meds rotation for sleep

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edelman2
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2015 1:30 am

meds rotation for sleep

Post by edelman2 »

hi,

Does anyone know of meds rotation for insomnia? What I mean is taking sleeping medications and rotating them so one does not get tolerant
of a sleeping medication. Are there sleep boards/forums where I can try to find information about this?

Thank you

Polar Bear
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Re: meds rotation for sleep

Post by Polar Bear »

I don't know enough about sleep medications to know if rotating them would help.
I'd imagine that to do so, each one would have to work differently.
For instance, some doctors prescribe an anti histamine to help with sleep (but not good for RLS)
also, a 'normal sleeping medication'
also, the like of amitriptyline which is an old fashioned anti depressant that can help with sleep (but take a chance with RLS)

I've never used a Sleep Forum but I'm sure a Google Search would bring up quite a few.
Betty
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ViewsAskew
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Location: Los Angeles

Re: meds rotation for sleep

Post by ViewsAskew »

I don't know anything about it, sorry to say.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

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Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

badnights
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Re: meds rotation for sleep

Post by badnights »

I've never tried it. I imagine it would work, as long as the meds were sufficiently different.

There are two main categories of sleep meds that I know of, one being the benzodiazepenes which are heavy-duty (long half life, potential for addiction), the other being the newer "Z-drugs" which don't have much if any potential for addiction and have shorted half-lives (less likely to leave you groggy the next day). The Z-drugs are actually three separate classes of medication, with zopiclone (Imovane) and eszopiclone (Lunesta) in one class, zolpidem (Ambien) in another, and zaleplon (Sonata) in a third class.

You might want to ask your physician or pharmacist if meds in these three classes of Z-drugs are different enough from each other to make rotation among them effective in preventing tolerance.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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