Hi all-
I have recently developed terrible problems sleeping, I have (prescribed from dr) Klonopin, and Xanax, but I hate the groggy feeling that Klonopin gives me the next morning (although it does help me sleep!!)
Question is, what has everybody used for sleep meds, I just hate to feel drugged up the next morning - almost like I could sleep for another 24 hours! I also hate falling asleep at my desk during the work day also! HELP!

try ambien...it's a script one that your doc will prob have samples of...

I have heard of Ambien, works pretty good? What about addictive properties? I know with a lot of these meds you can become dependent fairly quickly...any insight?

i think it differs just as it does with everything..i don't think it's as addictive as the benzos you've been scripted though. and since it's specific to sleep, i'm surprised they haven't tried it yet. other than that, i'm not sure, i don't take it....i take xanax and benadryl and sometimes go days without sleep, i just can't add another expensive med right now...

Thanks - GOD I hate not sleeping, I will get a few hours a night here and there, couldn't imagine not sleeping for days on end! That would drive me MAD!!!

it's kind of fun when you start hallucinating...you forget that you hurt, etc...no actually it sucks, but it's reality...

Tracie. I have gone many stretches of 3 or 4 days of no sleep at all and it is he. Klonapin is what works best for me but it has about a 40 hour half life and stays with you a long time. One thing you may want to try is just the Xanax. It has an 8 hour half life and leaves quickly and does work for me if I take it on a VERY empty stomach (like 5-6 hours with no food or drink.) I also have had good results with Soma.
Good luck. I feel for you.

oh, if you let the xanax dissolve under your tongue it works faster, but take it when you really have eight hours to sleep...jmo~faerie

Warning only try this as a last resort,

2-3 xanax (fresh if possible)

1-2 350 mg Soma.

Take together then go to bed in 10 mins. I scaled the dose down some. Or you will be on the floor. Wondering about the missing time IF you ended up somewhere ELSE if not asleep in your bed. Alien adduction? ....best case issue.

Tictockman

but she's looking for something without the hangover effect...and that combo will zonk her the next morning to a certain extent...jmo~faerie

Hi, You realy should try ambien instead of Benzo's. (1) while benzos do cause some to fall asleep, there made for relaxation mainly.(2) If addiction is your concern, you had better get off the benzo's now!!. I take benzo's for anxiety and yet when i have trouble sleeping, Ambien will knock me out cold!!! So, talk to your Doc., let the benzos. go unless you need them for anxiety. Luck to ya....

don't forget the little stuff either...like no caffeine for a few hours before bedtime, maybe even drinking herbal night time teas, warm baths sometimes help, no exercise for a couple hours before bed, an hour or so before you go to sleep lower the tv or music volumes and don't watch the heart-pounding stuff...stick to the gentler stuff. basically, the same things we do for kids, lol. jmo~faerie

As Fearie mentioned, caffiene can make a huge diference. Along w/ herbal teas, you can also try herbal sulpplements such as: passion flower, catnip, chamomile and hops. They realy do help, and there good for you as well.

the old addiction versus dependency quandry. the stodgy and often perhaps too conservative veterans administration docs have prescribed zolpidem tartrate (ambien) for me for ever if that's what is needed.
thus i don't think that "ambien" could be considered addictive. it has been a boon to me. i can count on at least 5 hours and most of the time 8 hours sleep.
the now rare night that i am awake in five hours i don't fret. i don't abuse it and take another because i will get sleep for sure the next.
used to get 'em from international outfits. would not ever get hosed by u.s.a. nrops. the stuff is apparantly off patent 'cause what i get is generic and the feds are not gonna buy at a premium.

I find that Lunesta does very well for me when I can get it, despite the unpleasant taste. I take it very rarely. Also, Soma will work quite often, but I have to take about three tablets - it's the whole tolerance thing, I guess. Ambien always works, but it kind of knocks me for a loop and makes me a little bit of of idiot at times. Benadryl just makes me toss and turn. I work 3rd shift and sleep at odd times. I have a hard time just nodding off whenever I need to.

I have had best results with Ambien. They are addictive, but not like the opiates.
For me, it's not hard to get off of them. I keep cutting back to a smaller dose every night until I get down to about 2 mg's (hard to measure). It only takes me about a week. At that point, it's easy to quit cold turkey.

I have had a chronic sleep disorder since childhood, and I have been put on every sleep medication, every antidepressant, and every medication that has a side effect of making you drowsy (both prescription meds and OTC meds). And, when I say EVERY medication, I am not lying or exagerating.

For sleep medications, the only one that ever worked for me was Ambien. Worked like a charm.....until my script insurance went up and the co-pay was too much for me to afford. I ordered it from IOPs for a while, but, like most of us on the board, money got tight, so I couldn't even get it from an IOP anymore. So, fate sent me on an Ambien vacation.

And, fate led me to the vitamen and supplement aisle at Wal-Mart. People had told me about the "miracle" of Valerian Root and Melatonin. Now as some one who has had a major and sometimes debilitating sleep disorder since childhood, I didn't believe a word about either of the supplements. But, I said what the hell; it was only around ten bucks for both bottles. That night, I took them...Valerian first, Melatonin half an hour later. And, I kept waiting for that "feeling" you get from a sleep med. Didn't happen, so I gave up and went to bed, knowing I'd spend the night staring at the ceiling (like several others have said, it was normal for me to go without sleep for up to 5 days. Only problem was that on the 6th night, I'd basically pass out and then I'd sleep walk....sleep drive....I had to booby trap my house after a while). Well, I got into bed, closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew, the alarm was going off. I was shocked as hell.....and have been every night since I started taking the Valerian and Melatonin about 8 weeks ago.

The combo works for me now, and I finally know what it is like to be able to fall asleep (the condition I have is chronic idiopathic sleep on-set insomnia, meaning I cannot fall asleep and no doctor knows why because there is no underlying mental or physical factors that cause the insomnia). I feel normal. Will this combo work for me for the rest of my life? Who knows. Will I go back to the Ambien? Maybe....probably will at some point. I am a realist and know this sleep disorder I have isn't ordinary and isn't something doctors can treat without large amounts of sleep meds. So, like I said, this is my Ambien vacation. You might want to try out the Valerian and Melatonin combo....it's cheap, readily available, non-addictive, and did I mention cheap? It's $10....what do you have to lose and it can't hurt to try.

Ambien is pricey but it's a wonder drug IMHO. THe only downside is that in my case, if I take it more than 20 minutes before bed, I"m totally functional but I have total blackouts sometimes. ONce I try to remmeber stuff it all comes back but at first I have some really weird blackouts. I normally don't take it except as I'm slipping in the covers, but occassionally work will call, the dog will need to take a dump or something and I end up walking around for a while after I took it.

WIth that said, it's a wonder drug.

It's a wonder drug for me, too, but one thing I don't miss about it is the "morning after" memory problems. There were times I'd do crazy things like cook and not remember, make phone calls and have no clue about any of it the next day. I'll be completely honest....I miss the "feeling" Ambien gave me, both physical and emotional, but I like being able to remember the night before the next morning.

Another vote for Ambien, the wonder drug. If only I could afford it.

Also, I haven't really seen a doctor that was reluctant to Rx Ambien for long term use. Well, at least fairly long term, hasn't been years or anything since I first started it.

I have a feeling doctors won't be so script happy to Rx Ambien after the patent expires. Just a hunch, but I think they'll go for something else that is "new", therefore on patent, therefore higher prices and kickbacks.

There is only one thing that puts me to sleep. It works within 10 minutes. It's a green, leafy substance that has to be smoked. A few puffs and I'm out like a light within 10 minutes.
Works much better than Ambien for me. YMMV

I use ambien as well sparingly, and it is excellent. I only use it maybe 2 times per month as I dont want to become dependent on a medication. It doesnt make me groggy the next day like a zanax or something along those lines. Also, if you workout remember not to do it close ot bedtime it can make falling asleep more difficult.

Lunesta..all the way!! Anyone know any sites that supply this, NROP,?? It works like magic but it's 'spensive.

Just try some very cheap OTC benadryl, 50-75 mg, generic diphenhydromine is dirt cheap and easily available, and forget about all the over priced prescription meds.

didn't lunesta leave a [censored] taste in your mouth? and, for me, worse than ambien, which can be hell. I know some people take 2 ambien or zolpidem a night and love it, I find it to makes me a zombie. It's a short drive..

Ambien and zolpidem is all over the internet. Easily available, wish it worked for me.

I have found Soma to be effective, but only if not used long-term.

For a bit there I actually had really good luck with a cheap OTC sleep medication - I was really surprised that it worked. Once again, once tolerance is built it no longer works.

I find that more & more I'm going to sleep around 3-3:30 am. It's heaven when I get to sleep earlier. I do think that I sabotage myself at times when it come to getting to sleep. I'll be reading, then I'll nod off, wake up, get up and go to the bathroom, get a drink, lay back down and start reading again. I have however woken up in the morning kind of off kilter because I’m still in my “reading” position and my reading light is still on – I slept well, just nodded off and stayed that way while reading. I also almost always have to have the TV on so I can concentrate on something. So I'll program it to several shows that I like and then program it to turn itself off in several hours. Once I finally get to that "sleep position" I can listen to the familiar voices and go to sleep.

The rule of thumb is that you should NEVER have a TV in your bedroom - I would imagine it is so you don't either a) develop my bad habit or stay awake watching that Columbo episode you somehow missed 10 years ago.

I agree it really bites to wake up groggy - that's been my problem the last 3 days, so tonight I'm trying something different and much earlier in the evening. We'll see how late I'm up tonight.

Sweet Dreams to all, and to all a good night,

Princeton

Sleeping pills are specifically drugs with short half lives. the metabolite of Soma is long. klonipin is very long. xanax is long. thats why restoril, ambien, triazolam, and lunesta exist. they will surely wear off by morning and if not, very shortly after.

I'm amazed that people are helped at all by the drug Lunesta. I did try it once in its strongest strength (3 mg.), and not only did it not help me sleep, it made me feel uncomfortably weird. But everyone's different, very obviously. I think a poster mentioned something about the patent on Ambien running out. I think this may be true now, or very soon, which is why the manufacturer is offering a free 7 tablet sample of Ambien CR. All sleep medications carry with them the risk of some psychological dependency (or at least rebound insomnia); however, if you don't use the medication frequently, this is unlikely to happen. I happen to consider Ambien CR a relatively dangerous medication, because it is designed to treat both sleep latency (trouble falling asleep) as well as sleep duration. The problem is that sometimes the amount of the second layer, designed to keep you asleep, is insufficient to totally do so, but potent enough such that one might get up in the middle of the night, do things, then forget that they've done them. I would have thought that some of you would have heard the stories of people who have been observed getting up, having a bite to eat, and not remembering a thing about it in the morning. In any event, if you want to try something like that to see if it helps, the 7 capsule sample available by calling might be a good way to go, since it doesn't cost a penny. On the other hand, you might want to try the non-time release formula first if you haven't taken sleep meds before. There's another new one that was put on the market recently called Rozeram. It's non-controlled and, in my opinion, also ineffective, like Lunesta. As for benzodaizepines, triazolam (Halcion) is probably the most effective. Xanax and Valium are sometimes prescribed by doctors for sleep, though this would be off-label usage (which is absolutely legal, just not my personal recommendation). Personally, when I really need to sleep, I generally use some very old medications. And when I say old, I mean hypnotics that have been around for over 50 years! -- doctors and pharmacists are literally amazed that one of them is still being manufactured. Well I guess you've gotten a lot of advice. One more thing that was said and I should stronly EMPHASIZE is that even primary care doctors very commonly prescribe Ambien and particularly, Lunesta. So I wouldn't advise you to waste money buying them on an OP. (Yes, as one poster said, they're there, but if you have insurance, a doctor would be the way to go.)

Until they sell a generic ambien here I would if necessary go the IOP route.When I asked my DR for Ambien she made a face and told it was addictive but wrote a script for 30..5mgs.95.00 with insurance at the pharmacy..thats insane.She could have atleast written it for 10 mgs so I could break tham in half.
Anyway until a generic if offered I wouldn't even ask for more.
My husband who has a harder time sleeping than I do said they don't help him sleep at all.

Ambien is getting more and more expensive, even with good insurance and co-pays. Lunesta, to me, like Sonata, was worthless and left that horrid taste in my mouth for over a week after I stopped taking it. The OTC meds no longer work for me. But, the melatonin and valerian are a godsend right now for me....cheap, available, and for me, at least, they work.

I'm gonna throw a warning out there to those of us on the board that have trouble sleeping, and this is based SOLELY on my experience. There is a rather new sleep med out there called Rozerem. My doctor gave me a sample, I took ONE pill on March 29th , and I have not been the same, physically or mentally since. I have experienced massive anxiety and panic attacks since taking the pill (where before anxiety and panic were very rare for me). And, physically, I can no longer feel my skin. I can feel pressure, but no actual sensation in my skin; I have to take at least 1 mg of Xanax per day to aleviate the anxiety and it also slightly helps with the physical side effects. But, this was over 3 months ago, and I still struggle with the side effects daily, and I only took ONE pill . So, if your doctor prescribes it or asks if you are interested, think about it and don't jump in blindly. This is just from my personal experience, but I wouldn't wish these side effects on my worst enemy.

There are a few alternatives not mentioned.
One I have used that is very light is called Trazadone or Dezerel. You can get the 25mg and take one or two.
They are not addictive and you should not have the hangover you get from benzos or ambien.

I was just gonna say try 50mg trazadone and 50mg benadry.Actually works better than xanax imo.

Thanks for all the good tips everyone - I was considering Benadryl, but wasn't sure if it is okay to take it a few times a week??
As far as Ambien or Lunestra- that was my next thought too, just wanted to see what everyone else was taking!!
Thank GOD I don't have as bad of sleeping problems as many others here!

I used to use benadryl for help sleeping,,buy the generic diphenhydramine though...same ingredient in benadryl but way cheaper.You can get like 100 for 5.00 at K-mart.
I found that if I used it for three days in a row I would get twitchy and restless.Also since its a antihistimine it will dry out your sinuses.I have had no allergy problems since I stopped using it.

you will get less of a "dry mouth" if you take Walmarts
"equate" brand of motion sickness tabs (i take 2)
they are a relative of benedryl but not exactly the same
dimenhydrinate is the pharmalogical name of the equate product.....
I sometimes use it with herbal Valerian