Sleeping Meds

[gtchamp]

Whew!!! That's all I have to say. I am trying to go off a sleeping pill and last night was the second night off. The first night I only slept about 4 hours and had a wicked nightmare during that time. Last night, I was up all night. Fell asleep at 5:30 am for 2 hours and now I am up. Although, I know I need to sleep, I am thouroughly enjoying my extra energy....(we all know where that can lead ). I hope I sleep soon. I don't want to resort to taking them again. Anyone have any suggestions for sleeping. I tried warm milk last night and also did not get up and stimulate myself but my mind was way too active. PS. The reason I want off them is that I was finding they were making me very sleepy during the day.

[paul m]

Hello Tracey. Getting off of sleeping meds can indeed be tough. Depending on the sleeping med involoved there may be no practical way to quit and get sleep until it is out of your system. A lot have to be tapered off.

If your doc reccomended this, did he reccomend quit all at once? I am unsure about which sleeping aid you were taking but sometimes there is info if you google the name. Zopilcone and any benzo's can take a long while.

As I do not know what kind of med it is I could be wrong with my next statement. Sometimes if we try and stop a med to soon it can bring on mania or depression. If there is anything specific you would like me to try and look up, pls let me know. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

Depending on the medication and how long you have been on it. From what you have said tho... I would suggest going at it slower.

As for things to do to get to sleep... One thing that I did a lot of is watch old movies that I have watched a bazillion times. I will start watching the movie and will close my eye and imagine what is going on on screen. That is one thing.

Something that is recommended (but I do not do) is if you cannot go to sleep relatively quickly, get up, read a book for .5 hr and then go back to bed. (do not read in bed)

Another thing that some suggest is doing some meditation.

[gtchamp]

Hi guys. Just wanted to leave an update. Haven't been well lately. This turning 40 is for the birds!!! I am on two different antibiotics for two different infections. One I was in the hospital for last night. Anyway, it was recommended that I go back on my sleeping pill until I get things straightened out medically. Paul....it was not recommended that I go off and yes, it is Zopiclone. It was just that I was soooo tired during the day and the last time that was happening the pdoc said to go off it cold turkey so I thought I would do the same this time. Again...yes, I usually find that I have about 1-2days of excitability but my husband and I try to maintain that by keeping me in the house and limiting my activities. Maybe I pushed things too much this time and hence why I am so sick. Who knows. Anyways, thanks Woody and Paul for your advice because I do intend to try again when I get all fixed up. Things with my health right now are just a bit unstable. Of course, this does not help my emotional state either. I will try and keep in touch.
Take care
Tracey

[leila63]

Hi Tracey

Sorry to hear how things have been going lately. Keeping you in my thoughts.

[Just Me]

Help Sleeping

Hi
For me I read in bed and can only do it for so long and dose off. I have been told to get up when I can't sleep after 20 min and watch some TV. Also I sleep threw the day when I can so I get some sleep.
Just wondering if you quit cold turkey or you are halfing and then every second day as that has helped me too

[A.E.V.]

gosh Tracey... you're making 40 sound like a bad thing....... don't scare me, I'm next in line!

seriously, I'm sorry things are not going well for you. hope you heal soon!!

Anne.

[paul m]

Hello Tracey. Sometimes I sit at my keyboard wondering how to give advice. I don't want to sound pompeous, I don't want to contradicate a doc's advice and I don't want to give someone false hope or ruin their hopes.

In the end I always say what is one my mind(no surprise). Zopiclone used to be thought of, until recently, as a better substitute to a benzo(lorazepam etc) . It was thought to be more effective and less addictive. They were wrong. Zopiclone is very good in the short term, (two wks or less or occasional use) but the longer you use it, the more difficult it can be to withdraw from.

Too quick of a withdrawal can make a person's bipolar symptoms worse and can even cause seizures( just what you need ).

It's not impossible to withdraw from it and some people do it cold turkey, but I would suggest that you talk to a doc about it. The most common way to ease the withdrawal is to add a benzo for a short while. Increasing the amount of the benzo while deceasing the amount of zopiclone every few days. As long as the benzo is not taken for too long it will not be addictive. A doc can advise you on the process. I'm sure there are other ways to quit too. Whichever way you chose I hope that it goes well for you.

In regards to getting older, I'm sure a few people told me, "just wait till you get to be our age and see how you make out". But I didn't believe them. I was very wrong. .Take Care. paul m

[gtchamp]

Thanks guys and I hear ya Paul. I have gone back on the sleeping pill and the antibiotics are working for my other things so I am feeling better. I plan on talking to the pdoc or doc within the next week about going off them again.
Tracey

[paul m]

Hello Tracey. I'm glad that your still going to try and stop. I didn't want to discourage you. The long term effects of a pill that quits working because our body builds up a tolerance to it can be as bad or worse than the short term effects of withdrawal(providing it's done right). Good luck to you when you do decide to stop. Take Care. paul m

[AJ]

40! Been there done that.

[Woody]

The fact that your body is fighting a cold is not going to help. All the bodies energy goes to fighting the virus and there is very little left to keep an even keel. Well thats how I see it for myself anyways when I start getting a cold. I have been lucky so fare for the last couple of years. I have been able to stave off any nasty attacks.


My Pdoc took the same approach for when I was trying to quit smoking. He was less concerned about my smoking than making me better.

[Atlantis]

hi gtchamp,

I was on Zopiclone for 6 months or so but then my pdoc switched me to Trazodone.

Trazodone is non-addictive / not habit forming antidepressant that can be used off label as a sleep med.

Karen

[paul m]

Hello Karen. That's something I did not know. Thx for sharing, it's important that we keep adding to our knowledge. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

When we were trying to get me to sleep on a regular basis my Pdoc prescribed me Trazadone. He had a smirk on his face when he did so. Got home a Google of coarse and found out to to my surprise that taking Trazadone with Seroquel should make me sleep for a couple of days Yaahoo right? About half an hour after I took the Trazadone, I was standing in the kitchen popping some popcorn and all of a sudden I could feel the surge of energy going threw my veins. I did not sleep that night even do I PRN'd on my Seroquel. I wish I had had a camera with me when I told this to my Pdoc. It was priceless...