Ambien?

[emily_in_nc]

I took Ambien, slept quite well and without incident.

Ditto. The key is to take it right as you are getting into bed. Don't take it and then piddle around the house or (heaven forbid) go anywhere, drive, etc.... Also, for my body weight (105ish), I split each pill in half, which also saved a bunch of $ and had the same effect (zzzzzzzzzzz) I don't take it anymore, but it was a lifesaver in getting me through a couple of rough patches in the past when I just couldn't fall asleep due to my mind going over and over things, no matter if I did everything else right to prepare myself for a good night of sleep. Lunesta also worked well for me but was a lot more $$$$ than generic Ambien.

I have fast metabolism so pills don't last all that long on me, so I did still tend to wake up too early on Ambien. Considered asking for Ambien CR (continuous release) but was scared that might give me a hangover, so I never bothered. For your situation (staying asleep), the CR version may be just the ticket to helping you to wake less during the night.

Good luck! Waking up over and over and being uncomfortable is no fun.

[badger]

melatonin works very well for me, though I've read some conflicting reports on its safety. I just take it when I need it or when I'm traveling.

Valerian does work well, but sometimes I find there's a bit of a "hangover" the next morning.

I must be weird, because GABA actually makes me agitated. My face would get all tingly, and I get a weird sensation/taste in my mouth. I once took it to sleep and as I drifted off suddenly bolted upright with my heart racing and feeling rather frightenend. I didn't put two and two together until I took GABA again a few nights later with the same result. I guess we're all wired differently!

5-HTP's supposed to be good for insomnia, too.

[malkin]

Ditto. The key is to take it right as you are getting into bed. Don't take it and then piddle around the house or (heaven forbid) go anywhere, drive, etc.... .

ABSOLUTELY!

Do not take Ambien and then stay up waiting to go to bed until you feel sleepy!
Just go to bed.

[KnottedYet]

My doc told me to take it IN bed, and not to get out of bed until morning.

Which I did.

But I couldn't tolerate Ambien.

[redrhodie]

Have you tried anything like using a full body pillow? I can't imagine the position you're forced to be in right now. Would more propping help?

[jessmarimba]

I love the full body pillow - it has actually helped immensely.

New plan is to wait until my first PT session. If they say it's ok to relax a little with the sleeping positions then I might be ok. Like most of you guys, I'm not all that fond of the idea of taking ambien. I don't know if the CR would work, but if I'm going to keep waking up I'd rather not be drugged.

I am considering the melatonin though.

The cats have taken to sleeping on my chest too, which makes me less likely to try to roll over in my sleep

Thanks for all of the advice so far!

[malkin]

(((cats on the chest))))

[emily_in_nc]

Melatonin doesn't help me much when I'm having problems sleeping but probably can't hurt. It has anti-oxidant properties and may help fight cancer.

Read more here:

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/Trea...ment/melatonin

[Pedal Wench]

My doc told me to take it IN bed, and not to get out of bed until morning.

Which I did.

But I couldn't tolerate Ambien.

K- what couldn't you tolerate? I'm one of those who takes it without much incidence, but I want to know what problems to look for.

[VeloVT]

I have had bouts of terrible insomnia (no "medical" cause, but anxiety definitely played a role). I have used Ambien and I think it is *awesome*. When I am having trouble sleeping, I have BOTH trouble falling asleep and tend to wake up at 2am and can't get back to sleep. Ambien will put me out 20 minutes after I take it and keep me out for 7-8 hours. I wake up rested and ready to lick my weight in tigers.

[SlowButSteady]

I spent five years on sleeping pills. My doctor toggled me back and forth between ambien and restoril, changing when one began to lose effectiveness.

I also did various holistic things, herbal teas, home remedies and even took a Reike class and practiced Reike on myself.

My problem was never falling asleep, it was staying asleep. It was waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. The longer things went on, the more panicky I would be when I woke up and the less able I was to go back to sleep.

Eventually he put me on the Ambien CR (controlled release) but it really didin't help either.

I hated it!!! The whole time I took it, I had a pathologically bad taste in my mouth.

I quit using it when I had severe asthmatic bronchitis (I was afraid I would die if I couldn't wake up while having trouble breathing).

Immediately, the bad taste went away AND I was able to sleep AND not panic when I woke up during the night.

I hope you find a solution, it's truly miserable to not be able to sleep.

[jessmarimba]

Yeesh - I'm up to about 5-6 hours of sleep now but only if I stay up to the point where I am beyond exhausted. But I'm a little more flexible now so it should start to get easier, I think!

[KnottedYet]

K- what couldn't you tolerate? I'm one of those who takes it without much incidence, but I want to know what problems to look for.

Terrible mental fog and confusion, going into semi-dream states during the day, emotionally labile.

Bad stuff for me, and I had to stop taking it. It made me sleep just fine, but even at half dose I just couldn't shake it off during the day.

[Aggie_Ama]

After my Nanny died my anxiety and depression started to trigger insomnia. I could not sleep through the night, one to two hours and then wake up. I have always been a heavy sleeper so it was horrible. I was about to fall over I was so exhausted. I do not get sleepy off Benedryl so most OTC stuff was out of the question. I did try cutting caffeine out completely, camomile tea, using lavender scents in my room, trying to stay out of the bedroom for anything but sleeping and Lunasom but nothing helped. Finally we figured out my existing anxiety issues were the root and the not sleeping was just amplifying them because I was anxious I couldn't sleep!

I tried Ambien and felt drowsy the next day, I felt worse than if I didn't take it plus I had really vivid dreams including every detail of my Nanny's death, even the hospital smell and how my aunt's sweater felt. I tried Lunesta and woke up even when the dose was increased. Finally my doctor put me on trazadone which was developed as an anti-depressant but puts people to sleep. It doesn't knock me out like Ambien did but it does turn my brain down a notch so I can drift into sleep. I hope you continue to sleep better.

Oh and a funny story but scary story about people doing odd things on Ambien. An old co-worker of mine took it when he went to bed. The next morning he was looking at his bank account and couldn't figure out why he had a charge at the local grocery store from the same day, he hadn't been. He went home and found he had bought 6 bottles of tabasco sauce at 1:30 that morning (according to the receipt). He didn't remember going and said he didn't even like tabasco unless in a bloody mary which he wasn't drinking alcohol until he was off the Ambien.

[trista]

What about Lunesta? I take 1/2 a pill just about every night to cure my insomnia. Puts me right to sleep for the whole night. I feel great in the morning.