hollywoodfreaks Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 For the third time, I'm trying to free myself from the evil grip of trazodone. See my previous post for details. This time, I'm trying temazepam. I took it for the first time last night and slept like crap, which is not surprising but still disappointing. I want to know how long I need to give this a chance. I don't want to quit too early, but OTOH I don't want to suffer too long. I'm taking 15mg, and it looks like you can go up as high as 30mg. Maybe I should ask for a bump up if I'm not doing better in a few days? I really want to find a new insomnia med; I'm SO sick of the hangovers and fatigue and 10 hours of sleep from trazodone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 temazepam (or any benzo for that matter) doesn't have an induction period; either it works at the dose you're taking, or it doesn't. I take 15mg temazepam 3-4 times a week, and it never was a 'knock-out' pill, but it does work better than the 4mg Ativan (lorazepam) I was taking previously. Sort of a gentle relaxant more than anything, quiets the mind and relaxes the tense muscles, but doesn't undermine the 'psychological' things I need to do sleep-hygiene-wise and anxiety-wise. So try the higher dose, or look at other benzos like zopiclone or zolpidem. Some people have excellent response to some benzos, while others are like taking sugar pills. I took trazodone for a month too, at 50-75mg, but the dry mouth/side effects were too strong, and I would get terrible rebound anxiety the next day. Not only that, but the emotional numbing was too much for me -- much like the SSRI's I had tried previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Only problem with temazepam I have right now is that I crave huge amounts of caffeine the morning after taking the pill, and I get nasty rebound muscle stiffness, especially in my lower back. Dr. prescribed a strong NSAID for that, but that's useless. Apparently Zopiclone has less of a muscle relaxant effect than temazepam, so I am going to ask for that next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I take tamazepam and have for about two years (or more). I also get the lower back pain, but somehow never thought the two were related. Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkendHour Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 With every med I've tried for sleep either it "works out of the box" or not. They have all been "as needed" so if they didn't work I'd know within 2-3days. (have to give myself a few tries with them cause at times no matter what I take I still can't sleep) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfreaks Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 More or less slept through the night this time, but light sleep. It's an improvement at least! And I'm not entirely sure about dropping the med after just a couple of tries--I've heard of "rebound insomnia." I did just abruptly switch from one med to the other, so I can probably expect a little weirdness no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I take tamazepam and have for about two years (or more). I also get the lower back pain, but somehow never thought the two were related. Tommy Yeah the lower back pain is very noticeable, as a rebound effect. As with other typical benzo withdrawal symptoms, taking another dose of the benzo makes the problem go away. Kind of a vicious cycle if you get caught in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 If you have yet to try them, I'd give Lunesta or Ambien (zopiclone or zolpidem) a shot. The are not benzo's. Addiction wouldn't be an issue. Neither would needing more and more to achieve the same effect. They tend to work until they don't. A lot of people do fine by them for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mises Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 For the third time, I'm trying to free myself from the evil grip of trazodone. See my previous post for details. This time, I'm trying temazepam. I took it for the first time last night and slept like crap, which is not surprising but still disappointing. I want to know how long I need to give this a chance. I don't want to quit too early, but OTOH I don't want to suffer too long. I'm taking 15mg, and it looks like you can go up as high as 30mg. Maybe I should ask for a bump up if I'm not doing better in a few days? I really want to find a new insomnia med; I'm SO sick of the hangovers and fatigue and 10 hours of sleep from trazodone. In your other thread you mentioned that Ambien and Lunesta didn't work for you. Contrary to what many people think, those two are not necessarily safer than benzodiazepines, they can be much more dangerous. Especially if you take them daily for months or years. Just because they may be FDA approved for long term use doesn't make them safe ! There may be a guideline that states benzos can be used for one or two weeks, but many people can use them for months or longer without problems. After long term use one should taper down to prevent very dangerous withdrawal reactions. Trazodone withdrawal or the combination of temazepam with trazodone that's still in your system might cause those problems you mentioned. Wikipedia actually claims that temazepam is not effective for induction of sleep, but I haven't read that anywhere else. I think temazepam can leave you groggy during the day, probably more so than other benzos. Maybe your body needs a few days to develop tolerance to the side effects. There are many other hypnotic benzodiazepines. Maybe this one isn't for you and you would do well on another benzo ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfreaks Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Well, I just tried 4 days of 15mg temazepam, which was an abject failure. I know that the dose can go as high as 30mg, though. Would I be doing a bad thing if I tried two pills just to see if it works? I can try to call my doctor, but I have the feeling they will tell me that I need to make an appointment, which I shouldn't have to with something as simple as this (not to mention I just saw him last week). In the meantime, I'm switching back to traz so I can get some sleep. Aaah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Well, I just tried 4 days of 15mg temazepam, which was an abject failure. I know that the dose can go as high as 30mg, though. Would I be doing a bad thing if I tried two pills just to see if it works? I can try to call my doctor, but I have the feeling they will tell me that I need to make an appointment, which I shouldn't have to with something as simple as this (not to mention I just saw him last week). In the meantime, I'm switching back to traz so I can get some sleep. Aaah. I don't really know how you are dialing down the traz, but your crappy sleep is likely the result of the gradual removal of a sleep med your body has been depending on for awhile. I took 2 mg of xanax to calm the five different, constant mile-a-minute thoughts in my brain that tend to go paranoid crazy the moment I lay my head on the pillow. I took it every night (plus some during the day for my GAD) for about 9 months. I decided one day about three months ago to quit the xanax. I did it cold turkey, something I do NOT recommend. I had rebound insomnia for about three weeks straight, and then I settled into my normal atypical sleeping pattern that necessaitated some form of sleeping medication so I could function during the day. So after about two months, I got a script for remeron. I take it occasionally. It works fair. I won't say that it knocks me out. But ambien and lunesta work about the same on me, so I'm not surprised. My advice? Give your body a couple of weeks to get the traz out of your system, then try the temazepam again. You may find that it works much better when you're not in withdrawal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Temazapam worked great for me for about two years, but now it works sometimes and not others (still get occasional insomnia). Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfreaks Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Oh lordy, I really don't think I could handle 3 weeks of insomnia. I've never taken a certain dose of traz for a long period of time, always adjusting it up and down, and almost never above 100mg, which is not even near the minimum dose for depression. I guess because of all that I've always thought that I don't have much of a dependence on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfreaks Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 miserable again. back on trazodone and sleeping too much and feeling like a slug and headachey. God, I fucking hate this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maceo Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 You can go up to 60mg of temazepam. I personally need 30mg to sleep and it has never worked at a lower dose than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim-e Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 If you have yet to try them, I'd give Lunesta or Ambien (zopiclone or zolpidem) a shot. The are not benzo's. Addiction wouldn't be an issue. Neither would needing more and more to achieve the same effect. They tend to work until they don't. A lot of people do fine by them for years. Yes they are. I have a massive problem with Ambien. I even had to go into rehab for it earlier this year. Be just as careful about zopiclone/zolpidem as with benzos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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