here a list of stuff i have tried:
Zolpidem- worked well for first 2years of cfs then stopped working , used it 2-3days a week.
zopiclone- been my most consistant sleep med but its losing its effect, use to use it every second night but now 1-2 times a week because its not working that well.
Tamazepam- never eally did much, relaxed abit.
mogadon- first few times or if i havent used it in awhile i get good sleep but tolerance occurrs quickly.
Valium- has been quite good to initiate sleep and still use it occassionally, its up there with zopiclone, not quite.
rohypnol- probably the strongest of the traditional benzos but still only gives 4 hours sleep so need to use it with something that helps prolong sleep, try not to use to often just because it has a history of bad addiction.
Klonopin- used this a few times from a friend, helps to chill and works well in a combo for sleep, but even small amount i have used i can feel tolereance to them already
So thats the benzo's and z-drugs and find them mainly good to initiate sleep, on their own would get 4-5 hours sleep, so normally use with lyrica or antihistamine. But i have swapped and changed many times to try an avoid tolerance, i have kept my doses low but may have come to the point where tolereance is inevitable and need to take a break from them for awhile.
Sedating antidepressants i have used:
doxepin- was initially great, fantastic for sleep but if used nightly it really put the weight on and of cause tolerance is an issue, very rarely works now.
amitriptyline- i was dissappointed as so many people say how sedating it is, go nothing from it other then some relief from aches and pains and low doses did improve mood.
prothiaden- did nothing for sleep, just made me fall in love with vegemite on toast and put weight on.
mirtazapine- wow when i first took this it knocked me out and woke up groggy as and couldnt shake it, eventually it passes and u wake up feeling better but again tolerance is an issue.
surmontil- this was a dissappointment too, as i had read that it was for hard core insomniacs, did nothing.
trazadone- hit and miss, really only good to help sustain sleep, doesnt help me fall asleep.
seroquel- wow, its a bomb, 13hrs sleep the first few times i uesed it, woke feeling alittle groggy but could shake it off, found it sort of reset my brain after being tired but wired, used nightly it doesnt work and even now tolerance is a problem only using it once a week.
So the above are all in that antidepressant category and mainly used like a sleeping pill, not used every night like an AD, nightly use the sedative effects just wore off and mainly good for help sustain sleep not getting to sleep, seroquel being the exception it did it all.
Anticonvulsants:
lyrica- the first night by itself gave me great quality sleep but that was it, after that needesd to use it with other meds to get me to sleep but it does improve sleep quality and help with leg pains at night, tolerance is an issue so mix and match it with other meds.
neurontin- not much for sleep but better for night time leg pains then lyrica.
topamax- might help improve sleep quality but nothing great.
antihistamines and muscle relaxers:
baclofen- with other meds sleep quality has improved but tolerance seems to occur so use it intermittently
zanaflex- ok, find it useful if need only a few hours sleep like when u wake at 2am and need to be awake at 6am, but nothing great.
orphenadrine- nothing great there either
phenergan/doxylamine/atarax/periactin/diphenhydramine- all very helpful in the early days and quite sedating but effects wear off. On someone who has never used sleep meds i would say doxylamine is just as strong as most presciption meds maybe stronger but tolerence occurss quickly. now i use them as an add on to a benzo to increase length of sleep.
***i dont use these meds all the time or in large doses, but rotate between a couple of them regularly ie every night as i have found even in the beginning that if i used a sleep med2-3 nights in a row it would stop working, so i try to use something different every night. Is this dangerous, i dont know, but i think its safer then just using 1 med and increasing the dosage to rediculous levels. I have tried many natural things and tolerence to them occurrs quickly too but a quick list of what i like- tryptophan, kava, damiana, withania,melatonin.
If xyrem was legal in australia i would be on it if i could afford it, but going by past experiences i think i would end up building a tolerance to it as well. I have also done meditation tapes, relaxation type things, given up caffeine etc etc etc. Im not even sure its drug tolerance but maybe viral reactivation(or both) that could be causing these bouts of insomnia because it can last so many days and then everything starts working again.
At the end of the day im just having a winge, and showing everyone how much crap i have tried and im sure i have missed a few things too, lol.
Did i mention im having problems sleeping, he he he!!!
gotta laugh or i would cry, lol.
cheers!!!
