Night Elf Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Okay, what will help me fall asleep? I'm willing to buy anything and give it all a try. I currently take Ambien but that only helps me stay asleep, it does not help me fall asleep. I've been taking 50mg of Benadryl but that does nothing. My doctor said I could take 9mg of Melatonin, but that does nothing. I've been on other prescriptions, Trazodone, Sonata, and Lunesta. None of those make me sleepy. What on earth will make me sleepy? I can't have a restful night if I can't even fall asleep. I'm getting irritable which I'm attributing to a lack of sleep. I'm only getting 5 or 6 hours a night because I have to wake up at 6:45am so I can have a decent amount of time to wake up so I can drive my dd to school at 7:45am. I sleep great on the weekends when wake-up time is not an issue. Do sleeping meds not make a person sleepy or am I just a freak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Okay, what will help me fall asleep? I'm willing to buy anything and give it all a try. I currently take Ambien but that only helps me stay asleep, it does not help me fall asleep. ... I've used Temazepam before. I pretty much quit using it after there was a discussion here last year about a new study that showed people who take sleep prescriptions die at a higher rate than the general population! :ohmy: (I just searched & couldn't find the old thread) Anyway...assuming you are willing to take that risk. :tongue_smilie: Temazepam definitely made me sleepy. Less than 30 minutes after taking it, I started feeling like "I really want to get in my bed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Link to last year's thread, FYI http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/352366-if-you-take-ambien-or-other-rx-sleep-meds/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Link to last year's thread, FYI http://forums.welltr...-rx-sleep-meds/ I remember that. I even think I started a thread about this same thing once. I know sleep meds are controversial. Before I started taking them, I was running on 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night. That takes a huge toll on a person's mental and physical health after a while. And no, that's not an exaggeration. I love sleeping. I really miss the heck out of doing it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I remember that. I even think I started a thread about this same thing once. I know sleep meds are controversial. Before I started taking them, I was running on 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night. That takes a huge toll on a person's mental and physical health after a while. And no, that's not an exaggeration. I love sleeping. I really miss the heck out of doing it well. Yes, I agree. :grouphug: I hope you find something that works...ask your doc about the Temazepam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Have you had a sleep study? I assume you tried really strict sleep hygiene routines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I find the regular allergy medicine - not the non-drowsy formula knocks me right out. I won't be making that purchasing mistake again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Try eating foods that will boost your serotonin production, particularly in the evenings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Have you tried taking a bigger dose of melatonin? Have you tried Remeron (warning, this one is likely to make you gain weight)? My 14yo does really well on 3/4 of the lowest dose of Trazodone. After just two nights on Trazodone, I had my kid back again. She went through two years of horrible sleep deprivation before a doctor was willing to do a sleep med trial. Everybody was convinced that the anxiety was causing the sleep problems instead of the other way around even though the sleep issues started up months before the anxiety. She had a sleep study, but they couldn't find anything wrong. As soon as she had a few full nights of sleep, the anxiety went away completely. She still needs the sleep meds in order to sleep though. Her anxiety was caused BY the lack of sleep instead of the other way around. My 17yo is doing well on 15mg of time-release melatonin. She started with 3mg and then 6mg and then 10mg, but nothing worked until 13mg. That worked sort-of okay, but she was still waking up at 5am. 15mg seems to be the magic dose for her. In her case, I think it's a combination of sleep problems and anxiety and they feed off of each other. Her doctor is working from both ends and trying to take care of both problems at the same time rather than putting all the eggs in one basket. The anxiety is mostly minor except when it comes to sleep or some kind of drastic event (like getting blood drawn or getting a meningitis shot or having to wander around the capitol building filling out a scavenger hunt worksheet thing for her cc government class). My 19yo and 17yo were both put on trial runs of trazodone, but it was awful for both of them. They were also both put on Remeron. That did work short-term, but not for long. Remeron is known for causing massive weight gain, but didn't do that for my girls. My 19yo only needed sleep meds for a short while. In her case, it was anxiety that was causing the sleep problems. Taking care of the anxiety got rid of the sleep problems for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 ...My 19yo only needed sleep meds for a short while. In her case, it was anxiety that was causing the sleep problems. Taking care of the anxiety got rid of the sleep problems for her. That's a good point. I pretty much stopped taking the sleeping pills after reading the thread last February - but I didn't really need them after then anyway b/c the problem causing my anxiety, and hence sleeplessness, went away in April. So now my insomnia is rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.