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Resisting Medication

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He said when needed take the Ambien. Of course I haven't gone to sleep without taking something for a long time now so I'm sure I will end up taking it. I think he wants me to use the Ambien to restart my sleep cycle as he put it... however I don't feel like I have had a cycle to begin with so we will see.
 
I have been on meds. Makes things worse for me, but that is just me. I know they work for a lot of people. My brain is messed up, so maybe that is why they do not work for me. ?
 
Play it by ear Hazen see how goes, that would of been my thoughts use it until other meds kick in and then hopefully longer term you may not need the sleeper if the other helps, its swings and roundabouts until you see what works.

okradlak meds arent for everyone, i have never been for them for myself but decided to give them go see what happens as i think i was refraining them for all wrong reasons. If they don't work for you thats fine doesnt mean you head is that messed up that don't work, maybe you just havent found the right one for you?
 
Hi Sazz! Yeah, they are monitoring me for a brain disorder that I think was caused by the PTSD. They did give me neurotin (useless). But you are right.........never never give up! :) I keep trying and working with my Drs because do not want to end up with the things they are looking for.
 
Ambien is pretty strong medicine, it should work for you. If you don't want to take it every night then look into alternatives such as melatonin, valarian and diphenhydramine. You might also find this thread helpful.

[DLMURL]https://www.ptsdforum.org/c/threads/aromatherapy-that-may-help-relieve-some-ptsd-symptoms.13571/page-3#post-234134[/DLMURL] It is about aromatherapy and how it has helped some people relax, some of the scents and methods discussed are really quite nice.

Be careful combining meds together, although melatonin and ambien might be okay, valarian and melatonin as well.
Melatonin is a great supplement, it promotes good sleep and I have found it useful for awhile now.

If you are having a hard time maybe next time try asking for Temazepam (Restoril). It is commonly given to those with ptsd, or sleep anxiety. It works because it is a hypnotic sedative and does have some anxioltic (anti anxiety) properties to it.
It has a nice effect of putting one to sleep or improving the quality of sleep by both sedating you and reducing anxiety.
I actually kind of wrote a daily journal of how I felt and occasionally wrote in how I felt the medications were doing, but only occasionally because it does help to not obsess about it too much.. take care in the meantime.

Well hang in there, I know being in limbo while they figure out what drugs work for you is really hard to deal with. Try taking notes on how it effects you, if you think it helps but not quite enough, write that down. If you notice the pros outweigh the cons, let them know. Sometimes just saying 'it doesn't work' leaves too many unanswered questions.
 
Thanks. I took the Effexor 7 hours ago and just feel a bit fuzzy/cloudy headed and a bit of a headache. I know I need to give this stuff time... I have to see the effect for a week or so I suppose.

However I took the Ambien an hour ago and I feel nothing. Not a thing. I am here typing on the forum because laying in bed was getting awful. The only difference is that before I would always have my heart pounding with my chest filled with a ball of anxiety. This time I just feel my heart pounding, no anxiety.

I still am not getting tired though.

I have taken melatonin in the past and I eventually got used to it and it stopped working. My doc doesn't want me to mix things for sleep quite yet.

But pretty soon I may anyway since this Ambien doesn't seem to do much. Unless I need to give it some more time??

Thanks for letting me ramble on about my meds. I appreciate the input!
 
I can report that I have been taking the Effexor for a week now and it has been a positive experience so far. I was getting bad headaches and yawning a ton for the first few days but that has subsided. My appetite has shrunk so I haven't been eating as much. However my anxiety has gone down a ton and I don't feel depressed much at all. It was getting overwhelming and this feels much better. I don't get that cold blast of anxiety in my chest as badly as I did.

The ambien works well if I take it on an empty stomach. I have actually gotten a few decent nights sleep in the past week which is amazing in itself!

Hopefully this good trend continues. I am happy so far with the meds!
 
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Hi Hazen,
I have has similar issues with not wanting to take meds. My T at the time had me go to my GP and talk to her about Klonopin, which she rx'd, albeit reluctantly as she worries about addiction. She put me on the lowest dose (0.25 mg which are wafer's that dissolve ). They do help with my anxiety, and I feel good because they are the lowest dose.
Sleeping has always been an issue too, for the same reasons you stated. My GP rx'd Trazadone, which I took once, made my head spin and I wanted to vomit..gross feeling! So she rx'd Ambien. The Ambien I was taking every 3 days, which did help. I did have to go off of it though, only because it's a hypnotic and I was switching, which my T and I think is one of the reasons I have problems sleeping in the first place.

I am so glad you went to your GP and found some things that are working for you! I know my T wanted me to go to a Psych too, in my area the wait too get in is a good 3-5 months, so I said forget that........again kudos to you!

Best,
Shadowbreath
 
The Effexor is definitely helping... I am on a 75mg dose. I still am getting some headaches and I have some pretty down days, but overall my anxiety is down, and sleep has been better. I am concerned about the Ambien in that my GP didn't seem to want me to be on it for more than a month but I don't get sleepy without taking something, so I am a little worried about my check up appointment next week. If he doesn't give me more Ambien I guess it will be back to benadryl or some stuff like that.
 
I wouldn't be worried, express that you still need something to help with your sleep. If you can't be given more Ambien because you have already taken it for the short term window, then ask for something else, try Restoril, Lunesta, Estazolam, thing is these are drugs (except ambien and lunesta,which both help you stay asleep and helps you fall asleep), that help you stay asleep, not exactly the best for making you fall asleep. The ones that help you fall asleep are: Sonata, Halcion, Rozerem. Those are all the strong ones that we are likely to see, there are others that are stronger but are only used while being monitored for their danger potential, surgery, complications in the hospital, ect.

There are some other ones they might try to give you to see if they will work, this includes Vistaril, Trazadone, Doxepin and Amitriptyline. Most of these are considered weaker and more like a sleep maintenance kind of drug, promote good sleep. But that doesn't mean they won't work. And they are likely to be prescribed first because they are considered safer. Vistaril 50mg works really well with me, too bad I can't use it or wont as the last time it reacted with my lungs and messed with my breathing. There is no shortage of medications they can give you I'm sure.

Try to consider also that your body is going to be addicted to sleep aids if you use them every day. This is why I ask for something strong and only choose to take it every few days. That is enough for me to get okay sleep and in doing so limit my stress. I can still sleep without taking anything in between those few days. (except low dose Amitriptyline as this is something I take every night.) Doing this is good practice. If I took restoril every night, my doctor would probably be obligated to cut me off of it eventually. But for right now I think she doesn't really care as much since I only take it a couple times a week. The most important part is to not allow yourself to be hoplessly addicted to something like Ambien or Restoril, you might feel okay at the time but when you have to come off of them you are not going to feel okay. And you will find that insomnia gets much worse.

Maybe read something before bed, get relaxed and unwind then lay down and try to see if you can fall asleep without taking your strong pill, maybe choose to just take melatonin or a couple benadryl or maybe a few Valerian. If you don't get to sleep that's okay, you can always try again later. After awhile you will be able to tell if you can just lay right down and fall asleep, no meds. My body got used to the pattern of taking the strong pill every few nights, I'll take some valerian or benadryl on one or two of the other nights, and try to sleep unaided the rest of the days. My goal is to stop using the benadryl and instead just trying to sleep unaided on those 2 days, slowly I am improving I think. I don't want to have to take something to sleep... Maybe I'll get there.
 
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