Hello fellow posters, ( This is long, sorry)
Wow... I can't believe this thread is still alive. I just wanted to add that I have within the last 2 1/2 weeks weaned myself out of drinking wine at night before bed. I never drink during the day because I simply could not function if I did.
Night drinking for me as you know if you read this thread, is just so I can totally relax, get a buzz, and fall asleep.
Well about a month ago a good friend had dinner with us several nights in a row...he has always been much more of f drinker than me. Day and night. Not fall down drunk, but like a nurser.
His daughter was in a bad car accident in Boston, and he and his wife had spent 8 days in the hospital with her, they did not drink!
WHen he was here for dinner with us, each night my DH would offer him (his favorite( red wine. He declined and said that since he spent 8 days without, he was experiencing the best sleep he has had in a very long time. He had no problem getting to sleep because the accident took so much out of him, that he was exhausted and welcomed sleep at the end of the day.
I payed a lot of attention to him. Deep sleep is what I was trying to get.... Oh sure I would fall asleep... but then around 4am I was wide awake, tossing and turning for the next 2 hours. Not good!
( Besides you simply cannot lose weight on this diet when you are drinking, and menopausal)
Anyway..weight loss being at a stand still for months, no matter how had I tried.... I caught a real good glipmse of my big fat gut in the mirror one morning while getting dressed. I couldn't believe how bad it looked....It actually scared me...why was it so big? I am NOT a big eater.... Had to be the wine!
My thoughts about my friend and how he felt about the wine, and sleep, just made me decide to wean myself off instead of just quitting....
Well I have to admit I am taking 1/2 of a xanax every day around 7 pm...
I have had xanax for about 10 years....( probably th same bottle ) I have always suffered from anxiety and panic attacks...although as the years have gone by, it's gotten better. I rarely have ever used the xanax, they make me sleepy, and I don't want that during the day.
My perscription allows me to take 3 per day.... I have never done that, I couldn't, I did not want to be dependent on them, and besides most people who have panic and anxiety, for some reason, fight the idea of taking any medication! It's Just the way we are.
Anyway to get on with it.... I only take half of a pill before I leave work...it takes about 2 hours for it to work, and it is barely noticible, but I have found that around 10pm I am sliding off to sleep on the couch in front of the TV... at first I was having a glass of wine at that hour, and would wake up and realize that the wine was only half full. I would say I'm too tired to finish, and I would go to bed instead.
Well night before last, I had just 1/4 of the xanax and no wine. Last night I had no xanax and no wine.... guess what, I fell asleep in front of the TV at 10:30pm ...so I got up and off to bed I went.
I am sleeping through the night, and am not all dehydrated, and dried out during the middle of the night. My dreams are vivid and I don't want them to end... This is heaven to me, I am feeling so good.
This means so much to me. I feel like I have been in training and am finally getting somewhere. The one thing I do know is that I can start fresh on the Atkins plan and probably have it work...
I have tried quitting cold turkey many, many, times, and became very discouraged because I still didn't lose (body was adjusting) and by the 3rd or 4th night of no wine my self was twisting it self around and trying to talk me into drinking before bed ...because I was NOT sleeping at all! SO I always gave in and had the wine.
So to those of you struggling like me... try weaning your self off.... I don't reccommend xanax to anyone.... I have had this medication for a very long time and hardly ever used it... It is addictive, and we don't want to be addicted to something else.... I think a mild O C sleep aid if you need it, will work fine. In fact I am going to see my Doc. and see what he tells me.
Actually maybe I won't need anything, because I did fine for the past two nights without. I just have to remember to learn to relax a little earlier in the evening, and when I'm tired ...to go to the bed!
I'll keep you posted if there are any changes. ~ Osuz