Need something to sleep every night

[pseudonym]

Hello, I need something to sleep every single night. The benzos are great at first, but then you quickly build a tolerance to them. Does anyone know of a hypnotic that can be taken EVERY NIGHT but not build tolerance like the benzos? And I mean I need something strong, almost surgical anesthetic.

Thanks for your help everyone!!!

[HR89]

seroquel but dose would increase.
could try amitrytyline
trazadone
restavit,

Might have to cycle through a variety to keep that tolerance down. Down regulation is a natural thing when taking drugs

so you have your anti-psychotics and old school anti-depressants. Some people swear by them while others feel zombied out.

Amitrytyline made me feel like a zombie the next day and i onlycould get 4hours sleep then the rest i would roll around and around in the bed and wake up feeling truly like a space cadet.

Seroquel made me feel so slow and dopey the next day, anti-psychotics block dopamine which is your drive. Also gets it's sedating profile from some wierd ant-histamine workings.

Be interested to hear of any meds out there that i havent heard off.

[SlowRoll]

Have you had any success with Ambien (Zolpidem)?

You may build a tolerance, but I have had doctors prescribe this drug for long periods of time and it was more effective for me as a sleeping aid with less "hangover” than a benzodiazepine.

[estodol1]

Remeron (mirtazapine), trazodone and hydroxyzine, will do the trick for me. I work really weird hours so I only sleep every other day though.

[akl63]

To the OP,
Don't take anti-psychotics for sleep if you don't have too. It can lead to a host of new problems

[billyboy1965]

Hello, I need something to sleep every single night.

So this sentence isn't too short, why?

[schwullerusa]

ufff! i get nervous even reading that request.

ok i hate to be 'that guy' but i'm going to recommend that you sign up for a sleep study before you go any further. i've had a sleep issue since high school and at times i've been so fed up that the idea of having something 'knockout' strong has come into my mind. but i wont go there, personally.

daily exercise, occasional zolpidem, occasional marijuana with a vaporizer at bed time. these things have worked for me for years.

as a side note, i had a sports related injury, had to rush to the doctor (across the street from the tennis court, luckily!) and got a shot in the butt of Demerol. within....5 seconds i understood how someone could fall in love with that. not only did it erase the pain (which had me on my knees crying and then unable to cry), but i'd never felt calmer and more at peace with the world. it was so fantastic that if someone had described it to me, i'd have accused them of exaggerating. it was so good, i don't want any part of it!

my point being, if it can be avoided, it's best not to go down Hardcore Street if you can help it. please try a sleep study first, assuming you haven't already.

[DeanMachine]

^ Yeah I agree. Plus when you take something for sleep regularely you will find it more and more difficult to sleep without it when (if) you decide to stop taking it. I was prescribed Ambien nightly for a couple months and when I stopped taking it I had a HELL of a time trying to sleep. Worse than before by far.....If I were you I would try Lunesta, cause I've heard better things about it and it's supposedly less habit-forming.

[billyboy1965]

Why anybody would even suggest a solution without understanding his symptoms is ridiculous.

[sophie30]

The problem with any meds is that you're going to need more and more of them over time, are you battling mental insomnia, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, etc? There might be a better solution, sleep meds are tricky

[robcos]

I try to limit the amount of benzos I take for my own sleep problems, so I've tried lunesta and ambien. Both make me feel pretty terrible and confused the next day. The lunesta bitter morning mouth is just plain weird.

I know you need an elephant tranquilizer, but hear me out. Have you ever heard of this stuff called "CALM"? It works. I use as little melatonin as possible - like 1 mg sub-lingual and CALM and its as good as Ambien, not as good as a good benzo.

"Calm" is basically magnesium. The thing is, none of us easily absorb the stuff. For some reason "CALM" reacts very fast. I'm talking 15 minutes. You can buy through amazon or hop in the car and get it at GNC (i think).

Good luck.

[akl63]

I try to limit the amount of benzos I take for my own sleep problems, so I've tried lunesta and ambien. Both make me feel pretty terrible and confused the next day. The lunesta bitter morning mouth is just plain weird.

I get get actually angry with myself if I use benzos for sleep more than 2 times a week. Ideally I just like to do it once a week or less. Really going 2+ times a week they just start to become ineffective, tolerance builds and all sorts of bad stuff.

[pseudonym]

Just so everyone knows, I am seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist. One of you had mentioned getting a sleep study, which I would love to get, but I am on $0 income right now. I am able to see the therapist and the psychiatrist because of a government sponsored mental health fund that allows me to see them for free. Right now I'm just wondering how I'm going to pay my bills this month. My brother is lending me some money, but he's not rich; he can only give so much.

I have taken benzos, and they are like a miracle, especially Halcion (Triazolam), but they only work for a short period of time.

Currently my psychiatrist is giving me two different trycyclics, Silenor (Doxepin) and Trazodone.

But these aren't strong enough. For instance, there was one night recently where I took the Silenor and thought great, I'm finally going to get some rest, but no. I ended up taking Silenor, diphenhydramine, melatonin, a measured amount of alcohol, and ambien. The whole process started around midnight and it was about 5:00 am before I was able to sleep.

The doctors just don't know what to do with me. That's why I'm here asking for your help.

Also, for the record, I have been diagnosed with insomnia, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, and paranoia.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[k9champ]

Hello, I need something to sleep every single night. The benzos are great at first, but then you quickly build a tolerance to them. Does anyone know of a hypnotic that can be taken EVERY NIGHT but not build tolerance like the benzos?

Have you ever tried trazadone? I used to take 1 mg klonopin every night for sleep as prescribed over a period of years. I don't believe I ever had a tolerance but after several years I felt a little bit foggy during the day. I never would have thought this was from the meds but after switching to trazadone (by rx) I feel no fog and I am asleep literally within minutes of taking it.

[HR89]

Exercise exercise exercise and exercise, weights, cycles, runs.
Get some protein shakes.

Hows your diet, eat vege's?

Diet and exercise will help greatly, its not as easy as swallowing heaps of tablets but it works well for most. At least it could limit the amount of meds your taking.

[GummiiBear]

Hmm, I was going to suggest Trazodone because that helped me. How high of a dose did you try? I found that 50mg then 100mg both weren't strong enough, so I was brought to a nightly 150mg dose.
Right now I take Remeron - though it's prescribed more for my depression. Oh! Have you tried adding a dose of Tenex or Catapres to help aid sleep? An addition to your sleep aid.

[EBDude]

Halcyon can have bad mental side effects. Nightmares and suicidal feelings. My mother was sick and in the hospital taking Halcyon . Had nightmares and started talking about ending it all, very weird for her.
Halcyon was new but I found an article on these side effects. I told the doc and he said No, No No doesn't happen, impossible. I emailed him the article and they switched sleeping meds.
Also there what they call sleep hygiene. You wind thing down at night, dim the lights, cut eating some stuff, don't look at the computer in bed(like I did) etc, etc.
Works though.

[SandyBeach]

To the OP,
Don't take anti-psychotics for sleep if you don't have too. It can lead to a host of new problems

@akl63 Just curious, what type of new problems regarding using anti-psychotics for sleep?

I have been diagnosed (many years ago) with recurrent depression (under control right now) and recently I have experienced occasional sleep problems. I am on an anti-dep. I have 25mg of Seroquel left over from years ago and I just started using it on an as needed basis.

Once I see my doc (he's away), I will get Trazadone.

In the meantime, I take Seroquel 25mg at night because it knocks me out like a brick and yes I feel groggy and lethargic in the morning but it passes. I work at home so I don't have to meet with people which would be hard... feeling that way in the morning. I just started this about 3 weeks ago...have taken it 3 times now. I do have some reservations though. Please let me know what you have experienced/found out. Thanks.

[akl63]

Added depression, acting different, Seroquel gave me a borderline speech impediment, being a zombie until 2pm everyday, etc.

All of that totally unneccesary for me, when I could take a halcion or other benzo with zero side effects. And also feel like I took nothing in the morning.