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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Cant do insomnia anymore.. what drug w/ least side effects

OpiateKiller

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 14, 2019
Messages
2,363
Ive dealt with insomnia my whole life and ive finally reached the breaking point. Almost makes me want to just get back on heroin, but thats really not an option. Ive tried it all l theanine, melatonin, valerian root.. these natural remedies just dont do it. Im not talking about small sleep disturbances it takes me 3-4 hours to fall asleep on a daily basis.

So which benzo should I opt for, a long lasting one like Valium? Ive never tried lunesta or ambien either, is that a good option?

I understand benzos are addictive but its reached a point where I cant live like this anymore I need some damn rest drug induced or not.

Thanks for any input.
 
Have you tried antihistamines? I really enjoy doxylamine succinate - it’s otc, can be found in unisom tablets (NOT capsules).
 
would not recommend Seroquel at all, clonazepam or diazepam, they both have a pretty long half life and would interfere less with your day to day life through their side effects like Seroquel would do.

seroquel is an anti psyhotic prescribed off-label sometimes for insomnia cases too but it would make me feel like a zombie, sleep a lot more than I was supposed to. I was staying in a flat with a guy from work and sometimes I asked him to wake me up because my alarms were not able anymore to wake me up and in some cases even him was unable to do so.

idk from where you are but here we have clonazepam in two dosage formats, Rivotril Roche 0.5 mg and 2 mg, if you have no benzo history I would say half a 0.5 mg pill. but anyway the main suggestion would be to make an appointment with a psychiatrist because you will need a lot of scripts in the future if you really have chronic insomnia and your dosage will need adjustments also which are more suited to be made by a professional for your needs and possibilities.
 
would not recommend Seroquel at all, clonazepam or diazepam, they both have a pretty long half life and would interfere less with your day to day life through their side effects like Seroquel would do.

seroquel is an anti psyhotic prescribed off-label sometimes for insomnia cases too but it would make me feel like a zombie, sleep a lot more than I was supposed to. I was staying in a flat with a guy from work and sometimes I asked him to wake me up because my alarms were not able anymore to wake me up and in some cases even him was unable to do so.

idk from where you are but here we have clonazepam in two dosage formats, Rivotril Roche 0.5 mg and 2 mg, if you have no benzo history I would say half a 0.5 mg pill. but anyway the main suggestion would be to make an appointment with a psychiatrist because you will need a lot of scripts in the future if you really have chronic insomnia and your dosage will need adjustments also which are more suited to be made by a professional for your needs and possibilities.

Thank you, yeah I?ve never taken Seroquel but I?ve had roommates on it and it didn?t look very appealing. I?m probably gonna go see a psychiatrist and hope they help me out with a script.
 
When you see the psych doctor, be willing to accept whatever they give you. They sometimes will want to start you out with meds like Seroquel, Mirtazapine or Trazadone. Then when you go back for your follow up, discuss if it was helpful.

Have you ever checked out sleep hygiene? - tips designed for people to get better sleep. Be consistent with your bedtime, exercise, keep your bed for sleeping only, no electronics for 2 hours prior to bed, keep your bedroom dark and at a comfortable temperature to name a few.

I've had insomnia for most of my life. It's not falling asleep for me, it's staying asleep and so frustrating. When you do take meds, switching them up is key so you're not using this one thing every night. Hope you get some relief! :)
 
Thank you for the advice T. and everyone else I appreciate it. Yeah sleep is a quite the demon, definitely a love hate relationship haha. I'm not suprised I'm sure most doctors want to start off with something less addictive given the current state of our nation.

My sleep hygiene is pretty awful but it's very difficult for me to change things like electronics as I own an online business that sort of requires 24 hour replies to clients. But i will do my best to improve my hygiene as well as check out a pyschiatrist.

Thanks for suggesting be open and accepting because I am definitely close minded and thats when if I tell myself a medicine isn't going to work it's probably not going to haha. I'll do my best to keep open minded.
 
Yeah deffo read into sleep hygiene first. But sedating antihistamines such as promethazine etc are non habit forming, so I'd try them before things like Z drugs and benzos. Good luck. I find sex and podcasts help more than anything.
 
I use ambien , have both instant ( hits hard and fast) to get you asleep
as well as CR ( controled release) Alittle every 2 hours ; to keep you asleep
 
I know the feeling. I cant sleep at all... It sucks. For me, when I had some Flexeril...10mg of that knocked me the fuck out. REAL HARD. I wouldn't take any benzo's for sleep, because of their addicting nature (thats just me) and the withdrawals are worse than opiates (from what I hear anyways).

Ive never had any problems getting a script for Flexeril, maybe ask your doctor. Its a muscle relaxant, so maybe make something up about having horrible muscle knots or something.
 
Temazepam - benzodiazepine prescribed a lot for sleep. Helps me drift off to sleep and if I wake up during the night I can easily fall back asleep. Trazadone doesnt work for me neither does benedryl. Ambien's not badd but only seems to work for a few days.
 
Went to bed at 11 and awoke 12 and 1/2 later. The letters on my screen are still blurry but that's fine as a side effect as I actually slept good.

Been having wicked dreams 2 days before so this is a side effect i gladly accept. Will take some time before I will be totally awake. But that's Mirtazepine at 7.5mg.

Opipramol was better in that respect no knock out effect but no lingering side effects. Seems to rely on anti-histaminergic effects to but didn't feel that way to me. But I am not a insomniac, actually quite good at sleeping.
 
Gabapentin is what you should try before moving onto benzos or non benzos (eg ambien).

Someone mentioned lyrica which is very similar but harder to get an rx for.

Gabapentin, like all the drugs you are considering, is addictive but much less so than benzos.

The only other useful suggestions in this thread are antihistamines (although I feel they have a nasty hangover and lose efficacy after a few days) and seroquel.

Seroquel is an absurdly powerful drug to use just to go to sleep but it is a far better choice than recreational benzos and nonbenzos.

If you are going to start taking benzos regardless of what I tell you, use short acting (xanax) rather than long acting (kpin or Valium).

Finally, you can look into phenibut. However, it will decrease your quality of sleep unless you keep the dose low.

I personally ally find that chamomile tea has a noticeable recreational effect and helps sleep with no side effects. However I?ve never heard anyone else getting a recreational effect, but I eat like a 1/4 pound of the flowers
 
Ive dealt with insomnia my whole life and ive finally reached the breaking point. Almost makes me want to just get back on heroin, but thats really not an option. Ive tried it all l theanine, melatonin, valerian root.. these natural remedies just dont do it. Im not talking about small sleep disturbances it takes me 3-4 hours to fall asleep on a daily basis.

So which benzo should I opt for, a long lasting one like Valium? Ive never tried lunesta or ambien either, is that a good option?

I understand benzos are addictive but its reached a point where I cant live like this anymore I need some damn rest drug induced or not.

Thanks for any input.
When I was younger I could NEVER EVER stop off unless it wasn't a school night my body/clock was just not interested I say just stay up i used to sneak in the living room and play ps2 games good times.
 
Try a intermediate benzo like Temazepam, its half life is 6-12 hours. I was gonna say Nitrazepam but thats got a very long half life and I don't think u can get it in the US. U can in the UK tho :)

Lorazepam might be a good option too as thats an intermediate benzo too.

Or maybe even Alprazolam but I'd say thats too addictive and its not so good for insomnia, the only good thing about it is it's short half life.

I've got alot of experience with benzos so ill make a list of the ones that are appropriate for sleep and in order of effectiveness:

1. Temazepam (6-12 hours half life - hypnotic and highly recommended)
2. Lorazepam (6-12 hours half life - recommended but unsure about helping insomnia)
3. Nitrazepam (20-60 hours half life, very hypnotic but not recommended due to half life)
4. Alprazolam ( 6-12 hours half life - not recommended as its probably the most addictive benzo)
5. Clonazepam (30-40 hours half life - not recommended)
6. Diazepam (about 100 hours; extremely long half life - not recommended)

They're the main six I can think of.

So personally I'd go with Temazepam by a mile!
 
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I am using Alprazolam daily but i try to come off, now usually on 0.25mg but maybe this week will let it go

I have insomnia in the form that i cannot get to sleep, like you.

I have at the moment some success with:

Diphenhydramine 2x50mg
6mg Melatonine

Also Lyrica looks very promising.
 
Before seeking out chemical assistance, I'd honestly recommend looking at your schedule, your level of activity, diet etc.

Try the following:

1. Filter out blue light from electronic devices.

2. Try to avoid overstimulation before sleep (No games, exercise, coffee or other stimulants)

3. Try to tire yourself out sufficiently during the course of the day.

4. Try blacking out your entire room so no light enters, I find it's easier to fall asleep that way.

5. If you can't fall asleep at the same time every day, make sure you wake up at the same time every day. This can be difficult to stick to if you get very little sleep the night before, but you need to start doing it to reset your circadian rhythm.

6. Don't overuse melatonin, it starts to have a contra-effect with prolonged use, as your body's natural ability to produce melatonin is diminished.

7. Eat at regular, set intervals during the day.

I'm sure you will have tried all of this before given the extent of your insomnia, and they're pretty common sense anyway, but in case you haven't, these definitely help.

Have you sought medical help for the problem? Other than going to a doctor I'd recommend Lyrica. Use it temporarily to try and settle into a regular sleep schedule. If that doesn't work then move onto zopiclone or zolpidem (ambien). I would seriously suggest seeing a doctor first though. I'd also be reticent to jump to regular benzo, as you would obviously run the the risk of depedency.
 
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