Posted by fachad on March 17, 2002, at 19:09:32
In reply to Re: Prozac - Early Awakenings and Ambien caused... » fachad, posted by Hal on March 17, 2002, at 18:41:39
Paxil was the shortest ever med trial in my life. I think I took it 2 or maybe 3 days, and it was the most awful stuff. It made me groggy all day, unable to sleep at night, and of course completely anorgasmic.
You are right on about Ambien and falling asleep vs. staying asleep.
I took Serzone for a while; it caused the same problem as trazodone did for me. Those make me really sleepy, then I wake up after about two hours with a headache and unable to go back to sleep.
TCAs really make me gain weight, even if I decrease food intake and increase exercise.
Atarax, been there, done that, I did not know that it was possible to fall asleep during a brisk walk on a cold morning. Seriously, that stuff would make me sleep all day the next day.
So why is Ambien preferable to benzos? It is so expensive, and I'd have to wake up in the night and take it again anyway. Why not just take Restoril or Ativan which are dirt cheap generics, and stay asleep all night?
Is the reason to prefer Ambien over benzos theoretical, practical, moralistic, or just based on marketing hype from Ambien reps? I'm really skeptical of marketing claims for expensive patent meds.
BTW, I do know all about good sleep habits, no naps, no caffene after noon, etc.
> Hey,
>
> So it sounds like your insomnia is medication induced. Ambien is a good medication for difficulty falling asleep, but poor for maintaining sleep throughout the night (half life too short). I was going to recommend a more sedating SSRI like paxil, but your almost off prozac. I believe benzos restore sleep to a fairly normal pattern, just decrease stage IV to a minor degree. Trazadone/serzone are good for restoring sleep patterns. I would stay away from antihistamines (benadryll, TCA, atarax) because althought they are excellent at inducing sleep, they destroy individuals sleep cycles, and you wake up not feeling refreshed. Some people take 5 mg of ambien at bedtime and 5 mg half way through the night when they awake.
>
> And of course good sleep hygiene is the most important thing you can do (the rule of 2's-no caffiene after 2 pm, no exercise 2 hours before bedtime, etc.)
>
> I hope this didn't put you to sleep, if so-just read this post before bedtime!
>
> Hal
poster:fachad
thread:98391
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98509.html