Are any JTF members taking medication for insomnia?

[DownwithIslam]

I know this belongs in another section but since I want it to get maximum exposure as I suffer from sever insomnia, I hope it is allowed to stay in the general discussion section.

I was wondering if any JTF members have taken sleeping pills or their insomnia. I would love if someone could describe their experiences with   AMBIEN CR, SONATA, LUNESTA or if they took a pill like VALIUM for their problems. Hope a few of you can chime in. Thanks

[Daniel]

I have taken Ambien in the past. It worked well for a while until I had an awful experience with it. I had my first sleepwalking experience after taking Ambien and ended up getting into my car and drove it down the street and ended up flipping my car over. I'm really lucky I didn't hurt or kill anyone else or myself! My car got totalled, but I came out unscathed. I was really lucky! So definitely be careful and definitely don't take more than the prescribed dosage if you do take it (unlike me who was an idiot who took 30mg instead of the prescribed 10mg).

Now, I take Requip for my Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep. That's in a different class of medications and helps my quality of sleep a great deal and helps my energy level the next day. If you do have sleeping problems, it would be a great idea to get a sleep study done to see if you have any sleeping disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, or periodic limb movements in sleep (like myself).

[MasterWolf1]

Why take medication to help insomnia?  Watch stupid schvartzah making themselves look like retards on tv that would put me to sleep and right to a coma.

[Daniel]

Why take medication to help insomnia?  Watch stupid schvartzah making themselves look like retards on tv that would put me to sleep and right to a coma.

Oh please! That seems to be the main thing that keeps us awake and living so much of the time! 

[cjd]

Why take medication to help insomnia?  Watch stupid schvartzah making themselves look like retards on tv that would put me to sleep and right to a coma.

Oh please! That seems to be the main thing that keeps us awake and living so much of the time! 

Exactly MasterWolf1. I don't know how anybody sits through shows like that. The the level of entertainment is so bad on TV now with all the evil black animals people have to be almost brain dead to sit and watch that garbage.

[MassuhDGoodName]

Absolute cure for insomnia:

First you must eliminate most of the stimulants which you might be using routinely, such as caffeine, alcohol, and nicotein, from your daily routine (only exception being morning coffee).

If you smoke, reduce your daily intake.

1. Get a copy of an English translation of What Is to Be Done? by Vlademir Lenin, from a used book store.

2. Then take a hot bath or long shower.

3. Get in bed, unplug all noisemakers such as telephones, cell phones, radios, TV.

4. Then start reading that book.

I guarantee you will fall asleep within 30 minutes.

There are no safe pharmaceutical sleep drugs.

None.

Use of any of them for more than a few days will produce coordination problems, memory loss, and dependency ranging from "habit-forming" to outright addiction.

If combined with alcohol or other drugs they can produce coma and/or death.

[Trumpeldor]

Usually insomnia is associated with various disorders such as depression and anxiety. You should get checked out. Otherwise, a lifestyle change is in order.

[Vito]

I'm not joking about this - HARD LIQUOR or red wine

When I was depressed and couldn't sleep for 2 months, I tried pain killers, melatonin.. it was all temporary and then it didn't work anymore. One night I grabbed a bottle of homemade grapa and took three shots on an empty stomach - I was out for the count. Ouzo and whiskey have the same effect.. or two glasses of red wine.

[Chaim Ben Pesach]

All sleeping pills and all sedatives are addictive and extremely unhealthy. They are supposed to suppress your anxiety, and in the process, they also suppress your immune system. In the long run, they do not work. They only worsen the problem.

To cope with insomnia, you should do several things:

First, have a regular sleep schedule where you go to bed at the same time every evening. Condition your body to want to sleep at a certain hour. If you stay up late, and then the next day you have to go to sleep early, it is difficult because your body is used to staying up late.

Second, do not eat or drink heavily before going to sleep. If you have to wake up in the middle of the night to go the bathroom, it interrupts your sleep.

Most importantly, you must learn to relax. It may not be easy to do, but you will not be able to sleep properly unless you learn to relax. You have no choice. Your health and success in life depends upon your ability to relax. And you must somehow learn to relax naturally without any drugs, which in the long term which only make things much worse.

[Chaim Ben Pesach]

I'm not joking about this - HARD LIQUOR or red wine

When I was depressed and couldn't sleep for 2 months, I tried pain killers, melatonin.. it was all temporary and then it didn't work anymore. One night I grabbed a bottle of homemade grapa and took three shots on an empty stomach - I was out for the count. Ouzo and whiskey have the same effect.. or two glasses of red wine.

Alcohol PREVENTS sleep. If you become intoxicated, you will sleep for an hour and then wake up and be unable to return to sleep. And the sleep you get from alcohol is not the deep sleep that you need to refresh your body.

The first time you use alcohol to fall asleep, it might work. But if you keep using it, it will prevent you from falling asleep.

Also, do NOT drink coffee or soda or any products with caffeine or any stimulants.

Melatonin is a fraud. They have done studies and have found that it does not in any way help someone fall asleep. There may be people who THINK it is helping them. If you BELIEVE something is making you fall asleep, then it will make you fall asleep even if physically it has no effect at all.

[MasterWolf1]

I tried decaf hot tea and it helped to soothe the sleeping senses

[Kiwi]

Warm milk and honey.

[Sarah]

Warm milk and honey.

Just what i was going to say!

Warm milk gets you to sleep as well as a banana, which is scientifically proven to do so too.

I used to sleepwalk, wake up other people in my family and ask them to paint my room stripey and other weird things, mainly because i was stressed. You do need to relax, and don't reflect on the days happenings.

[Ari]

I have a prescription to Ambien, but I try to only take it in dire emergencies because it is one weird drug, and I don't like the side effects, including headache and feeling especially groggy the next day.  On the positive side, it does knock you out relatively quickly.   I would look for a better alternative though.

[DownwithIslam]

Chaim, thank you for your response. I have a severe insomnia problem that has been going on for close to 4 years. Having good sleep hygiene and staying on a schedule certainly hasn't helped me. I have what known as behavioral insomnia which means at one point in my life I couldn't sleep and ever since then, I think about falling asleep which ends up keeping me up. My body has gotten to the point where its afraid of going to bed since I have struggled falling asleep for so many years. As much as I try to calm myself down before bed, my body automatically and I mean automatically, tenses up and gets very nervous as I go to bed. I have tried everything to no avail. Ambien cr 12.5 mg doesn't work. Lunesta 3mg does not work. 10mg of valium is what is the min dose. Now I know that these medicines are not the answer which is why I have taken 2 ambien pills, 2 lunestas and 1 valium in my whole life. I need to finish my last year and a half of science courses in queens college with excellent grades so I need to get this fixed. I went to the sleep center at cornell medical center and saw a sleep psychologist. He was incompetent. I think I may see someone else soon but I have no time now. I now use provigil every once in awhile which is a very safe med that suppresses the need for sleep. Taking this pill on no sleep makes you be able to think as if you had a great nights rest. The us air force gives it to its pilots before missions. Just go on wikipedia and read about provigil. This med is wonderful and really helps me study. Many college students who sleep well take this just to be able to intensify their concentration. Thats my situation and I hope to have a permanent solution soon. If someone has any tips for me, please chime in.

[Sarah]

I have a prescription to Ambien, but I try to only take it in dire emergencies because it is one weird drug, and I don't like the side effects, including headache and feeling especially groggy the next day.  On the positive side, it does knock you out relatively quickly.   I would look for a better alternative though.

Heath Ledger took that before he died.

[MasterWolf1]

Mr. Roper was smart:  Hot Cocoa

[Tina Greco - Melbourne]

I have a prescription to Ambien, but I try to only take it in dire emergencies because it is one weird drug, and I don't like the side effects, including headache and feeling especially groggy the next day.  On the positive side, it does knock you out relatively quickly.   I would look for a better alternative though.

Heath Ledger took that before he died.

The toxic screen is not complete so that is unfounded. Many lies are being told regarding him.