Many years taking sleep medications

I take 3 mg lunesta most nights. It’s recommended that the pill be taken whole and not cut in half. It has never been explained clearly to me why it can’t be cut in half. It isn’t extended release. So can anyone explain to me the problem with cutting it in half.

toren123, I feel for you. I used to take a sleep aid from Walmart which was diphenhydramine and when that stopped working,I was prescribed Flurazepam, which was wonderful! Then it got discontinued and i was desperately searching (with doctors help) for a prescription sleep med that worked for me. Tried many many different ones and nothing worked. Not even the benzodiazepine Temazepam, or Estazolam. Also tried Trazodone, Lunesta and Ambien. Ambien would always put me to sleep but not keep me asleep more than 3 hours. And Ambien gave me anxiety. I had been taking Diazepam (valium) for occasional bad anxiety but it didn't work while I was taking Ambien. So I had insomnia and severe anxiety. I was a mess. My doctor finally got wise and said, "what if we try 1 prescription for both my issues?" I was willing to try anything (except SSRI's) So my doctor prescribed me 1.5mg daily of Lorazepam. (Ativan) And Hallelujah!! It worked for both issues. I do not care that I am dependent on it,.... it's about quality of life for me. And this is my answer. My doctor knows I will need to take this forever, and agrees with it because she knows I could not sleep without it. I started the lorazepam in Sept. 2023 and in June of 2024 I had to add an additional medication, Amitriptyline, 30mg per day, for anxiety/depression because I was dealing with severe osteoarthritis of my hip and could not walk without alot of pain. The Amitriptyline combined with the Lorazepam has worked excellent for me. I also take Magnesium glycinate at night to also help with sleep. Good luck to you.

I wholeheartedly agree that sleep is so very important to us! Very very important for overall health! And if you need to take a medication to get good sleep, then take it!

Thank you cindisue for your response. I really appreciate it as well as some of the other responses I received. Ativan seems like it might help me also. However, due to the controlled substance laws in this state and in this particular town, I sort of doubt a doctor will prescribe it for me as it’s a benzodiazepine. When we moved here I was taking temazapam, another benzodiazepine, and they stopped that. But I will find out. At my age(86), I really don’t know what difference it makes if I get dependent on a medication, something else will kill me before a benzodiazepine does. If I was 35 years old it would be a different story. Anyway that’s the way I feel.
.

I can relate to your suffering. The medication that helped me was seroquel. It is not addictive. I used to take it at 150mg. I am now down to 75 mg & sleep quite well. This medication is generally given to people who have schizophrenia, but don't let that scare you. I have taken it for over 10 years & as far as I am aware, I am still healthy. Start at a lower dose & work up until it starts to work. Getting a prescription from your doctor shouldn't be a problem. Good luck & may you be free from your suffering.

BEFORE you take ANY prescription Med for sleep PLEASE check the "long term" side effects. 95% of these drugs have dementia as a side effect, I have found.
Herbs are not working for me.
I welcome suggestions.

Welcome @pamelladella, I've found keeping a regular sleeping schedule helps me quite a bit along with making sure I get a little exercise in during the day. You might find this Mayo Clinic Minute - Tips for Better Sleep helpful - https://www.youtube.com/watch.

There are also a lot of different discussions found when you search for "sleep what helps" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/.

@pamelladella, unfortunately, not getting enough sleep causes dementia also. And that’s not just me talking. I’ve read it and a doctor told me that also. I’m 86 years old and have been taking sleep medications for almost 25 years. I still don’t have dementia. Not to say I won’t get it. But if I do get it, I’d rather get it with sleep than without sleep. Herbs didn’t help me either. I’ve also taken CBT-I. We are all unique and how one person is affected, does not mean all are effected that way. But if some one could tell me how to get off sleep medications and still sleep after all these years. I certainly would consider trying it if I haven’t already done so.

@toren123 I cut mine in half.
If I take a whole tablet, I wake up after 3-4 hours, maybe 5. When I take half, I sleep 3-4 hours, then take the other half. This works very well for me and my Dr. said it was fine. As you said, it’s not time released. I have no next day grogginess and get 7-8 hours of good sleep in.

@toren123 Some of us just need medication to sleep. My neurologist said it is much worse on your health to not sleep than to take a sleep aide.