Have you had any success with these Sleep Meds?

[heapsreal]

I had to stop taking baclofen (since its problematic in pregnancy) and as a result my sleep is taking a nose dive. Ambien will still, usually, help me get to sleep but the return of muscle pain and resulting frequent sleep interruptions is messing up my deep sleep again.

I tried doxylamine last night since its supposed to be safe. And while it wasn't as good as baclofen/ambien, it was much better than ambien by itself. I didn't wake up nearly as often and my muscle pain didn't bother me as much. But I had a similar experience to theMoonIsBlue, and felt really groggy for about 19 hours after a 25mg dose.

I'm wondering if the long groggy hangover shortens when your body gets used to it? I'm thinking it might from your description Heapsreal, since you can now take a larger dose...

I'm going to try a half tablet this evening, maybe with a 2.5mg ambien, see how that works, but curious what others experiences are...

Many doxylamine tablets dosages are 25mg, many people find 5-10mg enough for sleep and may help with less grogginess.
Another med to look into which is safe during pregnency and is also used for nausea in pregnancy is periactin, also suppose to help migraines and help with deep sleep.

cheers!!!

 

[xks201]

xanax is the only thing that puts me to sleep. without xanax i would sleep 30 minutes a day. And that is not because I am addicted to it.

 

[penny]

Many doxylamine tablets dosages are 25mg, many people find 5-10mg enough for sleep and may help with less grogginess.
Another med to look into which is safe during pregnency and is also used for nausea in pregnancy is periactin, also suppose to help migraines and help with deep sleep.

cheers!!!

Thanks! I tried the half dose last night (about 12.5mg presumably) and think I feel a little better/clearer headed this morning - though I just woke up about an hour ago so we'll see

I did a quick search on periactin and the idea of possibly twiddling with my serotonin levels scares me a little but I'll do some more research. Good to have something else that may work to look into.

Thanks again Heapsreal!

 

[Rory_5]

is xyrem really the same thing as GHB?

 

[heapsreal]

Atarax is an antihistamine that can help with sleep but i dont see many using it ??

 

[heapsreal]

is xyrem really the same thing as GHB?

apparently but xyrem a crap load more expensive.

 

[Desdinova]

I take generic Ambien when I'm going through a insomnia cycle. I tried Ambien CR but saw the same results as I did with regular generic Ambien so It didn't make financial sense to me to pay more for CR. I've tried several sleep medications although I haven't tried Lunesta all the ones I tried didn't help or I had negative experiences with.

Even tried Provigil which my Sleep doctor touted as the end all be all that would fix me. It helped 1/3 of the time, 1/3 it didn't and 1/3 of the time it made me feel like my brain was going 1000 miles a minute and about to explode. Thus it wasn't worth the huge price tag I paid after my PX plan paid it's share.

I take fexeril which does help some with the muscle tightness / soreness which can help lend towards sleep. But regardless If and how much I sleep I still wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. The last refreshing sleep I had was 5 to six hours on Fri Dec 16, 2006 latter that evening something hit me like nothing ever has before. I haven't been the same since. I know others can relate.

 

[heapsreal]

I take generic Ambien when I'm going through a insomnia cycle. I tried Ambien CR but saw the same results as I did with regular generic Ambien so It didn't make financial sense to me to pay more for CR. I've tried several sleep medications although I haven't tried Lunesta all the ones I tried didn't help or I had negative experiences with.

Even tried Provigil which my Sleep doctor touted as the end all be all that would fix me. It helped 1/3 of the time, 1/3 it didn't and 1/3 of the time it made me feel like my brain was going 1000 miles a minute and about to explode. Thus it wasn't worth the huge price tag I paid after my PX plan paid it's share.

I take fexeril which does help some with the muscle tightness / soreness which can help lend towards sleep. But regardless If and how much I sleep I still wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. The last refreshing sleep I had was 5 to six hours on Fri Dec 16, 2006 latter that evening something hit me like nothing ever has before. I haven't been the same since. I know others can relate.

Alternating and stacking different things are the way to go for treating chronic insomnia like many of us have. Also i have found somethings dont really put us to sleep but do improve sleep quality, for me i find i generally need some type of benzo to get me off to sleep. A couple of things i find dont put me to sleep but improve my sleep quality are trazadone, baclofen, lyrica, theres a big list of other things i have tried that i have found helpful the same way but nothing works continously which is why i alternate between things for sleep. zolpidem/stilnox/ambien and imovane/zopiclone/lunesta are the 2 main sleep meds i find most effective at getting me off to sleep.

A personal example for me would be zopiclone with trazadone plus i use neurontin/gabapentine to help with leg pains, so i have something to get me to sleep(zopiclone) and trazadone to improve sleep depth and length of sleep. This is just what i do, im sure there are others i get by just using 1 sleep med, but i think im pretty special when it comes to sleep, i say this as i have over 20 yrs of working shift work plus 10yrs of cfs/me going on. Also my method isnt perfect but better then any doc has ever recommended.

Many docs will just keep increasing the dosage or just stop prescribing sleep meds but i have found alternating different things regularly that i have been able to keep my doses right down. can also add natural things with sleep meds as well if one doesnt want to use too many meds.

cheers!!!

 

[taniaaust1]

old thread and things have changed for me since I last posted on it. Im now a Doxylamine Succinate fan. I find it works the same as Temazapam for me if I also take it with melatonin.

I started this off at only a quarter of a 25mg tablet (approx 6-7mg) and for a time that was enough to get me to sleep. Over time thou I developed a tollerance to it and hence had to increase it.. so then went to half a tablet.

Nowdays some times half a tablet isnt enough. I suggest anyone who wants to try this to not start taking it at a full 25mg pill as far less may be enough and that way you have leyway to raise it if you build up tollerance. (also due to the tollerance thing.. it only takes me 3 weeks of taking it daily to build a tollerance to it up). I strongly suggest to only take it a couple of times a week so tollerance dont occur, that is what I do now if I need it as I dont wish to loose this drug due to tollerance as it does work well for me.

 

[xks201]

xanax is all that works for me

 

[john66]

I am at the point where ambien alone does not work, and I must combine it with other things to sleep, I find lunesta (zopiclone) good to break the pattern, but it is not generic, and I must use samples from the doctor, which doesnt happen too often. I am dependent on sleep meds for sure, I am not addicted to them. Big difference.

I am not in love with the fact that I have to take an meds, much less that I have to experiment on myself in hopes of one day getting better and retuning to a normal life, with a job etc. I think we are all aware that any meds can cause side effects and cardiorespiratory problems. I take sleep to sleep. If I dont sleep for long enough, greater problems will arise. I stayed awake multiple days trying to disprove this theory many times. As heaps said sleep is controlled by the hypothalamus, and in some cases it is not working.

I also alternate with baclofen and doxylamine. Trazadone causes me a massive hangover and seroquel wrks great but causes massive weight gain and augar cravings, ditto for all of the atypical anti psychotics. In a normal person with no tolerance, the would be asleep for a few days-not here. To all with this issue, good sleep and good luck. J

 

[snowathlete]

Amitriptyline has worked wonders for me, but it's not for everyone.

 

[JT1024]

I take clonazepam (generic Klonopin) to initiate sleep (0.5 mg) and then 1/8 of a 50 mg tablet of Trazadone to prolong sleep.

This article that was helpful to me in the past.http://phoenixrising.me/treating-cf...cfs-and-fibromyalgia-a-prescription-for-sleep

I'm not sure how current the information is though.

 

[heapsreal]

I am at the point where ambien alone does not work, and I must combine it with other things to sleep, I find lunesta (zopiclone) good to break the pattern, but it is not generic, and I must use samples from the doctor, which doesnt happen too often. I am dependent on sleep meds for sure, I am not addicted to them. Big difference.

I am not in love with the fact that I have to take an meds, much less that I have to experiment on myself in hopes of one day getting better and retuning to a normal life, with a job etc. I think we are all aware that any meds can cause side effects and cardiorespiratory problems. I take sleep to sleep. If I dont sleep for long enough, greater problems will arise. I stayed awake multiple days trying to disprove this theory many times. As heaps said sleep is controlled by the hypothalamus, and in some cases it is not working.

I also alternate with baclofen and doxylamine. Trazadone causes me a massive hangover and seroquel wrks great but causes massive weight gain and augar cravings, ditto for all of the atypical anti psychotics. In a normal person with no tolerance, the would be asleep for a few days-not here. To all with this issue, good sleep and good luck. J

Apart of the reason i alternate meds especially seroquel and mirtazapine is that they can cause weight gain, if one just used it no more then once every 3-4 days i dont think this would be a problem.

Maybe look into other antihistamines, phenergan, periactin, doxylamine, atarax and im sure theres more u could add to the list.

dextromethorphan(DXM) in robitussin cough medicine is said to help reduce benzo tolerance. One way to do it is to take a few days off benzo's and use DXM(30mg?), i did this for a week and it seemed to lessen the yukking feeling when not using benzo's for sleep. Then when one go's back to benzo's, tolerance is reduced. ANother way is to use it every time u take benzo's and this to is said to reduce tolerance.
So taking a week off benzo's and using DXM, but will need something non benzo for sleep like antihistamines etc, this did help me. I also used DXM when i went back on a benzo and it did seem to reduce the tolerance but i think one gets use to DXM. SO my thinking is to add it to a benzo for a week and see if it improves things and maybe do a week of DXM once a month. If possible be better to take a week of benzo's with DXM, i plan to do something like this when on holidays as i dont have to work and can sleep when i need to and dont have to fit into the real world.

The normal dose for a cough is 30mg. I have read a few forums where people have used larger doses in a one of 'treatment' and this has helped reduce tolerance but i dont really know much about this or how safe that would be. Personally i think using the normal standard dose for a cough is keeping things within safe limits. The theory is that DXM is a NMDA antagonist and this can help reverse benzo tolerance, it also allegedly reduced tolerance to stimulants.

This seems to have helped me with my sleep meds.

cheers!!!

 

[SickOfSickness]

Ambien worked well, but I was too worried about the side effects to continue with it. I don't feel that drug is safe. If you use it, it's only supposed to be for a few days at a time.

 

[meandthecat]

I use Sominex, not the herbal, but the one with promethazine. It's action is subtle but works for me when my sleep cycle goes out of whack; and its cheap and OTC.

 

[taniaaust1]

Amitriptyline has worked wonders for me, but it's not for everyone.

Nods yeah. Certainly not a good drug for everyone,
I took it for trial for sleep,.. I was on it less then 3 weeks but as it also has a physiological affect of slowing down the the bowel persistalis.. it made my previously controlled with just fibre, IBS-C FAR WORST and caused my bowel to get a prolapse (so now Im permanently on more meds for my bowel due to the past trial of the amtriplyline).

The effects of this drug has actually damaged my bowel to point I had to go and see a bowel specialist and now Im on laxatives full time, many months after stopping it (I almost needed surgery due to it and may do now sometime in the future).
So dont take this drug if you have IBS-C as one of your ME symptoms.

Another ME/CFS person at this site.. ended up with a permanently paralysed bladder after taking Amtriplyline.

 

[penny]

Just an update that ~6mg doxylamine and 2.5mg ambien has been working well for me for the last 6 nights. The antihistamine seems to be helping with less sleep disruption (especially in the second half of the night) and thus maybe deeper sleep, while the ambien helps with sleep initiation. At 6mg I don't seem to have the grogginess during the day either. Now just to keep an eye out for tolerance like Heapsreal and Tania reported!