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sudly
Darwin's stagger

Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,797
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28346251 - 06/03/23 07:31 PM (7 months, 21 days ago) |
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Quote:
Northerner said: I've quit alcohol for extended periods before, as well as drinking for extended periods. My last round of drinking lasted 9 months and I've been stopped around 2-3 months now.
The only problem is is now I can't sleep more than 6 hours. It doesn't matter how tired I am, what time I go to bed, what I eat or drink... nothing seems to change it. It's not like I'm having bad thoughts, I'm not ruminating, and I don't have trouble going to sleep. I just keep waking up too soon for my needs.
I'm considering taking a huge dose of psychedelics to shake the tree and see what falls out. I've been hesitant to take more than a small dose because tripping tired can be difficult. But I'm always tired these days because of this so I have to do something.
Any ideas how to overcome this or similar experiences?
I used to drink myself to sleep every night. I've only had 6 drinks this year and have lost 12kg since cutting sugary beverages or at least reflexively saying no to consuming them.
I mentally can't eat things that have too much sugar content now.
I have sleep apnea and since getting a CPAP machine I've felt more energetic throughout the day, I was at the lower end but still slept while snoring 98% of the night, stopped breathing for 90 seconds at a time and had a heart rate of around 110. Apparently the heart shoots you up with adrenaline to get you breathing so you don't die while sleeping. and again, I'm at the very low end of sleep apnea. but loosing weight around the cheeks is also supposed to help with that.
Melatonin and over the counter sleep aids are usefull for me sometimes especially if I had modafinil in the system because it makes it very hard to sleep if taken too late in the day. but it does help significantly with my productivity.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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Northerner
splelling chceker


Registered: 07/29/12
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: sudly]
#28346378 - 06/03/23 09:52 PM (7 months, 21 days ago) |
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Good job cutting the drinking and glad it see that you've lost weight too. 
Sleep apnoea is crazy stuff, I'm very thankful I haven't developed that. When I was drinking I used to snore, but that's history now.
I'm back to sleeping between 5-6 hours sleep most nights now. Sometimes as few as 3, sometimes as much as 7. I've given in on worrying about it now and am just working on presence of mind. Treating the problem as cognitive rather than physical. Probably closer to the truth for me.
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The nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to paradox.
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loladoreen


Registered: 05/25/20
Posts: 5,327
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28349918 - 06/06/23 05:44 PM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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Careful with melatonin. I was having migraines during the night and getting sometimes 90 minutes of sleep. I took melatonin and it had adverse affects. I have only taken it one time.
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“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.”
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Northerner
splelling chceker


Registered: 07/29/12
Posts: 14,137
Loc: FNQ
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: loladoreen]
#28349925 - 06/06/23 05:54 PM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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Fortunately melatonin works fine with me. I have low trust in the pills themselves though. I read a report on an analysis of 20+ melatonin supplements and it was pretty damning. Vast majority were inconsistently dosed, some didn't even contain melatonin whilst others contained harmful ingredients and even heavy metals.
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The nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to paradox.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger

Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,797
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28350053 - 06/06/23 07:57 PM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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Homeopathics don't do anything and have no melatonin in them, literal sugar pills.
But actual prescribed melatonin works great for me, I just don't use it every night. Less lights are good too. I listen to audio mode on my t.v. at night, works better.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 14,555
Loc: Utah
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28350183 - 06/06/23 09:36 PM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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There are some drugs that can be used off label for sleep, and they don't affect any of the "fun"/"addictive" receptors, so in your case they might be a net benefit. They can have some pretty dramatic cognitive effects though, so just depends on how desperate you are for sleep.
The one at the top of the list is Seroquel, which would drop an elephant inside an hour. Downside is that it's a broad spectrum anti-psychotic, meaning it's an antagonist at all the serotonin receptors and all the dopamine receptors and it's an antagonist at the histamine receptors. The combo of dopamine and histamine antagonism is almost certainly what causes the sedation. But overall, the drug is harmless and nonaddictive, although it does have some pretty dramatic cognitive effects.
You could also try an SSRI right before bed. They make some people stay up but other people sleep, it's a crap shoot, maybe 50/50, but worth a try.
You could also try taking 2-3 antihistamines, but don't do that for long periods.
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Northerner
splelling chceker


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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: nooneman] 1
#28350243 - 06/06/23 10:23 PM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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Nah.. lol. That's crazy dude. I know what that head med shit does.
I've got some polarimine there which I tried taking maybe 10 times. I still woke up too soon after though.
I'll just stick with mindfulness. I've been getting extra training sessions in, that helps. It took time to get here, it'll take time to get out of here.
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The nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to paradox.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger

Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,797
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28350353 - 06/07/23 02:23 AM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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I think modafinil is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor that also stimulates wakefulness with histamines. Is why anti histamines can counter the wakefulness of modafinil specifically.
Over the counter sleep aids are antihistamines and can be helpful too, some benzos can be useful for that too, but none of them are supposed to be used long term or multiple nights in a row due to resistance and long term health concerns.
Hope you didn't try polaramine 10 days in a row.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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Northerner
splelling chceker


Registered: 07/29/12
Posts: 14,137
Loc: FNQ
Last seen: 7 hours, 15 minutes
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: sudly]
#28350377 - 06/07/23 03:33 AM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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What's supposed to happen after 10 days of polarimine?
Not that I did, because it did the same as everything else, nothing. I've not had any problem going to sleep, I just wake up 6 hours later. 6 hours is fine for a while, but eventually it wears you down.
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The nearest we ever come to knowing truth is when we are witness to paradox.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger

Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,797
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: Northerner]
#28350379 - 06/07/23 03:35 AM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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It just doesn't work as well.
Gapabentin really helped me stay asleep, and it can be used every day for years. Relatively affordable too.
Used to anxiety, lessening alcohol dependence and staying asleep among helping shingles. Plenty of reasons for good.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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CapSlinger


Registered: 05/17/11
Posts: 983
Loc: Colorado rocky mountain high
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: sudly]
#28350407 - 06/07/23 04:33 AM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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You're alright buddy. Wait till that 6 hours gets down to 3 hours a night.
It's like living in a Twilight Zone episode.
Just kidding. No I'm not.
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sudly
Darwin's stagger

Registered: 01/05/15
Posts: 10,797
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Re: 6 hours sleep maximum after stopping alcohol [Re: CapSlinger]
#28350413 - 06/07/23 04:59 AM (7 months, 18 days ago) |
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The dissociation gets real with sleep deprivation.
-------------------- I am whatever Darwin needs me to be.
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