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I got 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That was my first night of full and uninterrupted sleep in over two months. I don't know how long that effect will last - it might just be the one night - but it does at least point toward how to fix the problem. It also strongly suggests that the problem was exactly what I thought it was, which was the Elavil re-setting my sleep center from its normal "8-9 hours of sleep is the correct amount, 12 hours is the maximum amount" to "3-5 hours of sleep is the correct amount, 6 hours is the maximum amount."
And honestly, not-fun as the experiment was, it was overall less unpleasant, less dangerous, less expensive, less time-consuming, and more productive than infinitely trying new medications, which was the alternative. At the point I tried it, I was on my tenth unsuccessful new sleep medication or sleep medication combination, many of which were potentially dangerous, had unpleasant side effects, ruled out other medications due to interactions, created long-lawing physical dependency, were insanely expensive (one was $30/pill) or some combination thereof. There was also the problem that I am still attempting to cure my actual illness, which means that I have to take other medications that can interact with insomnia medications. (Most non-medication insomnia interventions had already been tried and failed. I've been practicing sleep hygiene all along, among other things. Of the non-medication alternatives that I hadn't tried, mostly it was because they were geared toward things that were wildly unlikely to be the problem, such as sleep apnea.)
I should also explain something that I think I forgot to mention earlier, which is that this is not the first time I have stayed up for two nights in a row. I've done it multiple times in my lifetime, which is why I already knew what effects it has on me physically (mild hangover-type symptoms - headache, nausea, body aches, etc) followed by the re-setting of my sleep cycle. This is because I've worked at several jobs where working around the clock is an occasional but normal part of the job. (Stage management at a just-below-Broadway level, TV and film production, and disaster relief.)
In fact, that's why I quit TV production - it was a common rather than occasional feature, I couldn't afford cabs, and driving was part of the job, so I had to drive while dangerously sleep-deprived. While working on a TV commercial, I fell asleep for about three seconds while driving on the freeway, and drifted four lanes before waking up. Luckily the freeway was empty as it was about 4:00 AM. I finished out the job sleeping on the set (allowed but not encouraged and not fun - you literally had to sleep on the floor), and never took another production job. I have a high tolerance for risk when it's for a good reason, but I did not want to risk my life to make a TV commercial. (It was the one with the clowns.) ETA: You really ought to click on the link if you have never read The Tale of The Clown's Secret.)
About three months after I left the field, a well-respected stunt man was killed in a crash after working 48 hours straight and falling asleep on the road. Regulations were then enacted to prevent that, but in my opinion are still insufficient. Also, they only apply at a certain level of professional production. They do not cover most indie films, for instance. Obviously, this weekend I did not drive - if I had to go anywhere, I took a cab.
However, that's how I discovered that if you have chronic insomnia, you can continue indefinitely on very small amounts of sleep and be permanently exhausted, but a comparatively short stretch of no sleep can re-set your sleep cycle to normal. How long the effect lasts depends on the reason for the insomnia. If it's because you messed up your sleep cycle by working weird hours, it will last until you start working weird hours again. If the reason is PTSD, it lasts anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months - you need to work on the PTSD to get more than very temporary insomnia relief.
It's very nice to feel rested.
And honestly, not-fun as the experiment was, it was overall less unpleasant, less dangerous, less expensive, less time-consuming, and more productive than infinitely trying new medications, which was the alternative. At the point I tried it, I was on my tenth unsuccessful new sleep medication or sleep medication combination, many of which were potentially dangerous, had unpleasant side effects, ruled out other medications due to interactions, created long-lawing physical dependency, were insanely expensive (one was $30/pill) or some combination thereof. There was also the problem that I am still attempting to cure my actual illness, which means that I have to take other medications that can interact with insomnia medications. (Most non-medication insomnia interventions had already been tried and failed. I've been practicing sleep hygiene all along, among other things. Of the non-medication alternatives that I hadn't tried, mostly it was because they were geared toward things that were wildly unlikely to be the problem, such as sleep apnea.)
I should also explain something that I think I forgot to mention earlier, which is that this is not the first time I have stayed up for two nights in a row. I've done it multiple times in my lifetime, which is why I already knew what effects it has on me physically (mild hangover-type symptoms - headache, nausea, body aches, etc) followed by the re-setting of my sleep cycle. This is because I've worked at several jobs where working around the clock is an occasional but normal part of the job. (Stage management at a just-below-Broadway level, TV and film production, and disaster relief.)
In fact, that's why I quit TV production - it was a common rather than occasional feature, I couldn't afford cabs, and driving was part of the job, so I had to drive while dangerously sleep-deprived. While working on a TV commercial, I fell asleep for about three seconds while driving on the freeway, and drifted four lanes before waking up. Luckily the freeway was empty as it was about 4:00 AM. I finished out the job sleeping on the set (allowed but not encouraged and not fun - you literally had to sleep on the floor), and never took another production job. I have a high tolerance for risk when it's for a good reason, but I did not want to risk my life to make a TV commercial. (It was the one with the clowns.) ETA: You really ought to click on the link if you have never read The Tale of The Clown's Secret.)
About three months after I left the field, a well-respected stunt man was killed in a crash after working 48 hours straight and falling asleep on the road. Regulations were then enacted to prevent that, but in my opinion are still insufficient. Also, they only apply at a certain level of professional production. They do not cover most indie films, for instance. Obviously, this weekend I did not drive - if I had to go anywhere, I took a cab.
However, that's how I discovered that if you have chronic insomnia, you can continue indefinitely on very small amounts of sleep and be permanently exhausted, but a comparatively short stretch of no sleep can re-set your sleep cycle to normal. How long the effect lasts depends on the reason for the insomnia. If it's because you messed up your sleep cycle by working weird hours, it will last until you start working weird hours again. If the reason is PTSD, it lasts anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months - you need to work on the PTSD to get more than very temporary insomnia relief.
It's very nice to feel rested.