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Sleeping pills giving me more energy?

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Posted 11/23/2011 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone else feel this way? Once my sleeping pill "kicks in" and I have that semi-drunk feeling, I feel like I have all the energy in the world (probably because moving around a lot increases the feelings rolleyes ).

I read another thread about someone's wife who felt better on them and was taking them when not needed, so I don't want that to happen to me. But it's a shame the one thing right now that lightens my mood and gives me energy is also what puts me to sleep. I have started Zoloft 50mg but it's too soon to have a real affect from them yet.

I have an urge to take a pill before work tomorrow and see how I do hehe...I never actually would since driving would not be good with the pill, but I think I'd enjoy my job more if I felt this way while I was there.
Posted 11/23/2011 11:14 AM (GMT 0)
i would give the zoloft a chance to kick in. have a good day. take care of you. jamie
Posted 11/23/2011 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
That is wierd Alaskah, obviously it isn't the right sleeping pill for you if it isn't helping you sleep. Is it ambien? My husband use to take it and was talking all kinds of wierd stuff. He would hallucinate off of them. So he quit taking them. He was sleep eating too. Wierd.

Hope you find something that works for you. You need your rest.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 11/23/2011 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
Sleeping pills are sort of weird. They typically do one of 3 things to people.

1. Work as advertised and help a person sleep.

2. Work in the opposite and make a person stay up, "bounce off the walls", etc, or disrupt the sleep cycle in some other way such as what Karen mentioned.

3. Do nothing at all.

Some people have the same issues regardless of the active medication in any sleeping pill, but others can have issues with one and try another and have different outcomes.

The bottom line is if a medication is not working the way it is suppose to for the condition it has been prescribed for you should contact the prescribing doctor immediately. If the doctor who prescribed them is someone other than your Primary Care Physician and you do not hear back from them within a day or 2 contact your PCP and report the issue(s) and ask what to do.
Posted 11/23/2011 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I'm taking Ambien - and they help me sleep like a charm once I actually go to bed. But if I stay up after it kicks in, I feel like I have energy. If I go right to bed, I'm out like a light. So it's doing what it should. It's just that I don't always take it immediately before crawling into bed. I'll take it, wait until it kicks in (about 15-30 minutes after I take it depending how empty my stomach is), then go to bed. But in that in-between time I feel like I have energy. Maybe it's just me. But last night I actually started working out a bit before bed, which is something I rarely, if ever, do. And I slept very well.
Posted 11/24/2011 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
Sandra,

You might want to change your HealingWell name. If that is your email address. You can put your email addy into your profile and only members can see it, not the whole world. It isn't recommended and it isn't safe. Please think about changing your member name.

Hugs, Karen

PS Welcome to the forum...
Posted 11/25/2011 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hey- Alaskah I've had this too. And the best advice for me was to only take it as I was curling up into the covers and turning off the light. That way I always associated it (psychologically) with sleep, and didn't get too involved in all the neat side effects that could in the future backfire. Just my thoughts. Good luck to you Alaskah. My warm regards.
Posted 8/12/2013 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alaskah,

I've run into a similar situation. Due to multiple broken veterbrae in my back, I deal with chronic back pain. While my doctor does have me on painkillers to help & Xanax for sleep. I notice that if I take the Xanax and am unable to fall asleep within in hour, I feel like I have more energy and that slightly inebriated feeling. My personal theory is that the Xanax is relaxing many of the muscles in my back due to the strain they are under from being used with an improperly supported spine. Combine painkillers & Xanax and I get energy, even though the Xanax is a sedative. I did ask my doctor handling my pain management to see if there was a way to use this to my advantage. Maybe a low Xanax dose during the day to help me function and be more productive. Doc said that was a bad idea because while I was feeling better overall, the Xanax was still acting like a sedative to the rest of my body (example: stomach, intestines, colon) and could cause problems for those area with constant use of Xanax throughout the day. Apparently it doesn't take much to relax those parts of the body to point where it will start causing physical issues with them. So long story short, I find my self doing everything I can to stay on a regular routine to allow myself to sleep within 30 min of taking Xanax. If I don't sleep just one night, I spend the next few days at least trying to get back in the routine. As you can probably tell by the timing of this post, I'm out sleep sync right now. Haven't found any fool proof methods yet. I hope you find something that works for you and I just wanted to pass along what my doc said cause it sounded like we were both thinking along the same lines.
Posted 8/12/2013 1:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Chronicle79,
Welcome to the forum. What about a muscle relaxer during the day? Would that help? I use to take soma.

This is a very old thead, so I don't know if you will get responses.

Feel free to start your own thread to introduce yourself if you would like.

Best wishes for a good day.

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 8/12/2013 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Alaskah

nice to see you again!

Ambien, taken by certain peeps can have disastrous consequences. The worst I did was, like Kare's hub, I was sleep-eating. Hubby found me in front of the fridge, shoveling spaghetti with my hands in my mouth. Fairly funny, right?

A week later, hub woke up and said he had this very realistic dream where he drove to a friend's, stayed 5 minutes and on the way home had sideswiped our neighbor's mailbox swerving. Except, of course, it was ALL true! Had to replace the mailbox and had a nice crunch in the truck.  YIKES! And he said he had taken the ambien and stayed up past the time he felt its' effects, so please switch meds or be very careful.

Good luck w/ Zoloft

Mags

Posted 8/12/2013 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Karen,

Thank you for the kind welcome. In response to your question about muscle relaxers, my doctor and I are trying different types right now. We have not found one that works for me. Hopefully we will soon and I'll post then to share what we find. I didn't realize this was such and old thread and I'll certainly look for or start a new thread when it becomes time to post again. Once again thanks for your kind welcome and I hope you have a good day.
Posted 8/12/2013 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
Have you tried soma? I tried soma and flexeril. I hate the way flexeril makes me feel the next day. It gives me a hangover. I stopped the muscle relaxers because my doctor didn't want me on soma anymore. They consider it a buzz drug. Though the feeling only lasts around 15 min if I don't eat whn I take it. But there are many others to try.

Good luck and feel free to start that new thread!

Hugs, Karen
Posted 10/25/2013 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
I tried Ambien for a while a few years back and it hyped me up, too. Although, unlike you, I really couldn't fall asleep on it at all. My insomnia was worse on than it was off, if that makes any sense. I was going to try Lunestra (SP?) when my doctor mentioned my thyroid condition. He didn't feel that RX sleep meds were the best choice for me given that problem. I left his office in tears, figuring I was doomed to a lifetime of mostly sleepless nights. I started trying a bunch of herbal stuff. Melatonin, Valerian, Vomica Nux, Chamomila -- none of them made any measurable impact.

I changed my routine:

1. Bedroom for nothing but sleep and sex. No TV! No cell phone!
2. Warm bath or shower about an hour before bed.
3. Warm cup of milk (kind of gross at first, but it gets better) or herbal sleepytime tea.
4. Cool, breathable bed clothes
5. 100% cotton sheets
6. White noise machine
7. Guided meditation at bedtime
8. Whole Food-based sleep supplement.

I got a lot of good tips from naturalsleepformula.net that helped me better understand my insomnia. I feel better equipped to deal with it now. I wish you all the luck in the world!
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