It’s very difficult at first. In time, sleep habits will improve and many aspects of your life will improve and when adversity does occur during sobriety, you will be able to handle it so much better. You have a good support network here. Good on you for beginning your journey…:relaxed:

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For what it’s worth… music was everything when I was first trying to get sober! That and moving… effing do ANYTHING! Clean. Walk. Organize something that’s a total clusterF … while listening to something you love loud. Then admire your commitment. And do that or something like it every day. Seems like a lot but it isn’t. Man … I was a lazy, self-loathing drunk. About 2 1/2 years later I feel really alive… raw at times… but alive for the first time in my life! Keep going and happy to be a pal whenever. One minute. One hour. One day. One week. One Month. One year at a time.

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