Posted by JohnL on January 10, 2001, at 17:37:35
In reply to options for sleep meds, posted by super on January 9, 2001, at 13:20:25
Hi,
I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I would like a better sleep med. I've sampled Xanax before, just now and then. Not enough to really get familiar with it. A friend gave me one Valium pill which worked real good. I especially liked waking without any hangover feeling.Sedating antidepressants are an option. Like St James, I've taken Remeron for quite a while. I only take 7.5mg, which is actually more sedating than a higher dose. Serzone left me too tired during the day. Trazodone gave me horrible nightmares, restless sleep, and a headache. I had real good sleep when I was on the tricyclic Nortriptyline, but the daytime constipation and dry mouth was just too much for me live with longterm. Other tricyclics are even more sedating, but that damn constipation dry mouth thing. Yuck. A small dose of Zyprexa (2.5mg) is very sedating and doesn't carry over too much into the next day.
The problem I've discovered with all of the sedating antidepressants is that they all have one thing in common...the morning hangover effect. I've discovered that Remeron is the friendliest in this regard. The hangover feeling is always there when I wake, but it is completely gone in an hour and there is no daytime sedation (after adjusting to it for a week or so). Yet, every morning, relentless, there it is again. But the good part is that Remeron 7.5mg will knock you out within an hour.
I am taking a cocktail of drugs that are all stimulative. Adrafanil, Amisulpride, and Prozac. Even the sedation of Remeron isn't enough to overcome. I fall asleep fast. But I wake early. My wife will say, "Hey, you're snoring!" And I'll think, "Huh? I'm wide awake. How could I be snoring?" So even when I'm asleep I must not be sleeping very good. But I feel fine during the day. I suspect though that Remeron will work a lot better for most other people who aren't taking a cocktail of stimulating medicines.
I would like to sample Xanax again, Klonopin, and Valium, and maybe Ambien. I'm going to ask my doctor let me try each of these for about 5 days each to see if there is one I like. If not, then I guess Remeron is as good as it gets for me.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:51274
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001231/msgs/51392.html