Do u have any other medical problems that might preclude certain meds, like liver, kidney, or heart disease?
If ambien helps you get to sleep, you could try switching to the long acting form of ambien or switching to lunesta, from the same class but longer acting.
Most sleep meds are not recommended for long term use. An exception are two new meds, belsomra and dayvigo, though both very expensive. They r from the class of drugs called orexin receptor antagonists (DORA)
Trazadone has been around for ages, so much is known about it. It was developed as an antidepressant, doesn’t work great for depression but made patients very sleepy and gradually became a common sleep medication. Amitryptilline is similar.
Please avoid antihistamines such as Benadryl.
Google “sleep hygiene “ and ensure you are following the protocol. Simple stuff but important.
If u wake up gasping for air, discuss a sleep study with your doctor.
Do u have symptoms such as restless legs?
Consider a sleep diary. This can help your doc.
Try to avoid naps unless told otherwise by your doctor
My issue with sleep (or lack of it) is that I have chronic diarrhea due to radiation enteritis. I generally fall asleep around 10:00 pm but after waking up a couple of times within 2-3 hours I can’t get back to sleep. At that time, usually midnight, I take a very low dose of Ativan (.5 mg.). When I wake up again and can’t fall back to sleep, I take another .5 mg. if it’s before 4:00 am. I alternate nights with Sleep Aid (from Costco US.) an OTC sleep medication that I can easily break into small pieces and take as needed. I occasionally take Gravol which sometimes enables me to fall back to sleep after going to the bathroom multiple times. I still get up in the morning not feeling well rested as my sleep is so interrupted. This has been going on for about a year.
I've been there unfortunately and have seen the best specialist in the country. Exact 2.5hrs sleep or even zero in 48hr and totally wide awake. Sleep psychologist said the best thing to do is not remain in bed.
So it frequent I live your schedule and am up doing things if not asleep. It was determined all medication be stopped. I know how you feel and can emphasize there is no other Western medicine that can help me.
Sorry to hear you are experiencing similar.
Take care,
Alan
I've been there unfortunately and have seen the best specialist in the country. Exact 2.5hrs sleep or even zero in 48hr and totally wide awake. Sleep psychologist said the best thing to do is not remain in bed.
So it frequent I live your schedule and am up doing things if not asleep. It was determined all medication be stopped. I know how you feel and can emphasize there is no other Western medicine that can help me.
Sorry to hear you are experiencing similar.
Take care,
Alan
@rhema I believe that Quviviq is one of the new DORA drugs and extremely expensive......not covered by M-Care. Expensive like $500 a month! Food for thought......Sugar is a natural orexin antagonist...I have tried a small high sugar snack about one hour before bedtime. Hard to say whether it worked or not...your mind can play tricks on you. Flurazepam is a long acting benzodiazipine and will work better than Ambien which is short acting along with Lunesta, Xanax. However in the scheme of things these drugs do not allow for support of your "sleep architecture - interfering with REM and non-REM sleep patterns.
@rhema I believe that Quviviq is one of the new DORA drugs and extremely expensive......not covered by M-Care. Expensive like $500 a month! Food for thought......Sugar is a natural orexin antagonist...I have tried a small high sugar snack about one hour before bedtime. Hard to say whether it worked or not...your mind can play tricks on you. Flurazepam is a long acting benzodiazipine and will work better than Ambien which is short acting along with Lunesta, Xanax. However in the scheme of things these drugs do not allow for support of your "sleep architecture - interfering with REM and non-REM sleep patterns.
@kndaustin71 some Medicare advantage plans do cover the new DORA drugs, though unfortunately open enrollment has ended. I paid $100 for 3 months worth but didn’t find either all that helpful. They did decrease my nighttime awakenings but not much. In the end I decided even at $35 per month they weren’t worth it.
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Trazadone
@sbcarcht Trazodone also
@ccrsphx, only 2 hours of sleep with medication must be rough. You might find these related discussions helpful.
- Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/difficulty-falling-asleep-and-staying-asleep/
- Many years taking sleep medications: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/many-years-taking-sleep-medications/
Have you heard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)? Here's some info from Mayo Clinic:
- Insomnia treatment: Cognitive behavioral therapy instead of sleeping pills https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-depth/insomnia-treatment/art-20046677
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2 Reactions7.5 mg mirtazapine and sometimes 1 mg melatonin
Do u have any other medical problems that might preclude certain meds, like liver, kidney, or heart disease?
If ambien helps you get to sleep, you could try switching to the long acting form of ambien or switching to lunesta, from the same class but longer acting.
Most sleep meds are not recommended for long term use. An exception are two new meds, belsomra and dayvigo, though both very expensive. They r from the class of drugs called orexin receptor antagonists (DORA)
Trazadone has been around for ages, so much is known about it. It was developed as an antidepressant, doesn’t work great for depression but made patients very sleepy and gradually became a common sleep medication. Amitryptilline is similar.
Please avoid antihistamines such as Benadryl.
Google “sleep hygiene “ and ensure you are following the protocol. Simple stuff but important.
If u wake up gasping for air, discuss a sleep study with your doctor.
Do u have symptoms such as restless legs?
Consider a sleep diary. This can help your doc.
Try to avoid naps unless told otherwise by your doctor
My issue with sleep (or lack of it) is that I have chronic diarrhea due to radiation enteritis. I generally fall asleep around 10:00 pm but after waking up a couple of times within 2-3 hours I can’t get back to sleep. At that time, usually midnight, I take a very low dose of Ativan (.5 mg.). When I wake up again and can’t fall back to sleep, I take another .5 mg. if it’s before 4:00 am. I alternate nights with Sleep Aid (from Costco US.) an OTC sleep medication that I can easily break into small pieces and take as needed. I occasionally take Gravol which sometimes enables me to fall back to sleep after going to the bathroom multiple times. I still get up in the morning not feeling well rested as my sleep is so interrupted. This has been going on for about a year.
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Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionI've been there unfortunately and have seen the best specialist in the country. Exact 2.5hrs sleep or even zero in 48hr and totally wide awake. Sleep psychologist said the best thing to do is not remain in bed.
So it frequent I live your schedule and am up doing things if not asleep. It was determined all medication be stopped. I know how you feel and can emphasize there is no other Western medicine that can help me.
Sorry to hear you are experiencing similar.
Take care,
Alan
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5 Reactions@adayatit: I appreciate your response to my posting. Wondering if you’ve tried Quviviq?
Rhema
@rhema I believe that Quviviq is one of the new DORA drugs and extremely expensive......not covered by M-Care. Expensive like $500 a month! Food for thought......Sugar is a natural orexin antagonist...I have tried a small high sugar snack about one hour before bedtime. Hard to say whether it worked or not...your mind can play tricks on you. Flurazepam is a long acting benzodiazipine and will work better than Ambien which is short acting along with Lunesta, Xanax. However in the scheme of things these drugs do not allow for support of your "sleep architecture - interfering with REM and non-REM sleep patterns.
@kndaustin71 some Medicare advantage plans do cover the new DORA drugs, though unfortunately open enrollment has ended. I paid $100 for 3 months worth but didn’t find either all that helpful. They did decrease my nighttime awakenings but not much. In the end I decided even at $35 per month they weren’t worth it.
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
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