best sleep medication

[radrolley]

For those that chose the path of medication, what sleep meds work best for you? What do and/or don't you like about the ones you tried?

[radrolley]

Not being specific on a disorder, just any sleep disorder in general. I have several myself. I forget a lot of the terminology but I have bouts with insomnia. I have early awakenings and very vivid dreaming almost every night. I also have had sleep paralysis but it has been a long time since my last episode. I had it often as a child though.

Alcohol is used by many people for sleep. I don't agree with it but sometimes it is what they choose even if they are delusional about what it is doing to them. From my understanding it takes away from REM sleep. I drink on occasion but never for sleep. It makes me never feel as rested up the next day. Rarely do I ever drink to the point of a hangover. I'm not really into it much. Just a beer or 2 once in a while for the most part.

For insomnia the tetracyclic anti depressant Remeron worked great for sleep but I couldnt stand it's effects.  OTC anti histamines make me feel all weird I don't like them and they don't work long term. Benzos work great and I like the effects best best but obviously are addicting. If I take them too often and stop I get rebound insomnia real bad. Reason why I only take as needed and usually only for anxiety and panic attacks. xanax worked great but I liked ativan a lot better. They seem to work long term when i used to take them many days in a row. Never any bad effects the next day. Marijuana also works great for me every night and is legal where I am under state law. I usually fall asleep instantly. If i stop I get rebound insomnia but not as bad as the benzos. I tried ambien once and I felt no effects. Honestly marijuana works best for me long term. I always have weird vivid dreams though and not sure if it's from other meds I take or what. It's interesting though and usually not nightmares. more bad than good though. Messed up dreams though.

Just curious why do you take melatonin 'sometimes' instead of Trazadone? Arn't you supposed to take trazadone every night? I know several people who either take or have taken it.

[Heiferly]

When you ask "what sleep meds work best for you," I'm not clear on whether you're inquiring about meds to treat insomnia, early awakening, night terrors, sleep paralysis/hypnagogic hallucinations, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or what? Also, alcohol has no therapeutic use in sleep medicine. In fact, sleep specialists recommend that people wish sleep disorders minimize their alcohol intake, and never drink before bedtime as that can cause a disordered type of sleep (even if it subjectively seems like it's "helping" you sleep).

I have narcolepsy with cataplexy, which causes a wide range of symptoms from excessive daytime sleepiness to frequent night awakenings and night time insomnia to episodes of paralysis (status cataplecticus in my case). The best treatment protocol I've been on has been either Ambien or Trazadone plus Imipramine (a tricyclic used to treat cataplexy) in the evening, and Provigil (Modafinil) in the morning; I've also been on benzos, but for another rare disease I have, not my sleep issues. I sometimes take melatonin in addition to or instead of Trazadone.