To ANICCA re: Ambien

Thanks for the info! It's
Thanks for the info! It's good to know I'm not the only one that Ambien affects that way. The few times I've taken it, I knew I would not be able to sleep without something, so it was worth it. I'm also pretty good during the day, when it's easy to keep busy. I have a friend who had severe sleep problems for years, and tried everything. Nothing worked without bad side effects. She finally figured out with a friend (both are MD's) that gabapantin (Neurontin) might work, as it quiets the nerves. That has worked so well for her that she is fully functional again after more than 5 years. I'm going to try to convince my doctor to prescribe it for me. Maybe it will also help with the neuropathy.

I don't like the extra meds either. As it is, I take 600mg ibuprofen every night for hip pain, and a 12 hr sudafed in the morning with 50mg benadryl at night for a chronic sinus infection. I'm seeing a specialist about the sinus problem soon, and will probably need surgery for it. It's making me miserable enough that I'll probably do it.

Hissy_Fitz said:

Just the 50mg of Benadryl
Just the 50mg of Benadryl would put me to sleep. That stuff is a better sleeping pill than most sleeping pills.

I have been known to take my husband's Klonopin whenever I have trouble sleeping. The good thing about it is that it has a long half-life, so I don't wake up 4 hours after taking it.

I never filled the script for anti-depressants that the doctor sent me home from the hospital with, after my debulking surgery. I was already a zombie from the pain pills, then I started chemo and the fatigue was so bad, I slept 12 hours a day. I figured that downers on top of that would really zone me out. Besides, I'm a major control freak.

Carlene

Unfortunately, when you take
Unfortunately, when you take benadryl every night, it stops working quite so well, both as an antihistamine and as a sleep aid. When I took Ambien, I was careful not to take benadryl also. The runny nose & postnasal drip don't matter so much when you're out on Ambien.

pattysoo said:

Insomnia
I've been taking Ambien for some years now, being chronically an insomniac. I complained to my GP that it only lasts for 4 hours and then I'm awake. His reply was, "Yes, it affects me that way too." So I only use it now when I have a big day coming up and need to get at least some sleep. An increased dose didn't help me much with the 4 hour thing. There's a time-released Ambien that's very expensive and the insurance won't pay. So I started to use Ativan instead and found that it keeps me relaxed enough to sleep through the night. If I use it, I find that I don't have my usual wakefulness from 3:30 to 5:30 AM.

That's exactly how I have
That's exactly how I have used Ambien also. I will try Ativan next time. Sometimes I am so desperate to sleep and so anxious that I won't be able to, that the anxiety over sleeping becomes the roadblock to sleep!

pattysoo said:

anxiety
Yes, that's it exactly. I was so glad to quit work because now if I don't sleep, I know I'll catch up by sleeping later in the morning. My husband says as we get older we don't sleep as well. Boy is that the truth. It's ridiculous, but I actually looked forward to the anesthesia aspect of surgery because I knew I'd be irrefutably knocked out...so silly.

sleep
Geez! I guess I haven't hit this yet. I am 21 months past my initial chemo and have never had sleeping issues. I am so busy thru out my day with walking, weeding,painting, etc that I don't have a chance to be restless when I hit the bed. My son and husband said I did not receive chemo but got B12 by mistake. Wouldn't that be nice? All kidding aside, I feel very fortunate to have gotten this far without problems. One day at a time, right???


Verna

anicca said:

Hi Verna, I should clarify
Hi Verna, I should clarify that I've pretty much always had sleeping problems, the cancer is just another thing to worry about for me. I'm very talented at worrying I do think that if I could emulate you and keep that busy and active, it would help.

Ambien & Ativan
Greetings,

I am currently taking Ambien CR (controlled release) for my sleeping aid and it works great. I take it about an hour before bed time and wake up refreshed the next day. With regards to teh Ativan this is a great drug that can be used to treat anxiety as well as nausea. I take 1mg for when I get anxious and it takes the edge off. THe regular ambien is shorter living and if I would suggest if you need a longer working sleep aid you inquire about Ambien CR.

Jaime