[TRNRMOM]

i don't know if this should be posted under the `cool insomnia club' (maybe i'll duplicate and post there as well). my pandemic nightly anxiety and insomnia seem only to be managed by take 1/2 of .05mg klonopin, 15mg temazepam (used specifically for sleep, tho this is another benzo) and 100mg progesterone; most nights this combo works fine but the morning drug hangover lingers on for hours even tho i drink 2 cups of coffee and go to the gym 6 days a week hoping to metabolize these meds. i have a video appt. coming up in a few weeks with psych nurse but in the meantime i'd love your personal input. i've read that some of you combine zzzquill with a benzo; have lots of 25mg seroquel which i used to take by itself but it seems to have pooped out on me. anyone have some magical solutions to this darn insomnia?

[MuddyBoots]

I wish I had the answers. I take Seroquel and Temazepam for sleep and usually around 6pm or so Ill take a klonopin just to settle down and I think that helps, but I dont truly wake up until like 10am which is certainly not ideal for someone who likes to start their morning adventures at dawn. I do almost all the things they suggest to do (take showers at night, most nights I get off anything with a screen by 7ish, listen to Beethoven for Bedtime, no caffeine in the afternoon/evenings, no drinking, exercising during the day, cool dark room, weighted blanket, lavender essential oils, no napping, all of it and the insomnia persists).
I’m sorry you’re dealing with such insomnia, I hope someone finds answers for us soon.

[TRNRMOM]

Originally Posted by Sapien

I wish I had the answers. I take Seroquel and Temazepam for sleep and usually around 6pm or so Ill take a klonopin just to settle down and I think that helps, but I dont truly wake up until like 10am which is certainly not ideal for someone who likes to start their morning adventures at dawn. I do almost all the things they suggest to do (take showers at night, most nights I get off anything with a screen by 7ish, listen to Beethoven for Bedtime, no caffeine in the afternoon/evenings, no drinking, exercising during the day, cool dark room, weighted blanket, lavender essential oils, no napping, all of it and the insomnia persists).
I’m sorry you’re dealing with such insomnia, I hope someone finds answers for us soon.

how's your morning hangover combining the klonopin, seroquel and temezepam and can you share what mg. of each you take? it seems like we're needing so many different meds to sleep and like you, i do all the other things that you wrote about above, with the exception of having a weighted blanket. i rarely feel `tired' because my diagnosis is hypomanic with no depression for 35+ yrs. and try to be asleep by 8:30 so i've even thought that maybe i'm going to bed too early when never feeling `tired' and that's a contributor to the insomnia...and of course, dealing in our own ways with this pandemic is a major contributor as well.

[*Beth*]

ZzzQuil and 25mg. Seroquel has been the only sleep remedy that has worked for me this fall. Sometimes I alternate to avoid tolerance. So only Seroquel, or only ZzzQuil. Neither alone works for more than 3 nights. Sometimes only 12.5mg Seroquel will work.

[TRNRMOM]

beth: your combo didn't work for me. i just shake my head in disbelief reading how many of us need to medicate to get decent sleep; probably the majority of us have tried everything and the `cool insomnia club' thread has 60+ pages of insomniacs...terrible, just terrible.....

[MuddyBoots]

Originally Posted by TRNRMOM

how's your morning hangover combining the klonopin, seroquel and temezepam and can you share what mg. of each you take? it seems like we're needing so many different meds to sleep and like you, i do all the other things that you wrote about above, with the exception of having a weighted blanket. i rarely feel `tired' because my diagnosis is hypomanic with no depression for 35+ yrs. and try to be asleep by 8:30 so i've even thought that maybe i'm going to bed too early when never feeling `tired' and that's a contributor to the insomnia...and of course, dealing in our own ways with this pandemic is a major contributor as well.

The seroquel I take 300mg at night (trying to get the dose lowered), 15-30mg temazepam, and 0.5mg klonopin. The hangover is awful, but not as bad as not sleeping. It’s not like I have stuff I want to do anymore anyway.

[TRNRMOM]

Originally Posted by Sapien

The seroquel I take 300mg at night (trying to get the dose lowered), 15-30mg temazepam, and 0.5mg klonopin. The hangover is awful, but not as bad as not sleeping. It’s not like I have stuff I want to do anymore anyway.

i used to take only 25-37mg seroquel with 15mg temezepam and progesterone (i document every morning how well i've slept on whatever med combo i'm trying) but for now it seems the 1/2 of .05mg klonopin, 15mg temezepam and progesterone seem to work best (for now)...yes, the hangover is there a good part of the day for me but i agree: hangover is better than no sleep; i'm 74, married and have no life but merely existence due to this pandemic. hopefully everyone will have a great night of sleep!!! that's all we want!!

[FluffyDinosaur]

I prefer Lorazepam for sleep, it just seems to work best for me. I don't really have a hangover from it if I take it at 09:00 and go to bed at 10:00. I typically take 1mg and try to minimize the days that I take 2mg, even though that works best. Periodically I try to lower my dosage or stop for a while to avoid dependence. Sometimes I use Temazepam because I can control and reduce the dosage a bit more precisely (for me three 10mg Temazepam tablets have about the same effect as 1mg Lorazepam).

I really hate Seroquel for sleep lately. It just gives me really feverish dreams and I don't rest at all. I'm not sure I would even really classify it as sleep because it's so unrestful. It knocks me out but doesn't keep my mind from racing. It's more like a nightmare you can't wake up from. And the hangover lasts about two days. It's the worst.

Melatonin does nothing for me. I think my insomnia is not due to a lack of natural melatonin, it's because of my depression and anxiety. So melatonin supplements don't help at all. I'm hoping to go without any sleep meds once my depression finally gets treated properly.

[Gabyunbound]

Lack of sleep is a HUGE trigger for episodes for me, so my pdoc wants to make sure I get enough sleep.

I take 1mg of Klonopin (I was on this exclusively for years until it pooped out on me) in addition to 25 mg of Seroquel. This does the job. If I'm very very tired, I'll just take the klonopin and sometimes it works alone. I definitely get a hangover if I don't get enough sleep, but I go to bed very early to avoid that.