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Global Patient Feedback for Insomnia ( Post a comment )
Question/Comment:
I am wondering how much of my insomnia is caused from my current medications.?
42 year old Female
Posted: 2009-06-07 23:34:01
Question/Comment:
I really don't like to take medicine for my insomnia as it is so habit forming. I took zanax for a long time after my husband passed away. Then tried to stop taking it and was so nervous and fidgety it really upset me. So I got off it and vowed never to take anything that was habit forming again. I take the advil PM and read a lot to relax before sleep. Don't get me wrong I really have a sleep problem and fibromyalgia bad, so its a miserable night I put in. Maybe 4 hrs at the most and I am so tired in the daytime that don't have any energy. I sure wish doctors could do something positive about it.
64 year old Female
Posted: 2009-06-03 01:03:58
Question/Comment:
I developed insomnia about 10 years ago, am now 58, and started with valerian root which worked for awhile, then amitryptyline, and various other prescription medications until Ambien came on the market and was covered by my insurance company. I don't like to take any more medications than I have to, but I also don't like staying awake all night even worse. Ambien CR has been working for me, although I still only get 6-7 hours of sleep; but that's better than lying awake feeling every ache and pain which also now keeps me awake. I take the 12.5 mg, the lower dose didn't work as well for me. I do worry about taking it for the rest of my life because of possible long term side effects, but so long as my physician prescribes it and my insurance pays for it, I'll be taking it. Hopefully one day they'll come up with a better and safer alternative; in my lifetime.
60 year old Female
Posted: 2009-03-27 18:02:48
Question/Comment:
I have been taking 50mg of Seroquel to sleep. My entire life I have not slept through the night until I starting taking this med. I fall asleep within half an hour and sleep without disruption, This drug has been a life saver for me but I see my doctor every 3 months since I also take Cymbalta for depression. I am a 59 year old female.
61 year old Female
Posted: 2009-01-06 13:03:36
Question/Comment:
I've been taking Trazodone (50mg) for 2 years. I take it and 20 minutes later I fall asleep, (95% of the time). I wake up feeling very rested.
19 year old Male
Posted: 2008-12-25 23:35:18
iGuard.org Answer/Reply:
I have an 18 year old son that is suffering from insomnia - his doctor is recommending Ambien.
Have you ever tried that? Thank you for your answer
Posted: 2009-03-03 21:06:30
Question/Comment:
I just recently over the past few weeks got put on an older medication called Trazodone for my insomnia. I have struggled with it off and on for years, as I also have struggled with depression and anxiety disorders as well. Trazodone is more of an anxiety medication and isn't habit forming like Ambien, which is what previous doctors in the past have always put me on. So far I love the Trazodone, I take it at night about 20 minutes before bedtime and it knocks me out cold like the Ambien would. I don't even wake up when my husband comes to bed. The only problem I have had with it is that I took it a little late one night that I had to work in the morning and the effects didn't fully wear off when I got up and I was pretty loopy for about an hour or so into my work shift. But as long as I am consistent about the time I take it, I do very well with it and now I am finally getting some good sleep that I have been needing for a long time.
29 year old Female
Posted: 2008-12-20 20:45:18
Answer/Reply:
I also am taking Trazodone for sleep problems and my doctor started me on 50 mg at bedtime, it worked at first, but then I built up tolerance for it and the doctor progressed me from 50 to 100 to 150 to 200, before he cut me off. It wouldn't work every night, but if I try 100 mg every other night it helps somewhat to get sleepy. I've used Sleepytime Extra tea with it, and it seems to help.
53 year old Female
Posted: 2008-12-21 10:49:28
Answer/Reply:
I have done that as well, because I have read about people building up a tolerance, so I take it for a few nights in a row, then I come off for a night or two until I start having trouble sleeping again, then I go back on it again. I may try the every other night thing........it is probably a better solution to what I am doing. I just want to keep my body guessing....lol. There have been a few nights in which I have had to take a second dose since I last wrote my first comment, so I think my tolerance is starting to build, which scares me. I already hate the fact I am dependent upon a drug to help me get sleep.
29 year old Female
Posted: 2009-02-12 00:49:44
Question/Comment:
I have been taking seroquel for about 1 year. I had not been able to have a good night sleep for year prior to seroquel. I also have anxiety issues. I do well on seroquel but have gained weight.
50 year old Female
Posted: 2008-11-14 21:07:30
Answer/Reply:
I have been taking Seroquel for 9 years. I started on 100 mg and over the years have been brought up to 900 mg daily - split into three doses throughout the day. When I first started taking Seroquel, I started to gain weight right away. At the time I blamed every new pound on Seroquel. Hindsight is 20/20, so now I see that my weight gain was due to lots of conditions and habits, including the Seroquel. The good news is that even as my dose has risen, changes of other kinds in my life have made it possible for me to lose, at least, some of the weight. Please remember that it is your responsibity to be informed of your condition and to correctly share all information with your doctor, even if it feels silly to talk about or ask questions, talk about everything!
38 year old Female
Posted: 2008-11-23 01:26:13
Answer/Reply:
i have tryed ambien, elevel,zyprexa,trazadone,restoril(very addicting)resporadol,lunesta,and many others for insomnia.however i started taking seroquel(600mg) and i can get a full nights rest (95%) of the time i started seroquel for major anxiety attacks and for me it is the wonder drug. Since starting i have been able to discontinue three other sleep anti anxiety, and depression meds. now i am more aware of my surroundings andn sleep like a baby it has put a little extra weight on me. it seems to me that after 20 minutes or so i get real hungry and i make a mess trying to prepare food. and i also dont remember what i do 15 minutes before bed I cant remember going to bed. but i get there and sleep well i just cant remember how i get to bed .
30 year old Male
Posted: 2009-01-22 02:49:22
Answer/Reply:
I too have tried many sleeping/mental health meds.Elevel,zyprexa,trazadone these three I couldn't handle the side effects.I have been on Remeron & Seroquel for about 4 years now. The Seroquel keep me asleep but my sinuses get so clogged within 20 minutes of taking that I have to either sit up or prop into upright position to get relief. Which is why I was put on the Remeron. I fall asleep within 15-20 minutes, though my husband says my snoring is atrocious. My problem is that my weight keeps going up and up I am now at 245lbs from 175. My doc is decressing the dose and says it is the Remeron that causes the insatiable hunger before falling asleep, now I wonder if it is the Seroquel. I noticed that I am getting angry easier too.
49 year old Female
Posted: 2009-05-26 14:19:03
Question/Comment:
I also have been on Ambien for insomia. Amnesia, hallucianations, grogginess and every other side effect you can think of, I incurred. I was then changed over to some old time meds that seems to continue to work without many major side effects. First I was paired with Doxepin and Trazadone. I was able to drop the Doxepin (has weight gain side effect~ I gained 50# in one year) when Elavil was introduced into my med diet. The Elavil does have a grogginess side effect but I'm waiting it out to see if the benefits out-weigh the negative side effects.
42 year old Female
Posted: 2008-10-01 20:59:15
Answer/Reply:
Please watch with the Elavil and weight gain also. I know it varies from person-to-person, but when I was on it I gained a great deal of weight (70#). I was taken off the Elavil and switched to Zoloft, and lost over 90# ( I waas 280#). That was the best step I ever made.
44 year old Male
Posted: 2008-11-21 16:35:07
Question/Comment:
I was prescribed Seroquel for insomnia. I do not recommend it! I did not fall asleep any faster or have fewer waking episodes; I apparently clenched my jaws all night long as I awoke with them aching every morning; and my appetite greatly increased-I gained 5 lbs in one week. It may work for some but be very careful of the side effects.
46 year old Male
Posted: 2008-09-08 01:14:51
Question/Comment:
Melatonin worked for me, but I would feel really average in the morning, i.e stomach cramps etc. Just before I got married in Feb I tried a new product called Melatrol mainly because they offered a free trial! They throw some other herbs in as well, and I found it to be much better on the stomach front, and had the same effect on me as far as sleep was concerned... Try it out and let me know how it goes for you, I'd be interested to hear.
24 year old Male
Posted: 2008-09-01 06:02:27
Answer/Reply:
hi there, i have suffered insomnia and depression most of my life,due to great trauma in my past ptsd. i asked my dr bout melatonin and she said she cant find it.
i live in australia could it be that it is not allowed here?
would be grateful for any feedback re this or seraqul
47 year old Female
Posted: 2008-11-13 01:33:16
Answer/Reply:
I have very complex medical issues due to Chronic Lyme disease that went undiagnosed for 13 years. One of the symptoms of lyme is a sleep disturbance - either I would fall asleep but wake up every couple of hours or I just could not get to sleep at all. I have been working with a DO that specializes in chronic pain, sleep disorders, and metabolic disorders; He is also board certified in psychiatry so he has been working with putting together a plan to treat not only to treat the sleep, but also the chronic pain and depression (those 3 problems can became a vicious circle) He basically is the best thing that has come along as far as physicians. He took a look at my meds and immediately noticed some changes he wanted to make, but in good conscience, he could only make adjustments one at a time. The first issue he wanted to deal with was the RLS that was contributing to my sleep issues. So after some trial and error, we came up with a plan involving Requip and dividing up the dosages just right to be effective. He than switched me to pristiq to help with the anxiety and depression and that has worked for those issues and also improved the sleep even more. The next step was to change my rx for ativan to diazepam and with this, I have been able to stop taking the Ambien CR at night and also have been able to scale back on Some(which is a muscle relaxant) and also my pain medications. I also have a couple types of arthritis, one from the Lyme disease and the other is from an inherited gene - HLA-B27 -ankylosing spondylitis ( affect the back and neck). As I stated, my situation is more complex but I am sleeping much better after 15 years of not getting a full nights sleep w/o waking up or insomnia. It is still an ongoing process but getting more restorative makes a huge difference with chronic pain and depression.
39 year old Female
Posted: 2008-12-10 19:57:50
Question/Comment:
Ambien: I walk, talk, eat and smoke while sleeping with no memory of it. Rozerem seemed to be the best drug for me and sleep, although it did not work every night. Now I take Seroquel for my bi polar 11 disorder. It works well and I am calmer the next day. Nothing works for me all the time. I have probably tried every drug on the market, RX and OTC. L-Tryptophan worked the best but was removed from the market many years ago. Even though it is in Milk, that doesn't work for me. It is is turkey too, but I don't like turkey (except on Thanksgiving, with all the fixings etc.)
55 year old Female
Posted: 2008-08-31 19:19:18
Question/Comment:
Be weary before going on Ambien. In the begining it works wonders, but after extended use, it will cause you to get up at night and do things i.e. eat, walk around, etc. The next day you will absolutely no memory of doing it.
One night I got up and took a second dosage and did not know it until the following day. Scary.
35 year old Female
Posted: 2008-08-11 05:42:11
Question/Comment:
I have tried many medications for insomnia over the last five years and have found that only one works well. That is Restoril.
Its generic name is Temezapam. I take it when I wake up in the early AM hours and fall asleep within 30 minutes for the next
four to five hours. When I awake I am fully rested with no side effects. This is the best medication for me. Now I can get through
the day with a reserve of energy which I was lacking for a long time.
67 year old Female
Posted: 2008-08-10 23:05:39
Question/Comment:
I have tried MANY prescriptions for insomnia, and I personally found that LUNESTA seems to work pretty good fro awhile, but after using it for more than 2 months it seemed to lose some of its effectiveness. I've also used the AMBIEN CR, with the same results. what I do now is I just trade off weekly, and that actually seems to work best for me. Granted, I have yet to try ANY tranquilizer that actually helps me sleep through the night. I wake up EVERY night at least 2-4 times,BUT at least when I'm on the meds I can go back to sleep usually within 20-30 mins.
47 year old Female
Posted: 2008-05-14 18:25:44
Answer/Reply:
Have you ever had any issues with restless leg syndrome or discussed the possibility with your doctor ? That can greatly effect your quality of sleep. Even if one feel that the dosage of requip is helping them get to sleep, my doctor told me that if I was still having leg movements during the night while asleep that I was still not getting the quality sleep that I need in order to function. I have chronic lyme which causes a myriad of problems which are different with each person, but the worst one was the sleep disturbance and once I was able to get that regulated it has made a reasonable difference in how I feel during the day, but it is a person to person thing and different rx's work differently for different people even if they are in the same drug classification.
39 year old Female
Posted: 2008-12-10 20:06:02
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