Best safe sleep med?

[Blahblah]

So...I'm starting to have more problems falling asleep and want to nip it in the bud. I hate taking benzos because I am incredibly sensitive to the withdrawal going off them, one time I started having full-on panic, sweats and paranoia from quitting Ativan (which I was on very shortly temporarily in the hospital). I've never had panic disorder or crippling level anxiety, and I certainly don't want to bring that on myself!

Pdoc gave me Xanax (more for emergencies) but I've been taking it to sleep pretty often. I take .50 and I don't really notice any effect. I have no idea what a typical dose is that will help me relax and fall asleep quicker? Once I'm asleep, I'm fine. I just am sick of feeling exhausted, and then I end up laying in bed for 2-3 hours usually.

Any suggestions? I don't want something that will give me hangover effect. Should be something safe to take for at least 3 weeks straight without getting dependent.

[DammitJanet]

Have you tried Lunesta, Trazadone, or ambien?

[evilspork]

To be honest with you, at least in my opinion, what you're asking for is pretty unrealistic. Most people, myself included, who take medication for sleep ultimately have to accept one or more undesirable side effects to gain at least some benefit. For example, you will develop at least some physical dependence and reduced efficacy/tolerance with most benzos after a few weeks of consistent use and either have to increase the dose or alternate it with another medication — not another benzo or non-benzo hypnotic like zolpidem, as I believe you can develop a cross-tolerance — like a low-dose antipsychotic (quetiapine, olanzapine, etc.), which will then more than likely run you into your issue of morning sedation. If you're adventurous and have some financial means (as it's pretty new and insurance probably won't cover it), you could always try one of the new sleep medications that doesn't Interact with common biochemical pathways (GABA agonism, H1 antagonism) like suvorexant (Belsomra). I've never taken it myself, though, personally and don't know anyone that has either, so I couldn't begin to guess how it works or what side effect profile it might have.

So, like I said, unless you're more flexible with side effects, I'm not sure what to suggest. But (if you haven't already been), I would consider getting tested for sleep apnea and asking if your dosage of Ritalin or when you take it could affect your sleep.

[probusybody]

try this:   https://www.lifeextension.com/Vitamins-Supplements/item01512/Bioactive-Milk-Peptides

it's basically a constituent of milk.  I don't know if it has lactose, though in case you're intolerant.  Also melatonin. Start with a low dose; it can leave you groggy if you take more than you need, but you can also build up a tolerance.  I'm on Mirtazapine which is sedating.  I just upped my dose from 15 to 22.5 just last night so I cut back the melatonin to 300 mcg time-release, also on the life extension site.  look around the site as there is good information on a number of health related topics.  Good luck!

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by probusybody

[CrazyRedhead]

22 hours ago, Blahblah said:

  Any suggestions? I don't want something that will give me hangover effect. Should be something safe to take for at least 3 weeks straight without getting dependent.

It's going to be difficult to find a sleep medication that doesn't have any hangover effect at all........ @DammitJanet mentioned Lunesta, Trazodone, or Ambien, and I think they would all be good choices to try.....

[mikl_pls]

I third @DammitJanet's suggestions of Lunesta, trazodone, or Ambien, and would throw in Sonata if your only problem is sleep initiation and not sleep maintenance (it won't cause a hangover because its half-life is like 1-2 hours). Also, Restoril, while it is a benzo, wouldn't be too bad either.

[Blahblah]

On 5/5/2019 at 1:07 AM, DammitJanet said:

Have you tried Lunesta, Trazadone, or ambien?

I've tried Ambien which made me sleep walk and have nightmares. Is Lunesta OTC? Maybe I could try that at some point.

 

On 5/6/2019 at 4:52 AM, mikl_pls said:

I third @DammitJanet's suggestions of Lunesta, trazodone, or Ambien, and would throw in Sonata if your only problem is sleep initiation and not sleep maintenance (it won't cause a hangover because its half-life is like 1-2 hours). Also, Restoril, while it is a benzo, wouldn't be too bad either.

Yep, it's only for sleep initiation. I think Sonata is OTC also right? I want to try the more OTC "light" meds before considering the more heavy hitter RXs.

My pdoc just gave me an anti-histimine to try: Alimemazine - Apparently, it's one of the ones that is more commonly helpful for Anxiety (and pruritus, which is good because I suffer from that)

[Rabbit37]

If you’re looking at over the counter, I currently use unisom. There’s two varieties, one is just diphenhydramine, which is worthless to me. The other is doxylamine succinate, which is what I’m taking. The dose is supposed to be one tablet, I take two, and it does help with no hangover (at least for me). I have a lot of sleep difficulties, and admittedly there are still nights that unisom seems to do nothing. It might be worth a try though. 

[Iceberg]

3 hours ago, Blahblah said:

I've tried Ambien which made me sleep walk and have nightmares. Is Lunesta OTC? Maybe I could try that at some point.

 

Yep, it's only for sleep initiation. I think Sonata is OTC also right? I want to try the more OTC "light" meds before considering the more heavy hitter RXs.

My pdoc just gave me an anti-histimine to try: Alimemazine - Apparently, it's one of the ones that is more commonly helpful for Anxiety (and pruritus, which is good because I suffer from that)

Lunesta and sonata are both Rx In the US- schedule IV actually 

[mikl_pls]

3 hours ago, Blahblah said:

I've tried Ambien which made me sleep walk and have nightmares. Is Lunesta OTC? Maybe I could try that at some point.

 

Yep, it's only for sleep initiation. I think Sonata is OTC also right? I want to try the more OTC "light" meds before considering the more heavy hitter RXs.

My pdoc just gave me an anti-histimine to try: Alimemazine - Apparently, it's one of the ones that is more commonly helpful for Anxiety (and pruritus, which is good because I suffer from that)

Lunesta and Sonata are both prescription.

Alimemazine, I've never heard of that one before. Interesting. Apparently it's a phenothiazine, meaning it's related to Thorazine, but it isn't used as an antipsychotic (probably because its D₂ inhibition isn't very strong at all).

[DammitJanet]

13 hours ago, Blahblah said:

I've tried Ambien which made me sleep walk and have nightmares. Is Lunesta OTC? Maybe I could try that at some point.

 

Yep, it's only for sleep initiation. I think Sonata is OTC also right? I want to try the more OTC "light" meds before considering the more heavy hitter RXs.

My pdoc just gave me an anti-histimine to try: Alimemazine - Apparently, it's one of the ones that is more commonly helpful for Anxiety (and pruritus, which is good because I suffer from that)

Is this antihistamine a script or otc?

[Blahblah]

it's a script. My sleep problems aren't too bad at moment, so more a pre-emptive measure. I mainly wanted an alternative to a benzo and something not too long lasting. I think this will do the trick. I hope you get some relief soon! Sleep is so important.

[browri]

Well an anti-histamine will definitely work, but it shouldn't have the same dependence/tolerance issues as benzos.

I would say Sonata (zaleplon) is a smart bet because it's been shown to not fundamentally alter the sleep structure in a way that would be detrimental to sleep quality (unlike most benzos). Lunesta (eszopiclone) is another good one and it looks like they can now prescribe it longer-term for insomnia management. Both are controlled substances and Rx only.

There's always low-dose doxepin. Also Rx but most doctors shouldn't have a problem prescribing it for sleep.

However ultimately, the doctor is going to give this to you and try to correct the root cause so that you don't end up taking something for sleep permanently. I'm in that boat right now with Klonopin. Taking 1mg/day like a good boy because I'm still adjusting to the Vraylar and lack of Rexulti. I want to get rid of it, but I know that it's necessary.