These update posts are more for my own thought process of wrapping my head around my current health struggles, but at the same time could be used as some kind of information source for someone who may have relatively common antipsychotic induced insomnia/ GERD.
At the beginning of the insomnia I was basically getting no sleep, then it changed to falling asleep easily for a couple hours at bed time but not getting any more sleep. Now I can’t fall asleep easily, am awake all night but end up sleeping 5 or more hours in the late morning, albeit not deep high quality sleep it seems. I have been spending most of the days for the past few weeks horizontal in bed except for a 20 min run every second day or a 1 hr walk. If I stayed active throughout the day I would become very tired which in combination with sleeplessness creates a kind of agony at times, so I avoid it with constant rest which is not great for sleep hygiene.
In terms of the GERD I have been experiencing, the TD like involuntary movements of the esophagus are greatly reduced since stopping Rexulti, but since taking Zapiclone a few times for sleep has caused a chronic GERD cough that flares up a little to a lot at night. The suggestion was made on a prior thread related to my esophageal suffering to maybe try muscle relaxers, but Zapiclone acts as a muscle relaxer on the lower esophageal sphincter causing acid/enzymes to irritate the lungs causing chronic GERD cough. The cough was really bad until I stopped chugging cold water after the long hot baths I take, which was one of life’s simple pleasures I had been enjoying. Sipping cold water is ok now I guess, but chugging it after a hot bath was hedonism.
Anyway as long as I continue to learn and adjust to what causes the GERD and insomnia suffering I will prolly be ok.