When I saw the pdoc last week I told him that I haven’t been sleeping well. I’ve been having vivid dreams, which isn’t new, but although I don’t remember most of these recent ones, each one puts me in a stressful situation — kind of like those dreams about not having studied for a big exam, but 10 times more stressful. I wake up with my jaws clenched and with my entire body a knot of tensed muscle. I feel physically and mentally exhausted.
The pdoc was surprised because the 1 mg. of Klonopin I take every night has muscle relaxing properties. Well, it doesn’t. Not 1 mg., anyway, unlike the 3 mg. I took before my root canal last week (1 mg. the night before, 1 mg. the next morning, and 1 mg. a couple of hours before my appointment). He said that it is possible to actually stress while you sleep, so he replaced the Klonopin with 5 mg. of Valium.
I was concerned because of my past history of overdosing on prescription meds, although I haven’t done that in years; I take all of my medications exactly as prescribed. I am allowed to take 1 or 2 extra Klonopins during stressful situations, and even that has been rare — just the emergency dental appointment this past summer and this recent root canal. Other times I just eat, but that’s another story.
Although this is a valid concern, my pdoc and therapist agree that there isn’t any danger of this happening. Besides, if you’ve ever had to drink activated charcoal, you’re not going to be ODing again anytime soon. At least it worked as a deterrent for me. That web site’s claim that activated charcoal is “tasteless” is complete and utter bullshit, I’ll tell you that right now — it’s quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. And if you don’t drink it, they pump your stomach and force it down your throat. No, thank you.
Anyway, I left his office feeling like a middle-class suburban mom in need of a “chill pill,” the image that comes to mind when I hear “Valium,” but also with some hope of relief.
If anything, things are worse. Now, I’m not even sleeping through the night! I wake up several times and often have trouble falling back asleep. This is in addition to the stressful dreams. It’s only been a week, and admittedly, I’m too lazy to call the doctor, so I’m giving it another week. I just hope it starts working.
I thought they only give diazepam for things like back pain and very short-term anxiety these days. I’ve had it for back pain and it worked immediately (a few mins). There’s no build-up like with mood-stabalizers.
Short-term anxiety, I’ve heard of. I don’t know how long the doc plans to keep me on this stuff. Since I didn’t sleep well last night — again — I think I’m going to get over being lazy and call him today.
Back pain, I haven’t heard of. And if they do prescribe it for that, well, it certainly doesn’t work for me!
It’s such a pain when you can’t figure out if your back pain is due to constipation or cramps, but Aleve does the trick.
Trouble sleeping is just the worst, it makes me so angry, especially when I have to get up early for work.
Robin´s last blog ..Get Out While You Can
It’s horrid. I don’t have to get up early, but that would be my preference — to get up in time to walk Brian to the train. Anyway, after waking up several times again last night, I decided to become unlazy about this and left a message for the doctor just now.
Damn Barb, that really sucks that you’re not able to get the sleep you need. That in and of itself will add stress.
It sucks, big time. And as someone managing life with a mood disorder, proper sleep hygiene is essential. Actually, it’s probably essential to most people!