I am having a battle with sleeping pills

[dreamtamer007]

I am having a battle with sleeping pills. Tried to give them up and I didn’t sleep for 4 nights and days. I had to go back and start taking them again or I can't sleep. Addicted I suppose. This whole time 6 days now I have not been able to recall one dream. Feel like maybe I should have just left things the way they were.

[Pandragon]

Go to a doctor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Depending on what you're taking, you could be causing yourself a serious chemical imbalance. I was an insomniac for 9 months, awake for 4 days straight once, and not by choice. Trust me, you have a lot of options to help you sleep without pills.

[nina]

BAH!!!!! You should PM me. I am not going to post a reply here.

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by dreamtamer007 I am having a battle with sleeping pills. Tried to give them up and I didn’t sleep for 4 nights and days. I had to go back and start taking them again or I can't sleep. Addicted I suppose. This whole time 6 days now I have not been able to recall one dream. Feel like maybe I should have just left things the way they were. What are you taking? And when you go so long without sleep, do you feel frazzled and exhausted. I suppose it would not be a problem if you always felt happy and alert. What happens when you attempt to go to sleep? Despite your exhaustion, do you just lay there hypersensitive to your surroundings and every touch and sensation, with thoughts milling through your brain? Have you tried Melatonin?

[Howie]

dreamtamer007, Sorry to here of this problem. Did you go of of these cold turky? You should try to cut your dosage down a little at a time and maybe in the mean time use someting like Leo Volont had said, melotonin. Or something not addictive. Try the Tutorials and look in the Pharmacy Maybe even Sleeping disorders I am not sure what led you to begin taking them. But self medicating is often the issue.

[dreamtamer007]

Originally posted by Leo Volont+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Leo Volont)</div> <!--QuoteBegin-dreamtamer007 I am having a battle with sleeping pills. Tried to give them up and I didn’t sleep for 4 nights and days. I had to go back and start taking them again or I can't sleep. Addicted I suppose. This whole time 6 days now I have not been able to recall one dream. Feel like maybe I should have just left things the way they were. What are you taking? And when you go so long without sleep, do you feel frazzled and exhausted. I suppose it would not be a problem if you always felt happy and alert. What happens when you attempt to go to sleep? Despite your exhaustion, do you just lay there hypersensitive to your surroundings and every touch and sensation, with thoughts milling through your brain? Have you tried Melatonin?[/b] tried Melatonin Yea I feel frazzled and exhausted and all the above Yea I did cut down the dosage a little. At least I get some sleep now

[Kaniaz]

it's easy to stop, make it so fucking annoying ass to get to them. that's what i do with unhealthy addictions. crush them all up or something and chuck them out, then you'd have to go all the way to the pharmacy. my unwillingness to move saves the day.

[Howie]

Originally posted by Kaniaz it's easy to stop, make it so fucking annoying ass to get to them. that's what i do with unhealthy addictions. crush them all up or something and chuck them out, then you'd have to go all the way to the pharmacy. my unwillingness to move saves the day. With all due respect Kaniaz I don't think you know the first thing about addiction, judging by your comments. I may be wrong. We are not talking about being addicted to sweets at night. Your mind will justify in any way it has to to get what it thinks it needs. In some cases it dose need them physically & physcologically. So you could get the nerve to chuck them out, but you will find a way to get more. A simple trip to the pharmacy would not even be an issue.

[voidofform]

if you were taking benzo's (e.g. valium or xanax), then you need to taper off them ULTRA SLOWLY. like over a month, or at least a couple of weeks. these things are *EVIL*. other suggestions, perhaps substitute a less addictive variety of sleeping pills, e.g something diphenhydramine or dimenhyrdinate based (OTC antihistamine allergy/sleeping pills). if this is serious, you really should go see a professional. hope you get better soon.

[dreamtamer007]

[quote] it's easy to stop, make it so fucking annoying ass to get to them. that's what i do with unhealthy addictions. crush them all up or something and chuck them out, then you'd have to go all the way to the pharmacy. my unwillingness to move saves the day. With all due respect Kaniaz I don't think you know the first thing about addiction, judging by your comments. I may be wrong. We are not talking about being addicted to sweets at night. Your mind will justify in any way it has to to get what it thinks it needs. In some cases it dose need them physically & physcologically. So you could get the nerve to chuck them out, but you will find a way to get more. A simple trip to the pharmacy would not even be an issue. Yea Howetzer your right there is no addiction that is small. I've been able to quite smoking but that wasn't an over night thing. Only the experienced can say something when they talk. Hay that sounds like a wise saying.

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by dreamtamer007 tried Melatonin Yea I feel frazzled and exhausted and all the above Yea I did cut down the dosage a little. At least I get some sleep now Oh, good... thank God! I guess some drugs can simply screw up your body chemistry so badly that no matter how tired you are, you simply can't sleep. It reminds me of those silly caffeine pills -- No Doze -- that drivers sometimes take so they can keep driving without falling asleep at the wheel. They sort of backfire, because when you do have a chance to take a little nap, you can't, but you still feel dead tired. Besides pharmaceutically induced imbalances, I have trouble sleeping if I have recently been angry or troubled. A lot of people perpetuate the myth that expressing anger can 'clear the air', but more often than not, anger simply stirs up a flood of anxious thoughts and regrets that impinge upon the appetite and disturb the atmosphere of Peace that is so necessary for a good sleep. some people wonder whether they are happy enough with their lives, but if they can eat well and easily fall asleep at night, then they have much to be grateful for.

[Kaniaz]

[quote] it's easy to stop, make it so fucking annoying ass to get to them. that's what i do with unhealthy addictions. crush them all up or something and chuck them out, then you'd have to go all the way to the pharmacy. my unwillingness to move saves the day. With all due respect Kaniaz I don't think you know the first thing about addiction, judging by your comments. I may be wrong. We are not talking about being addicted to sweets at night. Your mind will justify in any way it has to to get what it thinks it needs. In some cases it dose need them physically & physcologically. So you could get the nerve to chuck them out, but you will find a way to get more. A simple trip to the pharmacy would not even be an issue. Yea Howetzer your right there is no addiction that is small. I've been able to quite smoking but that wasn't an over night thing. Only the experienced can say something when they talk. Hay that sounds like a wise saying. Hey, I've been addicted to beer and things. I've tried and it works for me. Because it can take me just 5 seconds to get rid of it, and then I have to jump through several impossible hoops. Although, obviously, it varies for a person and where they are - I can't get something that I would of chucked out or something because I can't get any more without having to go a long way to get it and breaking the law about seven times. And I don't think anybody is completely slave to something so bad that they'd do that, if in my position. A trip to the pharmacy or a shop for me means getting in a car, which I can't do, and driving, which I can't do, several miles along a extremely busy road on which I could get killed, to a shop which sells things like that, although I know none, and then buying it, which I'm not allowed to do. And I don't have any money either unless I go to the bank, which is another 6 or so miles away (a conserative guess) and is thus impossible. So it works for me. Damn you and your convinence stores. Burn the pharmacy?

[Merck]

I'm not sure exactly what medication you are taking. Most likely its Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) since it seems to be the best prescription sleep aid. What you are experiencing is called rebound insomnia and it results from taking the medication for a longer than normal period of time. This stuff is very habit forming. Ambien builds tolerance quickly. Slowly devrease your dosage over the course of about a month or longer depending on how much you currently take. How much DO you currently take? I guess I would have to know what it is you are taking in order to help you more with this.

[Howie]

[quote] it's easy to stop, make it so fucking annoying ass to get to them. that's what i do with unhealthy addictions. crush them all up or something and chuck them out, then you'd have to go all the way to the pharmacy. my unwillingness to move saves the day. With all due respect Kaniaz I don't think you know the first thing about addiction, judging by your comments. I may be wrong. We are not talking about being addicted to sweets at night. Your mind will justify in any way it has to to get what it thinks it needs. In some cases it dose need them physically & physcologically. So you could get the nerve to chuck them out, but you will find a way to get more. A simple trip to the pharmacy would not even be an issue. Yea Howetzer your right there is no addiction that is small. I've been able to quite smoking but that wasn't an over night thing. Only the experienced can say something when they talk. Hay that sounds like a wise saying. Hey, I've been addicted to beer and things. I've tried and it works for me. Because it can take me just 5 seconds to get rid of it, and then I have to jump through several impossible hoops. Although, obviously, it varies for a person and where they are - I can't get something that I would of chucked out or something because I can't get any more without having to go a long way to get it and breaking the law about seven times. And I don't think anybody is completely slave to something so bad that they'd do that, if in my position. A trip to the pharmacy or a shop for me means getting in a car, which I can't do, and driving, which I can't do, several miles along a extremely busy road on which I could get killed, to a shop which sells things like that, although I know none, and then buying it, which I'm not allowed to do. And I don't have any money either unless I go to the bank, which is another 6 or so miles away (a conserative guess) and is thus impossible. So it works for me. Damn you and your convinence stores. Burn the pharmacy? Again, with all do respect Kaniaz, I am not trying to single you out here. But there is no "been" addicted. If you were/are addicted to beer -->alchohol you will always be. And those steps you proclaim to stop you from your habits are a mear bump in the road, depending on what you are adddicted to. And some people have a more addictive personality I persume from heritage?

[Kaniaz]

Good point about the personailty. But you really think that somehow doing all that when I obviously can't is just a "mere bump in the road"? I'd have more luck rubbing a magic lamp and getting hold of some beer or something. But I defintely did have a addiction to beer. It was like, I'd be sat here bored, and then my thoughts would turn to that beer in the fridge that was only out in the garage. I couldn't ever get to it though, because my dad is like this sort of garage-refrigator-guarding-madman, so I suppose in a sense it quashed it before the ball got really rolling. Well, I'm sure you know more than me on the subject of being addicted (I guess that's a compliment? ) so sure, if you say so...

[Rakkantekimusouka]

I know sort of how it is, d-tamer...a while back, I had a lot of trouble getting sleep, especially on school nights, so I started taking a lot of Nyquil. I don't any more, but I understand how it is to become dependent on those sorts of things in desperation for a good night's sleep.

[dreamtamer007]

Originally posted by Merckantium I'm not sure exactly what medication you are taking. Most likely its Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) since it seems to be the best prescription sleep aid. What you are experiencing is called rebound insomnia and it results from taking the medication for a longer than normal period of time. This stuff is very habit forming. Ambien builds tolerance quickly. Slowly devrease your dosage over the course of about a month or longer depending on how much you currently take. How much DO you currently take? I guess I would have to know what it is you are taking in order to help you more with this. Your right Merckantium, for a year or so it was Ambien and far a few months now it been Resteral. I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly. Usually 10 mg but lately 20mg. I cut back to 10 and can sleep sometimes.

[eccentric]

You could check out Erowid and see if they have anything. Erowid.org is pretty much the source for everything on every drug (especially recreational) there is, from legal to very not. They don't have anything on "Resteral," and google has almost nothing on it either. Is that the brand name? If so, what does it say for the active ingredients? Here's a link to Erowid's vaults: http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psycho...hoactives.shtml Good luck! Originally posted by Kaniaz Burn the pharmacy? Lmao But wouldn't that just make it harder to sleep by adding guilt?

[Leo Volont]

Addiction to Beer is extremely common. It is supported by most European Cultures where Beer was and perhaps still is a major source of dietary carbohydrates. Once a young man becomes an adult and is out of his parents keeping, there are few factors that could impede him filling a refrigerater full of beer and then getting very fat and buzzy off of its contents, almost continually. I had started down about that same road. An old army sergeant, and they are the worst alcoholics, bothered to show me a questionaire from out of a magazine which asked about one's drinking habits. It turned out that I scored as a borderline alcoholic. I could hardly believe it since it did not seem to me that I drank anymore than anybody else I knew; and the Old Sergeant told me that that was his point -- that almost everybody I knew and associated with were alcoholics or borderline alcoholics, but that did not make it right or good. There are better addictions, if one has to be addicted to something. Have you ever heard of 'Runner's High'. If you do extremely vigourous exercise, then you release what are called 'endorphins' into the blook stream which are similar to the opiate narcotics. Being competitive is another addictive quality. If one begins to run competitively at the Club Level then one begins to prioritize around one's success as a runner. You simply cannot drink all that much beer anymore because it simply puts on too much fat and makes one too lazy to train hard. there is also sexual addiction. If one had been drinking so often as to get fat and out of shape, one hardly can retain much appeal for those in the Sexual Marketplace. If one takes one's sexual attractiveness at all seriously then one soon concludes that being a fat and sloppy drunk should not be at the top of one's list of known personal characteristics. so, if one should be addicted to anything, it should be with Fitness and Flirting. It will still kill you, but you will have a svelt and goodlooking corpse.

[dreamtamer007]

Thanks for the advice everyone ! I got quit a few responses that were helpful and one from someone who may even be a doctor. But I'm not going to disclose that information because I don't think he would appreciate everyone knocking on his door so to speak for free medical advises. lol but thank you all for your input.

[Kaniaz]

Originally posted by dreamtamer007 Thanks for the advice everyone ! I got quit a few responses that were helpful and one from someone who may even be a doctor. But I'm not going to disclose that information because I don't think he would appreciate everyone knocking on his door so to speak for free medical advises. lol but thank you all for your input. O'nus?

[Leo Volont]

But, wait, before we abandon this ship, and while we are still sort of close to a particular subject, let me interject that along with sleeping pills being somewhat risky in the long run, WATCH OUT for some of those new popular Antidepressants. 'A friend of mine' was on Paxil for about half a year and when I decided to get off of it, there was funny BUZZ BUZZ millesecond bursts of complete vertigo -- imagine a fraction of a second in which you completely lose all sense of orientation.. not nearly long enough to make you fall over, the duration of the vertigo pulse being so short, but still, the sensation can be very annoying. Now, if you take a few drinks, THEN you will fall down. When driving or riding a Motorcycle the little bursts of disorientation can make you feel alittle panicky. 'My friend' had a few big dreams while on Paxil, but he also totally lost his sex drive and gained 40 lbs. If he was a bit less depressed and anxious, I may have been because when spending the kind of money it costs to be on Paxil, he certainly wasn't going to admit he was throwing that kind of money away for nothing. So unless you really really need an Antidepressant, I would say that you don't need it.

[O'nus]

I am missing something.. What kind of sleeping pills are you taking? I can give much more specific information then.. otherwise, the tutorials will really help. *Flattered* But.. no, I wasn't the one who offered advice.

[Howie]

Originally posted by Kaniaz Good point about the personailty. But you really think that somehow doing all that when I obviously can't is just a \"mere bump in the road\"? I'd have more luck rubbing a magic lamp and getting hold of some beer or something. But I defintely did have a addiction to beer. It was like, I'd be sat here bored, and then my thoughts would turn to that beer in the fridge that was only out in the garage. I couldn't ever get to it though, because my dad is like this sort of garage-refrigator-guarding-madman, so I suppose in a sense it quashed it before the ball got really rolling. Well, I'm sure you know more than me on the subject of being addicted (I guess that's a compliment? ) so sure, if you say so... As we all know some addictions are more incapacitating than others. I was immplying had your addiction been strong enough, then yes. It would have been a bump in the road. To me it sounds like it is a physcological addiction. I don't know you though. I was just going by the subtle things you have written. For example, Boredem. So if boredem would have not come into play, would it have been an issue? And the compliment, If it wasn't rubbed in sarcasm......... Originally posted by Kaniaz dreamtamer007 wrote: Thanks for the advice everyone ! I got quit a few responses that were helpful and one from someone who may even be a doctor. But I'm not going to disclose that information because I don't think he would appreciate everyone knocking on his door so to speak for free medical advises. lol but thank you all for your input. O'nus? Tongue I am sure had it been O'nus he would have appreciated that you were able to doll out that information although dreamtamer007 had enough tact not to. But back to the original topic. I think that a lot of doctors are prescribing sleeping pills too fast without enough observation. I think counseling should be in order first to determine why there is a sleeping problem rather than mask it with a pill to pop. I caught you knockin' at my cellar door I love you, baby, can I have some more Ooh, ooh, the damage done. I hit the city and I lost my band I watched the needle take another man Gone, gone, the damage done. I sing the song because I love the man I know that some of you don't understand Milk-blood to keep from running out. I've seen the needle and the damage done A little part of it in everyone But every junkie's like a settin' sun. ---Niel Young

[Merck]

I have to agree with you here Jason. Doctors nowadays, especially in the field of pyschiatry, have been too quick to prescribe a medication for specific problems. Its always best to have as few foreign chemicals in the body as possible. In the past couple of decades psychiatrist for the most part have been moving more towards biopsychiatry and don't focus as much on psychotherapy. While I am a believer in how medications can help certain individuals, I do not think that simply prescribing a drug is the answer. Many studies have been conducted which show that a combination of drug therapy as well as psychotherapy, have dramatically improved the prognosis of the patient and often help treat long term depression faster than what normally occurs. Modern psychiatry needs to make a major shift in the method of treating its patients. Otherwise, therapy will consist of getting a drug instead of the compassion and understanding that patients need. This is how I feel anyway. http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/1999/...es/serzone.html