I'm currently in a crushing marital separation after 28 yrs. with my wife. Am in major depression, starting Pristiq after a month of Prozac. I have tried melatonin, Tylenol and Advil PM, Benedryl and have read as many sleep related articles as I can. I took a month of Lunesta and now am taking 10m Ambien and 1m Xanax, but still sleep only 2-4 hrs. a night! Killing me!! I fear getting hooked on these drugs but gotta have some sleep! Any ideas are very appreciated, Thanx
Dying for sleep, but getting no relief! HELP!?
Question posted by lewie62 on 20 Feb 2010
Last updated on 7 May 2023 by RESPIGHI
62 Answers Page 3
I've always had trouble sleeping. Very few things worked for me but one that did was benedryl. I would take about 200 mgs before bed and I'm sure it helped me sleep. Maybe you can try it again at a higher dose. Now I am taking 200 mgs of seroquil and that really helps even more than the benedryl. Good luck
hi brother... i understand your problem..i recommend you some homeopathic medicine please take that your sleep will be return to normal and sound and sleep..
take natrium phosphoricum 1000x ... take 2 to 3 drops of that medicine every week... for 2 to3 months..
Amitriptyline hcl 50mg tabs is what I take to sleep n I sleep 7 to 8 hrs of sleep but they have stronger or weaker doses to help they r depresion pills but I'm not depressed just sleep depride n I'm 28yrs old n have had sleep problems since 11yrs old n I wake up fill good ready to go take the day on n Iv been on them for 4yrs
Have you try taken a long hot shower, and eatin? Wat i do is put on some soft music on an just lay in the bed and keep my eyes closed an then, i go to sleep. Try that an let me know how it works,
hey buddy how odd im in the same situation.and have tried all of it then my doc put me on restoril,i didnt even try it at first cause i thought it was just another benzo.but he put me on the highest mg wich is 30mg well man when i took it i slept from 10pm till9am not waking once slight hangover feeling but with coffee it goes quick.now i even split it to 15mg and still sleep like a baby,but remember its for shorterm use he says take a break every now and then.but here is another plus i have bad anxiety also take 3 xanax a day.well i only have to take in sticky situiations now.anyway goodluck.also dalmane works well.
start to taper and quit xanax asap. poison --- and even drs will admit, no long term solution. they cease to be effective and start tolerance soon.
to words fromHell -- xanax and ATIVAN (Lorazepam)
S
you are right these drugs like ambien will shortly not be effective, a schedule is needed where they are not taken one night etc. a good doctor should use a schedule.
I found melatonin depressing. one thing to remember - you can get by with some sleep for a long time- it will not kill you, just feels like it sometimes.
I am getting some help from the chapter on sleep in the book The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. Having read hundreds trying to get sleep etc --- this is the very best.
The new advil with an antihistamine helped me last night. And I found tapering ambien was fine. Took just half a 10 mg for now -- same effect. Need to taper off this one.
If you are healthy -- there is just nothing like getting as exhausted from exercise as you can. If you can do that safely and are in some shape-- just do a lot like a lot lot of walking. The one 20 mile hike I took once I slept like a baby --and I have had trouble with sleep for 22 years.
Now that L-Tryptophan is back I am taking a lot. The 5htp which was always here works better for some. I think the L-tryptophan is the best--- if you take this do not take it with food. Then when you do eat get a lot of protein.
These are the best things I know. Hang in there. S
well, this is more a ps than a comment. Looking over these posts I see some red flags. LORAZEPAM (ATIVAN) IS A DRUG FROM HELL. NEVER START. It seems like 1 mg or 3 mg is small - but it is 10 times more powerful than valium.
One MRI study showed brain damage from the junk.
It does cause sleep by knocking you out and reducing anxiety, but the price is way way way high. In some weeks you will be addicted, and stopping will be another hell. NEVER TAKE MORE THAN ONE NIGHT!!!
I also saw Seroquel mentioned -- it is a major anti-psychotic drug, that can cause tardive disconesia (sp) --- so my doctor said. You dont want tics and involuntary movements.
All sleeping pills that are prescription are benzos --- even ambien is in the same family (a hypnotic)-- still a benzo. If you take these more than 10 days you will regret it forever --never take them to start with.
As I said earlier with natural stuff out there like L-tryptophan that should be tried first. I see good advice, but also casual mention of drugs that do major harm.
S
I have your problem, & made my own cocktial of xanax of 3mg , & 50mg of benadryl. Now Laurie, who is really good was very concerned I would stop breathing taking these together, but it makes me sleep about 5 to 6 hours unless it's a really bad pain night or a full moon. Then nothing helps. Good luck to you. I know how it is when you can't sleep.
By the way all my doctors know I take these together & haven't said it was a problem.
Hello: I am new here. The only thing I have ever found that works for me for insomnia is SOMA (generic version). I originally took it for severe neck and shoulder pain, but its (good) side effect was that it LET me sleep... not MADE me sleep! I never wake up feeling groggy and 'drugged out'. And, I have been taking the same dose since 2006--so, unless you have an addictive personality, I think you are OK to use it. I tried all the sleep meds, and some would work for a week or two, then stop; if I increased the dose, then I would feel terrible the next day. Be sure to check Soma against any other meds you are already taking, to make sure there are no interactions.
Good Luck!
im 48 years old allways had trouble sleeping.all the other sleep meds give me a hang over. ill try soma thanks
This is for all of you with sleep problems. please steer clear of all of those Benzo, Barb, and most of all, be very careful with antidepressants . A's crazy A's this will sound, anti-d causes suicidal tendencies. lunesta is also something that I would stay away from, actually, all controlled drugs. I used to take Lunesta, and I would be in a cloud all of the time, problem was, I didn't realize it until I witnessed a little video taken of me on it!!! It was awful to watch my behavior. I used to take Ativan for anxiety, and it works great, within 5-10 mins. You can already feel the muscles in your shoulders relaxing. I loved it. However, not so much fun when you run out and can't get anymore. OMG it was awful. So, what I'm getting at is this, try Phenergan 25mg. Tabs at night for sleep. It's used for nausea and vomiting while pregnant, and also for a lot of other reason.
It is not a controlled drug, it is not addicting, and it works great. A's a matter of fact, I have to set my alarm in order to wake up, otherwise, I would sleep for about 12-14hrs. No kidding. try it. NIK
this is pretty good advice -- not to get started with any barbituate ever, and ATIVAN is worse than worse - as stated above, when you stop you wish you were dead. The addiction is hell itself. Almost all barbituates and benzos and even anti-depressenats are not a good idea for sleep unless used for 3 days.
The one exception I found- and was mentioned was Elavil (amitriptoline)-- it is an older tricyclic antideptrssant that I took quite a long time at 10mg or a bit more in the eve. Seemed to leave the architecture of sleep alone -- had REM and regular dreams. Maybe not true for all- but this early more natural thing was better.
Ativan ruined 9 years for me--- literally time gone to pure suffering and isolation and witherawal. a poison.
Hi lewie62 have you found a answer to your question ? well I have just gone through what you now are experiancing so know what you are going through !! I have also just started on Pristiq after taking a drug called Zoloft for a period of 8 years,well Zoloft zompted me out at night so I slept like a baby so to speak but not the case with Pristiq so got some personal advice from a site called theroadback who answered a email I sent them,they said to try different natural herbs, one of these was by a company called BLACKMORES who make a tablet called VALERIAN FORTE (for insomnia ) the tablets each are 1000 mg each.I bought this herb from my chemist here in Australia so hope you can get it where you are !
anyway I asked my chemist as to what dose to take well she sugested I try 1/2 a tablet ( 500 mg ) in the morning then 1 hour before going to bed to take another tablet ( 1000 mg ) at night which I did but found after 4 days or so it was not quite enough to give me a deep relaxing sleep I asked my doctor & she said it was safe enough to increase the herb to 2 tablets ( total of 2000 mg ) at night well can tell you the increase has been amazing so please give it a go I am sure it will help !let me know how you get on ,hope the Pristiq is helping you,so far is positive for me !! take care god bless Candypq
I was in a deep depression back in the 70's & my doc put me on Elavil, & actually had me hospitalized for a week! I don't remember even being there because all I did was sleep. He told me that's how they (back then) knew it was depression otherwise I wouldn't have been so sleepy. Anyway, years later my Rheumatologist put me on Elavil again for Fibromyalgia to help me get REM sleep which is so important in this disease. Started me on 25 mg. until I got used to it , & then 50mg at bedtime. Slept like a baby! Trazadone is also a good drug to help you sleep. & you can quit it at anytime I believe, without side effects. Good luck to you.
You might try vistaril for sleep.m Xanax and Ambien are very addicting. Also, Ambien cause people to sleep walk into very serious situations. You think your asleep, but you really aren't completely. It puts you into a zombie like state. people have been known to leave their house and go places, only to be found by someone, And not realize how they got there! Be careful with that . It also has suicidal tendencies. Prozac tends to keep people from sleeping. I would discuss alternatives with your doctor, but always be your own patient advocate. know the drugs you are taking. Good luck, NIK
Hi lewie62,
My doctor prescribed Remeron for my depression. I take it at night and sleep for eight hours. 30mg.
I have been on Trazodone for many years and it puts me right to sleep. I am a 'high metabolizer' of medications, so my current dose is 300 mg. at night. Works great for me.
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pristiq, prozac, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, sleep
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