For me, insomnia comes in waves. I will have no issue sleeping for a few months, then I’ll have a few weeks in a row where I can’t seem to get a decent night of sleep. What’s most puzzling this time though is, I’ve made several changes lately that should have made getting to sleep (and staying to sleep) easier:
- I’ve lowered my Adderall dose, which has helped my shoulder pain a lot. My amphetamine tick is rubbing my fingers together, which causes a repetitive strain injury in my shoulders.
- I’ve had more regular physical activity than I’ve had in many years, going to the gym regularly.
- I’ve tried all sorts of additional sleep aids available to supplement the Trazadone/Seroquel with: Unisom, Benadryl, Valerian, etc. Anything with limited risk to my brain chemistry.
Nothing worked… so I’ve resorted to something I’ve deliberately avoided my entire life: benzodiazepines. Benzos aren’t something that should be taken every day, because physical dependence happens fast and it sounds like benzo withdrawal suuuuuucks.
A while ago my psychiatrist offered me Temazepam (Restoril), but I needed to take medication to sleep every night, and I was not willing to deal with the problems that came with taking that nightly. A while after that, I was experimenting with all sorts of different things, looking for something stimulating to take during my Adderall break days. The only thing that cut through my severe fatigue at all was the curiously named CRL-40,941, commonly referred to as Flmodafinil among other things. It is one of many Modafinil analogues and perhaps the strongest. It is art of a class of drugs called “wakefulness-promoting agents.” Well, that description is very accurate. In fact, I was not able to sleep at all the night after taking it. After reading up it appears I am not the only one with this problem after taking modafinil analogues, and benzos are the only thing that works for others in this situation. Still though, I held off on the temazepam and just stuck to my Trazadone/Seroquel combo. I am still going to try using the night after a dose of Flmodafinil, but if my current bout of insomnia increases, I’m going to need to use it occasionally when I am in dire need of sleep after falling far behind as well.
The experience of getting prescribed it brought back some familiar sad realities about the healthcare system – many drugs that should not be taken daily are prescribed to be taken daily, and without warnings of the consequences. Before taking a new drug I always learn all about it for myself first. I read up on dosing information, side effects, personal experiences, drug interactions, the way it affects the brain chemically, everything. There is a lot that can go wrong when you are on a lot of medications, and many people learn that the hard way. There are many stories out there from people who trusted their doctor and took a benzo as prescribed – every day. A couple of months later they tried to stop and started having all these awful withdrawal effects.
Shaking Off the Chains 