Sleeping Pills

stephaniejoy

stephaniejoy

Active Member
I have been having a VERY difficult time sleeping these past several weeks. I am getting very little sleep at night (2-3 hours at the most). The doctor prescribed me a sleeping pill which I took for the first time last night with not much success. I am so tired during the day at work I can hardly stand it.

Is there anyone else that seems to be having this same problem? If so, what have you done? Any advice you can give me would be helpful. I don't know what to do about it. It is very frustrating.

Also, I had a question about the road trip. It seems like most of the people that go know everyone. I would love to go next year but I don't know a single person. Are newbies welcome????

Stephanie
 
i have insomnia as well and it is no fun. it started about 4 years ago. I've tried ambian and it didn't work well with me and i didn't like how i felt when i took it. I didn't try another prescription b/c i'm afraid of becoming mentally dependent on them and thinking that i "HAVE" to have it to sleep at all. For me, i fall asleep fast and stay asleep deeply for about 1 hr. Then i wake up and i'm up and down all night. I get about 4-5 hrs per night. Sometimes I take some melatonin (2tablets) and will be able to get an extra hour or 2. If its been about a month and i haven't gotten a good nights sleep in a while i'll take 2 dramamine (antimotion sickness pills; the original not non drowsy) and this will knock me out for a good 8 hours. To me it works better than prescription. I have tried all other things that doctors and people suggest: dark room, no t.v. or comp before bed, cold room, tea, etc. and nothing works for me. I'm sorry your going through this. Honestly, i have gotten used to functioning on less sleep even though i know its not healhty. I hate to know what i'm going to be like when i have kids. Anyway, hopefully others will comment and we will both get some new ideas.
 
I hear you. I take ambein for one week of the month when my insomnia is really bad. I hate it because I lay in bed all night overthinking the fact that I can't sleep. That and TV in the middle of the night is so boring there is never anything to watch. My Dr. actually prescribed Prozac, . . . turns out the reason I can't sleep is because I'm always over thinking things. It is not necessarily that I'm stressed out but I'll overthink everything and anything. I like to design and sew and sometimes I'll get an idea in my head and I can't stop thinking about it, . . .or my other scenario is that I'm pretty shy and anti social and when I have to get out and interact with people I'll overthink a conversation that I just had and hope that I've said the right thing. I finally gave into having to take the Prozac because I would be so tired in the day it would be just down right dangerous when I would drive. The meds were my last resort. Now that I can get 5 hours of sleep a night I am all that much happier. Sleep really makes a difference with the quality of your life, . . not to mention I'm able to give my workouts 110%. I know a lot of people here don't really like meds. Everyone is different and for me I had to weigh out the pro's and con's and feeling rested each day is just something I refuse to give up. Maybe you should tell your Dr. that the sleeping aid did not work. There are other options for medication. Good luck.
 
This is what works for me. A cup of real yogurt, without anything artificial including sweeteners and 400 mg of magnesium citrate. I use NOW Brand, two tablets which is the standard daily amount. I started this combo for the occasional leg cramp after a day of heavy mountainbiking and happily found out also that I sleep really well. Do some google searches on magnesium and sleep. Maybe you are lacking on certain minerals like I am after sweating profusely throughout the cycling season.
 
Once in a while I take Unisom (non-prescription) when I've had a few nights in a row with bad sleep, just to get my cycle back on track. It leaves me without too much of a hangover and gets me sleeping properly again.

Sometimes Melatonin can help, but it's mostly to reset your circadian rythyms to a new cycle rather than get you to sleep and keep you asleep all night. Sort of like fixing jet lag, kind of thing.

A few years ago I did well with Tryptophan (by prescription) a half hour before bedtime, which is just an amino acid. It takes a few weeks to work really well, and you have to make sure you are ready to go to sleep when you take it; if you miss your window of sleepiness, the rest of the night is screwed. But it doesn't leave you groggy and it is "natural".

FYI, one of the main causes of not getting enough sleep is undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea). If you snore, you should have a sleep test done, because if you have sleep apnea and get treated, it's freakin' amazing! Once you get used to the treatment, you sleep well, and you are bursting with energy. Untreated sleep apnea leads to all kinds of scary things, including issues with your heart. Once I was diagnosed with apnea and got treatment, I had the energy and strength to lose 125 pounds. Before treatment, I was up and down all night- literally, I could be up 25 times in a night- I just thought I had to pee a lot. In my sleep test, they found that I had 500 individual "episodes" of apnea in one 6 hour period. I was considered to have severe "central" apnea; literally, my brain would shut down the act of breathing during apnea episodes. I used to talk in my sleep all the time (somniloquy) and I only do that sometimes now. The vast majority of people with apnea are undiagnosed.

People ask me all the time for a magic bullet to cure obesity- if one exists, it's getting treatment for undiagnosed apnea. It literally changed my life, overnight.
 
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I take Ambien to help me sleep and it does the trick. Once I take it I have to go right to bed because I get really talkative and drive my DH crazy.
 
I have been wondering about going in to a sleep center. My insomnia is getting bad - I will wake myself up snoring after about 20 min of sleep, think that I just HAVE to go pee, then I'm up for an hour or two. Then I fall asleep, snore, wake up, blah blah. :(

I'm so freakin' tired lately, and the Unisom I take is drying me out so I snore more! Just can't win :)

Morningstar, do you have a c-pap machine (I think that's what they call it). My friend at work has sleep apnea and he feels much better when he uses his.
 
I find that Valerian works for the occasional no sleep night. I take 2 and out I go. And I don't have that yuck feel in the morning. Its also good if you can't sleep bc something hurts. It doesn't just knock you out like sleep medicine, but is more relaxing and the 8poof* you're asleep. I get mine at Walgreens, its a brown bottle w/ a yellow label and a yellow lid. NatureMade maybe? The only problem is it stinks and tastes like old socks. You gotta just hold your nose and swallow. I've never taken it for more than a night or 2, though.

Hope you find a solution. No sleep stinks!

Nan
 
"Tryptophan (by prescription)".........do you live in the States? I've never heard of this......

I used Ambien, quite regularly. I have a bad habit of taking it, then mushing on computer until my eyes can't stay open. I sometimes don't remember what I write. And I get incoherent. *sigh* but it works well for me.

"sdklahgi;aehngvgiaeg;jaewrirruaesidjnvldksfjlkfdk" j/k :D
 
When I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, I take Xanex. It calms my mind and I get back to sleep.

Xanex is something that you can develop a tolerence for and then need an increased dosage. So, I am careful not to use it too often. Sometimes I just have to tough it out. But I pick and choose nights based on what's happening the next day.

My doctor prefers I take Ambien. He says that the sleep one gets while on Xanex is not as deep a sleep as the Ambien sleep. But if I wake up at 3 am and have to be up at 7 am, I can't take Ambien as it's an 8 hour med.

Good luck with your issue. I used to be a really good sleeper. But the past couple of years have been bad. Sometimes, I can actually feel adreniline (or some natural chemical) going through my body. Maybe it's pre-menapause???
 
I used to have insomnia. I took benadryl for a while, and it works, but gives me horrible acne. I take melatonin now, and it really helps. Here are some other tricks:

Don't do anything in your bed besides sleep/read at low light/have sex. No work, arguments, studying, working on the computer, tv, etc. Get a "natural light"alarm clock and wake up/go to bed the same time each day, including weekends. Check your nutrition. Don't have any supplements or caffeine after noon. Get yourself into a routine. Have a light snack of yogurt or peanut butter and whole wheat bread, milk, etc. Don't do any cardio in the afternoon or evening. Try some relaxing yoga in the evening. Make sure that you get enough zinc and vitamin D during the day.
 
ElleJay said:
I have been wondering about going in to a sleep center. My insomnia is getting bad - I will wake myself up snoring after about 20 min of sleep, think that I just HAVE to go pee, then I'm up for an hour or two. Then I fall asleep, snore, wake up, blah blah. :(

I'm so freakin' tired lately, and the Unisom I take is drying me out so I snore more! Just can't win :)

Morningstar, do you have a c-pap machine (I think that's what they call it). My friend at work has sleep apnea and he feels much better when he uses his.
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This sounds like classic apnea symptoms. Go in and get tested as soon as you can. I used to wear a CPAP machine, but I lost enough weight that it's not usually necessary anymore. If my weight creeps up though, I have to go back on it.
 
melanalyus said:
"Tryptophan (by prescription)".........do you live in the States? I've never heard of this......

I used Ambien, quite regularly. I have a bad habit of taking it, then mushing on computer until my eyes can't stay open. I sometimes don't remember what I write. And I get incoherent. *sigh* but it works well for me.

"sdklahgi;aehngvgiaeg;jaewrirruaesidjnvldksfjlkfdk" j/k :D
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Hi Melanie,

I live in Canada.
 
Buffy - you, too with the talking!? Wow - nice to know I'm not nuts. That totally happens to me, as well. I take Ambien, although I was trying to get off it. I picked up some melatonin, but found I get back side effects from it, so I'm going to have no choice but to go back to the prescription stuff. I also bought a clock radio with a programmable CD player and some relaxation discs. They seem to help, as well.
 
Some non-drug techniques to try:
Make sure your bedroom is very dark, to promote natural melatonin production. Get heavy shades and/or wear a sleep mask (an eye mask). Starting about an hour before bedtime, dim the lights around the house to start melatonin production.

Soak in an Epsom salts bath and/or consume foods rich in magnesium (such as green juice or smoothies) before bedtime.

Make sure your workouts are not too late in the day, as this can leave you too stimulated to sleep. If you currently workout at night, try afternoon or morning.
 
My problem actually is my brain doesn't turn off when the lights go out - quite the opposite actually. I start thinking about everything in complete run-on mode. It's so annoying and frustrating. I actually have a TV in the room because it frequently helps me to fall asleep. I can watch something mindless and numb my brain into submission. I'll start to nod off, then take off my glasses and lie down with the TV still on (for the continued sound) and at some point the sound will get annoying. Then I reach over, hit the remote, and usually I'm out. Problem is, this can take a while, hence the need for pharmaceutical assistance. sigh.
 
NY25 said:
My problem actually is my brain doesn't turn off when the lights go out - quite the opposite actually. I start thinking about everything in complete run-on mode. It's so annoying and frustrating. I actually have a TV in the room because it frequently helps me to fall asleep. I can watch something mindless and numb my brain into submission. I'll start to nod off, then take off my glasses and lie down with the TV still on (for the continued sound) and at some point the sound will get annoying. Then I reach over, hit the remote, and usually I'm out. Problem is, this can take a while, hence the need for pharmaceutical assistance. sigh.
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I do the same thing with the TV and have a pair of 'nighttime glasses' so that I don't bend my good one :)! I'm wondering if it's the 'bong bong' of Law and Order that wakes me up :p
 
Morningstar,

To my knowledge this med isn't available in USA (except by turkey-overload @ Thanksgiving). LOL

Where do you live in Canada? I love along the MN/Canada border. ;)
 
melanalyus said:
Morningstar,

To my knowledge this med isn't available in USA (except by turkey-overload @ Thanksgiving). LOL

Where do you live in Canada? I love along the MN/Canada border. ;)
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I live in Ontario. I know it wasn't available in the States for a while, because one manufacturer made some bad batches of it, but that was many years ago, and it should be available now, by prescription only.
 
Hmmmm. I haven't heard any advertisement for it (I"m a pharmacist). I'll have to keep my eyes open for it, Tryptophan........my patient's are always looking for new things to try.

Thanks!
 
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