I am on day 3 of being sober and the insomnia was very real. I only got 20 minutes of sleep. Every time i tried to fall asleep i would get hot. When i finally did i had the worst nightmare that woke me up. When does this get any better? Wish me luck today at work. I will be on the struggle bus!
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Depending on your drug of choice and usage anywhere from a week to month(s). Hydrating ,getting vitamins and exersize could help speed the process up alittle. Trying chamomile tea or melatonin along with some meditation or relaxation to wind down before bed may help as well. Just remember it gets better be patient…
It’s different for me each time, but it doesn’t last too long. The vivid dreams might last longer, but you should be able to sleep soon. Withdrawal makes it a little rough. Try to drink plenty of water and eat as healthy as you can. Hang in there, I promise each day brings you closer to feeling better even though it feels like forever.
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Mine eased after day three ( alcohol) but I got a lot of exercise after the first few days of nausea wore off.
Exercise may be very helpful, both with sleep and as a distraction. Feeling healthier has been a huge motivator not to have a drink 
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You could try lowering the temperature of your room or (and this sounds counterproductive) having a hot shower or bath just before bed to help drop your core temperature. I also sleep with an audiobook on, it helps that I can focus on that instead of letting my thoughts take over and eventually I drift off listening to Stephen Fry narrate Harry Potter.
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Thanks everyone! The support on here is so helpful! I am trying my best and finding this forum I think is what I needed. Tea, exercise and something to calm me is what I will try. New update…I am sweating like it’s 100 degrees as soon as I got to work. I really hope that stops soon as well.
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Also, a hot water bottle works amazinglly, it warms your core quickly, without overheating your whole body, and as you warm up the bottle will start to cool.
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The sweating is the body detoxing the chemicals out. It’s a good thing and it does go away as well.
I took me 4 days so that i can finally get some sleep without nightmares or involuntary leg movements waking me up…it ll get better…
One of my detoxes I was over 120 hours with nothing more than a few minutes of sleep. It’s not pleasant but it’s survivable.
I took unisom for my first week. Helped me tremendously. I was able to eat a dose, and it pulled me under in about 15 minutes, alleviated the hot/sweaty feel, the itchiness and the racing thoughts and was able to achieve a solid 6 hours of sleep.
Ugh, yah that’s a killer.
I found magnesium, melatonin, inositol , niacin and 5htp really helpful in bridging that gap.
I was one of those people who drank to fall asleep every night…
If you try 5htp start with half a dose and don’t take it every day. The others won’t leave you feeling slow but this one can keep you tired for 24h lol it helped with depression for me as well as anxiety
Inositol is great for anxiety and depression. And sleep too.
And don’t forget the power of exercise…I got in the habit of just doing as Much as I could in a day and I eventually found that I was legit tired at the end of it lol.
I didn’t realize how little i did with my time until I got sober.
It’s not an easy one but your body will eventually reset if you are determined.
Make a checklist of things to do when you are not sleeping and see if that helps! At the very least your home will never be so organized and clean lol.
Whatever you do just don’t lie around a and watch tv.
Hope something in here is helpful.
Congrats on your sober time, keep it up. It’s worth it.