cornishninja
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2015
- Messages
- 18
Hi, I hope I'm not breaking any rules here by asking my question about sedatives. Apologies if I am breaking a rule.
Basically, I'm literally unable to sleep without taking a sleeping pill at the moment. It does vary from time to time, there are periods of time when I can sleep for at least half the time without using sleeping pills, but then I get nightmare periods where I literally don't get to sleep unless I take something to induce sleep. I've been known to be awake for 50 hours (yes, I counted) because I didn't have effective meds. During those times I was nonfunctional, hallucinating and constantly slipping into dreamlike states whilst awake. Not a pleasant situation and it feels like torture. I won't go into the details of why I can't sleep but I often suffer horribly trying to get to sleep, then it's hard to stay asleep for the length that I need. I also suffer from general anxiety and have had episodes of depression. I also suffered a first episode of psychosis in 2007. So that's the background.
My GP (I'm from the UK) has consistently refused to prescribe me diazepam or any other benzo drug to help with sedation. He did however prescribe Zopiclone for quite some time. Of course, my tolerance went up pretty quick and it became ineffective on its own so I decided to only take it when needed. My GP then prescribed various other drugs that interact with Zopiclone to get the sedative effect I need. Nowadays all Zopiclone does for me is when I actually fall asleep (because of the other drugs), it just keeps me asleep for the 7-9 hours that I need. The other drugs he prescribed were amitriptyline, olanzapine and some kind of antihistamine (not all at once, just when one became less effective, then we would switch to another combination, etc). Now olanzapine and Zopiclone worked well for a while with regards to the sedative effect, but the hangover was horrendous. I couldn't get anything done, my motivation went out of the window, I couldn't focus, and basically I barely functioned. So I've had to stop taking olanzapine for my own sanity's sake. The amitriptyline with the Zopiclone worked well for a while, had less of a hangover, but I developed tolerance. Same deal with the antihistamine and Zopiclone. Now we've nowhere else to go and he is still refusing to prescribe Valium even though 10mg is very effective and doesn't leave me with a hangover, and doesn't leave me feeling depressed. He's worried about the risk of addiction, and most GPs are. (In case you're wondering, my mother used Valium regularly and she gave me a 10mg pill one night when I wasn't able to sleep and it worked wonders. I slept like a baby and woke up the next morning full of energy.) FYI I haven't used Zopiclone in recent weeks and slept okay, then recently my insomnia started happening every night and I've been at my wits end. I know if I can't sleep then I can't function, and there's a risk of developing another episode of psychosis. The mental health services in the area where I live is shit so I couldn't get any help from them, and all they care about is the risk of addiction, more than they care about the fact I can't function normally with regular sleep deprivation, nor do they care about the effect it has on my mental health.
Now, my insomnia is so bad it's become unbearable. I'm normally a mild, placid person, but every time I can't sleep I turn into this crazy madwoman with serious anger, so if anyone was in my firing line, they would bear the full brunt of my rage and abuse. I hate being like that, it's not who I really am and it makes me feel terribly guilty. So out of desperation, I've taken matters into my own hands. I did some research because I was looking for a drug that would put me to sleep quickly, but without the hangover effect the next day. I can handle short term grogginess because I'm generally quite slow first thing. But I need to be able to function, be motivated, focused and productive. So I'm looking for a drug that can give me this. I decided to try Etizolam (Etizest - the pink 1mg pills) which worked well for a short time. Half a tablet makes my anxiety melt away and makes me relax more. 1mg at first didn't knock me out but enabled me to fall asleep easier. And it had zero hangover effect. That was roughly two weeks ago. Then after a short while I found I needed to take 1.5mg to 2mg to achieve the same sedative effect. I've read that I shouldn't take more than 3mg a day. It seems to me to be the perfect drug except for the fact that I build tolerance quickly, and I'm finding that I wake up after a few hours of sleep, and even though I'm still tired I still can't get back to sleep unless I redose. Today was the first time I've had to redose twice. I took 2 mg initially, fell asleep, woke up 4 hours later, couldn't get back to sleep so I've taken another 2mg. I know this is to be expected.
I'm starting to research other sedative RC drugs and can't make up my mind. It seems all the popular ones might leave me with a nasty hangover. Remember, I need to function the next day, be motivated, focused and productive. So I'm not sure what to try next. I've looked at Diclazepam, Flubromazepam, Flubromazolam, and Clonazolam. I'm leaning towards Diclazepam but I'm unsure of the next-day hangover even at lower doses. I don't have any benzo-resistance as such. I've read this forum and other forums but it seems to me that a lot of the forum members are either addicts or have high tolerances which does make it difficult for me to ascertain which drug is best for me.
I anticipate that my sleeping troubles will soon be over, certain within the next two to four weeks. So I'm looking for something to help me through that time. In your opinion, do you think I should stick with Etizolam, but increasing the dosage as needed (what is the maximum safe dose to take in any 24 hour period anyway?) and then taper off, or should I switch to something like diclazepam for now? Or would on of these other RC drugs I've mentioned be a better fit?
I know you're not doctors, but I trust your opinions because you guys are obviously experienced with this stuff. My doctors are pretty useless in this case.
TIA.
Basically, I'm literally unable to sleep without taking a sleeping pill at the moment. It does vary from time to time, there are periods of time when I can sleep for at least half the time without using sleeping pills, but then I get nightmare periods where I literally don't get to sleep unless I take something to induce sleep. I've been known to be awake for 50 hours (yes, I counted) because I didn't have effective meds. During those times I was nonfunctional, hallucinating and constantly slipping into dreamlike states whilst awake. Not a pleasant situation and it feels like torture. I won't go into the details of why I can't sleep but I often suffer horribly trying to get to sleep, then it's hard to stay asleep for the length that I need. I also suffer from general anxiety and have had episodes of depression. I also suffered a first episode of psychosis in 2007. So that's the background.
My GP (I'm from the UK) has consistently refused to prescribe me diazepam or any other benzo drug to help with sedation. He did however prescribe Zopiclone for quite some time. Of course, my tolerance went up pretty quick and it became ineffective on its own so I decided to only take it when needed. My GP then prescribed various other drugs that interact with Zopiclone to get the sedative effect I need. Nowadays all Zopiclone does for me is when I actually fall asleep (because of the other drugs), it just keeps me asleep for the 7-9 hours that I need. The other drugs he prescribed were amitriptyline, olanzapine and some kind of antihistamine (not all at once, just when one became less effective, then we would switch to another combination, etc). Now olanzapine and Zopiclone worked well for a while with regards to the sedative effect, but the hangover was horrendous. I couldn't get anything done, my motivation went out of the window, I couldn't focus, and basically I barely functioned. So I've had to stop taking olanzapine for my own sanity's sake. The amitriptyline with the Zopiclone worked well for a while, had less of a hangover, but I developed tolerance. Same deal with the antihistamine and Zopiclone. Now we've nowhere else to go and he is still refusing to prescribe Valium even though 10mg is very effective and doesn't leave me with a hangover, and doesn't leave me feeling depressed. He's worried about the risk of addiction, and most GPs are. (In case you're wondering, my mother used Valium regularly and she gave me a 10mg pill one night when I wasn't able to sleep and it worked wonders. I slept like a baby and woke up the next morning full of energy.) FYI I haven't used Zopiclone in recent weeks and slept okay, then recently my insomnia started happening every night and I've been at my wits end. I know if I can't sleep then I can't function, and there's a risk of developing another episode of psychosis. The mental health services in the area where I live is shit so I couldn't get any help from them, and all they care about is the risk of addiction, more than they care about the fact I can't function normally with regular sleep deprivation, nor do they care about the effect it has on my mental health.
Now, my insomnia is so bad it's become unbearable. I'm normally a mild, placid person, but every time I can't sleep I turn into this crazy madwoman with serious anger, so if anyone was in my firing line, they would bear the full brunt of my rage and abuse. I hate being like that, it's not who I really am and it makes me feel terribly guilty. So out of desperation, I've taken matters into my own hands. I did some research because I was looking for a drug that would put me to sleep quickly, but without the hangover effect the next day. I can handle short term grogginess because I'm generally quite slow first thing. But I need to be able to function, be motivated, focused and productive. So I'm looking for a drug that can give me this. I decided to try Etizolam (Etizest - the pink 1mg pills) which worked well for a short time. Half a tablet makes my anxiety melt away and makes me relax more. 1mg at first didn't knock me out but enabled me to fall asleep easier. And it had zero hangover effect. That was roughly two weeks ago. Then after a short while I found I needed to take 1.5mg to 2mg to achieve the same sedative effect. I've read that I shouldn't take more than 3mg a day. It seems to me to be the perfect drug except for the fact that I build tolerance quickly, and I'm finding that I wake up after a few hours of sleep, and even though I'm still tired I still can't get back to sleep unless I redose. Today was the first time I've had to redose twice. I took 2 mg initially, fell asleep, woke up 4 hours later, couldn't get back to sleep so I've taken another 2mg. I know this is to be expected.
I'm starting to research other sedative RC drugs and can't make up my mind. It seems all the popular ones might leave me with a nasty hangover. Remember, I need to function the next day, be motivated, focused and productive. So I'm not sure what to try next. I've looked at Diclazepam, Flubromazepam, Flubromazolam, and Clonazolam. I'm leaning towards Diclazepam but I'm unsure of the next-day hangover even at lower doses. I don't have any benzo-resistance as such. I've read this forum and other forums but it seems to me that a lot of the forum members are either addicts or have high tolerances which does make it difficult for me to ascertain which drug is best for me.
I anticipate that my sleeping troubles will soon be over, certain within the next two to four weeks. So I'm looking for something to help me through that time. In your opinion, do you think I should stick with Etizolam, but increasing the dosage as needed (what is the maximum safe dose to take in any 24 hour period anyway?) and then taper off, or should I switch to something like diclazepam for now? Or would on of these other RC drugs I've mentioned be a better fit?
I know you're not doctors, but I trust your opinions because you guys are obviously experienced with this stuff. My doctors are pretty useless in this case.
TIA.
