In the last few months, I've been having difficulty getting a good night's sleep. I can go to bed earlier, but I'll wake up, go to the bathroom and then lay awake doing deep breathing exercises, etc. to no avail. I've been averaging about 5-6 hours of sleep. I'm happy if I get 6. I thought it was the mattress, but I guess not. The bed is fine now.
I finally talked to my doctor about it.
She suggested Valerian (Mayo Clinic website) or Benedryl before resorting to a pill like Ambien.
I've tried Benedryl which didn't do much so I opted for Ambien. Dr. Jeanne gave me the 5 mg dose that is recommended for women. She also said I should cut it in half. It's a small pill and cutting it wasn't easy but I managed.
The first night with half a pill got me 7 hours 6 minutes. That was nice and I got up refreshed.
I decided to try the whole pill the next night and got 8 hours 27 minutes. I was happy with the 8 hours 27 minutes, but not happy about feeling groggy the next morning.
I'll try sleeping without the pill tonight and use it only when I need it.
I wonder if it'll help me on those terrible, long airline flights too.
We'll see.
I finally talked to my doctor about it.
She suggested Valerian (Mayo Clinic website) or Benedryl before resorting to a pill like Ambien.
I've tried Benedryl which didn't do much so I opted for Ambien. Dr. Jeanne gave me the 5 mg dose that is recommended for women. She also said I should cut it in half. It's a small pill and cutting it wasn't easy but I managed.
I decided to try the whole pill the next night and got 8 hours 27 minutes. I was happy with the 8 hours 27 minutes, but not happy about feeling groggy the next morning.
I'll try sleeping without the pill tonight and use it only when I need it.
I wonder if it'll help me on those terrible, long airline flights too.
We'll see.
You should go online and see if Ambien has any bad side effects. Some of those sleep aides tend to cause dementia. Benedryl is supposed to do that. I take Melatonin, a natural sleep aid that your body makes. TVs, tablets, smart phones and computers emit a blue light that make it difficult to sleep because it destroys your body's natural melatonin.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to live in a state that allows recreational marijuana use. I take a half dose of a tincture called "Beauty Sleep" which has THC, CBD, and CBN in it, all of which allow me to fall asleep and stay asleep for most of the night. And there's no hangover at all. I wake up refreshed, and I never have even the tiniest bit of "high" from the THC. I wish you could use that instead of Ambien or Benadryl, neither of which should be taken all the time.
ReplyDeleteIf you stay on the Ambien, be careful, because it can cause very weird psychotic episodes. My daughter had that a few times, and had to stop using it. She isn't alone, though. Good luck! I'm assuming you have cut out all caffeine and alchohol, particularly after 6 pm or so?
ReplyDeleteMy sister bought my Dad some cherry juice (you mix it with water) and it supposed to help you sleep. Even it doesn't, hey, it's from cherries, how bad can it be?
ReplyDeleteCheerio! :-)
Kay maybe we need less sleep as we get older...I think I am sleeping less too.
ReplyDeletePlease consider returning to trying one Benadryl (25 mg) for help sleeping. It's the best for older folks without side effects, except maybe a dry nose in the morning. You can even get the tablet generic form and just try 12.5 mg which is half of a usual benadryl.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't use the Ambien again unless you have to get sleep and just use the half pill. The whole pill experiment you did, with the next day of grogginess is evident that a whole pill is too much.
I've had too many patients, including my mother, who was given Ambien and fell (my mom fell 3 times on it before I fired her doctor.) These patients don't remember taking the Ambien, don't remember getting up and walking around and then falling.
I've seen the bruised eyes and faces, and the broken bones from people falling because of Ambien, or Ambien-like prescription meds (Lunesta.)
About once a month, I've personally use half or whole Lortab (pain med and tylenol) and half or whole Flexeril (very mild muscle relaxer,) (originally for my TMJ) if I really needed sleep and not have aches and pains.
People on Ambien have had weird behaviors. One patient got up, striped naked, stepped into a metal trash can and walked down the hall with the can on his foot. One nurse buddy, got up and walked to her car and got in the driver's seat before she truly woke up and saw herself in her pjs. Patients have driven their cars and not remembered it. My mom got up and fell by the bed, by the hall, and was found in the floor by the door by a Physical Therapist coming for her appointment. My mom denied all of it, the fall, the being found, and the PT even coming to see her!
I've seen so many head, face and bone injuries from falling with Ambien, that I half think it's a conspiracy by the drug manufacturers to help the neurologists and orthopaedic surgeons have thriving practices.
As suggested by Margie, Melatonin is a good option: didn't work for me, but does for others. Again, it works differently, but you start with less than 1 mg dose per night for a week, then increase.
Do NOT take Ambien when traveling, in another country, or on a plane. WAY too many side effects to use when on a vacation.
I'm disappointed your provider prescribed it. When my mom's doc prescribed it for the third time when I told her not to, I asked the doc why. She said, "Your Mom begged me for something to help her sleep, was she hurt on her recent fall?" I said, "wouldn't you like to know. Just because a patient begs you for something, doesn't mean they should receive it." Fortunately my mom wasn't injured on the last fall. We fired the doc and removed all Ambien from my mom's collection and trashed them.
I think lack of sleep and all of the other options are better than what I've seen because of Ambien. I've seen lots from my side of the RN nursing counter. Most docs are steering away from Ambien. Good Luck from Kansas, Linda
Thank you so very much for all your information. I have a friend who just mentioned the other day how much she enjoys your input and finds it very helpful!
DeleteI had the Ambien with me, but I didn't take it. I kept to Melatonin.
my problem is I nap every afternoon, so a full night's rest is difficult. But I get so tired during the day...
ReplyDeleteI, too, have had many frustrating nights wanting to sleep and not being able to do so. My problem is normally when I get up to use the bathroom and then lie awake for as long as 2+ hours. My sister-in-law told me about an over-the-counter sleeping pill she takes. I read about it and decided to try it. I break the pills in half along a line in the pills, very easily. The chemical in them is doxylamine succinate 25mg. The bottle says it's comparable to Unisom Sleeptabs. Most over-the-counter sleep aids are diphenhydramine (Benadryl). My sister-in-law takes a whole pill of the doxylamine succinate but I only take half of one. We both have success with it. Good luck with your search for a good night's sleep. Not sleeping when you lie there seemingly forever is so very frustrating and the frustration continues when you have to be up and functioning. I get mine at Costco for a very reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteI think the Melatonin is helping for now. Not perfect at all, but better.
DeleteCannabis. Edible. Trust me
ReplyDeleteI bet it will. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about this, Kay. Good luck with your search for a cure.
ReplyDeleteCareful. Sleepwalking and sleep driving have been reported on that drug and both seem scary. I too struggle and will find something that works but eventually it will quit. One of my commenters suggested picking a letter in the alphabet then thinking of how many words start with that letter while taking slow deep breaths. For now it is working. Not sure what I will try when that quits.
ReplyDeleteWish I had access to what Djan uses.
Kay, at the risk of sounding risque, you might want to try medicinal cannabis (aka marijuana) in the form of edibles. A little goes a long way, without side effects, and it is non addicting. Taking prescription drugs might start you on a drug merry go round.
ReplyDeletebtw, it is legal in Hawaii now, though you will need to go through some hoops and expense to get your special "license". I SO want my girlfriend to try it but she is rather old school and thinks the worse of this miraculous plant because of her opinion of it, courtesy of our government back in 1937.
I use a pill, but still only get 6 hours +-1. My problem without a pill is that I can get to sleep but can't stay asleep after an hour or two. You might try a milder pill like trazodone which helps but doesn't leave me groggy.
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ReplyDeleteI was gravely ill last year. Being lazy I would not jump thru the hoops and expenses to get the stuff. However my brother and family gifted me cannabis tincture PAPA Barkley which has 1:30 THC:CBD. The tincture was meant for my sickness. The side effect...The tincture lessens my anxiety greatly and I do sleep much better.
I'm so glad you found something that could help you.
DeleteMy sleep problems are sporadic and inconsistent. I might have trouble getting to sleep, or wake up way too early and stay awake. A full seven hours will do it for me, but I seldom get that. I function OK as long as I get a good night often enough. I have never considered a sleep aid, but reading these comments, I think cannabis is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI've had insomnia for years. It doesn't matter I don't sleep. It doesn't matter when I get up.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a healthy eater. You have a great lifestyle. My hubby gets up every two hours to pee. It's just what it is.
5-6 hours? I'd take that. There are many problems with sleep and no easy solutions.
ReplyDeleteI have read several studies on the effects of the TV, tablets, smart phones, and computers on sleep. The blue light they emit lessens the amount of natural melatonin our bodies makes and causes sleeplessness.
ReplyDeleteI take a regular sleep aid but only when I have to work early mornings. I usually don't have trouble sleeping past midnight
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