tem33
Enthusiast
Reged: 01/08/03
Posts: 217
Loc: Southern USA
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can anyone shed any light on the best sleeping medication that is still available to obtain legally online. Thank you.
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nycalt
Reged: 05/04/04
Posts: 551
Loc: Manhattan, NYC
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Well, it depends on your preferences.
Both Halcion and other benzo's designed as sleeping aides like Restoral are still widely available though dozens of sites. Truth is any benzo (valium, xanax) will help you sleep. Problem with these meds for sleeping is besides the morning hangover, groggy type feelings often associated with them, they also can make your sleeping problems worse pretty quickly.
After even only a couple of nights with them, you will find it even harder to get to sleep without them. Down the road, assuming you begin to use them every night, you will get tolerant and need to increase the dosage for the same effects also pretty quickly.
A new sleeping aid, Ambien, also widely available, seems to alleviate many of these problems. The morning hangover is much less and in theory it's much less tolerant and habit forming, especially because it really just makes you tired and doesnt have the muscle relaxant and anti-anxiety properties of benzos.
Problem for me is my sleeping problems are often associated with a "racing mind" type syndrome associated with anxiety. So Ambien really didnt work for me. When I did fall to sleep with it, I woke up four hours later wide awake. This is even at pretty high doses.
But its probably overall a better choice if it works for you.
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simpledog
Stranger
Reged: 03/21/04
Posts: 4
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I have used Stillnox, but Xanax still seems to put me to sleep better. I have the same 'racing thoughts' issue as the previous poster.
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sigmund22
Member
Reged: 03/23/04
Posts: 160
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One of the best sleeping meds is OTC Benedryl, an antihistamine with no physical tolerance.
The active ingredient is Diphehydramine HCl. It comes in 25 mg capsules or caplets.
The average adult doseage is 50 mg. about one-half hour before bedtime. The price varies from $6.99 for #24 brand name Benedry to less than $3 for generics. There is no grogginess in the morning and one awakens refreshed.
Two disclaimers: 1) Just noticed that the Waldryl(Walgreen's generic) I have at home has alcohol listed as the first inactive ingredient; if you can't have alcohol, use the brand name.
2) Best not to take if you're regularly taking SSRIs because there's a rare side effect, "Serotonin Syndrome." The sx's are immediate and consist of high fever, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing which can lead to respiratory depression. Call 911 or take person to ER ASAP!!
This is very rare, but feel ethically obligated to mention it.
sigmund22
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tb1218
Member
Reged: 09/19/02
Posts: 171
Loc: indiana
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I too get that racing mind syndrome and almost everything helps me fall asleep but I wake up a couple hours later and cant get back to sleep due to the racing thoughts in my mind. Xanax keeps me asleep the longest and gives me the soundest sleep and I sometimes use Unisom and it will help some too. Valium on the other hand even tho its a benzo as well never makes me sleepy.
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nycalt
Reged: 05/04/04
Posts: 551
Loc: Manhattan, NYC
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I guess if it works for you. Sleeping has been a problem for me since, well, at least since I was 5 years old, so I have lots of experience on the this topic.
As far as studies I've seen, Benedryl does little to actually affect the area of your brain that controls sleep. In fact, it did no better than a placebo when it came to the key factors of time it takes to get to sleep and being able to sleep through the night.
With me, it makes me drowsy feeling, but that's about it. It has never done much of anything to either get me to sleep or stay asleep.
But if it works for you, its cheap, safe, and easy to get so why not?
To be honest the only thing that has pretty much solved my sleeping problems is Paxil. Since I have been taking Paxil daily, I fall asleep quickly, stay asleep, and wake up feeling like I have some energy at least 80% of the time. For someone who is more used to the opposite ratio, it has been a dream. But again, thats just my personal experience.
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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
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nycalternati,
Have you ever had a polysomnography done? With insomnia issues since age 5, that is pretty alarming. What do the doctors think it is? Or none of them really know and they send you on your way with pills?
-yawkaw
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kandi
Veteran
Reged: 05/07/02
Posts: 681
Loc: Maryland
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Quote:
I too get that racing mind syndrome and almost everything helps me fall asleep but I wake up a couple hours later and cant get back to sleep due to the racing thoughts in my mind. Xanax keeps me asleep the longest and gives me the soundest sleep and I sometimes use Unisom and it will help some too. Valium on the other hand even tho its a benzo as well never makes me sleepy.
I have exactly the same reaction..Valium is just about the only benzo I know of that doesn't make me sleepy. It relaxes me, and makes my muscles feel kind of jello-y, but I stay wide awake. The only benzo that I use these days, and IMO the best for anxiety and sleep, is Klonopin. The only problem ,is, it takes a while to kick in, so you need to take it at least an hour before you want to go to sleep. I take my entire daily dose at night...that way I sleep well, and because of the extremely long half life it has, the anti-anxiety properties tend to last throughout the day. Additionally, I had no problem whatsoever getting a script for this through my PCP, whereas I know if I would have asked for Xanax or Ativan, the answer would have probably been an emphatic 'no'. The other great thing is that I don't seem to have the tolerance issues like I had with Xanax...there is no compulsion on my part to take more, and the recommended dose seems to work just as well as it did several months ago. That is just me, though...YMMV.
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Monte Montgomery ROCKS!
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tb1218
Member
Reged: 09/19/02
Posts: 171
Loc: indiana
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Kandi, I have never tried Klonopin before but since you react the same to Valium, I wonder if I tried Klonopin I would sleep thru the night for a change. 6-8 hours without waking up would be bliss.
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mizzzj
Enthusiast
Reged: 01/31/04
Posts: 235
Loc: Town of snooping Post Office
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Benzos usually have a 4-5 hour duration, so it's not good to take more. Benedryl works and so does Hydroxyzine HCL. Ambien and Sonata will work for about 2 days, so forget it. If Benedryl doesn't work, Ativan is the best sleeping benzo (in my opinion). You could have a sleep disorder, or sleep apnea,
If you have been told you snore. I know it sounds funny but true. People with sleep apnea actually stop breathing during sleep. My guess is allergies...first try Benedryl and let us know. J~
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If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.
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kandi
Veteran
Reged: 05/07/02
Posts: 681
Loc: Maryland
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Quote:
Benzos usually have a 4-5 hour duration, so it's not good to take more. Benedryl works and so does Hydroxyzine HCL. Ambien and Sonata will work for about 2 days, so forget it. If Benedryl doesn't work, Ativan is the best sleeping benzo (in my opinion). You could have a sleep disorder, or sleep apnea,
If you have been told you snore. I know it sounds funny but true. People with sleep apnea actually stop breathing during sleep. My guess is allergies...first try Benedryl and let us know. J~
Actually, the half-life of Klonopin is 18-50 hours, making it one of the longest acting benzos on the market. For me, Benadryl has a paradoxical effect, meaning I get hyped up from it rather than drowsy. I have had Hydroxyzine work before, but that was in IV form when I had a severe allergic reaction. I don't have a sleep disorder...I just have a history of generalized anxiety disorder and related insomnia that dates back to my teens. And while Klonopin is addictive like all benzos, the longer half life makes it easier to wean off, although my doc doesn't feel the need to take me off the med if it is working well and I am having no adverse reactions from it, unless I decide I want to. But the way I see it, if it ain't broke, why fix it?
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Monte Montgomery ROCKS!
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nycalt
Reged: 05/04/04
Posts: 551
Loc: Manhattan, NYC
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Well, lets just say there are probably lots of causes and the sleeping is probably just a symptom of underlying issues, medical and psychological. Home life issues when I was growing up for example.
It would take a long while to discuss but suffice it to say that its currently being chalked up to low Serotonin levels since I made such a dramatic improvement (not just sleeping but ability to focus, much less anxiety, less irritability, etc.) since I started using Paxil.
I could have pursued it further but to be honest, the Physiatrist I was working with (at Columbia-Pres no less) got me up to 6 MG a day of Klonopin as his solution for the GAD I was diagnosed with. After I kept getting more tolerant he realized that maybe it wasnt working so well. So he wanted to switch me to tricyclic antidepressants and after reading up on them they didnt really excite me. So I kind of stopped going and lost faith that I would ever get better.... This was about five years ago.
It was shortly after that my regular Internist recommended Paxil and its been the best thing since. I'm not perfect, but its like 500% better than I was. I still use benzos occasionally but they are to supplement the Paxil not the primary drug and not every day.
Now that Ive bored you.....
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nycalt
Reged: 05/04/04
Posts: 551
Loc: Manhattan, NYC
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Quote "Benzo's usually have a four to five hour duration."
Only the shortest acting ones, like Xanax. Klonopin (my benzo of choice) has a half life of like 24-36 hours and you feel the effects for at least 12 hours....
Klonopin is probably the longest (hence why its used in alcohol and other drug treatment often) but other benzo's last a lot longer than 4 to 6 hours. Valium for one is another long acting one.
Benedryl is great for allergies (better than most of the new Claritan type ones despite the marketing hype, actually) but stinks for sleep. The worst.
To be honest even the drowsy feeling it gives me is not a pleasant or restfull one. It more annoying like a hangover.
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mikevx
Enthusiast
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 282
Loc: LV-426
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It's really a matter of trying various solutions and seeing which works best for you. Even then, taking certain ones a few days in a row, they usually lose their effectiveness.
I think I've tried them all. I get the wally world version of tylonel pm (diphenhydramine hyrdrochloride) and take 2 25mg dosages for a total of 50mg. I've found taking more serves to have the opposite effect and makes me nervous.
Melotonin can help me sleep but it has to be an exact dosage that works for you. Too much or too little will do nothing. Took taking various dosages to get it right. For me, one 3mcg tab helps at times. If I take it more than 2-3 days in a row then it's does nothing, so I have to skip. Works well assisting the diphenhydramine hyrdrochloride, which usually make me drowsy.
Ambien seems to be the best I've tried. One 10mg and within 15-30 minutes I can sleep. Dalmane works, but it works too well. I feel it's effects for around 2 days and feel like a zombie, and have to fight to get out of bed. Sonata has no effect on me. Valium helps, but only if I take it 2-3 times a week. Any more then it lessons the effect.
And like several others in this thread, if my mind is racing, it becomes a major chore trying to get to sleep. Then I have to have a few drinks with one of the above methods. I've had insomnia all my life.
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"cowards die many deaths, the brave only one"
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1fabfa
Newbie
Reged: 04/18/04
Posts: 25
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the best is halcion or restoril.Temazapam is generic for restoril. Starlite is having a sale on Halcion but unfortunately for me I only have a script for Restoril. Good Luck. 
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