Has anyone been perscribed sleeping aids (Lunesta, Ambien, Sonata, etc.)?

Long story short, I recently finished a part-time work schedule that had me up all night (as you could probably tell by the hours that I post), but I'm going to law school in a little more than two weeks, where I'll have to wake up consistently between 5 and 6 AM to get to my first classes.

I figured the best way going about handling the discrepancy between my current sleep schedule and the one I'll need to start would be sleeping pills (and over the counter shit does nothing for me).

I know it might not be the healthiest solution, but I'm not really looking to hear that.

Has anyone ever been perscribed to Lunesta, Ambien, Sonata, etc.? And if so, can you shed some light on my situation? I'm meeting with my general practitioner in a week to request something, and I'd like to hear some advice or stories if ya'll have them.

 

I used to have to take ambien. Ten minutes after I took it; I went out like a light. I was out for at least 7 hours. When I woke, I didn't feel drugged. I felt refreshed.

The only reason why I went off it was because I didn't want to be addicted. I can sleep pretty easy now. I think most of my hardship of sleeping was because of stress.

 

I'm worried about the addictive potential as well, but how long did you take it for, and did you take it nightly?

Also, I have enough common sense not to mix it with alcohol, but let's say you take some Ambien all week long, and then the weekend arrives, and you go out to the club... what does that do to you, both in terms of your experience out and also your short-term health?

Did Ambien being in your system fuck with your sex drive on the weekends? Are you more hungover the next morning, if you decide to go out drinking instead of taking Ambien? Do you have less of a tolerance for alcohol once you've started taking Ambien? Also, do you have less of an Ambien tolerance once you've been taking it?

- Those are the sorta questions I have, but I think, as soon as I asked my doctor them, he'd think twice about prescribing me sleep-aids.

 

My daughter takes an over the counter medication call Melatonin for help sleeping. Seems to work great for her.

 

I take Trazodone. I used to have a hard time falling asleep and would wake up several times during the night and it would take awhile to fall back asleep. I sleep great now. I'm out 20-30 minutes after taking it and sleep good through the night. I dont feel tired when I wake up.

 

About 3 years ago I had severe insomnia. I'm talking about up all night insomnia. I was prescribed one pill (starts with z, can't remember name) that worked for a while and then stopped. So I got Lunestra.

Case of cure being worse than the disease.

It was OK at first. But gradually I started having severe dizzy spells, could barely drive to the grocery store. And bad panic attacks. EVERYTHING (except, oddly, going to work, maybe because at work I was too busy to think) had me in a swivet. I started having TV on all the time because I couldn't stand silence. I was taking a class and dropped out with two sessions to go because leaving home made me panic. I mean I was a total fucking mess and since it came on gradually I didn't connect with meds. I just thought I was going off my onion (no sarcastic comments please).

At Genentech we have a week break over December holidays. Lunestra was losing effectiveness so I decided I'd stop taking it over the break; if I was up all night at least I did not have to go to work the next day. And meanwhile I was so panicked over a week off work my doctor had to prescribe tranks. I quit Lunestra and a week later all symptoms were gone. When I looked it up I discovered dizziness and panic attacks were known side effects. I disposed of all the pills and have not taken sleep meds since. Fortunately the severe insomnia resolved itself; still have occasionally but not that bad or that often.

Not saying you'll have the same problems but do beware; if it happens, you're not crazy, it's the "wings of Lunestra" flying you to cloud cuckoo land.

 

My wife took Trazodone for a while. After about a month, she quit. She said the dreams she had when taking Trazodone were so vivid she had a hard time telling if they were dreams or real. Made her think she was going nuts.

Go Blazers

 

usually insomnia will hit me when i know i only have a couple hours to sleep before having to get up

 

It's been a while since I took it, but I can remember the moment you took it; you were going to sleep if you liked it or not. I didn't drink much, so I couldn't really tell if it effects drowsiness with alcohol. I would assume that it probably doesn't mix well.

Here is just a quick answer from googling ambien + alcohol.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081002234747AAINOmz

 

Ambien (Zolpidem) is not physically addictive, although it can be a little hard to fall asleep without it once you stop, but even thats not so bad. I actually took it for a year strait, every night. When my last prescription ran out my Doc wanted me to be off of it for a while to make sure there were no issues with dependency and I was able to quit cold turkey with zero problem. It took about two nights of trying to get tired on my own before I completely over it.

I have been on other sleeping pills, I have always been an insomniac, and ambien is far and away the best option for me. I know that some people do crazy things on Ambion, like eat huge amounts or sleep-drive, but none of that has ever happened to me. Well, I think I did smoke a bunch of weed one night, but I'm not sure if I can blame the ambien. Anyway, I give a giant two thumbs up. I plan to go back on it. You really don't feel drugged while on it, you just feel tired. Mainly, I would take a pill 10-15 min before bed, and then I would be asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. This is a big deal, because without it on average it takes me 30min to fall asleep, with the occasional 5 hours of laying down wide awake.

 

From what I've seen, melatonin doesn't really do much, it's more of a placebo effect.

I've looked, but never found any evidence that it works well.

 

I'll second Ambien. I don't take it every night, but if I'm on the road for work, I'll have a half-tab to fall asleep and get in a solid 7 hours. If you ever fly red-eye, it's golden, too.

 

My oldest daughter has trouble falling asleep at times. The pediatrician suggested melatonin, which helped her mentally, at least. The last year or so, though, we put in a placebo white pill if she has trouble, and she doesn't know the difference.

 

Is it just getting used to a new schedule or that you think you will have problems sleeping.

If it is adjusting, I would think just getting up early each morning will force you to adjust to sleeping earlier . . . kind of like adjusting time zones, shouldn't take too long and maybe a couple of nights of 3-4 hours of sleep. If you think you will have problems sleeping due to the stress of law school, try lorazepam, if you think you have insomnia there have been some good suggestions already.

All these anti-stress and sleeping aids are being prescribed like candy yet are relatively new. My concern would be the long term effects of these drugs and if there will be any link to memory loss or degenerative type of diseases. Hopefully you will be exhausted from studying and fall asleep easily.

 

Also look for an underlying physical cause for insomnia; in my case it was obstructed breathing.

One thing my doctor told me that was helpful. Because when it's 2 AM and you're still awake there is a tendency to feel rotten. The whole world is sleeping and there you are. Simple but helpful, she said that the worst that will happen is you'll be tired next day. That's all. Yo

 

First off great thread, lot's of good info here. Second, doesn't sound like you're looking for something all-natural but I've got something you must try. This is a brand new product that hasn't hit the market yet that I can send you a sample of, hit me up (PM).



The ingredients are nothing incredibly new, but the delivery system (oral spray) is the best way to absorb stuff into your bloodstream. Studies are showing its even more effective than an injection. One of the main reasons melatonin doesn't normally work for people is simply the delivery system, pills.

 

Due to the kind of work I do, I have had a terrible time sleeping since college. You find yourself wired and intellectually active for 14-16 hours a day, but not doing much physically. I would try to get to sleep, but I couldn't shut off my brain. I would then sleep enough to recharge my body but not my brain. The best thing that has worked for me over the years is plain old exercise. I would work out enough (usually during my dinner break at work) to get me tired around midnight or 2:00 AM. I would then sleep well until 7:00 AM or so.

I don't have any experience with pills, because they scare the life out of me.

 

3 or 4 shots of Glenmorangie usually does the trick.

 

havent slept for 3 days