RE: Insomnia
July 28, 2012 at 2:03 am
(This post was last modified: July 28, 2012 at 2:27 am by Jackalope.)
(July 26, 2012 at 1:32 pm)Chuff Wrote: All the suggestions about sleeping tablets... Its not that easy in the uk. You can't buy anything stronger than an ibuprofen(advil?) without a visit to the doctor, his recommendation to drink warm milk and to try counting sheep, then a return visit 2 weeks later before they will finally prescribe anything.
I myself have terrible insomnia which is only abated by smoking weed, which (ridiculously) is easier to obtain than sleeping tablets...
As someone with raging chronic insomnia, I can sympathize with the difficulty in obtaining help from your physician. This week has been rough: two nights where I could not get to sleep before 5am, and one where it was not until after 6. When the alarm goes off at 7... Well, I find myself telling myself "if I can fall asleep now, I'll be able to get by on two hours of sleep". It takes a toll mentally and physically.
Sleeping pills, meh. I have atypical reactions to z-drugs like ambien and other hypnotics like Lunesta. Let's just say they don't put me to sleep, and I have undesirable psychiatric side effects from them.
As a result, in addition to trying a number of non-chemical therapeutic techniques, my doctor had me try a number of off-label drugs. A year on atypical anti-psychotics, another year on benzodiazepines, months on gabapentin, trazodone... The list goes on. Some were ineffective, some had intolerable side effects, oh yeah, then there was getting over benzo dependency - fun stuff. Overall, I would have to say that what was best was a low dose of trazodone (as low as 25mg), it's a sedating antidepressant, not habit forming, very inexpensive, and fairly tolerable as far as side effects are concerned.
Aside from that, what's worked reliably for me is a small amount of weed, sometimes with liquor (only one drink). I actually don't care much for getting high much anymore, but it sure helps right before bedtime. It's not half bad for anxiety as well.
I do note that although I do live in a state where medicinal marijuana is legal, insomnia and anxiety are not on the list of state-approved conditions, as of the last time I checked. Screw em, I get mine outlaw style.
(July 26, 2012 at 3:20 pm)apophenia Wrote: So now I'm taking seroquel for sleep. (Quietipine, an anti-psychotic with sedating properties.) The downside is, it can cause tardive dyskinesia, and for me, if I take too little, I don't sleep; too much, and I'm dead and groggy half the next day; there is no "just right" dose for me.
I have two words for Seroquel (which I took for over a year): "Never again." My experience with it was similar to yours - there is no just right dose, and any dose that would get me to sleep, I would sleep too long and I would be brain damaged until dinner time. I couldn't function at work.
It also happens to be insanely expensive (my RX was $350/month until my deductible was met).
I'd try Trazodone first if I knew then what I know now. The dry mouth is bothersome but a hell of a lot better in my estimation than the side effects I had from Seroquel.
For tough cases or where apnea is suspected, a sleep study can be helpful too if you can get your insurance to cover it. I learned quite a bit when I had one done a couple of years ago - particularly that in my case, that I didn't get more than about 15 minutes of sleep between wake cycles (I woke 34 times in less than 6 hours), without a single apnea event.
