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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Alternative to Ambien/Zolpidem for sleep?

Oh and just to add, 50mg of amitriptyline knocks me out cold. Only trouble is it knocks me out for 12 hours and if i get up before that 12 hours is up i feel like the walking dead. So bad infact that many times I've had to have a speed coffee just to get my arse to work. Might be different for you tho so it's worth trying even if its just the once.
 
Here is a list of all the potential alternatives i can think of. Many of which i have tried except for the barbiturate class.

Benzodiazapines
pros- multi-purpose. Many different types with varying strength and durations
cons- habit forming. Rebound insomnia

Temazepam 15-45mg
Lorazepam 2-4mg
Aplorazepam 1-2mg
Clonazepam 1-2mg
Triazolam Not sure of dosage

Barbituates (most likely wont be able to obtain) Also unsure of dosages
Pros- strong hypnotics
Cons- big side effect profile. Habit forming. Uneasy to obtain

amobarbital
pentobarbital
secobarbital
phenobarbital

Antihistamines
Pros- Non habit forming
cons- weak in comparison

Diphenhydramine 25-100mg
Dimenhydrinate 50-100mg
Doxylamine 6.25-50mg
Promethazine 25-50mg
Vistaril

Herbal sleep aids
Pros- Natural, non habit forming. Other health related benefits
cons- weak in comparison to other sleep aids

Velarian root
Kava Kava
Melatonin
Passion flower
Chamomile

Other
Pros- multi purpose medications. May kill 2 birds with one stone.
Cons- NA

Seroquel 25-100mg
Doxepin 3-10mg
Mirtazapine 7.5-45mg
Trazadone
Gabapentin 300-600mg

Not recommended
Alcohol
Opiates
weed
 
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Surprised it's took so many posts to mention Melatonin. It's a natural sleep aid. They sell them OTC at places such as CVS and Walgreens. It's usually used for stuff such as Jet Lag, and what not. It's not something you should really be taking every night, but neither is ambien.

I recommend you give it a try. It's certainly not as strong, or fast acting as Ambien, but it gets the job done and it's non-habit forming either, which is something I can't say about Ambien, IME.
 
J.Wallace said:
Surprised it's took so many posts to mention Melatonin. It's a natural sleep aid. They sell them OTC at places such as CVS and Walgreens. It's usually used for stuff such as Jet Lag, and what not. It's not something you should really be taking every night, but neither is ambien.

I recommend you give it a try. It's certainly not as strong, or fast acting as Ambien, but it gets the job done and it's non-habit forming either, which is something I can't say about Ambien, IME.
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Melatonin is definitely a good supplement to be taking. you cant expect it to knock you out, but its great for improving quality of sleep and also comes with a ton of other health benefits.
 
Temazepam has been my tried&true benzodiazepine hypnotic for many years now and I have severe debilitating insomnia.

You cannot use this nightly like most people use zolpidem. As phatass mentioned it is the most toxic benzodiazepine and and is very habit forming.

I would recommend if you do go the benzodiazepine route, which should always be the VERY last line of treatment meaning you've given up on finding a better alternative, of which there are many, including diet and exercise, but start with oxazepam.

8o I'm also prescribed triazolam, and alprazolam and IMO neither have absolutely any need for mention in this thread for someone seeking an alternative for zolpidem 8o High potency triazolobenzodiazepines? That's a pretty radical change from zolpidem.
 
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tricomb said:
Temazepam has been my tried&true benzodiazepine hypnotic for many years now and I have severe debilitating insomnia.

You cannot use this nightly like most people use zolpidem. As phatass mentioned it is the most toxic benzodiazepine and and is very habit forming.

I would recommend if you do go the benzodiazepine route, which should always be the VERY last line of treatment meaning you've given up on finding a better alternative, of which there are many, including diet and exercise, but start with oxazepam.

8o I'm also prescribed triazolam, and alprazolam and IMO neither have absolutely any need for mention in this thread for someone seeking an alternative for zolpidem 8o High potency triazolobenzodiazepines? That's a pretty radical change from zolpidem.
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I agree with what your saying. I simply just made a list of other strong sedatives for severe insomnia. The risk with almost every sedative is rebound insomnia however. Sometimes the short term use of a benzo, z-drug, or atypical hypnotics is needed to get one back too some sort of normal schedule.

I have suffered from insomnia for years, and on occasion i would have too take something like Temazepam or halicon to get some sleep after going days without any sleep. You just cant begin habitual use, or you will be in for some terrible rebound insomnia most wouldn't think possible
 
^Agreed, I know you weren't suggesting all those medications I was just pointing out that I feel xanax or halcion to be extreme for someone on ambien, that's all :) <3
 
tricomb said:
^Agreed, I know you weren't suggesting all those medications I was just pointing out that I feel xanax or halcion to be extreme for someone on ambien, that's all :) <3
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I gotcha (:

Ambien can be extreme :P at about 40mg in the middle of the day haha. For some odd reason i cant remember what it was like though.. hmm
 
A lot of people take a sleeping pill before they are physically in bed.
They take it and wait until they feel tired and then "they will go to bed" - but this is what causes the most problems (amnesia etc).
And yes, I know that it is a nice feeling when the meds kick in, but when this happens your self control diminishes and you do things that sound great, but in this state your mind just can't say "no, not a good idea at this time " (eg. I feel like eating ice cream now, but I don't have any, so I'll go get some somewhere.... etc because any idea in this state is a good idea).
To cut a long story short, take your sleeping pill in bed and then turn out the lights.
 
^so true man, you've hit the nail on the head there. I've taken zopiclone so many times when i wanted to get an early night, but instead ended up staying up even later than i would've if i hadnt taken it. And at some point i usually decide its a good idea to go out and get some beers, then remember Fuck all about it the next day.
 
the thing about temazepam (at least for me) is that it only works for 5 days top then i have to take a month or more break for it to work agian and even then it only works for about 3 days
 
Dread calm said:
^so true man, you've hit the nail on the head there. I've taken zopiclone so many times when i wanted to get an early night, but instead ended up staying up even later than i would've if i hadnt taken it. And at some point i usually decide its a good idea to go out and get some beers, then remember Fuck all about it the next day.
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Yeah so many times i have taken the z drugs, gone to bed and my memory reappears the next day with me being somewhere else with mates and apparently i came to visit them the previous night hour ot 2 after i went to bed. No memories of this.
 
i never heard of the toxicity of temazepam. how is it toxic? personally, i take the less know z-drug, zaleplon. its puts me to sleep fast, then i also have the option of taking a .25mg triazolam, 15mg temazepam, .5mg lorazepam, and some melatonin. obviously, i have some problems sleeping :P
 
Arsenic_X said:
i never heard of the toxicity of temazepam. how is it toxic? personally, i take the less know z-drug, zaleplon. its puts me to sleep fast, then i also have the option of taking a .25mg triazolam, 15mg temazepam, .5mg lorazepam, and some melatonin. obviously, i have some problems sleeping :P
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As far as im aware Temazepam is the most lethal of all Benzos in overdose.
 
temazepam is genuinely the best option, but for short term use only. I cant stress that enough because they are the most moreish Benzo ever and i couldnt keep my hands off them. I was horribly addicted to them for about a year, then stopping them was hell, no actually it was worse than hell. If hell has got a psycho dentist in the cellar it was even worse than an hour with him!
 
phatass said:
temazepam is the most pleasant feeling "euphoric" benzo, i think loprazolam and lormetaepam are better for therapeutic purposes
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I agree with you 100%

I personally find Temazepam to be the most pleasant benzo. Its actually the only benzo i feel any euphoria from at all. The rest just do there job.
 
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