trissylyn Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 (edited) So i've been on ambien for more than 10 years. It's one of the only medications i trust. I don't like anything that stays in my system for a long time, and ambien is out in a few hours. I've never had a single side effect from it. Problem is after all these years, i'm up to 20 mg and it's not working anymore. I would love to just take a higher dose of ambien or a second dose halfway though the night because it works and it's never given me any problems, but i think i'm past the point where any reasonable doctor is going to raise the dose again. Any sleeping pills that have worked for others in a similar situation? Benzos do not put me to sleep. Antihistamines do not put me to sleep. Muscle relaxers do not put me to sleep. None of those things even make me remotely drowsy. The only thing that works is ambien. I need something that will deliver the "knockout punch" with a short half life to avoid side effects during the day. But i need to start fresh with no tolerance.\ my natural sleep cycle is from about 7 am through late afternoon. without ambien i fall right back into that and can't fall asleep at a reasonable hour until i start getting sleepy around 6 am. ambien lets me override this issue. i dont know of anything else that could do that so effectively... Edited June 8 by trissylyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 (edited) 7 hours ago, trissylyn said: So i've been on ambien for more than 10 years. It's one of the only medications i trust. I don't like anything that stays in my system for a long time, and ambien is out in a few hours. I've never had a single side effect from it. Problem is after all these years, i'm up to 20 mg and it's not working anymore. I would love to just take a higher dose of ambien or a second dose halfway though the night because it works and it's never given me any problems, but i think i'm past the point where any reasonable doctor is going to raise the dose again. Any sleeping pills that have worked for others in a similar situation? Benzos do not put me to sleep. Antihistamines do not put me to sleep. Muscle relaxers do not put me to sleep. None of those things even make me remotely drowsy. The only thing that works is ambien. I need something that will deliver the "knockout punch" with a short half life to avoid side effects during the day. But i need to start fresh with no tolerance.\ my natural sleep cycle is from about 7 am through late afternoon. without ambien i fall right back into that and can't fall asleep at a reasonable hour until i start getting sleepy around 6 am. ambien lets me override this issue. i dont know of anything else that could do that so effectively... I have chronic insomnia, so here's some suggestions, just off the top of my head: Lunesta, Sonata, Belsomra, Trazodone, low-dose Seroquel, low-dose Remeron. low-dose Doxepin, would be some suggestions you could talk to your doctor about......There's also Vistaril, but it's technically an antihistamine. Do you take any other medications?.. Personally, I currently use a benzo (clonazepam), plus Trazodone at bedtime to help me sleep. Edited June 8 by CrazyRedhead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 It’s kind of extreme but I’ve used low dose Thorazine when nothing else would work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 53 minutes ago, Iceberg said: It’s kind of extreme but I’ve used low dose Thorazine when nothing else would work Yep, I've tried low-dose Thorazine, too.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 They occasionally use it with ECT when people have to come off their benzo sleep aids, and it can be very effective... but most doctors wont touch it at all 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 2 hours ago, Iceberg said: but most doctors wont touch it at all Nowadays, that's certainly the case, I agree......I think it would be very difficult for someone to get thorazine for sleep... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 54 minutes ago, CrazyRedhead said: Nowadays, that's certainly the case, I agree......I think it would be very difficult for someone to get thorazine for sleep... Yeah. I failed lunesta, ambien, restoril. Remeron, trazodone, vistaril, valium, klonipin, melatonin and seroquel first. Both alone and in various combos- so not what many would consider “first line” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 maybe pregabalin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 11 hours ago, basuraeuropea said: maybe pregabalin? Yes, pregabalin can be used off-label for insomnia.....I found several articles where it was used for treatment-resistant insomnia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 2 hours ago, CrazyRedhead said: Yes, pregabalin can be used off-label for insomnia.....I found several articles where it was used for treatment-resistant insomnia. yep. i didn't take it for sleep, rather anxiety, but in combination with clonazepam it made me pretty sleepy at night at a higher amount than i'm taking now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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