I like 5-10mg of ambien with 25mg of Doxylamine(Unisom or walmart brand Sleep-Aid) which is not the same as benadryl but it is in the same family of antihistamines. Although I am use to antihistamines sometimes it makes new users feel like they are dragging all day.

Yes, I think about this at times, but then, I don't take any Benzo for anxiety - only at night for sleep. I do *have* anxiety, but the benzos make me so drowsy that I could never take them during the day anyhow. I also skip a day at times, where I will take it 2-3 nights in a row, and then take a night off. So I am not as worried about addiction as the people who have to take them all the time. I'm thinking it would be easy enough to taper off, too, if need be. (?)
I have heard this about Ambien, that people get hooked on it very easily. I have never tried an *actual* sleep medication like this, so I have no idea how it would be for me. Because my sleep disorder is so peculiar, I have just been happy to find anything that works. (A doc once put me on something that actually made it *worse*, so I am going the self-medication route for now, I guess...)

So far, through my journey of pain and insomnia, addiction has not been much of an issue. I think I got lucky there. But if I had Ambien, I'm sure I would try it... Maybe alternate days between that and the benzo..? It must really give a quality sleep, for people to get so dependent on it.

I find benzos ineffective as sleep meds, with the possible exception of valium. I currently use a hypnotic for a sleep med when I need it. It's not Ambien, it's more obscure so I'm not going to bother spelling out the name on this thread.

I've gotta say Ambien 10 mg. Works like a charm, although I'll admit that it's made me a little stupid sometimes. Nothing dangerous. I've tried Lunesta, but I have to take twice the recommended dosage to get to sleep. Over-the-counter sleep aids don't do much, if anything, for me. Sonata was useless.

Although Ambien is my fave, the only problem with it for me is having to devote enough sleep time after I take it. I work an odd work schedule, and when I know I can only devote 2-4 hours to sleep, I'll take lorazepam. I prefer to save the lorazepam for anxiety episodes though and not use them for brief periods of sleep.

Ambien has even fried my short term memory, and I'll tell the same story over and over. However, you've gotta get some sleep, and this med is what does it for me.

20mg Mogadon (Nitrazepam)- Knocks me out for 7-8 hrs solid,

Its the best sleep med IMO.

Are perscribed this by your Doctor???

klonopin

Hands down Xanax works the best for sleep. For me, taken with an organic sleepytime tea, it really works. I do not take them in the daytime so I do not feel that pull for an addiction. Some nights I just drink the tea & if it has Valerian in it, I'm out. There are so many brands of tea it really doesn't matter - to me anyway - which one I have.
When I was younger and my father died the DR prescribed Restoril which really put me out. Now that I have kids I
prefer not to be knocked out but some people have posted that hospitals still use it & how great it works.
P.S. I had a wierd reaction to Klonopin so I threw it away. Ambien was something I just never wanted to try for the same reason others gave, you have to have so many hours to devote to it.

Xanax is what works the best for me as well. The short half life is one of the main reasons I choose to take Xanax. I work a weird schedule and take care of my two sons during the day, so I have to be able to function the next day. I only take it 2 or 3 times a week so I am not all that concerned about addiction.

Very interesting and informative thread. My thanks to the OP.

Another vote for Xanax here too. I usually only use it on Hydro breaks, but it really does the trick for a goods night sleep for me. It does not, however, work for my husband at all. So weird. I will doze off and a hour or so later re-awake to hear him watching tv in the living room, still not able to sleep.

benzos don't make me sleep. ambien makes me sleep walk, cook, eat, and put things like windex in the freezer so i stopped as if i was doing all those things on ambien when was i sleeping?

if they still made quaaludes -- i would not waste it on sleep.

so now i take restoril 30mgs and i get some sleep but since i have been taking lexapro i could go with a benzo but don't like to -- only last resort.

i don't get why anyone would take 20mgs ambien and do all the things i do and say that it is okay and be on it for the rest of your life. i would never make it as i am sure i would burn the house down or gain 400 pounds and explode.

also i lose memory on ambien.

60mg Restoril (temazepam) will do it nicely.

The only one from that list I've tried is Ambien and Ambien-CR. Neither of them really work for me. Make me loopy as [censored] but I still can't sleep.

hmmm, what would you "waste" them on then? what are thet good for other than a recreational treat? I have always thought of them as a rec. drug of the 70's, may be the reason they quit making them.

temazepam does work well, but takes a while to shake the fog in the morning sometimes. clonazepam does the same thing, only fog lasts all next day.

I have found valium to be the best for me, but I can stay awake thru any sleep drug when I need it most because of an early morning coming up. I sabotage myself worrying that the pills not working.

ambien

Hi Scruf,
Methaqualone is still made legally by 1 lone wolf
pharmaceutical manufacturer.....Medochemie Ltd. of
Limassol, Republic of Cyprus, for export only, to the
country of Switzerland, where it is still legally pre-
scribed, as "Toquilone Compositum" (the same formula
of the former Roussel product "Mandrax" (methaqualone +
diphenyhydramine).
Regarding the subject of this post...I have in my
possession a published study (from Sleep Professional
Journal, Vol 22, No. 3, 1999, titled "Ten-Year Trends
in the Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia" by J.K.
Walsh, Ph.D & P.K. Schweitzer, Ph.D ....to summarize...
The top ten drug mentions by patients from office-based
physicians in 24 specialities, comparing 1987 to 1996.
The top ten meds (in order of use year 1987) "insomnia"
1. Triazolam (Halcion) 3,199
2. Flurazepam (Dalmane) 1,677
3. Temazepam (Restoril) 1,201
4. Amitriptyline (Elavil) 421
5. Alprazolam (Xanax) 397
6. Lorazepam (Ativan) 346
7. Doxepin (Senequan) 263
8. Trazodone (Deseryl) 222
9. Clonazepam (Klonopin) 28
10. Zolpidem (Ambien) 0

The top ten meds (in order of use year 1996) for insomnia
1. Trazodone (Deseryl) 1,328
2. Zolpidem (Ambien) 1,218
3. Temazepam (Restoril) 904
4. Amitriptyline (Elavil) 784
5. Lorazepam (Ativan) 398
6. Flurazepam (Dalmane) 373
7. Clonazepam (Klonopin) 330
8. Doxepin (Senequan) 269
9. Alprazolam (Xanax) 250
10. Triazolam (Halcion) 209

The article noted a 22% drop during this ten year period
of the pharmacological treatment of insomnia 1987-1996.
The article also noted the substantial increase of the use
of antidepressants during this ten year period.

I take a 1mg xanax and 10 mg of Valium and sometimes a swig of nyquil to get a good night sleep. I have the WORST insomnia i can go for 3 days without sleep sometime if i dont take something my mind just goes a mile a minute when i lay down...Klonopin used to do it for me backin the day when i was new to benzos but then i started taking it for anxiety/panic instead of just at night for sleep so it didnt work as well for a sleep aid anymore.

I just ordered 40 of them to try I have heard mixed reviews some say they are very strong others say weak i guess ill find out soon!

scruf,

it was just a joke. meant no harm -- wish you'd cut me a break one time.

you're right as those who know of it know it from a different time. most did not use it for sleep once they tried it. it wasn't pcp or lsd -- it was a sleeping med. i'm not arguing the fact that they took it off the market because of the abuse. but i do remember some fun times and think that one should be allowed to comment without such disdain about any experience from 30 years past. or this board should be called something other than DB.

sorry off topic, sort of.

__________________________________________________

Scruf,

I guess if the reason for taking ludes off the market is as you say, they better take it all off the market. Valium, ambien you name it. A person tries to be honest and this recreational talk comes up? It makes me afraid to post.

1.5 - 2 Xanax work like a charm for me.

I am prescribed the Xanax for my anxiety, but can't take them during the day, as they give me the "drunk, sleepy" effect.....so I have used them at night for sleep.....I actually just took them and should be out within an hour or so.......without them, I wouldn't get much sleep

I have been an insomniac for almost ten years and I've tried just about everything. The only thing that works for me is Ambien. I do wish it didn't have the memory loss and the doing weird stuff side effects, but for me it is worth it. My husband keeps an eye on me after I've taken it so I don't get into any real trouble, and once I am asleep I sleep for eight hours and wake up refreshed. If you want ambien to work faster, don't eat three to four hours before bedtime. Meals, fatty meals in particular, will cause the Ambien to take up to two hours longer to work. I eat dinner and don't snack afterwards, which has kept my weight down even if I do occasionally eat after I have taken it.

Yeah simplsim, you definitely need to take it on an empty stomach. It makes all the difference in the world! I don't eat after 4:00 pm so that I'm sure my stomach is empty by bedtime. Even my kids and husband know that if I haven't eaten by then, don't even offer to go to Taco Bell or Wendys for me because I'm not going to eat!

On a full stomach they don't work for me ....at all. I feel like I've taken nothing. On an empty stomach I'm out dead in a matter of minutes (I use the CR 12.5 tablets).

I find Trazadone 100mg. works for me, I'm a terrible sleeper anyway, I usually break them in half, also have zanax 2mg, break those in half as well. There is nothing worse than not being able to sleep, waking up every 2-3 hours is something I don't like!

Have a great weekend!

I too use Ambien 10mg and think it works pretty good for me, I also experience the WEIRD things on the side like making food and not eating it, driving sometimes to the local market or gas station for some random stuff and bad "amnesia" (spelling bad sorry) sometimes my girlfriend will tell me "hey why did u do this or that last night" I would say [censored] sorry hun I didnt even remember doing that last night. I have also tried Temezepan 30mg which I believe is their strongest and that really didnt do anything for me unless I took 2 of them and it was about the equivilent to 1 Ambien. But now I feel I have built some immunity towards Ambien and sometimes I dont get the same effect that I used to when I started taking it.

Hope this was helpful info.

Have a good weekend and be painfree!

I alternate the 1/2 xanax and 1/2 ambien with trazadone. I have to keep fluctuating my trazadone dose or they stop working. I try to take 50-75 most of the time, but up it after a few bad nights. I had to stop the trazadones altogether for about a year so they would start working again.

Any more than 1/2 ambien and the weird stuff happens (really weird stuff). None of it keeps me asleep through the night, I am just searching for a few good hours. I'm sure we could right Ambien memoirs into a bestseller.

Can anyone help me find a reliable source for ambien that takes Visa or Amex? Todo's closed until further notice, Toprx isn't taking cc's (and I always get their "daily limit reached" notice anyway), and Airsealed is out of stock. I'm at the end of my rope, and haven't had a truly decent night's sleep in weeks. Ambien is the only thing that's ever worked for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

dvz

Trazodone is an awful sleep aid. This stuff is an anti-depressant with many nasty side effects -

- feeling light-headed, fainting;

- fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; or
chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling; or

- problems with urination.

Less serious side effects may be more likely to occur, such as:

- dizziness or drowsiness;

- headache;

- sleep problems (insomnia);

- dry mouth, stuffy nose;

- nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite;

- diarrhea or constipation;

- muscle pain;

- loss of coordination; or

- blurred vision.
-----------------------------

I was prescribed this for insomnia recently and I *hate* it. First off, the trazadone didn't work at all with me. Secondly, I felt very sick after taking it.

Seroquel had no effect on me. Trazodone worked somewhat but had curious side effect of making my sinuses plug up every time.Also does make you groggy. Ambien works well usually but have had rare times when I took 15-20mg instead of 10 when I really could not sleep any other way. I took Ambien CR extended release and was no better than regular Ambien. Also generic works as well as name brand Ambien so don't waste your money if you are paying out of pocket for it. Benzos are good for sleep but why get addicted when you can probably find some cheap generic Ambien and save benzos for other uses.

60mg of temazepam (Restoril) is perfect for me. It's like it's on an 8-hour timer...it always gives me precisely 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately I can't get my doc to prescribe it for me so I've been buying it online. Lucky for me, I'll be seeing a new shrink soon.

Currently, my doctor has prescribed 150mg of trazodone for me. It does an okay job, most of the time, but not always. Temazepam is a sure-shot for me every time. My doc wanted me to take Ambien, but it did nothing for me. He prescribed me up to 50mg at a time and it was like taking 5 tic-tac's. Lunesta was the same, but with an incredibly bad taste in my mouth to go with it that lasted 24+ hours. For whatever reason, the "Z-Drugs" have absolutely no effect on me whatsoever.

I take nitrazepam occasionally (I bought it online), and it is VERY strong. I can only take it on weekends because 5mg might knock me out for up to 12 hours. Nothing can wake me up when I'm knocked out on nitrazepam, not my two alarm clocks, my phone, or my cell phone.

Good luck getting some good sleep! Sleep is so important for everyone!

My doctor(s) have given me ativan (.5mg), xanax(.25), & rozerem in the past.

My current doctor (I've moved cities a lot because of my job - so I've had several different PCPs) gives me rozerem and .25mg of alprazolam (no more than 30 a month). I think both do a fine job getting me to sleep, but not waking up at 3-4am is the tough part.

The best sleeping medicine for me is still 3-4 vodka cranberry (reduced calorie) drinks before bed. Any more than that I get a hangover and horrible bags under my eyes..