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The "I can't sleep" megamerged insomnia thread

XANAX.XANAX.XANAX. Also known as Alprazolam. Best sleep medication available on the US market, no question. Puts you to sleep long and hard, but you wake up refreshed and ready to start the next day.

Xanax, Oh how I love thee ~ let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
 
Have you tried ambien? It's actually made *for* a sleeping problem, and it flat out knocks me out. The first time I took it I didn't realize how fast it would act on me...I was thinking like xanax or valium, and I took it and started to read a book (i was on a long train trip) and a little while later my eyes started to sort of not be able to focus and then i was *out*. Next thing I know I wake up with this woman in the seat beside me telling me how I slept so soundly all night -- it was 9 hours later!
 
ambien or zopiclone...

zopiclone is related to benzo's, but is no where nearly as addictive, and pretty damn effective. only really noticable side effect i've experienced is you have a funky taste in your mouth when you wake up the next morning.
 
Nope Ambien only puts me to sleep for 4 hours, and my benzo tollerence is way to high to even consider, also benzos don't sedate me very well.
 
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Ambien does only work for about 3-4 hours, you can take it again and sleep for another 3-4. If I take a 2mg xanax bar, I will sleep fitfully, I will wake up every hour or so, but then fall back asleep.

If I take 1mg of xanax with 10mg of ambien. I sleep all night. I have a pretty good tolerance for xanax, but combined with ambien it works well.

I try to only take xanax a few times a week because of obvious problems with it. Ambien I take every night.
 
I don't know how to stop taking the stuff. I couldn't sleep before and I got sick - which is why I went to the doctor who prescribed me ambien. I have been taking it every night for about 3 years.

I went on a trip onetime - my luggage got lost. I did not sleep more than a couple hours in 5 days. I figured that after a few days I would be so worn out I would sleep. I didn't. I worked all day, and laid in bed all night listening to mellow music trying not to jump out the window. I decided to make a point of cutting back on the ambien and xanax - but I got sick again and decided that the sleep with drugs was most likely better for me than no sleep no drugs.

I am extremely anxious about this. The reason I got put on the ambien in the first place was that I was so sleep deprived I was having health issues - not the least of which was after being in Germany for a week (and only sleeping occasionaly) I got bells-palsey. I still have it, and am not supposed to let myself get run down. So what is the right choice? I can switch things up a bit and take a different sleeping drug, but I can't sleep without them.

I work out everyday, I eat healthy, I don't do any recreational drugs (anymore). I should be able to sleep.
 
mostly when i need to reset my sleeping schedule, i use melatonin. take a tab about a half hour before you want to go to sleep. it works like a charm for me. and i never wake up with that hangover you get from sleeping meds. once you are acclimated, stop taking them. you can get 120 3mg tabs at GNC for under $8.
 
I've read studies saying that any drastic change in one's sleeping schedule needs to be accomodated gradually.

But that obviously isn't convienient. I refuse to take any medicines/drugs (other than ones for personal enjoyment), so when I have to make significant adjustments (like, most recently, having to adjust from getting home from work at 0300 to waking at 0545), I find that its best to not sleep at all one night (a day off of course), then go to sleep the next day at whatever time you need.

Extreme exhaustion works wonders ... I can't sleep if I'm stoned or inactive all day, but if I bust my ass every minute of the day at work / wherever, sleep comes easily to me.

But I suppose there's always drugs to do the trick. I don't know a single thing about benzos, but no doubt five others will chime in soon.
 
For me, I often have terrible trouble sleeping, occasionally not even phenergan will allow me to sleep, but GHB, a dose of NaGHB will put me to sleep and relax me fast, and enjoyably, and I will sleep all through to next morning and awake very refreshed.

I tend to use a dose of 3g of crystalline, pure GHB, and I get the best sleep of my life EVERY time:)
 
if you are looking to go the drug route, it's a good thing to get to a doctor and tell them you're problem. If they prescribe you something it could first potentially be a sedative hypnotics, as they seem to be all the (expensive) rage among the docs - this would include Ambien (Zolpidem) or Sonata (Zaleplon)...sedative hypnotics work best when you are laying down in bed, and may kick in in about 15 minutes or so. (However, if you are up and about it is very likely you will not fall right asleep, there's alot of threads on Ambien, etc) But anyway, these sedative hypnotics assist in getting to sleep and wear off in 3-4 hours, so it is possible that you may not stay asleep.
However, these, as with all drugs have a high potential for tolerance development. I was prescribed Zaleplon for my initial insomnia and after using about 4x a week it just stopped working....

I wouldn't necessarily suggest benzodiapines before trying sedative hypnotics to see if they work for you. Some people they work for, and some people they don't do a damn thing (especially if you have a high benzo tolerance). I still have insomnia when I have to sleep without opiate aid (although it's rare) and usually use a low dose of Xanax (alprazolam) to get to sleep...the short half life usually lets me wake up refreshed...unlike valium (diazepam), where I usually feel very groggy the whole next day.

SO, anyway, try melatonin, try working out and if that is to no avail, other OTC sleep aids such as diphenhydramine or doxylamine (in low amounts, don't want to be to out of it for work) and if none of those work, i suggest heading to the doc.
 
I have a similar problem. I work mostly nights (from 4pm til around midnight), and I can't fall asleep immediately after getting home from work. Normally that's not a big deal, because I can sleep in late and get plenty of sleep. BUT there are also some days that I work 9am-5pm. My schedule is inconsistent and different every week (minus a few regularities) and I think my body and mind hate me for it ;)

I think it just takes some getting used to. I know that probably isnt the answer you want to hear, but, your body and mind just have to get used to your new schedule, and adjust accordingly.

I swear my body thinks it's nocturnal, which is why I manage better when I'm just working nights. I have more energy at night too. There was a period of about 4 months (this was years ago) that I was jobless. So I NEVER had an alarm clock set for anything. I went to bed when I was tired, and I woke up when I felt awake. My body fell into a "natural" pattern of going to bed around 5am and waking up around 2pm. /shrugs
 
I've taken Ambien, trazadone,amiltripline,xanax, & triazolam for sleep, triazolam is the best in my opinion. amiltripline gave me horrible nightmares, trazadone made me sleep too much, ambien my tolerance went through the roof in a couple months, xanax i only sleep for 4 hours. oh i took nuerotin a couple times-it worked pretty well, but i had trouble getting up.

trazadone and nefazodone are trycilic antidepressants, personally i think all tca's suck for sleep. it's just the doctor's way of shutting you up so they dont't have to gove you an addictive drug(like antidepressant aren't-they just don't get you high)
 
based on your post (mostly just how similar it sounds to me - seroquil is all that has put me to sleep as well), i would NOT recommend trazodone over it. that shit actually just keeps me up.
 
How did you ambien prescribed for long term use? I thought that sleeping pills were only prescribed if every other condition, like anxiety, etc was ruled out as not being a cause of your insomnia.
 
I go to a sleep neurologist. He hooked me up to some equipment and confirmed that I don't sleep naturally. He said that in my case the side effects of the ambien are less severe than the health impact of not sleeping. He does not like Xanax, and strongly recommends me not ever taking it. Sometimes though, the ambien is just not enough.

He gives me prescriptions for ambien that are good for 3 months at a time, I see him every 6 months.
 
Tips for Getting to Sleep

Man I've tried everything. Warm glasses of milk, reading, jerking off, focusing/ willpower, jerking off, Tamezapam, a warm shower, jerking off, etc.

Like, I would drink less caffeine and Red Bull and sugar during the day, but that's like the only pleasure I get besides jerking off. Usually after I have a can of Red Bull. What can I do?

I lay in bed wide eyes all open, not shut. Shut, doesn't help either, it just makes it worse. And jerking off only increases my energy. It's a blessing and a curse.

PS. I'm a gigalo.
 
Temazepam doesn`t work?? Shit. If you have nothing to do the next day, I would recommend taking a higher dose, but that is dangerous territory. Ever thought about good honest exercies? Go for a random walk and get totally lost, walk for another hour, and try and find your way back. A good way to learn the geography of you local neighbourhood, and waste some energy. Traditionaly exercise, like sport or push ups is very hard to commit to, so I suggest seeing how deep you can dig a hole, or how high you can climb a nearby tree. The only way to get to sleep is to wear onesel;f out, through physical exertion. If that`s what it akes, drive for 10 minutes to a liquor store, or take a few cans wioth you, and then park your car somewhere safe, and try and ander home. makes for a good morning walk to get your wheels, or at the very least self-punishment for being an alcoholic. (that`s just me by the way). If you can`t sleep, don`t try. Read, walk, or try and ponder something really deep, ie unanswerable, and sleep usually follows with fucked up dreams.
 
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