Get a good night's sleep meds

[PaintedBlack]

My Dr and I have been trying to formulate the right thing so that I can fall asleep within a few hours and sleep through the night and have fewer nightmares.  The primary problem in my mind is the Nightmares, they will haunt me the whole day because they are very upsetting.

Here's what I'm taking before bed that works **pretty well**:

200mg Gabapentin
1mg Klonapin
2mg Prazosin
50mg Metropolol

Before this, I was taking a LOT of Xanax before bed and I hated doing that; so over the last 5 months we've been trying different things and this works well but I'm pretty groggy for a few hours after I wake up.

I met with her yesterday and she was very excited about a new insomnia med called Belsomra, which works on the "waking up cycle" instead of the "falling asleep cycle."  From what she said, it keeps you from waking up when you get to that stage where you might.  It doesn't make you groggy or stumbly and you can't take too much.

I got some samples and last night I did fall asleep pretty quickly (in about 45 min).  After a few days I'm going to try dropping the Prazosin and/or Gabapentin to see if I can use the Belsomra with fewer things and if I'm more alert and awake the next day.

If anyone else has any experience with sleeping meds I'd love to hear it.  Now that I have something that at least works, I'm going to try to refine it.  I've tried all the Ambien, Lunesta, Triazolam... None of those work.  Anxiety/Beta Blockers have been the only thing that helps.  To me the problem seems like: I can't stop thinking and I keep thinking like a maniac all night long even when I do sleep, which translates into disturbing dreams while I'm sleeping.

Anyone else have sleeping problems?  I'll keep you updated on the Belsomra.  I'm really hopeful about it!

[PaintedBlack]

Of course being new here I posted this first then started browsing the other posts.  Lot of good stuff.  I'm going to try the Celexa at some point for sure Kizzie.  Sorry about that.  It's nice to see that many of you have tried/are taking the same sort of stuff I am.  I've been so alone for so long with no one to compare notes to!!!

[Trees]

I take fluoxetine to sleep.  It relaxes me so I can go to sleep and then it represses REM sleep, which is not a good thing for everyone, but for me it is a huge blessing to be able to sleep without nightmares or thinking-in-my-sleep.  Some people do need to have dreaming suppressed so they can get some rest at all.  I have heard this about some military cases of ptsd, too.

If I turn off my alarm in the morning and let myself go back to sleep, then I usually have disturbing dreams.  And some years ago, when I was far worse, I was so afraid of morning nightmares that I always just popped out of bed the second I woke up.

Some people say that fluoxetine must be taken in the morning because it keeps you awake, but for me it is quite the opposite.  And for me there have been no side effects.

[PaintedBlack]

Trees, yes what I left off the list is paroxetine, I take it at night too. Your explanation is great, thank you for it. What I'm always hoping is, remember or not, that I didn't HAVE the dreams. I'm so sorry you're in this position too. Thankfully, ithas gotten bbetter with age. Early 20s were the very worst for me.

[Kizzie]

Hi PB   

Glad you have a doc who is willing to work with you on getting the right meds, they can be a blessing like the Celexa was for me.

Re sleep meds - I too am a thinker at bedtime so getting to sleep is difficult.  I use 3.5 mg of Zopiclone and don't have any grogginess in the morning but do dream quite a bit so it might not be good in your case since you have nightmares.  I also am on Gaba 100 mg twice daily so it helps me to fall asleep although that's a side benefit as I'm on it for nerve damage from shingles. I do recall when I started on it I dreamed a lot and still do. (I have anxiety dream versus nightmares so I'm OK with the dreaming.) 

That would be great if you keep us posted on the  Belsomra, especially if it helps with the nightmares so you can get a more restful sleep without all the grogginess in the AM. There are quite a few members understandably who suffer from nightmares so they may be interested to hear about it.

Re Celexa - it has worked really well for me, but like any med it may not be right for you. I had some pretty major social anxiety going on when the pdoc prescribed it, She had had a lot of success with it and fortunately it was what I needed and my body didn't react weirdly to.

[KeepingHope15]

Hello There,

My SO has terrible nightmares and will avoid going to sleep at all costs.  He has been afraid that he will get stuck in a nightmare and be to groggy to wake up so he is hesitant to take anything.  How have the meds been working? Please keep us in the loop.

[PaintedBlack]

The belsomra is definitely good! I have been playing with the dosage and have pretty much settled on 15mg.  then I started night by night taking away some of the other things. To see if I would still get a good night's sleep and also wake up fairly alerts. So now I cut out the prazosin. when I cut out the Klonopin, I was still getting nightmares even though I didn't wake up as often. So now I'm taking klonopin, belsomra, 100 gabapentin, and metropolol. It's been good! I fall asleep within about 40 minutes. Which is a huge improvement. & I sleep through the whole night. I hope this help somebody!

[KayFly]

Hey PaintedBlack!

I recently started back up on psychiatric medication and have been trying to find the right cocktail. I've been taking clonazepam for awhile, but am also weening myself off the benzo's for they can be addicting, and I can get addicted easily...

I used to be on Celexa but I didn't like the effect it had on my bloodstream. It seemed to be pumping blood through my veins really quickly giving me these like, brain hiccups, and it felt like I was going to faint or loose my eyesight, or something. Couldn't do it. Now I take Wellbutrin for my anti-depressant, and I absolutely love it. Everyone is different, but Wellbutrin also help me quit smoking, and has made my depressive episodes not last as long.

I started taking the beta blocker Propranolol, but due to extensive workouts, it was slowing my heart rate (blood pressure medication) making it hard to breathe (as good as it is for PTSD/Anxiety), and I had to go off it. I also went off of Prazosin which is an alpha blocker which contributes to Propranolol's cause. I was just pretty freaked out by not being able to breathe.

BUT I gotta say, although it doesn't GET you to sleep, Prazasin has been my favorite medicine for keeping you asleep and keeping away PTSD related nightmares (for the most part). I find it to be a great medication for just that, and I am going to go back on it soon...My doctor prescribed me hydroxizine for Getting to sleep, Prazasin for staying asleep. Hydroxizine is an antihistamine, like benadryl, that also helps with anxiety.

Finding the right medication cocktail can be so frustrating, especially if it pertains to sleep or leaves you groggy when you have a life to live.  But I just wanted to share.  I like prazasin.  And it is very good your doctor is willing to help you find the right mix for you. Hope things are getting better for you...I see the last post was like a month and a half ago...    I'm sorry if none of that was helpful!!

I wish you well on finding your right medicine and good rest!

[La Puma]

I don't know how this would work for others, but for me, one tab of Benadryl knocks me out for hours.  I do think sleeping meds are overprescribed and people often overlook much simpler and less damaging alternatives.  Everything depends on your collective 'cocktail' of course, and how bad your sleep problem is.  I'm just sayin' that if your sleep problem isn't extreme, try this and see if it works for you.  Benadryl has its own drawbacks of course, but they aren't nearly as extreme as some of the prescription pills I have taken in the past.  I'm not up on all the new stuff, though.

[tired]

Celexa worked for me. Melatonin gave me nightmares and Benadryl makes me worry I won't wake up if I need to because it worked too well maybe.  Celexa was predictable as far as when it made me sleepy and when it knocked me out etc.

Lately I've been trying to stay so busy and hopped up on stimulants all day so that at night I crash. Not sure about that approach- work in progress. My sleep is great but my days are a zoo.

[Kizzie]

That's interesting about Celexa Tired, I take 30 mg/day and it doesn't make me sleepy.  We really are all different when it comes to meds aren't we?

[tired]

That's a good point.  I was taking 10 and it made me too sleepy so I quit.    I took half of a tiny dose of valium once for an MRI and I slept for two hours.  Just goes to show how difficult a problem it can be to find the right medication.