Recommended drugs for chronic insomnia?

[WOOF-DOG]

Im new to bluelight and I'm not sure if this is the right forum but was seeking advice regarding good meds for treating insomnia. I'm an otherwise healthy 15 year old male, suffering pretty crippling insomnia. I've been going to multiple doctors to help fix or atleast treat my chronic insomnia. I've been suffering from insomnia for almost a year now and have been going to the doctor frequently. I'm looking for meds that can be used longterm in the treatment of insomnia that i may be able to suggest to my physician. I've watched my diet, exercise, weight, etc. The meds I've tried are Trazadone at 100mg, Trileptal at 150mg (for a few months my doc suspected bi polar 2 but it has since been ruled out), seroquel 25mg (gave me extreme anxiety and didn't help me sleep anyway), Remeron 22.5mg (i started at a low dose and went up by halves), Ambien 10mg and on a separate occasion Ambien 3.5mg sublinguals. Which leaves me at clonodine 0.1mg which i am currently taking along with 3mg of melatonin. Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated, and please try to take addition potential and it's affect on brain development into consideration. *I am not using this as a replacement for a doctor. I am simply looking for meds to suggest to him.*

 

[Alexismynams]

Idk if you can get prescribed this but vicodin or hydrocodone which R pain meds (so idk how you'd get them )always knock me out and I have adhd and take focalin which keeps me up all night. Also if you can get somas(carisoprodol) to potentiate that itll def knock you out. But I'm guessing tahts not what your looking for as opiads can be rlly addicting and mixing them with somas in rlly high doses could be dangerous. Also they R both prescription so u have to have a reason to get them but it's still the most effective in knocking me out. Also u could go with something tamer like good old cannabis I always sleep great high

 

[Alexismynams]

Also u can easily become Psychologically and pysiogically dependent on them but they won't mess up UR health of u just take the prescribed dose and if UR mixing with somas cut both in half. Hydros have a lot of side effects but what effective drug doesn't and also u can find opiad which is in Hydros in other drugs like vicodin.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

I'm prescribed Trazadone 50 mgs and Ambien 10 mgs for insomnia. I don't take them every night but they work decently enough IME...the Ambien works well for initiating sleep while the Trazadone makes sure you stay asleep, at least it does for me (as well as gives me incredibly vivid dreams). I've been trying to get more natural, drug-free sleep lately, though.

One sleep drug I've always wanted to try is Doral

 

[WOOF-DOG]

Haha thanks for the suggestion, buy unfortunately thats not an option. my doc definitely won't prescribe that. I'm looking for something long term that hopefully won't affect my brain development too much. I have had experience with a few pain meds, though they make it easier to fall asleep it still takes hours. Pot helps but again brain development is a concern

 

[WOOF-DOG]

If in a while I'm still not sleeping i will suggest cannabis, but i know it's a touchy subject for some doctors especially regarding minors.

 

[WOOF-DOG]

Oooh Doral seems interesting I'll look into it, Thanks! I'm guessing that if ambien doesn't work Doral may not because it seems pretty similar. I'll definitely look into it though!

 

[Alexismynams]

really it took you hours after taking pain meds? Another I would suggest is benedryll but that could affect UR liver and then theirs also nyquil I knew a person who took the normal dose every night and it put her to sleep

 

[WOOF-DOG]

Since i wasn't using pain meds for sleep it could very well be the fact i wasn't trying, but i wasn't resisting sleep either so i apologize for thay statement. Benydryle was the first med i tried before i went to the doc, nyquil doesn't help that much(it does improve the quality of sleep i do get though).

 

[CfZrx]

make some skullcap and valerian tea both together or alone

 

[WOOF-DOG]

Wow!! I didn't expect so many suggestions so soon!! Thank you so much for all this sincerely.

 

[WOOF-DOG]

I'll look into those teas. I'll probably need the approval of my doctor for my dad to allow it (seeing as i am 15 and all)

 

[SixBuckets]

No one can recommend a sleeping medication that is safe for long term use (re: addiction potential and brain development) because this is something that is generally not studied. Most sleeping pills and sleep promoting substances are tested for the standard 3 month safety period before being released, but there's very little data on the effects of long term use. It's a gamble people take if their insomnia is genuinely not fixed by lifestyle adjustments.

Ask me how I know. I've been using Stilnox (Aussie Ambien) and melatonin combination therapy for years. Neither of them work independently, but together I get about five hours sleep a night. There may be long term side effects, but at least I will have been reasonably functional in the interim.

 

[neurotic]

insomnia sucks... its 3am and i have to wake up at 7 so i feel you man... my suggestion would be to try to combat it as drug free as possible...

try to wake up early, stay busy during the day, don't eat large meals or drink caffeine close to sleep hours... you could try melatonin too as SixBuckets said which is essentially harmless and i don't think you even need a doctor prescribing you that. read up on it.

then, i'd save the meds for the odd day where insomnia attacks. if you get those like once or a twice a week like me, you can even try a benzo or z-drug and don't care about dependence, ofc assuming you don't play with them and just use them as a tool. trazodone and thorazine work too, and wouldn't hurt at all being taken infrequently (i personally worry more about taking antidepressants and antipsychotics than i do about benzos).

personally 50mg of thorazine, 10mg of zolpidem and a beer sent me straight to sleep this monday night...

 

[Jktm]

Almost no physician is going to Rx benzodiazepines for insomnia to anyone under 18, and most of the time doctors try to use benzodiazepines in the short-term for insomnia. The only reason doctors don't say shit to me is the sheer amounts I've been Rx'ed in the past, my intractable insomnia, and the small amount of sleep I do get. I'm to the point of getting in with a sleep specialist and requesting Seconal, or off-label Xyrem, as I sleep in small 2-3 hours a night. And I've tried every other form of therapy out there, and either built a tolerance to the effects and side-effects became an issue, or I had some type of reaction to the therapy.

I dunno what to tell you kid, considering your age. If you do manage to acquire a benzo prescription, don't fuck up and jack your tolerance up and get so hopelessly dependent on them, you're thinking of searching for a doc to Rx phenobarbital in a maintenance situation like methadone is used for opioids.

Also...no doctor is going to Rx any type of opioid for insomnia unless they're in debilitatingly severe, chronic pain, and it's the pain that's keeping them awake. Norco (Hydrocodone) is now Schedule II, so there's even less of a chance of something like that happening.

 

[Diamorphazepam]

you can get over the counter stuff that is actually fairly strong like doxylamine and promethazine, the sedating antihistamines.
Mirtazepines is a sedating antidepressant which is in a different class to the usual SSRIs called NaSSAs which are a little sedating.
low doses of antispychotics like 25 or 50mg of Seroquel are alright because you don't get a tolerance fast like taking temazepam or something.
Temazepam is suppose to be the best benzo for a good nights sleep but it only works if you've never used benzos recreationaly and you will get tolerant quicker than the rest.

EDIT: I thought the orignanal post was a different one. uve tried the ones ive already said. Maybe try some valerian which u can get from the supermarket. temazepam if ur careful or promethazene which ir over the counter and a weak antipsychotic which may not make u as anxious and Seroquel.

 

[DownerDoer]

I feel your pain & frustration Dawg I was about 15 when I started having insomnia and the LAST thing I would suggest is more Big Pharma Narcs. At least give this a good go....... About 30 minutes before bed, I would let 6mgs of Melatonin dissolve under my tongue & then take a couple big swigs of Zzz-Quil. Neither of which are addictive & that Combo would put me out like a light. I would usually do that no later than about 10 p.m. & get a solid 9 hours of pretty good sleep. At your age, 3mgs of Melatonin may be enough, depending on your size but you don't want to get "hooked" on any Narcotics at 15. Liquid Alteril also worked very well but it's a little spendy. Melatonin is very cheap and a generic Z-Quil is only about $4 per decent sized bottle. Good Luck Bro!!! R~

 

[Keif' Richards]

OTC options are antihistamines (hydroxyzine*, promethazine*, diphenhydramine, doxylamine) and Melatonin.

There's a product available at Costco that I've found works really well. It comes in pill form and is compounded with a few different active ingredients, all of which allegedly promote sleep. The active ingredients are, if I remember correctly, Melatonin, Valerian, GABA (useless) and some other herb/plant that doesn't come to mind. Some people I know really rep certain kinds of tea. Now that there is a dedicated "tea store" in every American mall, I'm sure they could direct you to what's best for your situation.

*Prescription only in USA but extremely easy to get.

 

[velmwend]

I'd try Trazodone for a couple of months. Just 50mg half an hour before bed. It knocks you out and keeps you asleep but it's not good for long term use because it kinda dumbs you down over time. I'd say - give it 2 months, withdrawal is painless on 50mg, and you should see that your sleep pattern has returned to a healthy state. This worked for me, I'm proof that it worked out for at least one person...and it's not addictive. Also...little interesting side note: when you stop taking the trazodone, keep a couple of strips spare for the future because, if you need to kill a psychedelic trip, 100mg trazodone will kill it off and send you to sleep in a whizz!

 

[LearntYoung]

Don't take meds to sleep with a chronic sleeping problem. Tackle the problem instead. There has to be an underlying problem.