sleeping

[Bruisegirl69]

was just given a script for lunesta 1 mg as was on lorazapam 2mg and wanted to get off and tried Tradazone 100 mg as didn’t work as lunesta only gives me 2 1/2 straight sleep and hard to get back to sleep but finally do as really don’t want to take anything g as sick of pills Any help would be appreciated . Thanks

[kaliska0]

All the attempts by researchers to categorize types of insomnia for determining effective treatment have failed. There is no easy way to tell why you have insomnia. As you get older it is also common for various changes to alter or reduce sleep. Correcting any of these problems is extremely individualized, complicated, and occasionally not possible with our current knowledge and medicine.

That means for many, especially those who are older or have health problems, various sedating pills may be required. Quite often it takes multiple pills combined to set off enough sleep triggers or counter wakefulness triggers in order to get consistent sleep. That's mostly the limit of the current level of understanding and medical treatments for general insomnia.

It can be possible to find other things that help. Supplements and otc options that have less health risks exist and behavioral or lifestyle changes can also help. It can at least reduce the dosage or number of medications needed. Really the options are endless of what might work. However, since the cause of insomnia is different for everyone, we don't know all the causes of insomnia, we have no way to determine what your cause is, and half the time doctors don't even know what might help when they do figure out a cause; there is no guarantee anything will work. It can take years and I've spent over 20 years sorting out things that help me sleep. I started taking multiple pills when I was 17 years old. I will be taking multiple pills every day and night for the rest of my life.

It would be awesome if I could go back to only having to take lunesta with a rotation of things like trazodone, mirtazapine, amitriptyline, gabapentin, etc..... The 2 meds a night being effective only lasted about 1 year of my life though.

There is no easy answer. There's a ton of possibilities to try but everything that helps can also make sleep worse for some people or cause other side effects. There are times all my spare energy has gone into researching and testing new options to get more sleep and have more energy so I can spend it looking up more ways to get better sleep and have even more energy.

If you want some possible non-prescription med solutions to try start with what is commonly referred to in the US as sleep hygiene:

sleepfoundation.org/sleep-h...

healthline.com/health/sleep...

helpguide.org/articles/slee...

Lighting is one of the most important things now that we tend to spend so much time indoors and have room lights and electronics to use after sunset. Some get enough benefit from brief morning exposure to bright lights or sunlight. Our whole house has daylight spectrum bulbs in the ceiling lights that run on timers all day long. I used to have to install new light fixtures to plug into timers but smart leds can be screwed into a regular light socket and have the schedule programmed into them using your phone or a tablet. You can also turn on/off, dim, or some can change from daylight white to warmer yellow using a phone like a remote for the lights. If doing more than 1 or 2 smart devices I suggest some help because 2 people with computer programming knowledge and one who does it as a career had trouble getting 6 bulbs consistently connected and on a schedule.

sleepfoundation.org/light-t...

stanfordhealthcare.org/medi...

sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-tr...

Lately the use of red light or NIR (near infrared) has been investigated as helpful in the evening. Some replace all their evening lighting with mostly red spectrum or NIR bulbs.

healthline.com/health/why-n...

platinumtherapylights.com/b...

Temperature can be just as important as light for some people. In studies people slept best in 65-68F (18-20C) with enough blankets to be comfortably warm. "warm feet, cool head" I know lots of places with milder climates don't have ac but I have found it absolutely essential to cool the bedroom at night. Even if the only thing with ac is the bedroom using a window or portable ac unit. Some also use baths or showers to promote heat loss but if taking a hot bath instead of a cool rinse you need to do it long enough before bed that your body cools back down. Hot water will dilate blood vessels and cause other changes to try to cool yourself faster so it does end up helping drop your body temperature but only after warming it up. Sometimes I just run cold water over my legs when it's too warm to sleep well. If your thyroid function declines, you have hormone issues, or while going through menopause temperature can become even more important for falling and staying asleep.

Use white noise or soothing sounds to cover up any noises. A cheap, loud box fan can work but there are also many more complex options for white noise machines and soothing music, nature sounds or rain storms that some people find are beneficial for sleep.

Air quality can play a role in sleep. It's one of those that really depends on the person. Along with filtering out irritants or allergens humidity is important but many raise humidity without checking if it's low first. Too high of humidity will have negative impacts on air quality and respiration just as much as too low. In general you want between 40-60%. I prefer lower and run dehumidifiers all year to maintain 30-40%.

Supplements are where the possible answers never end but it can mean taking more pills or liquids. Some though can improve your overall health instead of only making insomnia symptoms less obvious. Magnesium glycinate is probably the most consistently useful for sleep and beneficial to health. As an alternative to ingesting magnesium you can get topical magnesium oil for muscle cramps or as sports creams. It can also help if restless leg movements, stiffness, or muscle aches interrupt your sleep.

sleepfoundation.org/sleep-a...

gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle...

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

samhealth.org/about-samarit...

nutrav.com/blogs/news/how-t...

nutrav.com/blogs/news/how-t...

[Tortie2014]

I have used a product call Calm and Cool, made by Spectrum Awakening- it gives me at least 5 hours of sleep; I take that with 3mg melatonin. I also take 500mg of niacin.