Tried 5 drugs for insomnia but most didnt work! help!

[Melvine]

Hi

I have developed insomnia since Feb this year and i would wake up in middle of night for no reason. Most of the time i can get back to sleep but recently i need at least 30 min to 1 hour to get back to sleep! Recently my dreams has intensified and i can have vivid dream even in the morning!

I will look extremely tired the next day and i am very upset. What is even more depressing is the side effect of the drug! What caused me to sleep make me look much older the next day and what didnt cause me to sleep make me look fresh!

Mitrazapine - Terrible feeling of partial sleep-awakening stage during sleep!
Trazodone - Increased vivid dream! Woke up as usual in middle of night! No help!
Fluvoxamine - Blood pressure up
Trimipramine - Effective but blood pressure up. Sleep throughout but look very tired!
Amitriptyline/imipramine - Most effective. Side effect - Bed wet

What puzzled me is the ineffectiveness of Trazodone. It was supposed to be the top drug for insomnia!

Only TCA works but it cost bed wet! Can anyone recommend some TCA drug that won;t have high anticholingeric action?

Please help me! I am going crazy

[bekah01]

Hi,
Have you tried herbal tablet i get insomnia and take Natures Own Sleep Ezy tablets. I am in new zealand so not sure if you can get them where you are...

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, you have not mentioned are you being treated for depression or insomnia. All the above mentioned drugs are anti depressants which are used in the treatment of depression. Anti depressants are known to cause loss of sleep.

It is quite an unusual response you are having towards Amitriptyline/imipramine i.e. bed wetting. Actually it causes urinary retention and actually used in some cases of bed wetting. You need to be evaluated for unusual response.

The initial steps you need to take are sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, relaxation, sleep restriction, cognitive therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, phototherapy, and chronotherapy. These therapies can be prescribed by clinicians at any level but it can be better implemented by sleep specialist.

Medical therapy involves use of benzodiazepines, Nonbenzodiazepines, Melatonin agonist or Diphenhydramine against prescription for short duration. I suggest you to consult physician/sleep specialist for further management. Take care and regards.

[Addict63]

Hi Melvine,

I'm not a doctor and would never suggest medication on this forum, and I believe an actual doctor would need to see you in person and order up scientific studies prior to medicating you.

What gave me the urge to write you is the fact that, for me, waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and getting back to sleep in due time has never been a guarantee for me since age 45!! Speaking only for me, based on my experience, sleeping throughout the night is really rare.  Now I'm retired, so I know it's easy for me to say, but I've accepted my bad sleeping patterns as part of life. Last night I awoke at 3:30, got back to sleep around 5:30. I lay there and think, pretty much. It's been happening for many years. My occupation required creative thinking, which I sometimes accomplished during that awake period. Then I'd crawl into work the next day and look at last night's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed notes!

I stopped drinking many years ago. When I was actively addicted to alcohol, I'd fall asleep in my chair, get up to go to bed around 2AM and just lay there unable to fall asleep. My doctor put me on barbiturates for sleep, which was one of the many reasons I totally quit drinking. Maybe that's why I'm unable to sleep through the night now, starting at age 45 or so.

I hope you find a good answer. Just know you're not alone. -Best wishes.