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Tapering Longest you've went without sleeping - did you become a lunatic street bum?

JohnBoy2000

JohnBoy2000

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Joined
May 11, 2016
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I've decided to discontinue my sleep aids - 7.5 mg zopiclone, and 75 mg promethazine.

I think that may be inhibiting my overall recovery and potential functionality.

I think my brain needs to be completely absent of interfering chemicals.

But I've depended on sleep aids for the last 6 years, previous to which I only ever slept 4 hours per night anyways.

Is it possible to go many nights with absolutely no sleep, or potentially indefinitely with no sleep, with this approach?

Is it possible I might turn into a raving street lunatic at 4 am, cause no sleep just makes a dude crazy?
 
It's not possible to go indefinitely without sleep, no. You would die. If you've been relying on sleep aids for so long, you might be better advised to discuss this with GP or at the very least taper what you're using down slowly. I don't imagine the sudden shock to the system is going to be very pleasant otherwise mate.
 
I did go 7 days without sleep once and while you probably won't experience that, most people crack way before then.

Best of luck and I truly do wish you a speedy recovery; that is many years on hypnotics.
 
Have gone a few days. You will eventually get some sleep.

Why not just try removing 1 for now and see? Cold turkey double is never good.

However promethazine was just like a stronger dorm. Never took zopiclone. But since its a benzo that will be the issue. Don't think you will be running around the streets. Your health and other substance usage will mean a lot.
 
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for me it's around 8 or nine days.
i did become pretty psychotic. i knew i would see shit and i was just expecting to see it. i wasn't even paranoid, because i knew i would see it and that it's delusion.
Captain.Heroin said:
I did go 7 days without sleep once and while you probably won't experience that, most people crack way before then.

Best of luck and I truly do wish you a speedy recovery; that is many years on hypnotics.
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those are rookie numbers. you gotta pump up those numbers.
 
12 days. Back in 2014. Trauma related to seeing an infant essentially being tortured.

Went insane. Hallucinated. Swore at everyone and everything. Some silly psych put me on Abilify and I went into an uncontrollable rage and could have killed someone despite sleeping like a baby the night of the first dose.

Psychiatric drugs are not to be messed with. Probably just as dangerous to your mental health as most illegal drugs.
 
Discontinued promethazine last night.

Not as big an issue as I expected - but then I did have 7.5 mg zopiclone in the system.

Ease off that tonight and see what happens.

I'm really keen to be just completely drug and medication free for the first time in yeah, going on 7 years - damn time flies by.

I'm expecting to have to go out pacing the streets or shadow box outside in the night like a crazy person, just to come to terms with the lack of sleep and sedation where a drug induced form of it is normally present but additionally, I'm very enthusiastic to feel how my body responds being completely drug free.
 
In memory the longest I've gone without sleep has been weeks on end getting about an hour and half sleep each night.

Bizarrely I actually have pleasant memories of it cause, I'd just go out and stroll about the city in the warm summer nights, no one around and just soak up the feel of the infrastructure without the hustle and bustle - then go into a daze/stupor from about 5:30 to 7 am, make it to work like a zombie for 8:30.
 
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i frequently did stretches of 5-6 days without sleep when i was addicted to crack. by day 2-3 i was psychotic and getting progressively worse.

i also had major issues with sleep aids, til i went to rehab i'd done 16 years without 'natural' sleep. its fucking hard. you won't go insane. you may well have a few completely sleepless nights. it is really really hard not to give in, tbh i couldn't do it by myself. your brain takes a frustratingly long time to heal, but within a few months of getting out of rehab i got to the point of never needing sleep aids or even thinking of using them.
 
No my parents are too nice for that to have had happened but quite possibly if I didn't have them.

I did feel like I was going to die though and saw strange things like people in windows at night that weren't there.
 
I have gone through periods of mania and 'suicidal' thoughts before, when trying to stop taking antidepressants. At a certain point during insomnia in the early morning I could cognitively separate the 'suicide' voice and understand my brain structure is capable of both at the same time. I DO NOT RECOMMED ANYONE ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT FULL MEDICAL AND PSYCHIATRICT SUPPORT. In my case I feel that I can separate my depressive thoughts from my cognitive mind, and use those depression thoughts for analysis, cognition, and to chart future behaviour. Belive me it is a very frustrating learning process but at the end of the day it works. In AA they call this "God is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves."
 
13.5 days. I was pretty good. Kayaked the Arkansas River at flood level on the last day. These are raft picks from decent and lower flow days x .. xx wacked out shit was always most prevalent the first three days. I also did almost two weeks kicking methadone and alprazolam. For many years now, for the most part, my ass is usually tucked in bed.
 
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[
The Axe said:
I would really like to kayak Catalina Channel and Santa Monica Bay, 2 weeks or thereabouts sounds good.
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CHARGE!!


I'm no sea kayaker yet, but i think ill get into to it now that I'm back in Wisco<3

"Our state has more than 50,000 miles of rivers and streams, more than 15,000 inland lakes, about 1,751 square miles of Great Lakes estuaries and bays along 1,017 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, and approximately 5.3 million acres of wetland (Wis. DNR 1996).
.
"

Shhhsshh don't tell anybody. I just need a kind Carabean hideout for winter.
 
The Axe said:
I've only been to the Dells as a kid. I'm sure its the same tourist trap, pass through the Arch in St. Louis, on your right is the Land of Lincoln, and coming up on your left, The Dell's! Woohoo!
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I love water parks.. Absolutely love them and so I love the Dells.
 
I think it was many years ago when I was coming home from a Lan party, I had been awake for at least two days with only caffeine keeping me going. Caffeine is one hell of a drug lol. Anyone that tries to tell you that energy drinks are healthy or good for you is a fool. I vaguely remember driving home and worrying that I was hallucinating from sleep deprivation. I didn't have any paranoid delusions or anything. I'm a good driver most of the time, so I made it home safely.

Years and years later now, I'm not into binging stims and staying up for days on end. It makes me feel like garbage to stay up and miss out on sleep. I know my body needs rest each night or the next day is gonna be rough. I guess that's one of the drawbacks of being on your feet all day at work and moving around a kitchen.
 
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I stayed up about 18 hours hauling a Uhaul from Montana to Portland, after having jackknifed in South Dakota whilst pleasuring myself to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (long story), but I did make it down the Columbia River Gorge doing about 45 mph in driving rain, smoking Marlboros and drinking Coca Cola, though I did end up driving off an elevated curb when I got to Portland, possibly damaging some furniture that my Grandma wanted me to deliver to my Big Sister. Mission accomplished. Got thoroughly drunk, passed out, woke up, unhitched the Uhaul if not already done, and resumed my journey to Central California. Had to sell a use pirated cassette tape to get across the Golden Gate Bridge (I only had MomnDads' credit card). In a word: spoiledrotten.
 
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