Posted by utopizen on June 26, 2003, at 13:33:14
In reply to Re: I can't sleep » Rainee, posted by disney4 on June 26, 2003, at 9:52:06
Okay, it's unfortunate, but here's the reality: unless you only have transient insomnia, chronic insomnia it generally NOT treatable merely through sleep hygiene efforts. I'm well aware of all of them, and continue them, but they will not treat chronic insomnia.
Chronic insomnia is persistent. Ambien is generally well-tolerated, better so than most stims are, and yet stimulants are prescribed far more in this country than Ambien. Even though far more people suffer from chronic insomnia.
Why? Because let's face it, the old sleeping pills (Seconal, Quualude, Halcion) were not so safe. As a result, they ingrained this prejudice for the category of "sleeping pills" that has no rational basis today.
For one thing, telling someone who has chronic insomnia that they shouldn't take Ambien for longer than 7-10 days because they'll get "rebound insomnia" is like telling someone who's dehydrated not to drink water because they'll get "rebound thirst." The person wasn't sleeping to begin with, so exactly how is "rebound insomnia" an issue? Oh no, they might go back to their original state. How tragic!
In the meantime, you can lose your job, people can think you're taking drugs at work because you appear so spacey, and your family can leave you because you're so irritable or generally unpleasant to be around while tired. Contrast that to taking Ambien. There's a 1-2% chance of indigestion. Good thing docs avoid it so much, huh?
poster:utopizen
thread:236806
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030624/msgs/237267.html