Insomnia Support Group

Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...

3,669 Members
3,811 Posts
0 Online
Sleep Disorders
/ Insomnia Support Group

I'm worried that my pills don't "work" a

kara2012
kara2012
I have not had a good week. My laptop got infected with viruses a week ago and is now been in the repair shop for several days. I can't get on the internet as often as I want to. On Thursday I had a fight with my mom. I took my pills and basically spent the rest of the day laying wide awake. The most I slept, if I slept at all, was off and on. I did sleep that night but didn't even feel the least bit drugged or anything. I was up this morning and of course I'm not even tired today when I should be extremely tired. I'm really worried that I will take the pills again tonight and they will have no effect, much as I fear. I am worried that I will be left wide awake then for who knows how long. I don't know what to do if I have become tolerant to them. I really don't see this problem ever going away if I can't ever regain the ability back to get tired naturally again. I might soon try ribbose,etc and I hope it works, because I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't work. My mom has said she will purchase it for me, being as I can't afford it right now. I can't stand feeling so wide awake anymore. I don't know what to do if I have become tolerant to Seroquel,etc. I am on about the highest dosage I believe so I can't really try to increase the dosage. I am just worried that the pills not really having any effect the other day means that they have lost all effect. I can do things today to try to distract myself, such as listen to music, but I am extremely worried that the pills will have no effect and I will still be wide awake. What should I do if they have stopped "working'? I can try to tell myself that I'll be ok even if they don't work, but I don't believe it. I'll just worry about what to do and worry how long I will be wide awake for. I barely slept a couple nights ago and I had not taken Seroquel. I slept a few nights ago when I had taken Seroquel hours before. I was up last night and hadn't taken Seroquel. I try to take Seroquel as little as possible, instead of everynight like the Social worker,etc were trying to get me to do. I believe anything like Seroquel,Ambien,Lunesta,etc should be taken as little as possible. I just sit up numerous times a week versus take Seroquel every night. I was/am on a pretty high dosage, which could sedate me for several hours if it"worked". The smaller dosages were not at all helpful. I also tell myself that I have not felt tired after staying up allnight numerous times, but I have slept. I just hope I sleep again early tomorrow morning, but am worried that I won't. Several people on here have told me to try to stop worrying as much, which is much easier said than done, and is important and , perhaps, I will regain the ability back to feel tired when I should be, instead of wide awake. Another member has told me I'm low on something called adenosine, which adenosone can cause tiredness at high enough levels. He has told me to take supplements to help that. I am not probably going to be able to increase my adenosine levels to levels they should be able to be at by just not worrying. I hope that I have not become tolerant to the pills, much as I fear and they really haven't lost effect like they apperared to do the other day. I also want to be able to get on my laptop again:(. What should I do if the pills have stopped working, much as I fear?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Kara. You will not be wide awake for days because you have fallen asleep in several days that you did not take your meds. You can sleep but you just can't feel the natural sedating feeling that goes with it. When your tired feeling does come back it will feel a little different then what your use to then it will change slowly. Its really strange
kara2012
kara2012
If the tired feeling ever comes back because I'm taking ribbose, etc or for any other reason , but I'm seriously worried that it won't ever come back without being drugged, what does the feeling feel like? How does it feel different than before? Do you get tired on the days you have taken ribbose and usually feel wide awake on the days you don't take ribbose? I'm extremely anxious right now because it's getting so late and I'm worried about taking the pills and they won't have any effect, much as I fear.
deleted_user
deleted_user
You will start to yawn more and your eyes will feel heavy and sometimes burn and you will feel like laying down but it wont feel like that sedating sleepy feeling but that will come slowly. It took over a month to feel something. Be patient and go for walks and exercise. Only take it on days you are gonna exercise and only take it once or twice a week. Only take one pill. Do not follow the instructions on the bottle.
kara2012
kara2012
I took the pills and they "worked" still. I don't understand then why the pills took such a long time to "work" the other day and they didn't take hours again the next time I took them.
kara2012
kara2012
Moondust did it take over a month to feel the least bit tired after you started taking the ribbose?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi Kara, don't worry about the tired feeling right now, it will return in it's own time. It's possible to fall sleep without feeling tired, I know because I've done it. Just focus on relaxing, all the stress, anxiety, and worry is anti-sleep.
kara2012
kara2012
I know that it is possible to sleep when I don't feel tired because I have also done it several times. I suspect we have been tired on those nights, we just couldn't feel it for some reason. I have slept several times even when I didn't feel tired on nights after I have stayed up allnight the night before. I have been up allnight and ,of course, don't feel tired, but will try to remember that I have slept several times after being up before even though I didn't feel tired and that I can hopefully sleep tonight also. I'm going to try to focus on the fact that although I don't feel tired, I must be tired. If I don't sleep tonight on my own after staying up allnight, there is always next time I can try.Even if I am lucky and I sleep on my own, I will take Seroquel because if I go too long without taking it I usually go into withdraw and get physically sick. If I don't sleep on my own, I will take Seroquel,etc and hopefully it "works" Even if worse comes to worse, I will go about my day tomorrow, even though it wouldn't be easy and is much easier said than done. Tomorrow is also going to be a nice and sunny day. I plan on listening to music today, being online-of course, spending time outside because it is going to be a very nice and sunny day and walking. So even though it's not easy and I am worried, I'm going to try to focus on the fact that I have slept several times after I have been up allnight,even though I didn't feel tired and I CAN tonight also. I am also going to try and concentrate on the fact that even though I don't feel tired, I must be tired. It has been a while since I slept first without taking Seroquel though. I got out of that when I was on vacation. I have just been taking Seroquel without trying to sleep first on nights after I have been up. I feel so wide awake and anxious.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Kara, This is jdejohn I changed my user name. Does the Seroquel make you tired or just knock you out? I have been on seroquel for about a week now and it just knocks me out. I get about 5 hours of drug sleep. I have also started taking l-glutamine and I have a noticed a difference in my anxiety. It makes me feel calm.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Jenny 11. do you still take the ativan with the l-glutamine? I know you said you were coming off of Ativan and I didn't know if it was safe to take both. What did your doctor say?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes I am still on the Ativan the doctor doesn't want me to go off of it until I get 8 hours of sleep. Glad you mentioned that I have only taken the L-Glutamine two times. I won't take it any more until I ask my doctor. Thank you!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I bet your doctor is going to claim that he doesn't know anything about L-Glutamin.

Just remember that ativan tells your brain to keep making GABA and your brain uses L-Glutamin to make GABA.

If anything, demand that your doctor help you get off of ativan.
deleted_user
deleted_user
My doctor is going to help me get off ativan after I get some sleep for a month or so because I didn't sleep for such a long time and I have to work. I am very lucky to have found a pdoc that is very understanding and willing to work with me. He told me that it takes a year for your brain to recover. I appreciate all of your advice Galvatron and I believe in your methods. I can't wait for the day I am off this evil medication which I believe is causing me so many problems and not just sleep.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Thanks for the compliment.

I don't know about a year because it took over 2yrs for me and I was loaded on all sorts of supplements just to get by (because of what the drugs did to me). Had I not been on drugs, I think I would have recovered much faster.

I'm pretty sure I was on 12 different types of vitamins and supplements just to feel normal during those times. I never want to ever go through that again.

I wish I could bitch slap every doctor who prescribes benzos.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I wish I never took Ativan I was stupid. My mom told me many times that it is really hard to get off of but I didn't care it was getting me sleep. Until I tried to taper and OMG was it hell. I have major stomach issues now and I am wondering if it from the Ativan. I have lost 30 pounds in a short period of time. The gastro wants to put a scope into my stomach but I am scared because I have such strange reactions to medication. Galvatron did you have stomach issues at all when you were on the drugs?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes! I had the worse stomach problems and I was even diagnosed with irritable bowl syndrome. Syndrome my ass! That's what I told them.

What happen is, my #2 (haha), would be rainbow color, brown, yellow, green, orange, black. It would also be in solid and then liquid and then solid and the cycle would repeat itself.

It was all signs of Terrible digestion due to lack of energy but they called it IBS which stands for irresponsible bull shit. I mean irritable bowl syndrome.

Even till this day, I don't feel like my stomach is normal. That's because when I eat a lot of Mexican jalapeos, I'm supposed to run to the bathroom (lol) but I don't anymore. It's like I lost the ability to feel that hot pain. Sucks.