Indifference.

[redhead77]

Indifference.

SuperBleep? :H:H Baclo-superhero.

[bleep]

Indifference.

In an effort to please Murphy, I though I'd post about sleep, or lack of it. All of a sardine, I suddenly can't sleep. At all. It is really irritating me. Last night I slept about 2 or 3 hours, and it's not so awesome at all. While I am still not tired, I know that this amount of sleep is not tenable in the long run.

Tonight (it's 1 in the morning now) I took four amitryptiline. The recommended dose is 1 for a good nights sleep. It's 3 hours later and sleep is nowhere to be found. If the last couple of nights are anything to go by, at about 3 I'll fall asleep until 6ish. I am fairly tolerant of pills, but hesitate to take 8 sleeping tablets. The prescription was for 25 tablets, so I'm sure it's designed to last more than 3 nights!

MY dose and dosing schedule and source of baclofen remain unchanged. I can't work out why this has suddenly happened. Still, I have a lot of time in my day to figure it out! A 21 hour day is something to behold. Shit must be brewing though, so I need to get some sleep while I am still functioning normally!

[Murphyx]

Indifference.

Bleep, that's a bummer. Are you still nodding off during the day (have you tried watching a vid lately?) and are you napping at all?

I'm a little confused about why you were prescribed amitriptyline. When it's used as an anti-depressant (it's main purpose) one of the most reported SEs are insomnia. When it is prescribed for insomnia, it's meant for late waking insomnia i.e. for those who go to sleep normally but wake up early and can't go back to sleep. It doesn't sound like a good fit for your insomnia.

[bleep]

Indifference.

My original Dr prescribed it, said it helped him sleep. Up til now I have never used it, never needed it, so it hasn't been an issue. It was the only sleeping aid I had around the house, so I thought I would give it a bash. Won't bother tonight obviously!

Alas, back at work full time, and naps are a thing of the past. Tiredness/somnolence seems to have disappeared, funnily enough. It's the first time in a long while I have had enough baclofen around to be very consistent with my dose, so perhaps it's something to do with that. I'm going to fiddle around a bit and see if I can't come up with some way around this.

I don't really want to enter the realm of sleeping tablets, so I'm pretty hopeful I can find a solution.

[Murphyx]

Indifference.

bleep;1112774 wrote: I'm going to fiddle around a bit and see if I can't come up with some way around this.

I thought you might :H. I suppose the obvious things to try would be a larger bac dose at night or last dose earlier in the evening. Oddly both approaches have worked for different people.

[ignominious]

Indifference.

I bet you slept after running up the mountains.

Join a gym!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Indifference.

I was going to paste and post, but decided to just sum it up.

You were supposed to take one, so you took four. hmmm. Think maybe next time you might take not just a suggestion but direct medical instruction? Perhaps, like bac, and most other meds, it works better if you take it the way it's prescribed.
Plus, I think we already established that your doctor is a knucklehead. (90mg/bac in one dose for a newbie???)

Alright, enough lecture, I can tell you're suffering, or about to be. I'm sorry. That sleep thing being out of whack SUCKS.

What Murph said. And Ig. Also, xanax. Much as I'm loathe to suggest it. And more to the point, your dose is now consistent. It may be consistently too high. When mine is too high I can't sleep. Or have terrible sleep. Especially if I'm stressed.

hmmmm. Are you stressed??? hmmmm.
Get thee to whatever passes for a gym in Zim, bleep. And take a benadryl tonight, and a melatonin tomorrow, and a xanax the next night, or whatever. Feel better, dear friend.

:l

[Murphyx]

Indifference.

Oh yeah that reminds me, don't be taking too many amitriptyline. Most SSRIs are fairly low risk if you OD, but not amitriptyline. It's all sorts of killy!

[beatle]

Indifference.

I have to chip in here, since this is sort of my specialty. (And I managed to sleep 5 uninterrupted hours last night without medication. :yay

I once wrote a thread in Holistic Healing outlining all the natural sleep aids, and evaluating them from my experience. This was maybe 2 years ago, who knows, with my memory as it is. Come to think of it, I probably just posted it in someone else's thread, which is a stupid thing to do, I now realize, when you have some important information. Wish I could find that post now. I would like to direct people to it every time they have sleep problems.

(An aside:If any one has had problems with searching on this site, and found a way to solve them, please let me know.)


I'm pretty sure I posted this all (below) on your thread and def on Lonshot's thread, but here goes a hopefully pared down version:

I, too, have always wanted to stay away from the sleeping pills. And have tried pretty much everything natural for sleep aid that exists. I think.

Valerian works for most people, more or less. The name valium is derived from it, I think. But it's natural (i know, LOTS of addictive substances are natural) and non-addictive. If it doesn't work for you, you are probably not taking enough.

I don't take valerian because it is hard on the liver, and I am seriously worried about my liver, having abused it continually, ruthlessly, for the past 25 years.

As everyone says, melatonin. In Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Larson says all adults need it (alcoholics more, of course) and because of all its other benefits -- can't remember what, memory-enhancing? nah, that can't be it, but maybe anti-aging, anti-oxidants, circadian rhythms -- anyway, we should all take it every night for the rest of our lives. Something like that... and this goes with all the special beatle memory caveats.

And when all these natural sleep aids (and there are tons more -- lith orotate, tryptophan, etc.) don't work, I've said it before and I'll say it again: zolpidem. (stillnocht, ambien).

Have you tried it? It's a quick fix, but not as addictive as the others. Best thing about it is it works fast and leaves the system fast. This means that you can take it in the middle of the night and not be groggy the next day. It relaxes your body, you can literally feel it happening. It's lovely.

Did I disremember, though? Did you try it and it didn't work?

[bleep]

Indifference.

beatle;1112912 wrote: ...
As everyone says, melatonin. In Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Larson says all adults need it (alcoholics more, of course) and because of all its other benefits -- can't remember what, memory-enhancing? nah, that can't be it, but maybe anti-aging, anti-oxidants, circadian rhythms -- anyway, we should all take it every night for the rest of our lives. Something like that... and this goes with all the special beatle memory caveats.

And when all these natural sleep aids (and there are tons more -- lith orotate, tryptophan, etc.) don't work, I've said it before and I'll say it again: zolpidem. (stillnocht, ambien).

Have you tried it? It's a quick fix, but not as addictive as the others. Best thing about it is it works fast and leaves the system fast. This means that you can take it in the middle of the night and not be groggy the next day. It relaxes your body, you can literally feel it happening. It's lovely.

Did I disremember, though? Did you try it and it didn't work?

Thanks beatle. Melatonin is this evening's special, I will report back. Hopefully not at 3 in the morning! Would you guys who know such things recommend just taking a normal dose, or can it be safely taken in enormous quantities for better effect?

I haven't ever taken anything to help me sleep, unless you count vast quantities of booze!

[bleep]

Indifference.

Thanks gang, I'll deal with them one by one:

Murphyx;1112778 wrote: I thought you might :H. I suppose the obvious things to try would be a larger bac dose at night or last dose earlier in the evening. Oddly both approaches have worked for different people.
What makes this so tricky is that my routine hasn't really changed. I went from 20mg's every hour to 30mg's every two hours, but for longer, to keep my dose at 300mg's, and then BAM, suddenly this. Toward evening, I'll go back to the every hour technique, but it's a PITA as I'm sure you can imagine.

ignominious;1112780 wrote: I bet you slept after running up the mountains.

Join a gym!
I did, but no more or less than normal. I hear you though, exercise is a great sleep inducer, especially for someone like me. I want to go to sleep before I exercise, that's how well it works for me!

Ne/Neva Eva;1112887 wrote: ...

You were supposed to take one, so you took four. hmmm.
...

What Murph said. And Ig. Also, xanax. Much as I'm loathe to suggest it. And more to the point, your dose is now consistent. It may be consistently too high. When mine is too high I can't sleep. Or have terrible sleep. Especially if I'm stressed.

hmmmm. Are you stressed??? hmmmm.
Get thee to whatever passes for a gym in Zim, bleep. And take a benadryl tonight, and a melatonin tomorrow, and a xanax the next night, or whatever. Feel better, dear friend.

:l

I took 4 because of long experience with tablets. I am pretty resistant to most meds, and it take more than normal for me to feel an effect. Clearly didn't apply here though.

I have some melatonin, I will be trying that tonight. I don't have any prescription sleeping tablets, but I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow for another baclofen prescription, so I'll speak to him them. I'm fairly sure he'll prescribe a beast, given his history!

I'm also going to consider coming down from 300mg's a little and seeing how that works.

Thanks Ne, some really good points.

Murphyx;1112904 wrote: Oh yeah that reminds me, don't be taking too many amitriptyline. Most SSRIs are fairly low risk if you OD, but not amitriptyline. It's all sorts of killy!

Thanks Murph - I have already decided they are useless, and have given up on them.

[beatle]

Indifference.

Bleep, PLEASE ask for zolpidem!

I have never urged anyone to take a medication over natural possibilities, but I have been through it all... and this is the advice I give: take 10mg zolpidem and 5-6mg melatonin right before you go to sleep. And report back in the morning.

(Note: DO NOT take over the amounts I advise. Seriously.)

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Indifference.

lol
beatle speaks. I'm listening.

[beatle]

Indifference.

And no, melatonin should not be taken at over 6mg (from what I recall -- there is a reason, but I don't remember it, of course. I think Cindi knows, though).

And 10mg zolpidem is a lot. I'm almost sure it will knock you out. You may develop a tolerance for it mighty quick, though. I would stop as soon as it doesn't work at 10mg. I take 2.5mg to start, and may add 2.5 after 1/2 hour if I haven't fallen asleep. (Usually it works within 15min-1/2 hour.) On rare occasions have I gone up to 7.5, and as soon as I start needing 10, I stop for a while.

It doesn't give you any kind of high, just a relaxed feeling and a NEED to sleep - it doesn't work like alcohol, though -- I've tried it, believe me. It makes you sleep, period. Not fun at any social event or before an important presentation (I've done it for both, with close to disastrous consequences.)

[Murphyx]

Indifference.

beatle;1112972 wrote:

It doesn't give you any kind of high, just a relaxed feeling and a NEED to sleep - it doesn't work like alcohol, though -- I've tried it, believe me. It makes you sleep, period.

Haaa, try taking 10mg and forcing yourself to stay awake. You'll get freaky distorted hallucinations. It's great fun, I wholly recommend it. Errrrr I mean, I would have recommended it some months back, but not now obviously. :blush: