If you have never experienced INSOMNIA then you can't even begin to imagine the frustration of not being able to sleep. You are physically tired but just can't shut off your mind and relax. Or you get sleepy and lie down thinking at last I will now fall asleep only to be wide awake when you do lie down. GRRRRRRRRRRR!! Tossing and turning all night long. Hoping you don't wake up your sweetie. Then getting mad at them for sleeping because you can't sleep. Then feeling guilty for being mad that they are asleep. LOL!!! So then you get up and go watch some TV or read a book hoping that will make you sleepy and the next thing you know the sun is up and you have been awake ALL NIGHT LONG!! If you go to sleep now then you WON'T sleep that night. LOL!! Vicious cycle.

I have been this way most of my life. About three years ago I started taking Ambien. It was a lifesaver. I had some of the best nights sleep with that medication. Over the last year my system has become immune to the Ambien. So I was taking it and a benadryl to sleep. Then that didn't work. I was starting back on that track of being awake all night again. So, I called my doctor and asked about LUNESTA. He agreed that it might work better for me. I said what if I build up an immunity to it like I did with Ambien? He said we can alternate the two drugs and see if that will work.

So, I took my first does of LUNESTA last night. OH MY GOD!!! I thought I had been sleeping a restful sleep with Ambien. I now know what it means to wake up refreshed and rejuveniated. It works fast, like within 15 min of taking it. I did wake up to use the bathroom and immediately fell fast asleep within minutes. I never did that before. Even taking the Ambien if I woke up I would have trouble getting back to sleep. The LUNESTA can give you a hang over effect if you don't get at least 8 hours of sleep. But I can deal with that by just making sure I take it so I can get those 8 hours.

I highly recommend it if someone is suffering from INSOMNIA.

Hidivaliciousdee ~ That is interesting info. Thank you for sharing. I had no idea that Ambien was a narcotic. That must be why my doc was concerned. I too wake up a little groggy (is that the correct spelling...looks weird?) and it takes a bit for me to feel awake. Perhaps I'll try Melatonin that Alexandra suggested. I saw it on the front page of the Walgreens ad this week, so it's on sale. :clap2:

I am always up till at least 3AM every night, but that has been my regular schedule for a long time now. It gets bad if one of my boys have trouble sleeping b/c I'm already getting to bed late and it's hard to lose that much sleep.

bubbame20022003 ~ Bless the hearts of little ones....they do need their mommies. I take Ambien as I stated earlier, and I've never failed to wake up when I'm needed. I even hear them in the mornings if they get up b4 me. I can't speak for Lunesta, but for me, Ambien doesn't affect my mommy duties. I'm convinced that there is nothing better for a mom than a good nights sleep. I hope your able to get that soon. :notagree

WOW I could have used something last night. Now I feel that I could sleep for days. Tonight I am going to try to tire myself out and see how it goes.

Thanks Love - I always worry about not being there for my boys.

Sorry for not answering sooner. Ambien is addictive due to it's narcotic nature. So yes it would be a concern to take it for long periods. I tried weaning myself off and it was not a pretty site. I don't mean to imply I went into withdrawals but it was just hard to sleep more so than it was before Ambien. I was all jittery at night without Ambien.

I have tried Melatonin and it just doesn't work for me. I have tried Valerian Root too - No Luck. I have tried drinking Chamomile tea. I have tried Chamomile Baths - NO LUCK. So I resorted to the Ambien.

Lunesta does give me a slight hangover effect if I don't get the whole 8 hours sleep. But it disappears as soon as I am up and moving around. Ambien never gave me that kind of effect. I am taking the 2mg pills of Lunesta right now.

I also am a light sleeper. With both Ambien and Lunesta I wake up easily and go back to sleep faster when I do wake up.

I am hoping that when I get in a more regular routine of exercise and eating right I will be more tired at night and sleep better. I did notice that when I was walking every day and more active I slept better without any medication. Weird but you gotta move to sleep. LOL!!!

I did some research online after finding out that Ambien was narcotic based and I was shocked to find actual treatment centers for Ambien specifically! I read that some people snort or shoot-up with this stuff. That really does scare me enough to stop taking it. I'm going to give it a shot tonight and see if I have any problems getting to sleep. :notagree I don't anticipate any withdrawals since I've only been on it for 2 wks. I think Ambien does have it's place, but I don't want to become addicted.

I'm definitely going to Walgreens to get some Melatonin. :huggie:

I appreciate this post so much since it has opened my eyes. Thanks again for each of you that contributed. There's a great deal on knowledge here at LBT.

Oh my....I tried a night without the Ambien and I didn't get a bit of REM sleep. :cry I also had weird dreams. I don't think it's really related to the Ambien, but more related to me not being able to sleep. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this assumption. I don't think I could be addicted that quickly. I am definitely taking it tonight, especially since I haven't been to Walgreen's to pick up the Melatonin.

I was able to recognize the reason for most of my body aches which has been the lack of sleep. I haven't taken ANY Motrin since I started the Ambien and now I can really tell the difference between a good nights sleep and a restless night. Before it was just the norm.

If you were having problems sleeping before the Ambien and you stop it then you will still have problems sleeping. The issues don't go away they are still there we just medicate them so we can sleep.

You said you were taking 12.5mg of Ambien right? I was taking 5mg. I doubt you are addicted that quickly but you could have been in a withdrawal state. You don't have to be addicted to go through what is termed withdrawal from a medication. Your body gets used to a certain med then you stop it and your body rebels. It is that simple.

I don't think you are addicted. Your body was just pissed at you for not keeping the dreams away. LOL!!!

I could have used something last night. I woke up at 12:00 cause it was to hot and then it took me forever to get back to sleep again. This time I am going to go to bed as late as I can and see if I can sleep through the night.

I also deal with sleepless nights, partly because I work 7pm to 7am on the weekends, then try to be a normal first shift wife and mom through the week. It's hard sometimes to get a normal sleep cycle. But sleepless nights have been a problem for me for years, even prior to night shift.

My doc recently gave me samples of both lunesta 3 mg and ambien 5mg to try. Both worked well for me, so I let her decide, and she gave me a 'script for lunesta 3 mg.

I thought it was pretty pricey, I paid $43 after my insurance... (it was around $150 for 30 without). At first I felt very drowsy in the am (that lasted just a few mornings, like Penni said, til up and around). So I tried taking half to see if it was enough, it worked ok. However, DO NOT CUT THEM IN HALF! They taste flippin' HORRIBLE!

I also woke up each morning tasting a very strong acrid metallic flavor, like I'd chewed tinfoil all night. It is a chemical reaction, not an actual flavor, so teeth brushing doesn't help it subside. My doc said it's a very common reaction. It does wear off after a couple of hours awake.

It did work really well helping me sleep fall asleep quickly, stay asleep all night, or fall back to sleep quickly if I woke up to use the bathroom. I'm out now, but I think I'm going to try the melatonin before I refill my script. If the melatonin doesn't help, I'm going to use the lunesta again because it does work really well.

One of the things I was told about my clinical depression is that my problems with getting a real, restful sleep in order to replenish my serotonin nightly was a large part of my problem. The chemicals in my brain were being depleted from the constant cogs turning in my head when I laid down at night and the seeming 'one eye open' light sleeping pattern that I had gotten into with small children. Of course, there were other things on my mind which seemed to switch ON when I laid down and got quiet at night. Over time, this really affected how amazingly 'tired' I felt when I woke up in the morning. It was as if I was 'working' all night long. Either I was sleeping exremely lightly, waking up and looking at the clock hour after hour or dreaming so actively that I totally wore myself out every night. The best thing I have ever done was to take the type of anti-depressant that is taken just before bedtime and which helps with the actual sleep pattern. Today, when I go to bed at night, there is no constant dreaming, there are no cogs turning that I can't switch off. I simply lie down, read a chapter in my book, turn my light out and I actually sleep. There is no hangover, groggy feeling as the drug doesn't give me any sort of euphoric or sleepy type feeling. It simply allows me to SLEEP when it's time to sleep. I took Pamelor for years and have recently changed to Trazadone which I'm very impressed with.

Penni,

I was in an accident the day before Hurricane Rita was threatening houston. anyway i suffered a torn and herniated disc in my back. my doctor prescribed 2 mg of Lunesta. It rocks! You are right though, you definatley need to devote 8 full hours of sleep or you will have a hang over. :notagree

KJ

One of the things I was told about my clinical depression is that my problems with getting a real, restful sleep in order to replenish my serotonin nightly was a large part of my problem.

Leatha,This is me!! I was reading this tread yesterday thinking how Paxil has helped me sleep. I was told to take it just before bed. So back in January I started taking Paxil (only 6mg) then 3 weeks later I thought I'm fine I didn't need it. Then just last weekend I started getting depressed and have anxioty so I decided to start taking it again and I noticed I sleeped all night even when I woke up to go pee, I fel asleep within minutes. That didn't happen last week...I was taking benatril...

Of course, there were other things on my mind which seemed to switch ON when I laid down and got quiet at night. Over time, this really affected how amazingly 'tired' I felt when I woke up in the morning. It was as if I was 'working' all night long. Either I was sleeping exremely lightly, waking up and looking at the clock hour after hour or dreaming so actively that I totally wore myself out every night. The best thing I have ever done was to take the type of anti-depressant that is taken just before bedtime and which helps with the actual sleep pattern.

It all makes sense! I'm not crazy

Penni60 ~ I think you are right....my body was not happy that I didn't take the Ambien. Wow, you were only on 5 mg and I'm taking 12.5mg! That is such a big difference. Maybe I could get by with a lesser dose. It does take me at least 1 hr to get sleepy even with the 12.5. Is that a normal time frame? I can say this much, now that I know what it's like to sleep, I don't want to go back to the old way!!

bubbame20022003 ~ I know your a mommy so perhaps you should give some of these suggested meds a try including the Melatonin. I was up till 3AM last night and still didn't sleep. I know I could still wear myself out b4 bed and still have a busy night ( :mad: and not like that either). Good luck to you whatever you decide. I have so much respect & admiration for ALL moms...we ALL deserve a good nights rest! :notagree

leatha_g ~ I'm glad you brought up your depression. I also take Effexor XR for depression along with the recent addition of Ambien. I take them both at night b4 bed. Building the serotonin while sleeping makes perfect sense b/c it's amazing how much better I have felt with the Ambien after getting a restful sleep. Also, today I was a big grump with my kids and could have been more patient with them since I didn't take the Ambien last night. :phanvan

I will do some research on the Pamelor and Trazadone.

A special thanks to everyone on this thread. :high5: Who would have thought I could have learned so much about this topic at LBT? This is a GREEEAAT place!! :hug:

Well I did go to the doctor yesterday and he has prescibed me the Lunesta. I went to go fill the prescription and even WITH my insurance it is $50!!!! That is only for a month's supply. I know the doctor said I didn't have to take it every night, and that the 30 pills should last about 3-4 months but geeeeeeeeez. I am going to fill the prescription today.

I have been on and off Ambien for about 2-3 years (I think?) and it works well, but I was affected very stangely by it. I was reading an article yesterday about some women that are filing a lawsuit because they were experiencing binge eating during the night and couldn't remember it the next day... that happened to me many times, there would be plates of food next to my bed with the crap I was eating and had no recolleciton of it..My husband laughs at this because he says I would be in and out of sleep sitting on the bed eating... I was also doing stupid things like getting up and going in my closet to try on clothes, lots of clothes, I would also wake up my husband for sex and not remember any of it the next day and I was having horrible halucinations (sp?). I would also call my mom and other relatives and have conversations with them and not remember any of it the next day. So I finally stopped taking it and have not had a good night sleep since. I have a dr's appt on Monday and I am going to try Lunesta, hopefully it will work.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my Lunesta prescription was soooooo worth every single penny! I love it. Sometimes I don't have to take it to fall asleep, just when my mind is reeling with thoughts and it is difficult. I get a FULL night sleep with no interuptions and I do NOT feel groggy AT ALL! Yeah Lunesta!!