Sleep Problems

[SurfThaNet]

Any advice on sleep problems. The Ambien and Amien CR not working. I'll spend nights awake no sleep for days. Anyone else have this problem? Other meds working for you?

Red

[mikesimon]

Ambien always works for me but recently I was hospitalized because of a motorcycle accident and they put me on Trazadone. It didn't put me right to sleep like Ambien does but once I got to sleep I stayed that way all night which is something that never happens  with Ambien. Mike

[jmjm530]

Instead of splitting your riba evenly, you can take more earlier in the day. My doctor has no problem with this approach while others may disagree. Also consider progressive relaxation exercises/tapes at bedtime.

-- Jim

[fresnoborn]

hi i tried ambien, unfortunately, i had a bad reaction to it so then they put me on trazadone. it worked really well but it caused my hands and feet to be swollen so then they switched me to seroquel. i have been taking that for about 3 years and it works fairly well. it is also a psychotic drug so it does two things at once, puts me to sleep, immediately, and keeps the anxiety away. i would suggest: talking with your doc and trying something that works for you, also, like jim said, relaxation tapes help and so does warm chamomile tea or a warm, relaxing bath before bed. good luck to you and i hope you soon get a restfull nights sleep. lol

[SurfThaNet]

Mike:

Sorry to hear about the bike accident. I sold my 2001 HD Road King Classic.:-(

Trazidone make my arms and legs feel heavy. I've had a hard time taking it in the past.

Red

[GoofyDad]

I had a terrible reaction to ambien. Sweaty palms, palpitations, light-headed, almost had to call the medics. It happened right away too, I picked up the script at the drug store, she rang it up on the register, and WHAM, that's when it overcame me. Nearly passed out, LOL.

Actually, just joking as I have pretty good Ins. But the copay was fairly high, comparatively.  

I use ambien now mostly because I need more sleep than I'm accustomed too. So, to help get an early night, I pop an ambien. On weekends, I don't bother - just 2-3 times a week.

I was using benadryl. That knocks me out better, but it takes an hour and a half to work. And it leaves me foggy in the AM. Don't need it these days, thankfully.

[lackalustre]

are you presently on tx?   sometimes mixing a little xanax with the ambien hits more receptors and works well.   trazadone helps many too.    if you arent on tx.  you may ask your dr. about rozerem  a new sleep aid that is non hypnotic.  it works on the melatonin receptors but is not melatonin   i had to go to a sleep clinic after tx. as i never got back on  the sleep track correctly. and treatment made me wired to boot.  ~~~ the sleep queen~~~~~

[hunapu]

I was on ambian first, and would sleep for 4 hours then wake up.  So they put me on Lunestra, which would keep me up until the middle of the night then not let me get up in the AM.  I did try Ambian CR and it worked the best.  But, sometimes it does not work so well and I lie awake looking at the ceiling.  It seems to work best if I take the pill and then go to bed within 15-20 minutes.  It seems that if I get distracted with anything, even conversation, or sometimes even reading (keep the TV off) it sometimes seems to detract....

[LvdByGod]

yeah i sure have the sleep problems too...bummer huh? it seems i can build up a sort of immunity to the ambian where it stops working if i take it every night...then if i stop it i really can't sleep...

but try to stop! try it on a friday night and just stay awake until you must sleep, but don't sleep all day, that will just cause more problelms...try to suffer through the saturday and sleep earlier in the eve on sunday...this gets me back on track...oh yeah i also weened myself off ambian and started the trazodone that way...

i now take a half of trazodone nightly and i now only use a half of ambian a couple times a week. there are stronger sleep meds but they will really screw you up and you get a tolerance to them too...i personally know this! learned the hard way on that...not to mention if you have any adiction (addiction) probs...you really don't want the stronger ones,they can get you going if ya know what i mean...there are a couple more like ambian...that arn't adictive and you could try those.

hope this works for you...sounds like you have become immune to it and need to start the trazodone...and then just ambian occasionally...never daily again...or it won't work for you when you MUST sleep.

this is spoken from one who has been dealing with this for 2 years now on tx...you must get off the ambian and start the trazodone...then only half the ambian and only when absolutely necessary...then it will always do the job for you...

this is just my own experience...i'm sure others will have some other ideas for you...

nighty night!

san man

[mikesimon]

I will probably sell my bikes soon. I've got to get the bike I wrecked fixed first. It's a 2003 custom chopper style bike with a 12" over front end, a 43% rake and a 113" motor - very little damage from the wreck considering what it did to me. My other is a 1991 HD FXSTC with an S&S 96" motor I intalled in 1995. I bought the bike new in 91. I hate the thought of being w/o a bike but after this wreck I think it's time to quit. It must have been tough getting rid of the Road King. I really like that bike. Best of luck to you. Mike

[Tonyz]

One of the new sleeping meds is Lunesta. It work great and is approved for long term use.


Here is there web site..

<a href="http://www.lunesta.com/">lunesta web site</a>

    I hope this can help. I also suffered from insomnia before TX and it got much worse during TX. I found a low dose of trazodone with the Lunesta got me through TX.


          God Bless

              TonyZ

[cao]

I really had good luck with trazadone.  I didn't feel groggy the next day & I slept really well (through the night).  On the occasion that my toddler woke me up in the middle of the night, however, I was able to function & also get back to sleep. It worked wonders.  I had no trouble stopping after TX completed. Good luck:)  I know it's hard to not be rested!

[SurfThaNet]

Mike:

113" Wow! I'm a bike nut too... You have earned your "Broken Wings" now... I hate it whenever I hear that a Brother went down.
How is your treatment going?

Everyone:

Ihave heard a lot about Trazodone... I had problems with it, maybe it was because of the time of day I was taking it.

God Is Good!

Red

[SurfThaNet]

Thanks for all the good commits.... I am on my 2nd week of TX. Before that I traveled alot, different time zones. That was about 3 years ago and that is when I started Ambien. I really have a hard time sleeping anyway.... Dr. Shiffman at MCV has me on the Roche treatment, Pegasys & Copegus. So far sx not too bad after two weeks.Does it get worse? Just the sleep issue. But, as you can see I already had that issue.

GIG,

Red (SurfThaNet)

[GoofyDad]

Sleep improved for me at about wk 4 or so. Good luck.

[cquest]

Eat some pecans before you go to bed...seriously...I read that somewhere, tried it, it worked for me. Maybe it worked because I WANTED it to work but whatever...

Then try this: lay on your back perfectly still, start at the top of your head and begin relaxing your muscles, visualizing each muscle releasing the tension...your face is always very tense but you won't realize that until you relax, your eyelids naturally open slightly too, and so on to your toes...voila! You will probably be asleep or close to it by then! It will take about 45 minutes the first time and decrease as you learn how to do it...it takes me about 2 minutes now and I am asleep almost immediately once I roll over to my normal position...believe me, it works!
Cin

[mikesimon]

The front end is 12 inches over and I think it measured at 44 inches total length. It's a Spyke inverted frontend and you can find it pictured at a few sites. The Spyke site has it but there is no price etc. so I don't know if they sell it themselves. Mine got scratched up so I will replace it when I get the okay from the insurance co. That's what I'm doing now - trying to find all the parts. No, I wasn't used to the rake and that may have contributed to the wreck. I don't know because I can't remember anything after getting gas a mile before the wreck. The EMTs said I was conscious the whole time reciting my medical history, which is quite lengthy but I have no recollection. I live in southwestern PA and both the roads and the drivers are pretty bad. I am about 25 miles sw of Pittsburgh. Ambien has been around for a long time. A big shot film producer that I know has been taking it forever, it seems. That was why I started taking it - I figured if he's been taking it for years and was still taking the same dose it must be okay. Now that I think about it I may have only taken it for 11 or 12 years. That's still a pretty long time. I used to take the little pink or orange ones (5mg I think) but now it's the white ones only. I'll check out the ride when I get the time. Be well. Mike

[mikesimon]

I am in rehab for a badly fratured tibia plateau and I'm getting along okay. I can walk but it ain't pretty. I figure another 4 or 5 months and I'll be walking just fine. I am also scheduled for vestibular therapy for equilibrium/balance problems due to an inner ear concussion from the wreck. My hearing is perfect but my balance  needs work. Other than that I'm perfect. You'll appreciate this: I did 3 TXs for a total or 3.5 years. I cleared the last try with Pegasys and Ribavirin for 18 months. Then once I became SVR I wanted to celebrate and treat myself so I bought the chopper in March 2005. It had 1700 miles on it but was mint and I bought it right. I put 70 miles on it before a guy pulled in front of me and I put it down - May 8th Mother's Day. I was in the hospital for 30 days after that accident. I treated myself real good, wouldn't you say? I had never taken Trazadone and didn't want to but my neurosurgeon said that he didn't want me to take Ambien after my head trauma so it was Traz. It worked out well for me because I really liked that Ambien feeling. I had been taking it for over 15 years - I've been a chronic insomniac for a long time. Good luck. Mike

[SurfThaNet]

Mike:

Where do you live? I'll try to stay away from the drivers. ;-)
How long was the front end? Were you used to the rake?

I live on the eastcoast of Virginia. I loved riding through the mountains of VA & NC. There is a place called "Deals Gap" in N.C.,a road call "The Dragon", 318 curves in 11 miles. Do a Goggle search if you are interested in more information.

You have been taking Ambien for 15 years? I did not knowit has been out that long. I have been taking it since 2000.


Too many questions..... You have sparked my interest....

GIG,

Red

[NYgirl]

I love my Ambien but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night too.  I figure that is much better than it used to be and try to just get back to bed.

I think Jim is right maybe taking more of the riba in the morning so you have time so burn it off.  I take 3 in the morning and 2 at night and haven't really had any problems since the Ambien.

Just tell your doc that for your quality of life you need to pursue another choice of sleep med.

It's not a one size fits all thing that's for sure!

[SurfThaNet]

Mike:

Can we take this discussion off line. I want to continue the bike conversation.

Red

[mikesimon]

I have been away for a while and just saw your post. Maybe tomorrow we can try to hook up. I'll be around later Sunday. Mike

[SurfThaNet]

Mike:

Reach me at ***@**** I lookforward to talking to you off-line

Red

[mikesimon]

I sent you an email. Mike