can’t stay asleep

[Ateam2023]

I have rx for Lunesta and Sonata. The Sonata is the one I have to use most often as my job is a weird on-call, no schedule, don't know when I'm working or when I get to sleep thing. The Sonata works fast and clears fast. Won't give me a full night sleep, but I can get a few hours and it won't interfere with me when I get called to work.

I also have concerns with dependence - the flip side to that is the Z's also build tolerance.

With that in mind, I have a stash of a bunch of other things so I don't rely on any single drug every night. Some work better than others, but a rotation seems to prevent both dependence and tolerance.

I use:
Sonata
Lunesta
Melatonin
Doxylamine
Trazadone
Hydroxyzine
Pregabalin

Damn my dick would not work taking all that shit

 

[Raww]

Damn my dick would not work taking all that shit

I don't take it all at once - hell - most of time I only take a melatonin. Maybe 3 days a week I'll take one of the others.

 

[Ferhev]

I'm taking all of them except curcumin and 5htp and my sleep is trash. I'm also on tren now but it was the same before, I'll have to quit reta entirely to see if this is the real issue. I'm sleeping like a brick for 3-4 hours and then i can't stay asleep, usually waking up 6-10 times in the next 3 hours. Yesterday i had 25 minutes rem lol.. still scared to try Z drugs though.

Yesterday I didn’t take 5htp and I couldn’t sleep the whole night. I’ll add 5htp tonight again to see what happens

 

[Eddie.]

My psych had me taking a bunch of magnesium and melatonin at one point. Think it helped, but I didnt want to be taking melatonin daily.

Using a Z drug is definitely the most effective way, although ideally its something youll be using as needed and not nightly. Thats my goal atleast. I wasnt making any progress in any aspect of life (physical, mental health, nutrition, injury recovery) until I finally got some sleep. Suddenly my antidepressant started working, my energy levels climbed, brain fog got better, appetite came back, physical therapy started progressing and most things finally started falling into place.

Sleep is everything. Thats coming from someone who has beel battling insomnia with 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep nightly for 6+ years

Which Z drugs have you tried? I'm thinking to pull the trigger, at least for couple nights a week to squeeze some extra hours.

Some guys using mirtazapine but the half-life it doesn't make it suitable for interrupted use, it's best when dosed every night.

So I’m thinking to go with zolpidem.

 

[halo_only_cycle]

Have you considered Daridorexant? Works great in some people and seems to have less dependancy/tolerance issues.

 

[Tbaz192]

The tbsp of honey might actually be doing you in. Honey reacts different in everyone. When I was having reactive hypo, honey was enough to make it still happen. It’s a simple sugar still. Just not as bad as candy per se.

I did a tbsp of peanut butter/ nut butter before bed. Or any time I felt the effects of hypo.
Definitely was better.

Still have zero clue what caused it, shit went away after I stopped my HGH. So that was probably the issue. Dumb.
But i didn’t take more than 2iu daily.

Carbs before bed make me sleep like shit. Protein & fats. I sleep better. Coming from a guy who takes 15mg melatonin a night and sleeps like shit.

 

[Eddie.]

Have you considered Daridorexant? Works great in some people and seems to have less dependancy/tolerance issues.

Haven't heard it before, i looked it up but apparently it's not available in my country.

 

[k710]

Which Z drugs have you tried? I'm thinking to pull the trigger, at least for couple nights a week to squeeze some extra hours.

Some guys using mirtazapine but the half-life it doesn't make it suitable for interrupted use, it's best when dosed every night.

So I’m thinking to go with zolpidem.

Ive tried Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszoplicone). Ambien was okay but didnt end up resolving for me. Lunesta flipped my sleep switch back on though. The Z drugs dont cause much morning grogginess or "hangover" effect. Some of the other things ive tried do though (melatonin, trazadone, xanax, clonazopam, seroquil, antihistamines, gabapentin). That groginess is the reason my dr just cut my trazadone dosage in half.

My suggestion is start at the lowest dose and only increase if needed.

 

[Eddie.]

Ive tried Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszoplicone). Ambien was okay but didnt end up resolving for me. Lunesta flipped my sleep switch back on though. The Z drugs dont cause much morning grogginess or "hangover" effect. Some of the other things ive tried do though (melatonin, trazadone, xanax, clonazopam, seroquil, antihistamines, gabapentin). That groginess is the reason my dr just cut my trazadone dosage in half.

My suggestion is start at the lowest dose and only increase if needed.

Thanks! I just got back from the pharmacy, ended up getting stilnox (zolpidem) 10mg. I’ll try tonight 5mg right before getting to bed.

When you take Z meds do you still supplement with the rest of the sleep supps? I take melatonin, gaba, magnesium bisglycinate, aswagandha, zinc etc.

 

[Raww]

I still take my normal 'relaxation' supps. I treat melatonin as a drug, not a supp.

Z-drugs have different strengths:

The melatonin helps me fall asleep faster - so I usually take it if I'm using another aid that doesn't have that as it's strength. In this case I'd pop a melatonin if I was taking a Eszoplicone for a long sleep night.

If I was taking a Zaleplon it would be redundant to take a melatonin.

The Zolpidem you have is a nice balance - you may not need a melatonin. I'd play that by experience.

 

[Eddie.]

I still take my normal 'relaxation' supps. I treat melatonin as a drug, not a supp.

Z-drugs have different strengths:
View attachment 364976
The melatonin helps me fall asleep faster - so I usually take it if I'm using another aid that doesn't have that as it's strength. In this case I'd pop a melatonin if I was taking a Eszoplicone for a long sleep night.

If I was taking a Zaleplon it would be redundant to take a melatonin.

The Zolpidem you have is a nice balance - you may not need a melatonin. I'd play that by experience.

Ok, thanks man! I’ll have to research about gaba though because I think zolpidem interacts with it. For starters I’ll take both gaba and melatonin out and continue with magnesium, zinc and rest supps.

 

[syuri]

Ive tried Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszoplicone). Ambien was okay but didnt end up resolving for me. Lunesta flipped my sleep switch back on though. The Z drugs dont cause much morning grogginess or "hangover" effect. Some of the other things ive tried do though (melatonin, trazadone, xanax, clonazopam, seroquil, antihistamines, gabapentin). That groginess is the reason my dr just cut my trazadone dosage in half.

My suggestion is start at the lowest dose and only increase if needed.

did you feel your sleep was more restful? might try some.

 

[syuri]

tryptophan didn't do much for me unfortunately. good recommendation though

 

[Raww]

Ok, thanks man! I’ll have to research about gaba though because I think zolpidem interacts with it. For starters I’ll take both gaba and melatonin out and continue with magnesium, zinc and rest supps.

Oh yeah - good idea. I had ruled gaba out of my stack long ago because of some other interactions with an ssri or something.

 

[k710]

Thanks! I just got back from the pharmacy, ended up getting stilnox (zolpidem) 10mg. I’ll try tonight 5mg right before getting to bed.

When you take Z meds do you still supplement with the rest of the sleep supps? I take melatonin, gaba, magnesium bisglycinate, aswagandha, zinc etc.

Dr had me add melatonin to my regime so im sure it cant hurt too much, BUT wanna make sure your not groggy in the morning. After a while, I dropped everything aside from the sleep meds and magnesium. Didnt feel a need for the other supplements. Try either adding the med onto your stack or trying the med alone and adding in supps if your still struggling. Z drug does most of the heavy lifting for me honestly, so I try to stick to just that.

Ok, thanks man! I’ll have to research about gaba though because I think zolpidem interacts with it. For starters I’ll take both gaba and melatonin out and continue with magnesium, zinc and rest supps.

I used to take gaba for nerve pain/damage. I was at like 1200mg a day, felt like a zombie though. I think your plan is a great approach. Less is more

did you feel your sleep was more restful? might try some.

Yes, very much so. Everyone is different though! Gotta find what works best for you. Morning groginess is the worst. Would take a couple hours to really get my day going. I literally jumped out of bed one morning when my eyes opened and I was happy to be awake for the first time in ages lol I hope you all have a similar experience. One of the best feelings.. I didnt even know how shitty my sleep really was till I actually got some rest.

 

[Raww]

I used to take gaba for nerve pain/damage. I was at like 1200mg a day, felt like a zombie though. I think your plan is a great approach. Less is more

Gaba or Gabapentin?

 

[KOArtist]

So Lunesta is the king for staying asleep? I’m fucking all over it then

 

[k710]

Gaba or Gabapentin?

gabapentin, thanks for highlighting that

 

[Raww]

gabapentin, thanks for highlighting that

Yeah, they gave me gabapentin when I broke my hip - totally zombified me too.

 

[syuri]

So Lunesta is the king for staying asleep? I’m fucking all over it then

that’s what i’m hearing too