So today is Day 20 since my last 1 mg finasteride pill. I took a total of 3 pills.
For the past week, I haven’t been able to sleep for more than 1-3 hours before waking up. Now, I don’t feel tired, so I know something isn’t right with me.
Is there anything I can do (No supplements / medications) to go back to my usual sleeping patterns?
I had the exact same experience for the first few months off the drug. In my experience this gradually got better with time with it being much better by the 4-5 month mark, tolerable but not back to normal. I know how disturbing it is not to feel tired after barely sleeping, but it’s better than feeling exhausted from insomnia, my doc said its a sign that your body is still functioning and may not require as much sleep. There are people who get changes in the hours they sleep with age ie sleep 3-4 hours a night and are healthy. Try not to stress over the hours you’re getting things should improve with time.
There is cognitive therapy for insomnia if you think that would be helpful. Try to distract yourself in the hours before bed, only go to bed once you’re feeling vaguely tired, going to bed wired will make the anxiety/frustration worse. Try to sleep and wake up at the same time to get your circadian rhythm in check. Exercise in the mornings at the same time and eat at a regular time, all helps with your circadian rhythm. There are other common strategies you can find with a quick google search (room temperature, minimise blue light). Some sleep meds are mostly innocuous, melatonin has been helpful for me in initiating sleep and doesn’t have nasty sides associated with it like antidepressants. I have also used temazepam very short term which has been helpful at my worst but not a solution by any means.
Sorry if this is all obvious advice i hope it’s helpful.
The most important thing, like anything with PFS, is to be patient and not reactive. Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking your sleep will be like this forever, accept that this is a long process and your body should at least improve over the coming months.
Stay strong bud
That’s quite common with PFS. Enzymes responsible for creating your body’s natural benzodiazepines and tranquilizers are dysregulated so you can’t remain asleep and you’re more susceptible to stress and anxiety. In my personal experience, my GABA receptors got so messed up that temazepam didn’t help me to sleep longer than 3 hours. I recovered after a couple of months naturally before fucking myself up again with cacao nibs. Most people will see a return to normalcy eventually.
I guess right now you have to be mentally prepared for these awakenings. Practice sleep hygiene and metacognitive habits to avoid stressing yourself when you do wake up. Focus on trying to be comfortable in bed. Don’t actively try to go back to sleep. If half an hour has passed and you still aren’t feeling sleepy, get up and go into another room (if available) to do something peaceful and quiet until you feel sleepy again.
Chances are you’ll get better with time and will eventually sleep like normal again. Try to meditate or do other mind-body activities like yoga in the meantime. Brace yourself for a rough ride but trust that you’ll eventually recover.
Nah, something like 99.8% of the world adult population require 7-9 hours of sleep.
Try smoking weed (indica)
My sleep quality has improved for the past couple of days, but it’s still not what it was before.