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What was the best "sleeping pill" for you?

Placidly

Placidly

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Messages
261
I'm currently on Lexapro (Escitalopram, SSRI) for anxiety and I have trouble sleeping most nights. I very very rarely drink coffee and I do not smoke. I exercise at least 5 times a week.

Before I was on zopiclone but found it made me very groggy/dizzy the next day. (Almost as bad as not sleeping!).

Next week I will be flying back to uni (holidays are ending) and I have very very bad trouble with jet lag. The problem is I have an important exam the first day back and I need to try and get into a proper sleeping pattern for those first few days.

What sleeping tablet worked best for you? Do doctors tend to prescribe it relatively often?

Thanks.
 
Wow. That's strange. I'm currently on Zopiclone, and I feel great after a nights sleep on them.
 
^agreed start with A halve dose and try to miss a few days .. lasts a whole lot longer
 
My bet would be zolpidem perhaps. It's short-acting, puts you to sleep quite easily if you've got no tolerance and doesn't cause any next day side effects. Zolpidem is prescribed for difficulties with falling asleep.

The next choice would be estazolam. It's a very strong sedative at the beginning and you can easily sleep on a single dose. But it surely alters your consciousness the following day. No other benzodiazepine would put me to sleep that easy.
 
Ambien is great. Knocks you out like a rock. If you're waking up three hours later, Ambien-XR (extended release) is probably a better bet -- it has a time-release capsule in the middle that kicks in gradually for the rest of the night. Ambien's only good for a week though, two at most. After that your tolerance rockets way up.

Lunesta's another one that drops me fast; works for a bunch of my friends too.

The over-the-counter ones are all shit. They are almost all diphenhydramine (effectively, Benedryl). Leaves me groggy and dehydrated feeling in the morning. Not rested.
 
elfdancer said:
Lunesta's another one that drops me fast; works for a bunch of my friends too.
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Unfortunately, Lunesta's never done that for me... it makes me drowsy, but doesn't 'knock me out' like Ambien does.

That said, Ambien is probably a bit TOO good a sleep aid... it's easy to use it every night, and probably easier than most people think to start using it in small doses during the day as well. As you stated, tolerance goes up quickly too. IMO it's as bad as any benzo in terms of addictive potential, maybe worse.

We definitely agree on the OTC crap BTW. On a related note, another potentially good sleep aid is Vistaril (hydroxyzine hydrochloride)... it's an antihistamine like the OTC sleep aids, but knocks me out like I was hit on the head with a bat. Very likely to have a person sleeping half the next day too, unfortunately.
 
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Anyone tried the barb Tuinal? AKA 'rainbows' half Amytal, half Seconal. You have to close one eye to see straight when they take effect-very potent.
 
MDPVagrant said:
Ambien/zolpidem by far (but the tendency to wake up 3 hours later made me switch to Eszopiclone). Yes.
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Wow. Thanks for the recomendation. I might switch to that, as it's approved for long term use. Thanks
 
hmmm. My neighbour who happens to be a doctor (who used to take Ambien as well) does not reccomend it as it causes sleep-walking and aggressive behaviour in some cases so I'm not too keen on it.

Doctors don't tend to prescribe benzos for sleep anymore do they? (I'm not looking to abuse, I'm just under the impression that benzos are the only "sleeping pills" that really work, but aren't prescribed so much due to dependacy/addiction issues).

What's your opinion?
 
I too am on 20mg of escitalopram/day, 2mg of klonopin, and Niravam (disintegrating alprazolam, 0.5mg.)

I get the paradoxal "energy" from Lexapro as well, especially when I just took it.

Right now, I'm trying to wean myself off alcohol. I'm using propranolol to help with the physical symptoms, and the benzo's.

To answer your question, my personal way of getting a good night's sleep is to jog/work out mid-day, eat a big meal afterwards (complex carbs, etc.) and then try meditation. Ambien might be an option, talk with your doctor.

My favorite sleeping pill, believe it or not, is Unisom (doxylamine succinate.) It knocks me out at even low doses, and I get a long night's sleep. Try concentrating on the sound of a fan and leave your mind blank. Don't focus on the day's events, or what you have to do tomorrow. Sleep is YOUR time, good luck and sweet dreams :)
 
Thanks LaughinFit. I do do quite a strenous workout in the day; lots of swimming, rugby, tennis etc... and have been on clonazepam for a while before for anxiety (as well as diazepam). My sleeping patterns are much better now.

The main problem for me now is jetlag and the fact that I have this exam (Special Relativity) almost as soon as I get back. If I don'get a good nights sleep I won't be able to think properly, (I'm sure you all can relate) and this is quite an important paper. :/

I'm trying to get ideas on the most effective sleeping pill for most people and hopefully I fit into that category as well.
 
scream said:
Anyone tried the barb Tuinal? AKA 'rainbows' half Amytal, half Seconal. You have to close one eye to see straight when they take effect-very potent.
Click to expand...

Yes, thought I knew them as 'traffic lights'. Very strong, very addictive, very dangerous.

5HTP makes me sleepy & melatonin works well. I wouldn't mess with anything else if you have an exam the next day.

Just my opinion,
H-)
 
mmm... you guys seem to be suggesting hardcore stuff (keeping in my mind I have to be level headed the next day).

Is there anything with minimum side-effects the morning after?
 
Ok thanks. I'll ask the doctor about that.

Anybody still get scripted diazepam or midazolam for sleep problems?
 
Diazepam, yes - but not midazolam, at least not in the US. In the Europe it's seldomly prescribed for the worst insomniacs, but it's absolutely definately not the first choice for insomnia, nor second, nor third.
 
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