Suggestions for Insomnia??

My doctor prescribed this for my insomnia. At first I was taking 25mg, but then increased it to 50mg.

The problem is that Trazodone has no impact on my insomnia; it does absolutely nothing, and I really need to establish a normal sleep schedule. My appointment with the doctor is next month and I don't know what to do until then.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would be great-full.

Have you tried melatonin? My husband takes it. I meditate, it helps me fall asleep most nights. You need to turn off your mind. With meditation you can do that.

Best wishes for a good night sleep. I hope you get some...

Hugs, Karen...

Depending on your size and how you react to medications, you may simply need a higher dosage. I am female, 170 lbs, and it takes 300 mg of Trazodone to keep my insomnia in check. Been on this same dosage for several years now....

I tried everything under the sun before, this is the first and only thing that's ever worked for me!

My husband takes 10 mg of melatonin. Three didn't work for him either.

Trazadone is also an antidepressant I think. I hope your doctor has some answers for you. If nothing else try the 10mg of melatonin. They make a time release too.

I wish you the best Forever...

Hugs, Karen...

Hi Lynnwood!

FP, maybe being on the 50 mg of the Trazodone for a few days isn't long enough to help you with your lack of sleep yet. Your doctor should know.

This might not be entirely healthy, but one "solution" to reset my sleep schedule has been to stay up a night, going off on a tough hike lasting the night and subsequent day. The exertion seems to work well to make the day seem "normal" despite not having slept. This combination of getting worn out and lacking sleep has been effective. However, I'm sure no doctor would recommend this, as even one sleepless night may have long-lasting or lifetime effects (which I would personally doubt, but that's the claims I've seen).

ForeverPositive:

Since you've already got the Melatonin, why don't you try increasing it from 3 mg. that you've already tried?

Also, why don't you try taking it an hour before bedtime?

I take 4 mg of Melatonin, one hour before bedtime. An hour after I've taken it, I'm starting to get sleepy so I know it's working.

OK, at bedtime, an hour after I took the first 4 mgs. of Melatonin, I take a 5th Melatonin. Sort of like time release. They may even sell time release Melatonin, I don't know.

If I go to bed at midnight, and wake up at say 5 a.m., I can take a 6th Melatonin. For sometimes, I can't go back to sleep and it's 7 a.m. before I realize that, and maybe too late for me to take a 6th Melatonin.

Also, Melatonin alone wouldn't work for me. I have to already be on some psychiatrist medicine to begin with, for me, it's Lithium and Mirtazapine anti-depressant for my bipolar.

My husband takes 10mg of melatonin at 6:00 pm. Goes to bed later. I do meditation. The meditation takes practice.

I hope you can get some sleep.

Hugs, Karen...

ForeverPositive:

You say, you have increased the Melatonin, and you do take it one hour before bed. That's good.

One, what did you increase it to. From 3 (1mg) tablet to what? Maybe you did not increase it enough.

Two, you go to bed at 11 p.m., is a guess. You wake up at 3 a.m. First, maybe you didn't take enough when you went to bed. Second, why not take another 1 or 2 mgs. of Melatonin when you wake up in the middle of the night?

Three, groggy? Yeah, I am too. I'm glad I'm groggy. That's what put me to sleep. Most of the time when I wake up in the morning, I'm so groggy I don't get out of bed. I just lay there for 30 minutes or an hour or more. I don't have to get up. If I do, I get up. I'm not that groggy.

These are all my opinions based on what has worked for me.

Well, nothing worked for me (insomnia since 1976) until I started taking a rather high dose of Trazodone - 300 mg about 2 hours before bedtime. I awaken refreshed and ready to go, no grogginess, after about 9 hours of deep, restorative sleep. (Some people may think that's too long to sleep, but I have other issues and that's the exact number that works for me.)

Different things work for different people!

That is very good. OK 6 mg.

OK, I take 4 at one hour before bedtime. I take one at bedtime.

I take a 6th at 4 or 5 a.m. when I wake up. So we're the same thing.

You dossed off with 6 mg. That is very good.

You said, "I guess I just don't want to take too much."

That's good, you're taking care of yourself. I was the same way, I kept it at 2 or 3 mg. for a long time, as I recall.

But we have to be practical. I think we have to see how well we're doing at whatever dosage we're on.

Again, one person on this thread, her husband takes 10 mg of Melatonin. Our sleep patterns and the medicines we're on are different. I think we just need to find out what our level is.

Not getting enough sleep is not good either. Sometime doctor medicine for sleeping is not good either. My psychiatrist suggested 2 medicines (antidepressants) that she had already given me that I knew were horrible. So we're caught in the middle. It's a judgement call.

I think we have a good tool to work with in Melatonin.

I try to stay positive at times like this that I am strong enough and smart enough to solve this. So our brain is also a good tool. You're smart to reach out for help.

Hi TimTam,

My sleep is not better, but it is now mostly due to the loud noises that I hear. I've gotten earplugs, but they don't help much.

I live in a building and unfortunately there is something wrong with the radiator. The building's management is aware and are trying to see what is causing the noise, but are unable to find the source.

The noise is so loud that I can't get any sleep.