Sufferer SEVERE PTSD . No good sleep. Up at least 8 -10 times a night check to make sure that things are ok. I get about 2 hours a night of sleep.

I suffer with severe PTSD, get about 2 hours of sleep at night. I have been on so many different medications my Dr in Florida finally put me on a low dose of Valum at to help me fall asleep and it would still be in my system during the day to help with my anxiety . Now I live in texas and their solution is antidepressants that I can't take because they do the opposite. My primary care prescribed 5mg of ambian. My therapist suggested something that didn't have as many side affects so the primary care increased the amount. I have night terrors and my therapist is afraid that I might get in my car to try and get away. She reached out to my PCP and he doesn't respond back. To what she thinks would benefit me.

That sounds really tough. I get good results with Lunesta and THC.

hello user. welcome to the forum. sorry for what brings you here, but glad you are here.

during my own insomnia years, any drugs strong enough to counter my insomnia were strong enough to give me major hangovers. i felt like those hangovers were worse than the insomnia. peer support --such as you can find right here-- and talk therapy are what ultimately got my insomnia down to manageable proportions.

but that is me and every case is unique

steadying support while you find what works for you. welcome aboard.

I was overmedicated with psychiatric drugs. Anti depressants anti psychotics benzodiapines. Problem was trauma and ptsd. Never diagnosed till 2014..That year I had a catastrophic illness. I take now escitalopram. Dealing with my trauma trauma recovery domestic violence treatment setting boundaries saying no etc helped me tremendously. Still working on me with these recovery pronciples. I hope you find what works for you.
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user57376 said:

I suffer with severe PTSD, get about 2 hours of sleep at night. I have been on so many different medications my Dr in Florida finally put me on a low dose of Valum at to help me fall asleep and it would still be in my system during the day to help with my anxiety . Now I live in texas and their solution is antidepressants that I can't take because they do the opposite. My primary care prescribed 5mg of ambian. My therapist suggested something that didn't have as many side affects so the primary care increased the amount. I have night terrors and my therapist is afraid that I might get in my car to try and get away. She reached out to my PCP and he doesn't respond back. To what she thinks would benefit me.

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I was prescribed quetiapine for sleep as I did not sleep and Prazosin for nightmares. quetiapine helped but reluctant to try prazosin as it lowers BP and I have children and did not want to pass out whilst caring for them. But Quetiapine helped with sleep at night, slow release to keep me asleep. I have been reluctant to try SSRIs or any anti depressants due to side affects. Personal opinion though for me, for others side affects may be least of the worries. Outweigh the risks for the benefit.

I cannot really advise but once I was way over prescribed by psychiatry. That was a disaster. I had ptsd but many other diagnoses were generated. I needed to take charge of my life my boundaries my time etc say no. Now I take escitalopram 20mg.

Welcome to the forum. Quetiapine worked for me as well. I used it for years. I understand the frustration. For me trail and error with meds. I hope you find some relief. In solidarity Susan Jane

user57376 said:

I suffer with severe PTSD, get about 2 hours of sleep at night. I have been on so many different medications my Dr in Florida finally put me on a low dose of Valum at to help me fall asleep and it would still be in my system during the day to help with my anxiety . Now I live in texas and their solution is antidepressants that I can't take because they do the opposite. My primary care prescribed 5mg of ambian. My therapist suggested something that didn't have as many side affects so the primary care increased the amount. I have night terrors and my therapist is afraid that I might get in my car to try and get away. She reached out to my PCP and he doesn't respond back. To what she thinks would benefit me.

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That’s awful, I was in a similar situation a while back but not as prolonged as yours, and the way I would get myself to sleep would be with a shit ton of valium mixed with these over the counter sleep pills that were initially developed to treat allergies, so not a sustainable treatment long term.
But during that time I researched a lot treatment methods for CPTSD, and Ketamine treatment has been the most effective from my research. Florida has some ketamine centers, they’re usually expensive asf, but maybe you’ll be lucky and there will be a center that accepts insurance, there was something like that where I was living back in 2023, unfortunately they went bankrupt. I really recommend you check it out, it’s a lot less harmful than the pills they got you on, especially long term and also the fact that you will be in a hospital where they administer and monitor everything. Also what type of therapy are you doing?