Which sleep aid gives you the best sleep?

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Originally Posted by CoffeeCzar

I've always just used OTC diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Simply Sleep). It's cheap and effective. Also, you could try and get a script for promethazine if benzo's are contraindicated, or, you just prefer to stay away from them. Both diphenhydramine and promethazine are antihistamines that are known to be very safe, even in larger doses if necessary. I believe promethazine is OTC in many European countries.

how often do you use diphenhydramine, if you don't mind me asking?

Originally Posted by watinon

I started sleeping regularly a few months ago and it made a small miracle. I study much more efficiently now - with 7.5 mg Zopliclone at bedtime. A bit groggy in the morning but it goes away before 8am. Hope it helps

I don't think it's available in the U.S. - that's weird

Originally Posted by phospho

how often do you use diphenhydramine, if you don't mind me asking?

Only occasionally if I have trouble sleeping because it builds tolerance quickly. The literature shows diphenhydramine's sedative effect is no more effective than placebo after 3 days of use.

the only way I can fall asleep quickly is to stay out late with friends or have a normal life with early rising, productive days, no naps, exercise, and limited caffeine after 12.

dunno why, I've tried benadryl to sleep like once or twice but it doesn't make me tired at ALL and the anti-cholinergic side effects kick my ass... seriously I take like half a pill and I lay there, unable to sleep, heart pounding, mouth dry, blurred vision, lol.

Originally Posted by CoffeeCzar

Only occasionally if I have trouble sleeping because it builds tolerance quickly. The literature shows diphenhydramine's sedative effect is no more effective than placebo after 3 days of use.

yeah, that's what I thought... I started on 1, then 2 after just 3 days, then 3 after a couple more days, then i was like screw it... now i take it very occasionally, or just totally skip it and take 1 mg of klonopin or 1 mg of ativan... my doc likes klonopin more for some reason, so i've been mostly doing that occassionally...

I've had problems sleeping for the past 2-3 years. I usually sleep around 4-5 am. Anyways after reading this thread i decided to go to CVS for melatonin. But there was a specific brand that had melatonin and other sleeping ingredients like the ones found in sleepy tea.

So i bought that, and also bought and additional tea extract. I'll post more details when i get home.


Anyways first night, popped the melatonin and tea extract around 11pm, and fell asleep around 11:30, ....WOKE UP AT 6am FEELING GREAT. I even remembered my dreams clearly(which is weird cause i forgot sleep had dreams). So i got pumped and excited for my consecutive night of sleeping early and poppin my pills. So last night, went to bed around 10:30pm, decided to try without the pills...and same effect, slept early woke up early feeling great and remembering my dreams(my friend's sister) so yea. I guess my sleep cycle is back to normal.

Ambien makes me crazy (crazier than I normally am, I guess). My issue is with sleep latency and being way too wound up at night. I have a paradoxical reaction to benadryl where it makes me hypervigilant and agitated, I'm not sure how common this is. Lunesta gave me major morning dysgeusia. I have had great luck with triazolam (Halcion). Extremely short acting, dirt cheap, and I've never developed immunity or addiction to it, since I try not to take it for more than 2-3 days in a row. I suppose the equivalent "z drug" is Zaleplon, or Sonata, but I have never tried it.

Originally Posted by phospho

I don't think it's available in the U.S. - that's weird

Zopiclone isn't available in the US but eszopiclone the active stereoisomer is sold in the US as Lunesta.

Nice information

thanks

Sherly

The first thing to bear in mind is that you should not take a sleeping pill without consulting a doctor. A medical professional will analyze your medical history to determine if you have any allergies to any drug or if you are taking other medications that can possibly have counterindications with the available over the counter sleep aids in the market. Also make known to your doctor if you have any other underlying conditions, for example, heart or kidney disease or high blood pressure, because some drugs can have serious side effects on people with these health problems.
Once your doctor gives you the go signal to buy some sleeping pills, make sure to read everything written in the product insert so that you’ll have an understanding of the potential side effects the drug can have. Follow the directions given by your doctor and that written on the box or product insert.
Pay close attention to the dosage you are taking. Also, drinking alcohol while on sleep medication is strongly discouraged. Alcohol can further disrupt your sleep pattern and it can also interact negatively with the sleeping pill. Clearly ask your doctor until when you should take the medication. There are also guidelines to be followed with regard to decreasing the dosage and termination of use of a drug.
As a further precaution, it is strongly advised that you do not drive a car or perform heavy tasks such as operating heavy machinery while under the influence of sleeping pills.

1) regular exercise and meditations
2) sleep hygiene - nothing but sleep and sex in the bed (no tv in the bedroom), a going to sleep ritual (mine is a hot bath and a novel every night)
3) deep breathing in bed if necessary (usually not)
4) last resort - benadryl (used a handful of times, usually when I'd had caffeine too late in the day)

I see many of you suggested Melatonin. There was a recent study done at MIT that tested the purity of several OTC melatonin brands, and many had great fluctuations compared to what it said on the bottle, as well as impurities.

I HIGHLY suggest "Life Extension" brand 300 MICROgram (read: mcg, not mg) melatonin you can find online, there's been a lot of purity testing on this brand and it's supposed to be some of the best you can buy (and cheap).

I would not suggest taking over 1 mg of Melatonin, as has been said many times less is more. This is because if you take too much melatonin, your body cannot reduce the levels enough when it's time to waking hours, and it royally messes up your circadian rhythm. So take less for optimal results.

-Life long insomniac.

Originally Posted by AlexB

I see many of you suggested Melatonin. There was a recent study done at MIT that tested the purity of several OTC melatonin brands, and many had great fluctuations compared to what it said on the bottle, as well as impurities.

I HIGHLY suggest "Life Extension" brand 300 MICROgram (read: mcg, not mg) melatonin you can find online, there's been a lot of purity testing on this brand and it's supposed to be some of the best you can buy (and cheap).

I would not suggest taking over 1 mg of Melatonin, as has been said many times less is more. This is because if you take too much melatonin, your body cannot reduce the levels enough when it's time to waking hours, and it royally messes up your circadian rhythm. So take less for optimal results.

-Life long insomniac.

I saw that study. It was really interesting. You're right about the dosage. I usually buy the 2 mg and break it up into 4.

I was looking on amazon for your suggestion. I found it odd that a company would sell 300 micrograms of it (which is great), but also sells 10 mg . I've never heard of anyone taking such a high dose. On a random note, I take the multivitamin brand Life Force. I wonder if it has to do with this company.

Hey guys,

I've found that the old adage, "a warm glass of milk" really helps. The seratonin in there helps calm your mind. Be sure to brush your teeth after drinking it, however, because the sugar will be bad for your teeth.

Also, I've noticed that I HAVE to take a shower before sleeping. I don't dry my hair with a blow dryer; instead, I let it manually dry. The cold water on my hair makes me feel more comfortable when sleeping.

Hope this helps!

old thread...but I think a lot of people still read this. The bioavailability of an oral dose of melatonin is only 0.15. So to get the physiologic dose of 0.3mg, you would need an oral dose of 2-3mg.

edit: nvm I misinterpreted the study.

I usually get really good sleep after really good sex. But can't have that all the time.

Originally Posted by biobossx99

I usually get really good sleep after really good sex. But can't have that all the time.

No arms?

Originally Posted by sleepaidsreview

Exercise (both physical and mental) is one of the most important things you can do to overcome or lessen insomnia.It can help you to fall asleep easier and faster and sleep more restfully and deeper when you do. For some people, exercise by itself is enough to overcome their insomnia.

lol, felt the need to create a new account to bump an old thread and post that?

Insomnia sucks, bigtime. No matter how much exercise, cutting of caffeine, good sleep hygeine and melatonin I try, there are still some nights that I simply lie awake tossing and turning until I manage to squeeze in 2 hours of solid napping. On the bright side, I'm so wrecked the rest of the week that I have no problem falling asleep.

Ancient thread...

But anyone else out there who can't sleep in total silence?

I've been trying for the past week to sleep in silence with no results. I stayed up til 3 AM last night trying to sleep in total silence, and finally caved in and put NPR on. Fell asleep in 10 minutes. It's not a problem when my boyfriend is around, because he is a pretty good white-noise generator, but I can't seem to kick the sound habit.

Originally Posted by runawayclock

Ancient thread...

But anyone else out there who can't sleep in total silence?

I've been trying for the past week to sleep in silence with no results. I stayed up til 3 AM last night trying to sleep in total silence, and finally caved in and put NPR on. Fell asleep in 10 minutes. It's not a problem when my boyfriend is around, because he is a pretty good white-noise generator, but I can't seem to kick the sound habit.

I can't fall asleep until after 12am and can't stay asleep, ever. I tried melatonin but that just gave me the weirdest ****ing dreams ever - dreams where I'd "wake up" and there'd be someone else in my room - or just nightmares in general.

Originally Posted by runawayclock

Ancient thread...

But anyone else out there who can't sleep in total silence?

I've been trying for the past week to sleep in silence with no results. I stayed up til 3 AM last night trying to sleep in total silence, and finally caved in and put NPR on. Fell asleep in 10 minutes. It's not a problem when my boyfriend is around, because he is a pretty good white-noise generator, but I can't seem to kick the sound habit.

try either of these two websites. they're great.

http://www.rainymood.com

http://www.simplynoise.com

I love simply noise... Definitely could not have pulled off my undergrad studying without it.

Ambien CR 12.5 mg, chewed and placed sublingually. Knocks me out for a solid 4 hours, which is great for a life-long insomniac like myself.

Also, reduce caffeine, exercise, and practice relaxation techniques (plenty of guided meditation stuff on youtube).

I take 5-HTP (100 mg a day) and that has worked wonders on stabilizing my sleep schedule. I used to get terrible insomnia once a week and that has completely gone away. Obviously, consult a doc about it and if you are taking other meds, do your own research.

My PCP LOVED to prescribe trazodone as a sleep aid, lol. I guess it's not a bad guess since there's a higher likelihood that the person could be depressed.

Zanaflex 4mg

Originally Posted by DrArete

Originally Posted by biobossx99

I usually get really good sleep after really good sex. But can't have that all the time.

Originally Posted by EgotiStick

No arms?

Haha

As MJ taught us, the best sleep aid is propofol.



I mean c'mon, he's STILL sleeping peacefully! (too soon?)

Gotta also recommend exercising. Your brain will keep you awake, and your body will put you to sleep.

If you are constantly working only one of those out, you'll never make it to bed.

I read through a little of the thread, but seemed like a lot of it was related to people who have trouble in general sleeping. Any suggestions for someone who usually sleeps really well, but I always have trouble falling asleep the night before tests? I've tried all the sleep hygiene stuff, exercise, listening to those sleepy itunes recordings,etc. I don't even feel particularly stressed the night before exams, but just can't fall asleep. So I really don't care if something is habit forming b/c I would just be taking it a few times a semester.

Originally Posted by surftheiop

I read through a little of the thread, but seemed like a lot of it was related to people who have trouble in general sleeping. Any suggestions for someone who usually sleeps really well, but I always have trouble falling asleep the night before tests? I've tried all the sleep hygiene stuff, exercise, listening to those sleepy itunes recordings,etc. I don't even feel particularly stressed the night before exams, but just can't fall asleep. So I really don't care if something is habit forming b/c I would just be taking it a few times a semester.

I presume you want OTC med. Sublingual melatonin might help.

Diphenhydramine is hit or miss for me, doxylamine succinate works great but I'm a zombie the next day.

Ambien is like acid. I was prescribed that stuff a few years ago. I would usually take it about 30 min before bed and just sort of drift off. One night I was about ready to go to bed so I took it. Then cool runnings was on disney and I hadn't seen that movie in forever so I stayed awake to watch it. About 15min into the movie it looked like the disney logo on the bottom of the screen was floating in the air halfway between me and the TV. Then I got triple vision and objects in the room were merging together into one. Funny thing is, at the time I never really thought much of it. Then the next morning it was like "did that really happen?" Anyway, that stuff gave me really bad depression after a few weeks so I stopped using it. I guess it's only recommended for short term use to get back on a schedule.

Originally Posted by shoehornlettuce

Ambien is like acid. I was prescribed that stuff a few years ago. I would usually take it about 30 min before bed and just sort of drift off. One night I was about ready to go to bed so I took it. Then cool runnings was on disney and I hadn't seen that movie in forever so I stayed awake to watch it. About 15min into the movie it looked like the disney logo on the bottom of the screen was floating in the air halfway between me and the TV. Then I got triple vision and objects in the room were merging together into one. Funny thing is, at the time I never really thought much of it. Then the next morning it was like "did that really happen?" Anyway, that stuff gave me really bad depression after a few weeks so I stopped using it. I guess it's only recommended for short term use to get back on a schedule.

http://ambien.blogspot.com/2010/12/a...ollection.html

Originally Posted by SteinUmStein

http://ambien.blogspot.com/2010/12/a...ollection.html

This made my day. Thanks

Originally Posted by shoehornlettuce

This made my day. Thanks

Of course! My personal favorite:

"well ambien walrus, i guess i can't eat all the cookies in a 3-lb family pack."

"MYTH BUSTED LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE."

Driving on Ambien, that's some scary stuff right there. I'd almost rather be drunk.

Originally Posted by SteinUmStein

Of course! My personal favorite:

"well ambien walrus, i guess i can't eat all the cookies in a 3-lb family pack."

"MYTH BUSTED LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE."

Driving on Ambien, that's some scary stuff right there. I'd almost rather be drunk.

my step-brother's ex-girlfriend got two DUI's in a 48 hour period because she was on Ambien... she was a real winner!

Originally Posted by member 20

my step-brother's ex-girlfriend got two DUI's in a 48 hour period because she was on Ambien... she was a real winner!

Lucky nobody died. Do people just not realize that excessive alcohol is not the only absolute contraindication to driving?

Note to current and future docs - tell your patients not to drive on sedatives! People will die. That is all.