Posted by svevo1922 on December 15, 2001, at 20:39:50
In reply to Re: ambein, posted by paxvox on December 13, 2001, at 9:36:25
Your suggestion of taking a benzo followed by Sonata is interesting. i wonder whether given my problem your solution would work however. whenever i take Sonata or Ambien it seems to take several hours (at least three maybe more) for them to take effect.
do you think that the presence of lorazepam (aka ativan, the benzo i take) in my system would somehow cause the Sonata or Ambien to kick in more quickly? for a time i was taking estazolam at night, but it was too sedating.
I understand that you weren't discussing this situation in the earlier post, but I'm curious as to what you would predict.And is it o.k. to have couple of light beers at night, or shortly before bedtime? I just get so tired of lying there, listing to cable commercials all night, every now and then looking down at my restless legs and feet.
Is red wine as compared to light beer more potentially dangerous?
Thanks much for any info.
-----> Ambien has a short half-life, and thus,can cause a lot of people to wake early. This is the same problem with Sonata. Neither is a benzo, however they have an affinity to the benzo receptors in the CNS. I have run the wheel on all types of meds to improve my sleep. I have had success with Ambien in the past,and am taking it now.
>
> If you are waking up in the middle of the night on Ambien then maybe it's not for you. Personally, I prefer the benzos, but most docs don't like to chronically prescribe them (don't get my rant going here).
>
> I would suggest the benzo to GET you to sleep, then consider trying Sonata if you wake at night. It has VERY short half-life, even shorter than Ambien.
>
> A note of caution: both Sonata and Ambien (and for me even Halcion) CAN cause some panic disorders for no particular reason (well,there IS a chemical reason). However, I have found that benzos used at the same time in your med therapy will control this. One needs to be on the "look out" for this particular side effect. It has NOT happened to me THIS round while on Ambien, and I hope it does not. However, being aware that WHEN you DO have a panic attack that it MIGHT be the hypnotic agent causing it, helps you deal better with the attack. Unfortunately, it may mean that you will have to go off the hypnotic. Hopefully, you will have an understanding doc (good luck!) who will give you more (or stronger) benzos when/if this happens.
>
> For me, the advantages of taking the meds are NOT outweighed by the potential side effects. I guess we each need to know how we react to meds.
>
> PAX
poster:svevo1922
thread:86614
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011213/msgs/87045.html