girlamsterdam, it sounds like you've got something going on with you. Maybe it would be wise to get a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse to help you coordinate these meds? Or is the benzo usage so light and seldom that you can just coordinate it around the edges of nal usage?

Overtiredness affects us in a lot of crummy ways. It can't be helping the anxiety. I use melatonin as a sleep aid -- it doesn't interact with benzos or with naltrexone. I'm a total melatonin cheerleader, although I know it doesn't work for everyone. Might be worth a try?

Hi Melissa,

I definitely have a lot of stress of stress going on... I read in your thread that you have the same sleep problems and stress also with your husband? I have the problem that I do not dare to go to sleep sober. I can stay without alcohol easy in the day and evening, but not just before I go to sleep and while waking up during the night.

I know that alcohol does not make your sleep better, and I wake up tired and with low energy. I work fultime so that sucks. Also, you process emotional and mental during the night, and of course all your impressions. I am afraid that I will damage my ability to process information this way.

In any case, I will see my doctor monday and will ask for a letter to go to a psychologist.

Sleep problems make everything else seem crummier, don't they?

Alcohol helps parts of sleep and hurts others. IIRC, we spend more time in Stage 4 sleep (the deepest, most restful and healing) but less or no time in REM (dreaming, processing stuff) when we drink.

Have you addressed your sleep problems from the ground up? Checked your sleep environment, exercise habits, food schedule, all that stuff? I had to do that for my son, who also has sleep troubles. He ended up with all-new bedroom furniture, which was not cheap, but it really helped.

Just a quick update; I am in Tenerife now on holiday with a friend in a welness Center, for a purification cure. Not allowed to eat except tasteless broth and little shakes, even no tea! So also no alcohol I haven't drank in four days and that is the longest since at least three months. I wonder what will happen when I come back to the normal World again (the population is quite aged here), but for now, I have no stress, no panic attacks and sleep quite well. Only thing is my energy is quite low, but with a diet of 500 Cals a day that must be the case...

I know this is good for the body, but I long for a sandwich with cheese!!!

I have an acquaintance who does something similar, and she says she always feels totally awesome when she gets back. I hope that's true for you as well.

500 calories a day? I'm surprised you have the strength to sit up and type. Ah well. I guess it won't hurt you for such a short period of time.

Congrats on your cure by the way Melissa! You are the quickest example I have heard of1!

Thanks, but haven't you met sideeffect2?

Read his thread yeah But I have a little cheer too, today is my 6th day AF! That is the longest in half a year. I could have taken easily here but for some reason I have slept like a baby and although I almost couldn't eat (detox/fasting cure of a week), I did a run today and my feelings and energy are returning back to normal. No panic attacks, no feeling nauseous (hooray!). I have also thought that a lot of the stress coming to me is from not being able to say no and not wanting to miss out.

And thinking I miss out on a lot of fun and good times because I am sedated by the alcohol, is not what I want... And I have recently seen a few episodes on Youtube of the series Intervention which quite scared me. My future should not be that way!

I don't want to go back to work everyday with stress, but it seems when I have no stress, I have no problems sleeping... So my cure would either resist of taking a combination of Naltrexone and some stress reliever which is not alcohol or a benzo haha. I start with a course of mindfulness in January, so maybe that will be my resting point

Good weekend to all!

Ha. Never thought Id be an anti-drinking record holder.

And the god of Naltrexone has been good to me, because I paid way too much for ordering to the Netherlands, so I went to my doctor, told him I wanted to abstain for some time and he got me a 90 tablet prescription! Hooray! Sooo happy!