Oh boy I could write the book on this topic!! As I've mentioned I was
diagnosed with Sleep Apena about 7 years ago and have worn a CPAP at
night since....I had no idea after years of being a single mom, until
I finally met the man in my life today who was freaking out over the
fact that I not only snored terribly but had wierd patterns where I
would snore snore snore then just stop breathing, then give a huge
gasp and start the pattern again....my kids as teenagers used to say
to me sometimes in the morning "Boy, Mom, Can you RIP em..."

I have never had real problems with falling asleep but constantly
waking up and what is called Early Morning Awakening- go right to
sleep at night but wake in the wee hours unable to back go to sleep.
The old brain does not shut off even when I do sleep. I dream
constantly and vividly, full length feature movies. I act out my
dreams - physically thrashing tossing my self across the bed and so
on. I talk in my sleep, yell in my sleep, wake myself up asking "did I
just say that out loud?"
I cannot recall ever having had what I would call a "pleasant dream"
they are always total nightmares (escaping a mall shooter) to at least
mental/emotional anxiety, often cursing/yelling/screaming at people in
my sleep - gee and I am such a happy pleasant person in my waking
hours!!! I have also been know to suffer episodes of what I believe it
Sleep Paralysis - that is where the body is still in the "paralyzed"
state it is supposed to be in during "dream states" but the mind is
waking up, I can't move, I'm terrified, trying to scream for help
until I finally reach that point and wake up screaming "help help
help". I talk about work and explain computer processes in my sleep to
unknown people.... and so on.

I''ve done a lot of research of sleep disorders, trying to understand,
but it doens't change anything, anyway. I find that the things I watch
on TV, hear in the news, read in books, goes on in my daily life comes
right back during to subconscious during the night in the form of
dreams. We joke about it alot - Honey says "Baby I don't think I
should let you watch this!"

Won't try to blame it on menopause or anything, it has been that way
for as long as I can remember. I am 56 and can remember still crazy
dreams I had as a teenager in all detail...

Thip, my honey suggests the same thing you say makes a
difference....that I need more exercise on a regular basis. I am such
a couch potato, book reader. Maybe he is right....He sleep like a baby
flat on his back, arms at his sides, and I envy people with that
abilty. I toss turn and roll all night.

Deb (Not necessarily Sleepless but lost as hell in Dreamland)

I found I had to really cut back on caffeine... even a little bit too
late in the day will keep me up all night, making what little sleep I
might get sporadic and not at all restful.   I cut out the caffeine
altogether for a long time, but for the past few months I've been back
to my morning cuppa (actually I'm hooked on the frozen coffee drinks
from starbucks or tim hortons....  or I'll flavor my home made brew
and pour it over lots of ice, it's become my daily "treat".)

For quite a while I found myself taking xanax a couple times a week to
get a good night's sleep, but that leaves me a bit hungover the next
day so I don't like doing it much.   I do find that playing a computer
game or reading at night is a good way to get sleepy, and most nights
I am able to fall asleep fairly easily now -- though I never seem to
sleep all that well and am up every couple of hours to use the
bathroom or get a drink of water.

I did get tested for sleep apnea a few years ago and they put me on
the cpap machine --but I couldn't use it, I'd wake up feeling  like I
was suffocating,  and I couldn't breathe right while it was running.
another doctor told me that my nasal passages are very narrow and that
no machine was going to be effective for me.   who knows.  I do sleep
more soundly and for longer periods when I take the xanax -- I think
it slows down the thinking process enough for me to let go of it and
let myself relax and get some rest instead of trying to solve the
world's problems in my sleep :)

I wish you lots of luck in getting this issue resolved.   I know what
it's like to be sleep deprived and how frustrating it is to want to
sleep and not be able to.  I still think you decided to kick the
miscellaneous drugs too quickly and are putting your body through a
lot of hassle that you might have avoided had you tapered off more
slowly and taken more time to get your body back to "normal".... and
yes, I think that your new "normal" may be much different from your
old "normal".  Give yourself a break and take it a little slower if
you can....  I think your body will be nicer to you if you are nicer
to it :)

big hugs
Sara