OTC sleeping aides
coolmama
17 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (24)
Vickey__MN
17 years agosocks
17 years agoRelated Discussions
ambien and depression
Comments (6)Ambien has a number of significant side effects, not the least of which is somnambulism - sleepwalking and in some cases sleep driving. While I think you are using the medication as it was designed to be used, you may be reacting to it in some way. Is there an alternative that might work better for you? Also, I would advise googling "sleep hygiene" to see if you can improve your sleep environment and sleep process. In general, hypnotics are not designed to be taken long term, that is more than two to three weeks. Once a person goes over this threshold, you begin moving into the area of "active placebo," increase chance of psychological addiction, and unpleasant side effects. There was a good article about this in the NY Times called "Sleep Drugs Found Only Mildly Effective, but Wildly Popular" Here is an excerpt: "Not the stuff most dreams are made of. But if the unusual pitch makes you want to try Rozerem, consider that it costs about $3.50 a pill; gets you to sleep 7 to 16 minutes faster than a placebo, or fake pill; and increases total sleep time 11 to 19 minutes, according to an analysis last year. If those numbers send you out to buy another brand, consider this, as well: Sleeping pills in general do not greatly improve sleep for the average person." According to Consumer Reports (see their website for more information): · Drug side effects occurred in 63% of people who took sleep medications. 25% said that the became dependent on their sleep meds and 21% said repeated use reduced the effectiveness of the drug. · In a survey of 1093 people with insomnia, 7% stated that taking a sleeping medication resulted in bizarre and dangerous behavior (beyond the dangerous behavior of taking the drug in the first place) including sleepwalking and sleep driving. · Even though sleep medications are not recommended for more than two weeks, 14% of Consumer Reports respondents took some sort of sleep medication at least 8 of the past 30 days and 5% took such medications every night. Consumer Reports analyzed the experiences of 2,021 problem sleepers and discovered that 75% of them found prescription medications helpful. In a finding that is not surprising to me, 70% of this same population found the use of a sound machine just as helpful. Concerning SAD - I strongly urge you NOT to use tanning to treat this disorder, which is like saying you should take up smoking to bring up phlegm from your lungs. Instead, use an approved light box that has been created for this purpose. The dose is generally 10,000 lux at a distance of 20-24" for 20 to 30 min. Apollo (which is now owned by Phillips) is a good place to start your research....See MoreHow long does it take you to fall asleep?
Comments (30)I only go to sleep in minutes if I am VERY tired. OTOH, if I am truly EXHAUSTED, it takes longer. (Go figure.) I didn't have a problem until post-menopause. Now I have a generic for Ambien 5 mg that I will take if I can't get to sleep within an hour or can't get back to sleep if I wake before 3 a.m. (One or the other -- not two pills in one night.) I used the Ambien Monday night on the redeye home from Hawaii and got a good four hours more than my DH. Next time I'm going to add the blindfold to see if I can get even more....See MoreBlack cohosh?
Comments (37)Melatonin can help you stay asleep if you take it correctly and if it meshes with your body chemistry. I don't even have hot flashes anymore but I still from time to time have the problem with waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. Other times it is not falling asleep even though I am tired. I think it is the combination of hot flashes and sleep disturbances that is the kicker. It's a combo of problems. I developed chronic urinary tract issues so I was getting up two to five times a night (my record was seven) to pee, and then inevitably, when I got back into bed, I would get a hot flash. Then covers off, cold, cover on, hot, etc. toss turn toss turn and finally comfortable and then back to sleep. Rinse, repeat. But if you threw in not being able to get to sleep, then add more of all of the above. So I added some sleep hygiene into that mix--no fluid after 8 PM, going to bed the same time every night, taking a calcium magnesium vit. C combo to help with restless legs, and then 2 or 3 mg. of Melatonin to help fall asleep. If I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep, another 1-2 mg. of Melatonin. Melatonin is not harmless so take the lowest dose that works for you, and not every day or night, just enough to break the cycle of not staying awake for long times during the night. Also, for me doing yoga stretches really helped me fall asleep for some reason. Also reading and listening to relaxation tapes. As for black cohosh, its other name is snakeroot (which is probably not used for PR reasons) and you have to be careful, because there is another plant called BLUE cohosh which was/is also used for female trouble treatments, but was not the plant that had the clinical trials with. And the active components in plants vary so much and are volatile, so it is a very difficult task to find and get good quality herbal products. They have been so little studied that no one knows for sure how they work because they often have synergistic effects, meaning they work in concert with other factors, a complex web. That is why they are best taken in conjunction with other herbs and also a whole lifestyle program. Herbs may facilitate health, but they are rarely a magic bullet that you can take and see dramatic results from just a pill or three. That's why we have so much trouble studying them in clinical trials, their best effects may be in concert with many, many other variables. I take an herbal tincture that includes black cohosh, angelica, dong quai, red clover, chasteberry, siberian ginseng, wild yam root, licorice . . . like I said, maybe raspberry. But no amount of any of that stuff will help if your diet is crap and you don't get exercise and stress relief and your sleep environment is difficult. All kinds of plants have beneficial phytoestrogens at varying levels, so diet strongly plant based, (garden fresh and organic when reasonable too) is very helpful for all kinds of health problems. Constipation or lack thereof plays no small role in hormonal health, since the gut processes a lot of hormonal constituents....See MoreSleep study tonight
Comments (45)Jane, sleep doctors treat all forms of sleep problems. Do see a sleep specialist, so many patients (and I'm one of them) enjoy health and life changing benefits of improved sleep. It's my opinion that a sleep clinic at a medical school is your best choice (they cost no more, no need for a referral for most) if one is located near where you are. "It seems my brain goes into overcharge when I go to bed." I had this problem years ago before finding a solution. During my career years, the quiet of the dark sleeping room seemed to stimulate thinking about what I needed to do the next day, what I wanted to do, what reflections I had about issues and problems, etc., What has worked for me now for decades is to have a distraction. To begin with, it was CSPAN on the TV with an off timer - it was engrossing enough to listen to and have a focus but not so interesting as to keep me up. My wife was understanding about this and used ear plugs. For the last 10 years or more, I've listened to podcasts (also using a sleep timer) with an ear bud. Same thing, engrossing enough to capture my attention but not enough to keep me up. I fall asleep so quickly that I find myself rewinding to restart programs that were interesting but that I didn't finish because of drifting off to sleep. After so many years of teasing me about it, my wife now does the same thing and likes it a lot. Give it a try. Good luck....See Moreevatx
17 years agozoewolf
17 years agorivkadr
17 years agoorganic_donna
17 years agoagnespuffin
17 years agocoolmama
17 years agowildchild
17 years agocatherinet
17 years agocoolmama
17 years agovacuumfreak
17 years agocatherinet
17 years agoarizonarose
17 years agorivkadr
17 years agoedselpdx
17 years agowildchild
17 years agoVickey__MN
17 years agowildchild
17 years agoVickey__MN
17 years agowildchild
17 years agocoolmama
17 years agolittleonefb
17 years ago
Related Stories
LIFEYour First-Aid, Emergency and Medical Supply Checklist
Don’t wait until you need them to stock your first-aid kit and emergency stash. Here’s what to get and where to keep it
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: Major Renovations Aid a Usonian Home
Its classic lines got to stay, but this 1950s home's outdated spaces, lack of privacy and structural problems got the boot
Full StoryLIFE12 Effective Strategies to Help You Sleep
End the nightmare of tossing and turning at bedtime with these tips for letting go and drifting off
Full StoryLIFEYou Showed Us: 20 Nutty Home Fixes
We made the call for your Band-Aid solutions around the house, and you delivered. Here's how you are making what's broken work again
Full StoryORGANIZINGChecklists for a Well-Stocked Home
Thank-you notes, first-aid kit, clear glass vases ... It’s easy to go with the flow when you’ve got the items you need at hand
Full StoryTRADITIONAL HOMESHouzz Tour: Casual Elegance With a Touch of Farmhouse Style
Informal family living is aided by a home layout with an easy flow
Full StoryBEDROOMSCozy Up in a Built-In Bed Cubby
Curl up in a welcoming sleeping nook, built-in or simply set off with a romantic curtain
Full StoryBEDROOMSRoom of the Day: Once a Dining Area, Now a Glam Bedroom
Athena now guards the fur-draped bed, leopard-print footstools and copious collections in this eclectic Manhattan sleeping space
Full StoryBEDROOMS10 Zen-Conjuring Bedrooms That Encourage Calm
Slumber in serenity with simplicity-celebrating bedroom ideas borrowed from the Japanese
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: A Connecticut Beach House Builds New Memories
Extensive renovations make an 8-bedroom summer home ready for a family and many guests
Full StoryMore Discussions
texasgirl54