[crazycatlady_83]

For those of you who can't sleep through the night...what do you take to help? I've tried 3mg of melatonin, Lunesta, Ambien, 1mg Ativan, 6oz of wine...nothing can consistently give me a full night's sleep. I take 80mg Geodon at night, which should make me tired, and it used to. I've had the most luck with Lunesta, but it's too expensive with no insurance. Is there anything I can ask my pdoc about?

[r010159]

I find that a triple shot of NyQuil does the trick when all else fails. I do have a sedative med that I can take, but it is not as effective as the NyQuil. I then put my headphones on and listen to music until I feel I am falling asleep. I sometimes fall asleep with the headphones on.

[LaborIntensive]

I use music sometimes.

[JoyDivision7680]

I take Valerian tincture and apaprently it works. I'm still waking up tired, but at least I can sleep a little better.

I went through two months of sleepless hell after quitting benzos. This herbal and melatonin supplement, which I started taking over the past week, has given me the best sleep I've had in years.

[TheatreKid]

I'm currently on seroquel, lorazepam, and 3 other antipsychotics and I still can't sleep. I use music, too. For awhile I had trained my brain into a routine where I listened to music for 20 minutes (auto shutoff at 20 minutes) and after that I would fall asleep. Lately it has stopped working due to anxiety, so I've started listening to a meditation while I'm falling asleep. The Solfeggio ones seem to work really well for me, there are 6 of them based on notes on the Solfeggio scale, and each note has different healing properties.

I found a link here: Glenn Harrold Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy CDs and MP3 Downloads

but I got them for my IPhone over the app store.

Originally Posted by psychehedone

I went through two months of sleepless hell after quitting benzos. This herbal and melatonin supplement, which I started taking over the past week, has given me the best sleep I've had in years.

I should note that melatonin originally did not work for me, e.g. when I took it for a year in 2012. However, now that my other medication has been adjusted (e.g. lower antidepressant dose, addition of a mood stabilizer, no more benzos), it seems to be working very well. Other lifestyle changes that I've made: 3000mg omega-3 fatty acids daily, drinking chamomile tea (2-3 cups every day), cutting back on refined sugars and greasy food, eliminating alcohol, meditating a few times a week (20 mins per session), and yoga a few times a week.

Also, I keep dried lavender buds in my room (I use it as pot-pourri), and scent my bedding with lavender essential oil. This relaxes me. It also makes me more alert in general, which might seem contradictory, but it's not. Lavender is an anxiolytic, which results in better sleep and more alertness.

My suggestion: if melatonin isn't working, and you're desperate for sleep, consider trying it again after some lifestyle, diet, and med changes. It's working like a charm right now (my Naturemade supplement also contains natural relaxants, like chamomile, passionflower, lemon balm, and L-theanine).

[LaborIntensive]

Have you tried sleeping in a new place and keeping out the things that keep you awake?

[ibex]

I take a benzo called Restoril/generic name temazepam for sleep..its in generic so its pretty cheap. You may want to ask about it. It's a heavy hitter. I take 45mg off label script. the limit is 30mg. I think my pdoc knows what she's doing. Good luck with whatever works for you.

[MagicsMom]

I take Lunesta and benzos at night due to chronic insomnia. Ambien is now generic. Unfortunately anything that knocks others out does nothing for me. I've tried everything under the sun - both prescription and non.

[crazycatlady_83]

Originally Posted by psychehedone

I should note that melatonin originally did not work for me, e.g. when I took it for a year in 2012. However, now that my other medication has been adjusted (e.g. lower antidepressant dose, addition of a mood stabilizer, no more benzos), it seems to be working very well. Other lifestyle changes that I've made: 3000mg omega-3 fatty acids daily, drinking chamomile tea (2-3 cups every day), cutting back on refined sugars and greasy food, eliminating alcohol, meditating a few times a week (20 mins per session), and yoga a few times a week.

Also, I keep dried lavender buds in my room (I use it as pot-pourri), and scent my bedding with lavender essential oil. This relaxes me. It also makes me more alert in general, which might seem contradictory, but it's not. Lavender is an anxiolytic, which results in better sleep and more alertness.

My suggestion: if melatonin isn't working, and you're desperate for sleep, consider trying it again after some lifestyle, diet, and med changes. It's working like a charm right now (my Naturemade supplement also contains natural relaxants, like chamomile, passionflower, lemon balm, and L-theanine).

I looked up the supplement you mentioned, and I'm going to run it by my pdoc. I have been trying to eat healthier and better in the hopes of trying to lose some of this unwanted weight. I'm trying again taking my might meds at 6pm instead of 6:30 to see if that helps. I took Ativan last night and got to bed about 9:45...I try for 9:30 at the latest. I think I only woke up a couple times and it was enough to check the time on my clock and do a little stretch and reposition. I actually woke up on my own about 6am feeling pretty refreshed and awake.

[crazycatlady_83]

Originally Posted by LaborIntensive

Have you tried sleeping in a new place and keeping out the things that keep you awake?

I don't really have an extra room to sleep in, if that's what you're referring to. I stopped charging my phone on my nightstand because I would still be able to hear it vibrate and then be curious what someone had facebooked to me or texted me. I've always grown up sleeping in complete darkness, but my husband and boys are slightly afraid of the dark, so it's easy to see everything in the room at any time. I do close my eyes as soon as I lay down and think sleepy thoughts, but then my mind races to random things. I guess I could try meditating while I'm getting ready for bed, my pdoc has suggested that before.

[crazycatlady_83]

I've tried temazepam and a couple others. They either don't keep my asleep all night, or make me too tired in the morning. When I first started them, I was working at 3:30am and had to get up by 2:30 to get ready. I was going to sleep at 8pm, and just taking my Geodon at 5:30pm was enough to get me tired. Ambien gave me crazy dreams and hallucinations. I don't really mind Lunesta, but it's too expensive, even with a coupon I found.
I also don't know if I'm on my way to mania and that is completely throwing out every effort I'm making to try and get some sleep.

[Standup2me]

Labor, I do that and it works.

I will get up and sleep in the living-room or in the spare bedroom.

It works pretty well