I have always struggled with insomnia. I usually have a particularly hard time with it after surgeries (I have had 23 random surgeries in my past). I usually take Ambien, Tylenol PM, and Melatonin. I have found a rapid release Melatonin that melts in my mouth. I cut the Tylenol pm in half, and take the ambien. I can feel the effects of ambien almost immediately after I take it. Normally I would sleep for 8 hours all night. Lately, I wake up at 2:30 am and that seems to be it for the night. Is my stomach processing the ambien too quickly and it loses its effectiveness quicker? Am I just in a post surgery sleep pattern? Wondering what would happen if I took half at bedtime and half in the middle of the night?

A couple things- from what I know, Ambien is a short acting drug that stays in your system for about four hours. It works well for people who need help falling asleep but not for those who struggle with staying asleep. I have been taking it for quite a while now and it has worked for me both pre and post op (actually, it feels like it has a stronger effect now). They make an extended version of it, so perhaps talk to your doctor about that or a longer acting medication that's meant for regular use. Along those lines, Ambien is extremely habit forming so be mindful of that when switching to a new medication- I've done it before in the past and it's not the most pleasant experience. Another thing is that I would be careful mixing it with over the counter medications for sleep. Sleeping pills have an effect on your respiratory symptoms, and if you aren't careful you can have very serious problems with stopping breathing while you sleep. Finally, a doctor recently told me that while melatonin can be a great natural medication to help with sleep, taking too much of it can actually throw off your body's ability to regulate itself and make it harder to stay asleep especially in the long run. Having said all that, it seems like it would be helpful to try to establish why you are having sleep problems to begin with and that might help you decide what the best solution is (maybe you already know). Whatever you do, good luck and I hope you sleep better soon! I feel for you!

Thanks for posting this. I have been taking ambian for years and it worked great, but now I'm waking up after 5 hours of sleep. This was the clue I needed. Now that I don't need my CPAP, it's time to look at creating new sleep habits. Sounds like a good weekend project.

You may want to talk to your physician to up your dosage strength and maybe an extended release.

I actually switched to the extended release two weeks ago with the blessing of my bariatric surgeon. I'm still not having the best of luck. sleep has eluded me for years, so it is so frustrating for me. Anesthesia usually really messes me up for a few weeks, and I've had two more surgeries since my sleeve. So I have never really gotten out of the post op stage from one thing or another.

My medications seem like they take hold fairly fast, but they also wear out fast too. Probably half as fast as they should?!

Hope to find a groove very soon! For now, they recommended the Ambien, Tylenol PM, and some melatonin which I found in a quick dissolve formula.

Have you ever thought of maybe having a sleep study preformed?

I relied on Ambien before the surgery, but now I use it only occasionally, and even then I cut the tabs in half. I think a lot of this was related to back and leg pain, but with the weight loss I feel lots better. Exercise has really helped, too. You just have to figure out why you can't sleep: stress, pain, noise... Talk to your doctor about this.

Thanks for all the insights and suggestions...lots of "lost sleep" trying to figure out why I don't sleep! Maybe I just need to relax!! Hopefully it will improve soon and I will ease into a nice routine again.

Have you ever thought of maybe having a sleep study preformed?

No I have never even thought about this or had it mentioned...will keep it in mind!