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Misc The most potent sleeping aids

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ColdNorth

ColdNorth

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Hello, lighters of all colors.

I've been an insomniac most of my life, rarely feeling sleepy until 3-5 in the morning. I have a great psychiatrist who is open to suggestions, and we have gone through many different medications to help me sleep over the years. Benzos, z-drugs, antihistamines, antipsychotics and so on. Currently I am on midazolam, but it has a pretty random chance of working. Not to mention the potential side effects are pretty scary.

I wanted to ask what medications the insomniacs here have had success with. Let's say the baseline for potency is temazepam. Which meds are more potent sleeping aids and why? I know every individual reacts differently, but potency is what I am looking for. Barbiturates are not prescribed in my country, and neuroleptics leave a horrible zombie mode behind the next day so I prefer to stay away from those.

I know there is a lot of collective knowledge here, so all ideas are most welcome! If you could also describe the pros and cons, I would be most grateful.
 
Halcion has always worked for me. I have never used it more than 5 nights in a row. I think it's really strong. 0.25 to 0.5 mg h.s.
 
If you are in the U.S then halcion is by far the most potent sleeping pill but good luck finding a Dr. to prescribe it. Best thing you are gonna get here is restoril or temazepam whichever you wanna call it. Man I wish I lived in a country that i could get dorcium's/midazolam in, i used to know of an overseas pharmacy that would send them here and those are by far the best benzo there is hands down!
 
Seroquel for me.

I can stay awake through most regular doses of benzos or z-drugs. If i take seroquel I will sleep that night. Honestly i find the quality of sleep to be better with seroquel (more refreshed in the morning, and better dreams for whatever reason) than with benzos too.
 
You could try doing a drug with a harsh comedown and time it with your desired sleeping time.

Such as take an Adderall XR 8-10/IR 4-6 hours before you want to go to sleep.
 
Recent studies show that people with decreased dopamine levels in some cortex's of the brain are directly responsible for restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, cataplexy, and insomnia. I myself benifit from a low dose amphetamine before bed. It relaxes me and puts me to sleep better than a benzodiazepine!

Here are some articles and studies you might enjoy:


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...56239208000074

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21061851

A second area of research is into the role dopamine may play in narcolepsy. Administration of L-dopa, a precursor molecules of dopamine, to narcoleptic patients has been shown to improve their vigilance (Boivin & Montplaisir, 1991). Administration of the amino acid L-tyrosine, also a precursor to dopamine, has in preliminary investigation shown similar results (Roufs, 1990). If these findings are confirmed, researchers may conclude that dopamine levels are involved in the disorder.
Click to expand...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246849.php

http://www.schlaflabor-saletu.at/The...disorders.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23064381

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22573693

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17035544

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC490233/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/448384

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/18772053

http://www.neurology.org/content/55/9/1410.short

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/11105739

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/6501806

http://www.neurology.org/content/58/3/341.short

http://www.neurology.org/content/58/3/341.short

If your looking for sheer potency in terms of sedatives, I believe barbiturates are the most potent but they're hardly prescribed.
 
I have tried Xanax (called Xanor over here) but that tends to lead to a hyperactivity of sorts..staying up and multitasking. Halcion is not available here due to low sales volume or something like that. Low dose Seroquel is good, I agree..especially the vivid dreams. But it only works for a few nights and then it takes a long time for the effect to come back. Temazepam also works great for a night or two, but then ends up just being a muscle relaxant of sorts.

One way to go about it would be to get all the ones that work and then rotate them around when tolerance develops or the effect disappears.

The comedown idea has some merit too..I get tired after codeine for some reason and that's pretty safe too.

Thanks for the input guys. =)


Edit: Thanks Chromophobia, I will look through those! And you are correct, barbiturates are not prescribed in my country.
 
zyprexa and seconal are the two drugs that have worked best as a sleep aid for me but zyprexa continues to work for months even years where as seconal lost effectiveness in weeks
 
I am prescribed 30mg of ambien a night and it works for me. Although, I believe you implied that z-drugs do not work for you. The dose I am prescribed is not likely something you would get. It has taken me 8 years to work up to that dose. I am not addicted. I stop sometimes and experience no withdrawal, although, my insomnia would return if I stop. Sometimes my ambien is not enough though.
 
Chromophobia said:
Recent studies show that people with decreased dopamine levels in some cortex's of the brain are directly responsible for restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, cataplexy, and insomnia. I myself benifit from a low dose amphetamine before bed. It relaxes me and puts me to sleep better than a benzodiazepine!
Click to expand...

Interesting you mention this. Sedatives make me manic and hyperactive at night, whereas if I take a stimulant before bed I am much more likely to go to sleep. It's why I often have green tea before bedtime.

I didn't realize it was dopamine related. This makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sharing!
 
I can fall asleep on a low dose stimulant, but for lifelong, chronic insomnia? I dont know....

And the idea of taking amphetamines just for the crash is plain silly, IMO....
 
onetwo said:
You could try doing a drug with a harsh comedown and time it with your desired sleeping time.

Such as take an Adderall XR 8-10/IR 4-6 hours before you want to go to sleep.
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I've actually heard of doctors prescribing that for insomnia, though a singular morning dose has been used for that. 4-6h before sleep and I'd be wide awake at bedtime.
Neuroleptics knock your ass out, hands down. I have heard people state in the past that Seroquel (quetiapine) is the most effective. I've personally only had experience with olanzapine and I can surely say that nothing has ever induced such deep sleep as this one. I never got any enjoyment outta benzos, but when I did have em around they always sucked for inducing sleep. Often times I'd not go to bed at all, despite being on massive doses. Only benzo that ever really knocked me out was administered iv... Downside of the neuroleptics I mentioned would be a long half life for either one btw, so maybe not what you are looking for.
 
No problem for sharing, a user in another thread read that I mentioned dopamine related to sleep so I provided him with links as he was an insomniac and could only sleep on amphetamines.

To the OP:

Benzodiazepines aren't something you want in the long term. Have you considered tricyclics or tetracyclic antidepressants such as mirtazapine, amytrytaline, or maprotiline. Many people benifit from taking these at night and only complain of grogginess in the morning.

Personally, aside from stimulants, 50 milligrams of hydroxyzine with 300 milligrams pregabalin puts me right to bed.
 
I've been presribed sedative anthistamines, benzos, z-drugs etc for years but in the end they all lost their effect eventually and all I had left was a stupid physical addiction and clouded thinking during the day.

These days I smoke weed before bedtime and sometimes take some sedative anthistamines like propiomazine/promethazine. It works pretty well.
 
Only sleep aid ever worked good for me is zolpidem, but I cannot use it due to it sometimes puts me into delirium and I am danger to myself and others. Other than that, nothing seems to work when it gets really bad, been though temazepam, alprazolam, nitrazepam, zopiclone, mirtazapine, quetiapine, hydroxyzine, phenibut, melatonin.. Don't know what else I could even try. Midazolam is a tough one to get prescribed, and it's really expensive on the street though I've tried it couple of times and it seemed effective.

Lorazepam seemed really effective at least for a while but I doubt I get it prescribed, and it is really addictive for me too. I get instant withdrawals from only couple days of use.

I wish barbs would be still available on special occasions, maybe not for me but for someone with even worse insomnia, mine is only seasonal. It just sucks bad when it's on. I have an image that they are 10x more effective sleep aids than any benzo.

Btw. have anyone else noticed that some benzodiazepines override antihistamine effects and some don't? Sometimes I take both and it doesn't work cause I only feel the benzo, but this only happens with some such as nitrazepam and oxazepam at least, not with alprazolam. Just curious why is that.
 
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the first time i took ecstasy i fell asleep. it was tested with that liquid stuff that turns black or whatever.

i also fall alseep on adderall quite often. if the dose is under 60mg anyway. adderall calms me down. i wish i had a script now that im going back to school suboxone free.
 
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