![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Erinn on September 14, 2000, at 15:13:25
I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?
Posted by Greg on September 14, 2000, at 15:52:01
In reply to Insomnia help, posted by Erinn on September 14, 2000, at 15:13:25
Erinn,
I've had insomnia for quite a while now and take Ambien every night for it. But some of the other things I've tried that seemed to help was Remeron and Tegretol. I take the Teg for mood swings and the sleepiness is kind of a side benefit. I also take a couple of Tylenol PMs if getting to sleep is a real chore. There are a number of teas and herbs available on the market that are supposed to help with sleep but I've never used any of them. Sorry if I wasn't much help.
Greg
> I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?
Posted by chdurie2 on September 18, 2000, at 19:35:22
In reply to Insomnia help, posted by Erinn on September 14, 2000, at 15:13:25
> I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?
Erin-I'm a very tough customer when it comes to sleep myself. They told me at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC that I was one of maybe three people in their history who actually stayed up all night during my sleep study. At the time 10 mg of Ambien worked, but it no longer works for me. As you can probably tell, I've tried quite a few things, and here's the best of it:
1)Klonopin - .5 to 2.0 mgs/night, but it produces a light but consistent sleep;
2)Klonopin in same dosages plus 2-10 ml (that's really 20-100 mgs) of Doxepin LIQUID taken STRAIGHT (undiluted by water) sublingually. the Klonopin puts you to sleep, and the Doxepin keeps you there; but lately i've had to go to 20 ml (200 mg.) and still the sleep isn't great, and the side effects from that much Doxepin are AWFUL! So tonite shrink and I developed new plan, and i'm pretty sleepy already, so it looks hopeful:
3)5mgs of Zyprexa and .5 mg of Klonopin, one hour before bedtime; repeat at bedtime, and 1 hour later if necessary. I just took the first dose, and I'm pretty sleepy. Looks like this will work, maybe even with no more before bedtime.
4)Paxil should knock you out, with or without Klonopin. You need to experiment a little.one thing...Sonata does not work. just tried it. not only did it not work, but it made me sick the next day. my pharmacist told me she's gotten lots of feedback from people that Sonata doesn't work--but it could work for you. not a great bet for a tough customer.
I know how you feel, when you'd give anything for a good night's sleep and have maddening circadian rhythms, and are bouncing around all nite. also, good sleep hygiene is a must, no matter how tough it is to do (no naps; same bedtime/risetime; if up all night, too bad; still have to rise at same time.) problem here is that if you're a true insomniac, a few days of this will turn you into a zombie. that's when we came up with the zyprexa plan. i'll let you know if it works. caroline
Posted by pullmarine on September 29, 2000, at 12:09:29
In reply to Insomnia help, posted by Erinn on September 14, 2000, at 15:13:25
>Hi erin,
try taking one or two nyquils. it helps me fall asleep.
JOHN
I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?
Posted by Cindy W on September 29, 2000, at 22:55:04
In reply to Re: Insomnia help, posted by pullmarine on September 29, 2000, at 12:09:29
> >Hi erin,
>
> try taking one or two nyquils. it helps me fall asleep.
>
> JOHN
> I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?Erin, have you tried melatonin? I was using that for a while, to fall asleep (Effexor-XR I'm taking was making it hard to sleep).--Cindy W
Posted by Cindy W on September 29, 2000, at 22:56:49
In reply to Re: Insomnia help, posted by pullmarine on September 29, 2000, at 12:09:29
Erin, I also forgot to mention, Kava Kava (overthecounter, like melatonin) can also help with sleep. I've taken that before, too, and it helped.--Cindy W
Posted by chdurie2 on October 1, 2000, at 18:40:37
In reply to Insomnia help, posted by Erinn on September 14, 2000, at 15:13:25
> I am having a major problem with insomnia caused by my ad. It takes me 2-4 hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am. My pdoc doesn't want me to take ambien everynight and I am getting pretty tired (and desperate!) Does anyone else have this problem and have they found anything that helps?
FYI--I just talked about drugs, rather than herbs, anti-histamines, etc., cuz i figured if you're that desperate, you've been the melatonin, kava kava, valerian, hops, skullcap, and tylenol p.m. routes, and they haven't helped. maybe i was wrong. caroline
Posted by Erinn on October 1, 2000, at 21:40:22
In reply to Re: Insomnia help, posted by chdurie2 on October 1, 2000, at 18:40:37
Thanks everyone for your help. I have found that melantonin helps some, kava leaves me feeling bad. I just found out that I am bipolar and was having a manic episode that didn't help my sleeping. Now I have a new sleeping pill - restoril- that works better than the ambien, and I've started neurontin which makes me drowsy.
Posted by chdurie2 on October 1, 2000, at 22:37:14
In reply to Re: Insomnia help, posted by Erinn on October 1, 2000, at 21:40:22
> Thanks everyone for your help. I have found that melantonin helps some, kava leaves me feeling bad. I just found out that I am bipolar and was having a manic episode that didn't help my sleeping. Now I have a new sleeping pill - restoril- that works better than the ambien, and I've started neurontin which makes me drowsy.
Erinn-Not that your experience will be (or is) like mine, but i forgot about restoril. that was a good one. don't remember why i stopped it -probably clashed with something else i was taking at the time. maybe i'll check it out again. thanks for mentioning it.
But don't be surprised if Neurontin stops making you drowsy after an ever-increasing amount. my experience and that of my friends was that some neurontin works great for sleep (and anxiety and pain); then you need more, and then you need so much that the drowsiness-effect wears off. docs start you slow, then push the dosage up so high i think it gets ridiculous. but maybe you'll be different.
glad you found a good combo. caroline
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.