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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Best benzo or non-benzo for insomnia??

I

InsomniacMike

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
57
Being a busy college student, I need a sleeping pill that they can take at night, be put to sleep, and wake up in the morning with no residual drowsiness or feeling like they only had a few hours of sleep. keep in mind that I also take ADHD medication so that could be factoring into their insomnia issues.

I've tried clonidine, trazodone, ambien, lunesta, xanax (only 1mg), sonata, ativan 1-2mg, remeron, rozerem, seroquel.

all have there pros and cons. For example, I ate regularly before going to bed so the z-drugs were not an option for them (since food inhibits absorption of zolpidem, zaleplon, etc.) Remeron and seroquel leave me unfocused the next day and minimally productive. 10-20 mg of zolpidem or zaleplon works well for SWIM but not being able to eat before taking the medication turns me off.

What drug could I look into that fits their needs? I has heard halcion is very good but doesnt know if it is still even prescribed or produced in the US. I wonder if higher doses of xanax or ativan would sedate me enough to put them to sleep :? 8) Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated :)
 
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Shame barbs are basically impossible to come by now, as Seconal would be ideal... I'd say Temazepam (Restoril)
 
+2 for Temazepam. It works well. You have to learn how it works to get most out of it. There is( at least for me) a way to take it, in order for it to work. It's a shame you can't adjust your eating habits by an hour at most, or take that Ambien sublingual. None of them will really work if you take them on a full stomach. I took Ambien for years and it worked great. Seriously, think about the food.
 
OpioidReceptor said:
Shame barbs are basically impossible to come by now, as Seconal would be ideal... I'd say Temazepam (Restoril)
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deos68 said:
+1 for temazepam works fast and efficiently
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Speed King said:
+2 for Temazepam. It works well. You have to learn how it works to get most out of it. There is( at least for me) a way to take it, in order for it to work. It's a shame you can't adjust your eating habits by an hour at most, or take that Ambien sublingual. None of them will really work if you take them on a full stomach. I took Ambien for years and it worked great. Seriously, think about the food.
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Thanks for your guys feedback. Thats one medication that SWIM has not tried but has heard great things about it. SWIM is on ativan 2mg and seroquel 50mg for bed, but might ask of Restoril is a treatment option at SWIMs next doctor visit.

Question: Does Restoril tend to stop working after a couple weeks, i.e. does tolerance for sleep inducing effects of Restoril develop rapidly? Also, does Restoril have any stigma associated with it that scares providers from trying it on their patients, such as the stigma that xanax has which prevents many providers from using xanax for anxiety in patients.
 
I'm sure the patient experience varies but in most reviews and in my experience there is very minimal sedation and drowsiness even at 20mg. It more allows you to go to sleep more than shuts off your thoughts like a benzo. The half life is 12 hours but I don't notice any difference during the day.
 
InsomniacMike: sounds like we have similar tastes. Amphetamines to bring me up, benzos to bring me down, all in all I like being really really really "right here" :)

Clonazepam 2mg PO, in my opinion. It's lights out. I took Valium for years but I always go a weird depression DUE TO diazepam. I cannot for the life of me tell you why, but It is the only benzo that did that to me. Still took it for three years not knowing that clonazepam would be way better. "It didn't work for the past 1,100 days.... I'll try again tomorrow."
 
You cannot take Belsomra with food--it will not work if you do (food inhibits absorption).

I must admit, I'm surprised that you can't sleep on what you're already taking. And I could never walk into my doc's office and ask for a controlled, even after being his patient for nearly ten years.
 
Flunitrazepam, lormetazepam, nitrazepam, loprazolam, estazolam. Then zopiclone is better than zolpidem (longer half-life), if you don't suffer the horrid metallic taste side effect.
 
I recommend Temazepam. It pretty much has an immediate effect and it's long-acting, with a half life of up to 20 hours.

It helps you to fall asleep and stay asleep. They will start you off at 7.5mg, then gently go up as your benzo tolerance increases. Of course it isn't going to be as effective after a few weeks, but all you need is an increase in your dose. Take it along with some melatonin or even 25mg of Diphenhydramine and you should be knocked out.
 
My favorite combo is diphenhydramine and melatonin. It's one of the most effective I've tried and with no discernible side effects. It's really good combined with benzos too but benzos always give me brain fog the next day so I generally avoid them now.
 
BigWolf said:
InsomniacMike: sounds like we have similar tastes. Amphetamines to bring me up, benzos to bring me down, all in all I like being really really really "right here" :)

Clonazepam 2mg PO, in my opinion. It's lights out. I took Valium for years but I always go a weird depression DUE TO diazepam. I cannot for the life of me tell you why, but It is the only benzo that did that to me. Still took it for three years not knowing that clonazepam would be way better. "It didn't work for the past 1,100 days.... I'll try again tomorrow."
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Its funny you say that valium caused a weird depression, because I felt that way while taking clonazepam. Maybe i didn't give it enough time to work its magic; it calmed down my anxiety but also induced feelings of indifference and laziness. I still have never been prescribed diazepam, but for now temazepam is doing pretty fine and curing my insomnia
 
morphine-dreams said:
My favorite combo is diphenhydramine and melatonin. It's one of the most effective I've tried and with no discernible side effects. It's really good combined with benzos too but benzos always give me brain fog the next day so I generally avoid them now.
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You sound just like my father with that combo! 2 benadryl and 1 melatonin, 20 minutes later it's lights out for him. However, i have tried diphenhydramine in the past during my high school years and it ended up 'pooping out' and now I can take 2 or 3 benadryl during the day for allergies and not feel the slightest bit tired...weird.

As for the benzo brain fog the next day, it is possible that i never noticed I am experiencing the next day brain fog because benzos have that tendency to inhibit your thoughts and ability to recognize if you are fully awake or not
 
cannablissss said:
I recommend Temazepam. It pretty much has an immediate effect and it's long-acting, with a half life of up to 20 hours.

It helps you to fall asleep and stay asleep. They will start you off at 7.5mg, then gently go up as your benzo tolerance increases. Of course it isn't going to be as effective after a few weeks, but all you need is an increase in your dose. Take it along with some melatonin or even 25mg of Diphenhydramine and you should be knocked out.
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I went to my UNIV health center and suggested this, they started me on 15. When i visited my psychiatrist he increased the dose to 30mg and now I am sleeping with no complaints.

I have noticed, tho, that xanax seems to be less effective than before i started taking temazepam for sleep. Since temazepam is also a benzo, could me taking it every night or almost every night cause my tolerance to increase and the efficacy of xanax to decrease? Just some thoughts..
 
InsomniacMike said:
You sound just like my father with that combo! 2 benadryl and 1 melatonin, 20 minutes later it's lights out for him. However, i have tried diphenhydramine in the past during my high school years and it ended up 'pooping out' and now I can take 2 or 3 benadryl during the day for allergies and not feel the slightest bit tired...weird.

As for the benzo brain fog the next day, it is possible that i never noticed I am experiencing the next day brain fog because benzos have that tendency to inhibit your thoughts and ability to recognize if you are fully awake or not
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Haha damn, that's my exact dosage too. And yeah that sounds possible because benzos are notorious for making you feel more sober than you are, but if you take low doses it could also just be that the effect is too mild to notice the next day.
 
Maybe I'm simple, but I enjoy klonopin. More so than xanax due to the duration it effects me.
 
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