3 Months In. What Should I Do Now?

Hello everyone. You all have been a great support and I appreciate all the suggestions I have received in the past.

Have had T for 3 months now and still haven't found the right combo for sleeping. I was prescribed 10 mg Ambien and was getting 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours sleep nightly. Even though the sleep was good, it left me feeling the next day moody and with stomach issues (well constipation). I cut the dose to 5 mg after 2 weeks and the side effects went away, but of course my sleep suffered. I go to sleep usually quickly at 11 pm after taking it, but awaken about 4 hours later. I can go back to sleep sometimes if I take a capsule of Valerian Root, but not always. I need 6 hours to feel good for the day.

I was thinking about asking my dr. about using Remeron or similar in addition to the Ambien. I need to add 2 hours to my nightly sleep. Maybe a small dose. What are your thoughts? I continue to mask with headphones and Restful Rain which helps a lot.

 

Why not just go to bed when you're really tired and just use sound?

 

When it started, that's what I tried. I wished it worked for me, but after one month of sleepless nights (Some nights I got zero sleep, followed by 1 or 2 hours), I knew it was now an emergency and had to get meds to sleep. I absolutely do not want to, but feel I must at this point. I stress about this also.

 

Just wanted to add, it really does not bother me during the day that much. I mean I hear but I dont really care. The only thing that bothers me during the day is the lack of sleep from the previous night.

 

Wow Patty, I totally feel for you. So sorry you are battling with sleep issues. To me, that was (and somewhat still is) the biggest problem with T! I can handle life with T as long as I get a good 5-7 hours of sleep. But REAL sleep! i too experimented with Ambien and others, same thing happened, it wore off and I couldn't go back to sleep, and/or left me all funky the next day.

As you research it, you are going to find a myriad of different techniques, meds, herbal supplements, etc.. that work for differently for different people. The key is finding what works for you, and that's going to take some time and effort. Search this forum and see what others are doing to help them sleep. I am trying my hardest to get naturally tired through the day by exercise (surfing/running), I have totally cut out caffeine, I take a low dose of Klonipin before bed, and listen to a variety of soft sound therapies as I drift off. That's what works for me for now. I have had to mix it up at times over the past year, depending on how well I was dealing with my T.

Get centered, stabilized and start experimenting with different ways to get to sleep. You'll figure it out!! Stay connected to TT, as I said, lots of great advice here!

Best to you and hopefully a great night sleep!!

 

Oh BTW, I am starting a Remeron regiment this weekend! I will let you know how that goes!

 

Have you tried melatonin? I used this for about the first 3 months.

And how about some background noise when you are falling asleep? I used an iphone app - windchime really help me at the moment

 

Thanks for responding. I do take melatonin 3 mg, 2 pills at bedtime and I use the iphone app restful rain with my headphones. I keep the tv on low and on timer to shut off in 1 hour. I can fall asleep with the ambien, but I wake at at 3 or 4 and can't get back to sleep usually. Have to try windchime. That sounds nice. Sometimes the Valerian Root 1 450 mg capsule works when I wake, but not so often. I can't believe the dosage on the bottle says take 5!

Wish I could sleep without meds, but I have faith that it will come in time. Before T, I was only a 6 hour a night sleeper, and would wake around 5/6 am after going to bed at 11 pm.

 

Please let me know! You know what's funny, my doc just returned my call one minute ago. I told him I was waking up and not returning to sleep. He said just up the Ambien to 7.5 cause the 10 mg was giving me trouble. Then I mentioned Remeron and how people with T sleep well with it. He says it does not make you tired! Crazy! I am not sure I believe that cause of all the posters on this forum who says it works. This is the third time I mentioned it to him. He says Elavil will make you tired. He also said Benedryl and Valerian Root are fine and won't interfere with Ambien. I expressed concern with my taking Ambien in general. He was very supportive and said, "you need to take what you need now to sleep."

 

Good luck with the Remeron. By the way, how is Klonapin? When I first went to the dr. with T, I researched and brought a list with me. Had really no idea about any med, but mentioned Klonapin to him. and he gave me a kind of funny look ...

 

I usualy put some death metal when i have a big spike....

 

Melatonin as already mentioned, combined with camomile tea every night.

 

Thank you for your response. I just had some chamomile tea. I love your name Miss lavender. I have a bottle of lavender oil by my bedside. I open it at bedtime, sprinkle a few drops on my comforter and pjs, and enjoy. It's part of my bedtime ritual. I love it.

 

Aah yes. My son used to blast it in my car, and I had to tell him to turn it down haha. Little did I know about blasting music into my ears back then.

 

@ patty. Thanks a lot. I use lots of lavender creams and soaps etc.( all organic of course) I even went to a lavender farm not long ago, and had great time. Make sure the tea is organic as well if possible. Good luck!

 

The klonapin works OK. I don't really like being on a benzo. I am hoping I can replace the klonapin with the remeron. In addition to chamomile tea, sound/music therapy and exercise. So to your question, klonapin works pretty good for me . Low dose 1mg.

 

Thanks Jeff for responding. I understand, I am not comfortable with the Ambien either. That's why I have Remeron on my list to try. If you don't mind me asking, how long were you taking Ambien and was it fairly easy to taper off? Keep me updated with the Remeron. It seems like a good option. Good luck and have a great weekend.

 

I have the same problem as well but before T i could easily sleep for 10 hours, now i can't sleep for more than few hours a night sometimes even with the use of melatonin...I have also read that long term efects of melatonin usage are unknown so i'm thinking about quitting but i don't know with what to replace it with..do you have any recommendations, would only valerian root will help me sleep?
I was also wondering what does your tinnitus sounds like and does it changes it tone...mine doesn't, it's really high pitched and i can't mask it without headphones but at night they fall off and the T wakes me up.

 

Wow just got an alert for my old thread. Good news folks, it gets much better. Sleeping very well now. No more Ambien, tapering ADs. I feel good. Going on a cruise next month. I have habituated and have been now for 6 months. Started taking Zythromend an anti-inflammatory herbal and I sleep better with it.