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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by adamie on November 23, 2001, at 15:28:05
I am getting very poor sleep. very hard for me to sleep now. yesterday was the worst with only 4 hours of sleep and today I am feeling quite worse. it's like what has happened with me before. I was on a med and I got almost no sleep at all and the mind torture became unbearable.
so i need sleep.
i want to go to the store today. Which off the counter sleep med works well? I want something to make me drowsy. I took ny-tol before and the thing had no drowsy effect at all and i got no sleep at all.
Posted by Daveman on November 23, 2001, at 16:38:23
In reply to Need an off the counter sleep med, posted by adamie on November 23, 2001, at 15:28:05
>
> i want to go to the store today. Which off the counter sleep med works well? I want something to make me drowsy. I took ny-tol before and the thing had no drowsy effect at all and i got no sleep at all.adamie:
If you took Nytol and it didn't work, than neither would Tylenol PM, Unisom, or Sominex. They all contain the same active ingredient, the antihistamine dipenhydramine, to induce sleep.
There are some other options. Dramamine is sleep inducing, it contains a variant of dipenhydramine and another active ingredient whose name escapes me.
You might also try some of the natural sleep aids. I take Valerian Root and find it very helpful. Melatonin can be very effective. Other options are GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) and 5-HTP (which I cannot take because it interacts with my antidepressant medication).
Bottom line, insomnia is usually a symptom of some other disease. I had terrible insomnia until I addressed the underlying anxiety and depression that was causing it. So my suggestion is to get some help from a competent psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
Good luck!
Dave
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on November 25, 2001, at 15:09:35
In reply to Re: Need an off the counter sleep med » adamie, posted by Daveman on November 23, 2001, at 16:38:23
Benadryl contains diphenhydramine which is the exact same ingredient as all the other sleeping pills, but benadryl is much cheaper. Normal dose= 50 mg.
Your only other main choice is the regular Unisom in the blue pill. It contains the antihistamine doxylamine succinate. Dosage= 25 mg
I find benadryl to be stronger than unisom personally, but everyone is different, for some unisom is stronger.
I wouldn't recommend buying the store brand of these products. I've had bad experiences with generic sleeping meds because they seem to be of poorer quality. Buy namebrand Benadryl Kapseals (this is the fastest working kind- faster than the tablets), or plain old Unisom in the blue pill.
Posted by Hattree on November 26, 2001, at 8:37:32
In reply to Re: Need an off the counter sleep med » adamie, posted by Daveman on November 23, 2001, at 16:38:23
Nytol I believe contains a decongestant, which would counter the sleep-inducing effect of the antihistamine. Dramamine works as well or better for me than prescription sleeping pills.
> > i want to go to the store today. Which off the counter sleep med works well? I want something to make me drowsy. I took ny-tol before and the thing had no drowsy effect at all and i got no sleep at all.
>
> adamie:
>
> If you took Nytol and it didn't work, than neither would Tylenol PM, Unisom, or Sominex. They all contain the same active ingredient, the antihistamine dipenhydramine, to induce sleep.
>
> There are some other options. Dramamine is sleep inducing, it contains a variant of dipenhydramine and another active ingredient whose name escapes me.
>
> You might also try some of the natural sleep aids. I take Valerian Root and find it very helpful. Melatonin can be very effective. Other options are GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) and 5-HTP (which I cannot take because it interacts with my antidepressant medication).
>
> Bottom line, insomnia is usually a symptom of some other disease. I had terrible insomnia until I addressed the underlying anxiety and depression that was causing it. So my suggestion is to get some help from a competent psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Dave
Posted by Collette1 on November 26, 2001, at 9:57:13
In reply to Need an off the counter sleep med, posted by adamie on November 23, 2001, at 15:28:05
I have always used Benedryl, but to get the full sleep inducing effect, you need to take 50 mg. Personally, I always buy the store brand (generic is dyphenhydramine)and that has always worked for me.Several doctors have seen and endorsed the 50mg dose. Collette
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