best prescription sleep aid (opinions)

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:08 am

May have to revisit some type of sleep aid. Have been through them all at one time or another but need to perhaps retrace the journey. Anyway, wondering if others who have taken a few could perhaps give some opinions as to the benefits or not some have had for them and which one(s) they eventually settled for particularly with respect to tolerance/dependence issues. Thanks. M.

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:07 am

Personally.. My vote goes for Melatonin. It won't zonk you out in 10 minutes or anything but also no horrible aftertaste or sleep walking/eating/driving things to worry about..

I find I always seem to sleep deeper with a little melatonin, my dreams are definitely more interesting, but it does seem to help you fall asleep a little more naturally and is easier to wake up vs prescriptions..

If its just for insomnia and your RLS/whatever is under control.. Melatonin gets my vote..

Otherwise Lunesta if you can stomach the metallic something or other aftertaste.

Post by **ViewsAskew** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:35 am

Melatonin only works IF you are lacking in melatonin in the first place. So, might work...might not. It doesn't work for me, it does work for DH.

sardsy75 · Post by **sardsy75** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:15 am

Clonazepam has been working for me for over three years now.

Yes it can be addictive, and has a very long half life, but if you can keep the dosage down between 1 - 3mg/night you should be right.

It takes a good half hour to take affect on me, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, depending on how tired or wired i am.

Hope this helps mate.

Take care!

SquirmingSusan · Post by **SquirmingSusan** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:08 am

Melatonin helps me a lot. I get some that is "dual release" from Swansonvitamins.com. It releases some immediately and then the rest slowly over the course of the night. It's quite inexpensive. Melatonin is also supposed to help some people with PLMD.

I also like Sleep MD, but it may just be the melatonin in that that helps me. It's made up of melatonin, valerian (deodorized thankfully!), passionflower, lemon balm, and hops, all of which are supposed to have some relaxing and sleep promoting effects.

One thing that works well for me is Unisom (doxylamine). It's a sedating antihistamine, and is on the no-no list, but it doesn't bother me too much, and it seems like others around here have said the same. It's very effective, and the effect doesn't wear off over time as far as I can tell. I used it for years with success.

I have a prescription for Lunesta, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It does have a very bitter taste, and you're stuck with that from a few minutes after you take it, to about 8 hours after you take it. I've gotten used to it. It's not absorbed well when taken with fatty food, though, so if you like a glass of whole milk or a cookie before bed it won't work as well.

Ambien worked great for be when it worked, but it also made me hallucinate. :roll:

Sonata worked great for me, but it does have a short half-life.

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:17 am

Anyone have any luck with Rozerem?

jy13131 · Post by **jy13131** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:31 pm

I take lunesta on a non-regular basis and it gives me a NON druggy mellow sleep with no hangover

Aiken · Post by **Aiken** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:34 pm

Of the hypnotics, I liked Sonata the best, as does one of my co-workers. Mind you, if Ambien doesn't nauseate you the way it does me, it can be somewhat better.

Of the benzos, I found clonazepam nicest, in small doses. Beware of escalating doses... seriously, beware.

Of the others, melatonin can be nice if it's what you need. If you take melatonin, remember that it's meant to be taken a couple of hours, or more, before bedtime, in order to start the biochemical process that eventually produces sleepiness.

(Rozerem is supposed to cause you to produce extra internal melatonin. It did squat for me... I'm not sure my body is actually able anymore.)

---

Note: My own body is very resistant to supplementation/medicine. All three above eventually lost most of their potency as my body irritatingly sought its original equilibrium. Then I was back where I started, with a nasty rebound still to come. This is supposedly not typical, though.

Personally, I preferred the hypnotics overall.

Pennynick · Post by **Pennynick** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:05 am

Does anyone have tips on getting more sleep per 24 hours. I get about 4 hours and it isn't enough. I don't nap during the day because I can't. Sometimes I doze when trying to read but that doesn't last long. I am up around 2:30 or 3:00 every morning but quite exhausted by 7:00 p.m.
Am on Mirapex and liquid codeine for RLS. That is working fairly well but when the RLS kicks in (pun?) it is violent.

runkrun · Post by **runkrun** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:03 am

I suggest trying a low dose Benzo. I also experienced only 4-5 hrs a sleep per night. Then after seeing a sleep specialist about 3 yrs ago, he suggested Xanax. I've used it every since and sleep about 7-8 hrs/ night. Sleep is no longer a luxury, but a nightly experience.

Post by **Polar Bear** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:03 pm

I barely touched a sleeping pill up until about the last year and I am now 60 years.

Increasing rls over the years and insomnia which may be a side effect of my requip meant I was working full time on maybe 4 hours of broken sleep, and this was on a good night.

Doc gave me Ambien which helped, but I only slept for about 2 hours at a time, up and about for maybe a half hour, then back to sleep. I took Ambien going to bed and another at around 3am. Although my sleep was better it was still very much broken and I only managed because I had retired from work.

Back to the doc 3 weeks ago and I asked for Lunesta. Actually here in the UK it is called Zopiclone and it is not as pure as Lunesta. I got Zopiclone 7.5 mg which is about the equivalent of Lunesta 3mg.

It is so much better, a longer life than Ambien but no big deal hangover, none that I am aware of. Yes, I perhaps wake up once but get back to sleep and am now getting around 7 or 8 hours total.

Just make sure to have a drink of water ready cos if you hold the Lunesta in your month it tastes bad, but I am not aware of any metallic after taste. Also I do not appear to have the horrible vivid dreams that came with Ambien. So far, so good.

Post by **ViewsAskew** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:49 am

Just my two cents, but I'd say that you need more/different/better medication to help you. When any of us is having RLS and we're medicated, it most often means that we need to adjust our regimen. Occasional is one thing...but constant 4 hours a night definitely means that somethings not working as well as it should.