Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adin on April 2, 2008 at 1:04am

This is a little bit much, but this is about what it takes to put me out for a couple of hours....

-Lunesta (3mg)
-Flexeril (10mg)
-Melatonin (3g)
-Benadril/Diphenahydramine HCL (25-75mg, depending on the night)

Permalink Reply by Cameron on May 20, 2008 at 2:35pm

I have tried many different meds at the urging of VA doctors. Last med they asked me to try was Benedryl. It works if you don't mind the groggy effect the next day. But, like anything else, one can develop a tolerance and more med is needed.

Permalink Reply by kris on May 26, 2008 at 10:41pm

25 - 50 mg of Trazodone - 50 on a bad day otherwise just 25 - has worked for many years - 10 plus at the same dose!

Permalink Reply by dolores on July 9, 2008 at 6:26am

Kris What is Trazodone? Is it a sleeping med, or a med for something other than sleeping, which just happens to work, you know like Benedryl ........which is what I take, but it just works so, so

Permalink Reply by Val on July 9, 2008 at 2:45pm

I used to take a glass of sake ( I say "used to" because it makes me beleive I'm trying to quit). I does helps me sleep through the night although I wake up in a lot of pain and feeling quite dehydrated.

I'm just trying out this vitamin called 5-HTP. It's supposed to aid in hormonal reproduction in the case of seratonin and help you reach normal REM sleep. I took it for about 2 weeks and then forgot to take it for the last week so I probably have to start all over again. I din't think I felt any different during the time that I did take it. But 2 days ago I remembered that I did have an absence of sleep paralysis episodes while taking it since without it I have had one at least every night.

Sadly I've never taken any prescription meds to report the effects. In El Paso, where I am originally from, no one except 2 chiropractors believed in FM. So I just dilly dally with homeopathic remedies till I find some that work.

Permalink Reply by Laura on July 9, 2008 at 3:14pm

Trazodone is an anti-depressant which is so incredibly sedating that it is used primarily for sleep disorders and rarely to treat depression.

Permalink Reply by kris on August 15, 2008 at 7:42am

Yep - oh gosh I feel bad about not checking here sooner -
Trazodone is rarely used as a anti-depressant - but works quite well on many people as a sleep aid. Theraputic dose for depression is at least 300mg - so 25 - 50 is pretty low.

I've been able to wake up in the middle of the night and function if need be while taking this - but don't have some of the side effects that many sleeping pills have.

Speaking of anti-depressants - something interesting - I had been taking Serzone for a number of years - with good results from it - because of my nodding off - sometimes I wouldn't get my daily dose - I started noticing that I actually felt a little better when I hadn't taken it! So, I stopped taking it. That's probably when I started actually feeling somewhat better - wish I could say that I kept feeling better and better - but it sort of leveled off at just feeling kind of yucky as opposed to feeling horrible all the time. Fortunately depression hasn't been a big problem since being off it -

Permalink Reply by Anna Murphy on May 14, 2009 at 3:41pm

The only pill that I take that is purely for sleep is Klonopin (clonazepam). I started taking it for restless legs. I had been on the Trazadone but it gave me the most horrible nightmares. However, many of the meds I take are sedating: Cymbalta, Lyrica, Topamax, Lamictal, Hydrocodone(for my spinal stenosis), the occasional Requip or Skelaxin. By the end of the day, I'm barely keeping my eyes open. To tell the truth I sometimes have bad daytime sleepiness.

I've had two sleep studies done. The show that I have very mild obstructive apnea/hypopnea. I wear a mouthpiece (mandibular advancement device) which is not at all uncomfortable, had not affected my TMJD adversely and has helped my teeth from my grinding. The second study with the device in place showed that I still have low oxygen levels at night so now I am sleeping with oxygen on. Do I feel better today? I don't know. I was also started on Ritalin to see if I could stay awake more during the day. I think it may help me lose weight! Get this, out of 414 mins of sleep, I spent 382 mins in Stage II. The sleep doc said he had never seen one that high 92.2%. Only 0 Stage III and 5 min REM. No wonder I wake up tired.

Gotta cut my sons hair. Bye for now xoxo
Anna

Permalink Reply by dolores on May 14, 2009 at 3:47pm

I have a lot of daytime sleepiness. I take Adderall for that and it does an ok job. Had sleep studies done. No apnea but then they did test for narcolepsy which it seems I have a mild case of....does not seem too mild to me when it kicks in. Thank goodness I sleep well at night, not that it helps my daytime sleepiness....well maybe it does but I dont think so besides narcolepsy has nothing to do with how you sleep at night.
Good luck on your Ritalin

Permalink Reply by Anna Murphy on May 15, 2009 at 7:43pm

I took the ritalin this morning and promptly took an hour nap. Go figure.

Permalink Reply by dolores on May 16, 2009 at 8:27am

Anna When they first started me on Adderall about 3 yrs ago, it made me sleepy at first. They are not the same drug but both are used the same way for the same kind of problems. Anyway stick with it for a while and see if it changes for you. You could try adderall next if the Ritalin turns out not to work

Permalink Reply by Hurricane Kate on June 25, 2009 at 1:23pm

For me the best way to keep my sleeping regular is to mix up my regimen. Some nights all it takes is a cup of kava tea, others will find me popping Benadryl if it's past my bedtime and I feel wired. Something that I've been doing lately that works really well is a powdered magnesium supplement taken a few hours before I want to sleep.

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