Posted by yxibow on January 6, 2007, at 23:42:13
In reply to Ambien and time to sleep onset?, posted by halcyondaze on January 6, 2007, at 22:08:12
> When I started taking Ambien, I was on 10 mg Ambien and 6.25 mg Ambien CR, since the Ambien CR didn't help me fall asleep and the regular Ambien didn't help me stay asleep. I would be asleep within 30 minutes and sleep for about 8 hours.
>
> Then I went through this whole Adderall-Xanax addiction period for about six or seven months ... about 500 mg Adderall and 16 mg Xanax at worst ... painful, painful detox ... blahb blah blah
>
> At any rate, I was put back on Ambien, after an unsuccessful attempt at Lunesta, 3 mg (which took anywhere from 1 to 4 hours to induce sleep and knocked me out for up to 14 hours). But the problem is, now Ambien takes 1 to 2 hours to work (yes, without eating) and I stay asleep for 10 to 12 hours and wake up completely drowsy even after that!
>
> Should Ambien take this long to kick in? Should it last so long? I am on exactly the same meds I was back then: Parnate and Seroquel.
>
> Oh, and what about Sonata? Might it be a better choice? I can't take benzos, for obvious reasons.In rough order of agent potency, its Ambien/Ambien CR, Lunesta, and Sonata. I never got much out of Sonata and it can cause some odd visual effects -- but that was quite a while ago and I didnt challenge it at a higher dose.
I don't know about your doctor, but because I have crosspollination with benzodiazepines, Ambien is much more subtle, and when I take it, I am prescribed for 20 -- well technically, 10 and 10 if it doesn't work, some insurance will do that. Lunesta, my insurance won't cover 4mg, which is necessary as it is a less potent agent, and I would say that is probably a level that you might need. Sonata I can't comment on, it may require even more than normal.
At the moment I am testing Rozerem and cycling a small part of Ambien at the same time to remove it possibly from my system and go back to it again. The synergistic of Rozerem, and Ambien, and Seroquel do give me now just shy of 8 hours of sleep.
Rozerem does have an advantage that it is not scheduled/controlled.
But as for time to sleep onset, I remember reading some study that basically sleep onset could be as much as 45 minutes, basically the same as someone with long onset to chronic insomnia. The real part of either agent is its ability to keep one asleep, not necessarily the time to go to sleep. But this may vary by the person, obviously.
The other thing I am supposed to do is avoid taking naps, or at least long naps. While they are anxiety abative, they disrupt the sleep cycle. If you can keep good sleep hygiene, which means going to bed on a fairly regular schedule, especially with a sedating medication like Seroquel, which I find the later I take it, the even later in the day I am awake. Of course, this is do as I say and not as I attempt to do.
Just a few words of advice.
Hope you find some good sleep.
-- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:719998
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070101/msgs/720033.html