Prescription sleep aids?

[bassproguy07]

Anyone take them? things like ambien? Lunesta? do they work?? do you depend on them? I'm really having issues falling asleep at night, no matter how tired I am I just cant fall asleep. When daylight arrives I usually fall asleep, but sometimes I stay awake for 24 hours at a time. If anyone uses such precriptions let me know how they work for you.

 

[.Andy]

First things first have you spoken to your doctor bassproguy07? Insomnia is incredibly common and there might be an underlying organic reason or other cause that doesn't necessarily require meds.

 

[bassproguy07]

yah he always tells me to take benadryl, but it doesnt do anything for me.havent asked him bout em yet, want some opinions first.

 

[anjinha]

I have insomnia too but my doctor doesn't want me to take any sleeping aids (besides herbal ones, that don't do anything for me) so I just have to deal with it...

 

[.Andy]

yah he always tells me to take benadryl, but it doesnt do anything for me.havent asked him bout em yet, want some opinions first.

That's cool. My wife has terrible insomnia that drives her to the edge. She gets so desperate to get to sleep. No amount of working on her sleep hygiene or antihistamines will help. I wish you the best of luck in finding something that works with your doctor.

 

[iBlue]

I dealt with insomnia for years. Mine was primarily environmental/personal. My sleep improved when my life improved and not a moment before. Sure, there were drugs I could take that would knock me flat on my ass, but only temporarily. Zolpidem (ambien) is what worked best for me but it is so incredibly addictive I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with chronic insomnia.

First off, try making your room a better environment for sleep. Many insomniacs will have crap in their room which makes matters worse. TV's, computers and clocks staring you down will exacerbate the problem. Lots of insomniacs are the sort that distract easily, it was true for me anyway. Take away the distractions, it helps. In fact, there is loads of information out there about this. Do a google on help for insomnia and have a peek around.

I wish you luck, I know the annoyance all too well.

 

[Mord]

I use zopiclone occasionally, I find I build a tolerance to it instantly though, it'll only work about once every 2-3 weeks and I use it about once a month or so if I can't sleep and need to not be a zombie the next day.

If it's chronic insomnia I don't think sleeping pills are necessarily the best course of action, as iblue stated such problems are usually due to life stresses and such drugs can be very very addictive, I know a couple of people who've had to go to rehab and incurred permanent brain damage from them.

 

[Legolamb]

I've been taking between 7-15 mgs of Serax, an anti-anxiety pill for the last 20 years. Without it I can fall aslep, but won't stay asleep for more than 2 or 3 hours. I can go days like this, which get me even more anxious and depressed and the cycle continues. I've gone to shrinks, taken Melatonin and other herbal stuff, have no sleep apnea conditions, don't drink before sleep, etc. Nothing affects it, including Benedryl.
And, like the OP, I'll doze off for a couple of hours when I see sunrise. The only time I can avoid taking the meds is sometimes during summer or when I travel to sunny climes, leading me to believe that this is tied to some sort of daylight deprivation thing.
See a doctor and hope you get relief soon.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Some years ago I too had "trouble" that really screwed with my sleep.

My GP would not give me anything unless I had gone more than 3 nights without sleep.

However, I did finally get a script for Lorazipam. With this stuff you do NOT take it at 3 in the morning, when you are having troubles. You take it at 9 in the evening, and prepare for a solid 8 hours.

And good luck. Anxiety is a terrible thing. If it is caused by a premature Serotonin uptake in the brain, then an SSRI such as Celexa might help you.

 

[letsgorangers]

The problem is that you have to keep increasing the dosage to get the same effect.

I started taking anti-depressants over a year ago for migraines/headaches and to help me sleep (because the lack of sleep was causing a lot of headaches). I started at a very low dosage and over the course of a year I've nearly maxed out the dosage. It also doesn't work very well anymore. But unlike you, I don't get sleepy when the sun rises! I try to nap during the day but I can't sleep then either.

Long story short: look into anti-depressants or anti-anxieties, but don't expect a miracle!

 

[Rodimus Prime]

A former friends of mine father has a problem with one of his Adrienne glad not being suppressed when he sleeps so he has to take something for it.

Sleeps for 4 hours then takes another one for another 4 hours of sleep other wise he can not sleep at all.

When we sleep our brains shuts down are adrienne and limits our movements. Some people bodies can not do that so they require some help.
About 2 years ago I was very depressed to the point I was not sleeping. I was lucky to get 2-3 hours of broken sleep a night. I was to the point I was in tears because all I wanted to do was sleep and could not fall asleep. I pulled outo that low a little but still was not sleeping very well. I went on an anti depressant and that took the edge off and let me sleep. I was on it for about 15 months then went off of it because I never got the time to find a new doctor. I been debating about going back on it because I am a "good" canidate for long term management because I struggled with depression all my life but that is another story.

Some times like me for example the trouble sleeping is linked to another more underlining problem that needed to be fixed first. My problem sleeping was emotional.

 

[Legolamb]

Like I said in my post, I haven't increased the dose past one pill (15 mgs) for 20 years. Maybe i"m the exception that proves the rule.

 

[letsgorangers]

When we sleep our brains shuts down are adrienne and limits our movements. Some people bodies can not do that so they require some help.

Adrenal gland? I don't think the adrenal gland has anything to do with inhibition of motor movements in sleep (that's the job of REM/slow wave sleep!), but I think failure can cause poor sleep patterns. FYI, this wasn't meant to come off as snotty; I'm just a neuropsych student!

Like I said in my post, I haven't increased the dose past one pill (15 mgs) for 20 years. Maybe i"m the exception that proves the rule.

You're very lucky!

Also to the OP, if the lack of sleep is a result of a temporary stressor, maybe a GP would prescribe you muscle relaxers? I think these can work well for most people (they stopped working for me after the first night ).

 

[valdore]

It takes nothing less than Ativan, Zyprexa, and Depakote to get me to sleep each night. What a life...