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Prednisone Insomnia - Need sleep drug recommendation

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Posted 12/27/2012 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you both very very much, but ambien doesnt work on me and now that I have bronchitis too I cant take an over the counter sleep aid.

All I want is to go the hospital and be knocked out by a doctor in a hospital. That's it.

 

Posted 12/27/2012 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
Why won't they do that for me? Im not a drug addict. I dont drink or doing any illegal drugs. Im a hard working Father of 8....
Posted 12/27/2012 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry for posting this stuff here..

Off to the anxiety forum. :-(
Posted 12/27/2012 5:28 AM (GMT 0)

Tox 1 said...
Why won't they do that for me? Im not a drug addict. I dont drink or doing any illegal drugs. Im a hard working Father of 8....

It just doesn't work for some people. You might try the different formulations of sleeping pills like Lunesta, or I think there is one more. If it is anxiety, Xanax might do it for you. Xanax dosages go from .25mg all the way up to 1mg. .25 is what I take for a panic attack.

1 mg knocks me out for at least 8 hours. Also, if you are getting really manic (and it is actually manic, to be diagnosed by a doc) there are drugs specifically for that, like seroquel.

There are tons of combinations out there that might work. Just like UC, insomnia comes in many forms and is pretty individual so you just have to keep trying.
Posted 12/27/2012 6:32 AM (GMT 0)
melatonin works great for our family when we need to sleep - all natural
Posted 12/27/2012 6:54 AM (GMT 0)
While melatonin is a natural product, it's still a hormone....and contraindicated in any autoimmune disease/disorder.


q
Posted 12/27/2012 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Depends on how "knocked out" you want to be. Amitriptyline knocks me out for nearly 24 hours. Nitrazepam (sp?) knocks me out for 12 hours. Phenergan gets me sleeping for 9 hours but I feel a little weird upon waking. Xanax seems to be perfect, 8 hours sleep with little after effects. Ativan at 10mg reduces my anxieties, at 20mg I sleep for 8-9 hours but I don't sleep well for those hours.

Meletonin seems to keep me sleeping but doesn't help me get to sleep. I am thinking of trying valerian but I read it can cause digestive upset.

I don't use sleeping pills a lot, I just spent a few months experimenting.
Posted 4/2/2013 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
Glad I found this tonight.
Current flareup of UC started in September 2012 and hasn't responded to Asacol or foam suppositories at all. Has been "chronic" for the past six weeks.
Diagnosed in June 2012 after initial 7 month flare.

I'm in my fifth week of Predisone, haven't slept more than 3 hours since I started. Doctor put me on 120mg last Wednesday, which reading here seems to be very high. (Started on 40mg and slowly increased it up as it did nothing).

This new double dosage is helping, severity of symptoms dramatically reduced over the past two days.

But going crazy without sleep.
How do others with this actually get up and go to work? Or look after kids?
I'm doing it but OMG not really coping.

Post Edited (Nickaz) : 4/2/2013 8:43:21 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/24/2013 8:02 AM (GMT 0)

Nickaz said...
Glad I found this tonight.
Current flareup of UC started in September 2012 and hasn't responded to Asacol or foam suppositories at all. Has been "chronic" for the past six weeks.
Diagnosed in June 2012 after initial 7 month flare.

I'm in my fifth week of Predisone, haven't slept more than 3 hours since I started. Doctor put me on 120mg last Wednesday, which reading here seems to be very high. (Started on 40mg and slowly increased it up as it did nothing).

This new double dosage is helping, severity of symptoms dramatically reduced over the past two days.

But going crazy without sleep.
How do others with this actually get up and go to work? Or look after kids?
I'm doing it but OMG not really coping.




    @Nikaz. I am having similar problems getting more than 3 hours of sleep. I have tried the Upsium tablets that worked for 4 hours. I got a refills in generic ambian, but after taking 10mg I still woke at3 this morning. What do you do at this point. I need to b up at 6.

    Have you had better luck taking more ambia upfront to sleep through the night or do you take more and go to sleep. Just looking for some direction.
    Current meds- 4800 mg Ascol hd. 30 mg prednisone (was 40, taped to 20 next week). Doc prescribed the ambian, I'm having trouble and can't get through the night. Suggestions?
Posted 4/24/2013 12:11 PM (GMT 0)
Sleepinal worked great for me. I would take it about 30 minutes before bed and it really helped me get a good night sleep.
Was on Prednisone for almost 18 months, was worried about becoming addicted to the Sleepinal, but that wasn't the case at all.
Taking the Prednisone early in the morning helped a little, but still didn't allow for a good night sleep.
Posted 4/24/2013 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
I would suggest Melatonin, as well. I would look for minimum 3 mg. This works very well and you will have no addiction issues using long term as melatonin is not a drug.

I would strongly suggest avoiding all benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Ativan, etc) as they are highly addictive and can only be used for a relatively short time until addiction settles in and you will have a whole new set of problems to deal with. Benzo addiction is no joke (been through it) and it makes narcotic addiction (Vicodin, lortab, etc) look like child’s play. Just my .02
Posted 8/24/2013 4:35 AM (GMT 0)
On 50 gems a day take all at 5am as im a concretor i burn huge amounts of energy daily come home i have tried everything for sleep but alas the green weed is the best
Posted 8/24/2013 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
Have you tried an all natural amino acid L=Theanine. 200mg along with Ambien helped me. It has no side effects. I also tried 6=HTP but that gave me vivid dreams.

No matter what, we feel like Poop without a good night's sleep. Hope you get some sleep soon.
Posted 3/17/2014 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
I have not slept 5 minutes during the last two days, because of Prednisone . Very low dose, 5 mg daily.

I dont understand what is the advantage of this crap. eyes
Posted 3/18/2014 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Xanax, Ambien (1/2) and 5mg Melatonin helped me get 6 to 8 hours with no side effects in the am.
Posted 3/18/2014 11:21 AM (GMT 0)
I had success taking the full dose when I first woke up. By bed time I was down enough to sleep.
Posted 3/18/2014 11:41 AM (GMT 0)
Tylenol PM is exactly the same ingredients as Tylenol and Benadryl.

1 Benadryl has 25 mg of Diphenhydramine

1 Tylenol PM has 25 mg of Diphenhydramine AND 500 mg of Acetaminophen.
Posted 3/18/2014 11:49 AM (GMT 0)
2 Benadryl does the trick! Nurse friend said it was ok to take.
Posted 3/18/2014 11:53 AM (GMT 0)
I'm OK as long as I don't take steroids at night. 8am is a good time for me. Actually my sleep patterns are more messed up when I come off the steroids.
Posted 3/18/2014 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
All you need is SOMA.
Posted 3/18/2014 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
quincy, I told my gi about the contraindications with melatonin and autoimmune disease and he emailed me this today.


"There are data to suggest that melatonin even is good for UC. This is my first line of recommendation for those patients with UC who need support for their sleep."

Ali Keshavarzian, MD
Josephine M. Dyrenforth Chair of Gastroenterology
Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, Molecular Biophysics & Physiology
Director, Division of Digestive Diseases
Rush University Medical Center
Posted 3/18/2014 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is very problematic for people with bipolar disorder. If any of you have it and need a good drug while on steroids, it's Zyprexa. It puts you out like a light at night. I'm also using melatonin 6 mg. in addition to 5 mg. Zyprexa. Weight gain is an issue.
Posted 3/18/2014 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
I second the melatonin recommendation.

For anyone that's interested, Examine has a nice scientific review of melatonin. Scroll down to the human effect matrix to see the conditions that benefit from melotonin. It does seem to have a discernible effect on insomnia.
Posted 3/18/2014 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
Xanax. If you need something more hardcore, then remeron at a low dose (15 mg before bed).
Posted 3/18/2014 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
P.S. I take .5 mg xanax. The .25 mg does nothing for me. Remeron WILL knock you out. It can cause really bad nightmares though, especially when you first start it. It's really an antidepressant but at low doses it's a sleep aid. It really helped me this summer. Not sure if they would diagnose it for you though.
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