Med Options For Sleep?

[Mel (Hippo256)]

I take 3mg of melatonin and 30mg of amitriptylin. It helps. Not enough, but it's better than nothing. I haven't tried anything else, because doctors won't prescribe it (they say eveything else is addictive and can only be used for a couple of days). I also can't take higher dosages of this, because it only made me even more foggy during the day (I already have a lot of chronic fatigue problems, so I really don't need meds that make that worse). In the past, I only had melatonin (5mg) but that didn't really work. Amitriptylin does do something (they also say it could work as a painkiller, which is why it was prescribed for sleeping by my rheumatologist, but it also makes you more sleepy), but the combination works better. It's also important to know at which time you should take the sleep meds, this maybe different for the different kinds of medication but it's also depends on the person.
For me, it does nothing for nightmares though (it may even make them worse, more vivid).

 

[The Black Phoenix]

I take melatonin, and I just started prozasin, which I wouldn't have believed it possible to be such a miracle drug until I took it and got the first rest that I think I've had my entire life. I was worried about the prozasin interrupting dealing with trauma, but at this point, I don't know how useful the nightmares are to me anyway, as many of my nightmares are not directly related to the trauma itself. I'm not an expert, so take that with a grain of salt. For me, I've had nightly nightmares for almost 20 years. My nephew reported that I cried through my sleep every night. I have also talked, screamed, yelled, and jumped out of bed. Sometimes it's just nice to get some rest. It's too bad your doc isn't willing to give you something (they can be stingy with sleep medications) but I wonder if prozasin would be something they would consider. In terms of side effects it seems minimimally harmful.

 

[Mit]

Diazepam - it can be addictive, but I only use it after several nights without sleep when I'm really struggling to function. It leaves me dopey for a while the following morning. Knocks me out though.

 

[Poofycat]

Melatonin changed my life. It's really important to take it 2 to 3 hours before you plan to go to bed, something most docs fail to mention. It works by resetting your circadian rhythm which is why it works so well for jet lag. It's also been shown to improve general brain function, and may help prevent dementia, so it's just a great supplement in general. Helps with sleep, not with nightmares in my experience.

I also take trazadone to help me sleep, and prazosin if I'm feeling stressed.

 

[Panda Bear]

Since unloading a mass amount of trauma in the past 5-6wks, my sleep has normalized some.

Melatonin makes me bonkers and the nightmares worse :(

 

[Ed Norton]

Just to add...trazadone is sometimes good
Edit: prazosin is definitely an alpha 1 blocker..very old drug...it doesn't make me sleepy at all

 

[Ocean5]

trazadone is sometimes good

Helped me for awhile, then stopped. But could have been interaction with another drug.
But I think it can become dependent with long-term use.

But short-term could try. Just to break sleeping pattern cycle.

 

[Panda Bear]

@Ed Norton

I actually took trazadone in my teens/20s, and it did get me to sleep. I was a crazy insomniac as a child(post trauma) and awake all...the...TIME! But I couldn't sleep, you know, close your eyes, see a parent who shot himself in the head. Just doesn't work so well for sleep. A doctor took me off it just after I started college, told me it was "all in my head" get a shrink...

Go figure, fast forward, I have a shrink and it is in my head. No meds for me, therapy it is.

 

[Poofycat]

Have you tried an eye mask as a non-med option? I have a thick one that blocks out all light and puts slight pressure on my eye lids. It's very comforting and now when I put it on I almost always fall immediately asleep.

 

[Ocean5]

@Panda Bear *hug* if you accept.
Been near suicidal parent since just a child. I think first time I had police called I was 5 or 6. Maybe younger.
I've had 2 psychiatrist tell me I need serious specialized therapy in ptsd or trauma. But first I needed medicines to get stable enough for therapy.

Also, that meds where not the answer for me (yet they get you dependent on them.)

 

[Deleted member 28403]

I mainly use diazepham, though I heard something about hydroxyzine as a non addictive alternative?

 

[Ocean5]

I was given hydroxyzine (Vistaril) found it hard to find, but I had side effects, or it was interactions with other drugs.

But I remember being VERY hopefully when told about it. I may retry in future.