ongoing sleep issues

[picklesmcd]

I will try and make this "short".  I have been suffering from "a" sleep disorder for years.  I have had 5 sleep studies, 2 of which showed mild apnea with the others showing that I had very little sleep at all.  During every sleep study, I have had zero amounts of stage 3, 4 or rem sleep.  I have major problems getting to sleep and staying asleep. When I wake up, I have unbelievable insomnia.  No matter what I do I can't get back to sleep.  I will lay there for the rest of the night.  I am otherwise healthy and athletic but feel and look exhaused and tired every day.  I have developed dark circles under my eyes from my inability to get any deep or restorative sleep.  I have not had a decent nights sleep in years.  I awake feeling as if I have had 25 beers the night before.  I have tried cpap, bipap s and st and every mask known to man.  There have been very few times that I have fallen asleep with the machine on.  If I do fall asleep, I will awaken an hour later and take the mask off.  After awakening I have that severe hangover effect. I do not snore, however I have awoken suddenly gasping for breath. I have taken Remeron, Ambien and Lunesta.  The only 1 which worked at all was Remeron.  When taking Remeron I did not experience the insomnia sypmtoms that I would have with the other meds.  I desperately need to get some sort of deep, refreshing sleep.  If anybody has any suggestions please reply.

Thanks,

Michael

[newbith]

I have sleep issues as well.  I was on an antidepressant once (for actual depression, lol), and it made me get the deepest, most luxurious sleep I've ever had.

[AJC]

I take a small dose of xanax an hour before sleep.(.5 or 1 mg) It is the only thing that helps. I have been put on several SSRI and tricyclic antidepressants to no avail. Also 1 anti-psychotic which was horrible. I am presently in a bout with Lexapro. Please steer clear of most meds. I will write a little more about my thoughts on these drugs, but was concerned about you being prescribed something bad for insomnia, which has been my main problem also for years.
{***@****)

[AJC]

My advice to anyone about SSRI-antidepressants,
If you do not want to hurt yourself or others, are unable to work or enjoy your life or do simple things such as go out in public or take a shower, or are not diagnosed with clinical depression, DO NOT TAKE ANY SSRI. The FDA has been far too lenient with the pharmaceutical companies due to weak laws passed by politicians taking campaign contributions from special interest pharmaceuticals. This makes it easy for pharmacy representatives to push drugs (and easy for the family doc)that are being prescribed for other conditions for which they haven't been tested. Please make it your last resort behind all other methods of therapy, most importantly, lifestyle changes. These meds haven't been tested for long term use and have been linked to birth defects to unborn children, killing some, also sending many to the ER with crazy side effects. These are very serious medications that should never be prescribed by anyone other than a specialist,(although, I am leary of them also)
Don't take chances with these meds until you've done very much research and investigation. (I took 1 pill of Lexapro (10mg.) and have been unable to work for 3 months!!!!)I have also communicated with 7 others who have had a very similar situation to mine. Don't let the Doctors throw these dangerous medications at you or it may ruin your life. It seems that some or many people may be benefitting from these medications, and I don't claim to know everything abot them. Keep in mind, all the doctors, specialists and pharmacists that I have spoken to, claim to know VERY LITTLE about what these drugs actually do to the brain and nervous system. My point is, once you take these meds, you are on your own. If you have a horrible problem caused by these drugs, you will be alone, noone will want to help you, noone will be able to help you, you will be considered a liability and pushed aside as if your case holds no importance. I am speaking from my experience.I hope this helps at least one person make a better decision and subsequently saves many the grief that I have endured.
Thank you for reading all of this.
Tony

[Sandilynn]

I am not a strong supporter of meds and I, too, know there are side effects to any meds, including over-the-counter ones that many people take. However, that being said, I was prescribed Klonopin/Clonazepmam which was given to me for restless leg syndrome, which I am not so sure I have, BUT I have never slept so well since I was a small child! It has been a blessing to me! I have been on it for over two years now and have not had any bad side effects. I am extremely sensitive to most any medication so this is a miracle in and of itself! I even wake up and do not feel "drugged". I feel refreshed and well rested.

Everyone is different and you have to do what works for you but I thought I would share what worked for me. It may be something you want to discuss with your doctor.

Best wishes and my heart goes out to you because I know if you can't sleep well it affects every part of your life!

Sandi

[VTL]

Hi Michael,

I have had serious sleep problem for over 10 years, and it has got even worse the last 3 months, to the point where I was going all night without any sleep, and could not even fall asleep to take a nap during the day. I tried everything that the doctors tell you, read all the books I could, and learn how to clear my mind, but even that would not allow me to sleep.

I found that medication was the only solution. I have found the combination that will put you to sleep. But don't take these medications every night, as you will build a tolerance.

3mg of Xanax, 100 mg of Trazodone, and 350mg of Soma. It is the only thing that will put me to sleep quickly (less than 1/2 hour), I will not wake up during the night, and I can get as much as 6 hours of sleep, and can now nap about 1/2 hour during the day, with one glass of wine. But don't drink any alcohol after 7pm, otherwise you can mess up the stages of sleep.
  
Good luck.

[picklesmcd]

Hi Vtl,

Thanks for the info.  I to can not nap at all.  I can be extremely tired on a Sat or Sun and find that I can not even nap.  Last night was a perfect example as to what is going on with me.  I took remerom before bed (10:30) and fell asleep only to awake at 12:30 feeling like my head was going to explode and my eyeballs were going to pop, out of my head.  After this I have unbelievable insomnia where I can not get back to sleep.  Even for the 2 hours that I was asleep it still didn't feel like I was asleep.  It seems as if I have 1 long dream or constant thought during this time.  When I awake I feel like I have the worst hangover imagineable and then the insomnia.  I am at my wits end.  I have another sleep study this Friday night in Boston.  In the past I have not been able to sleep at all during sleep studies, thus my sleep doc tells me that I only have mild apnea.  I can only hope that this Friday night I am able to duplicate in the lab what happens at home.  Thanks Again.

[martinezm2]

Has anyone tried to use Temazepam for long periods of time?

I have had insomnia for over 20 years.   At first I "dealt" with it, then went from Ambien to Lunesta and in between tried a number of other meds that usually made me feel "odd" the next day.  

My health coverage only pays a fraction of the cost of Lunesta or Ambien leaving me with $300 or so in monthly costs.  

Oddly, Temazepam has been around longer, works better and is only $15 (of which my medical plan pays $5.00)


I am not a fan of meds, but there is no denying that it is the only thing that has helped me keep my sanity.