If you have trouble sleeping and you are tempted to believe Abraham Lincoln and a Talking Beaver in the TV ads pushing a new drug called “Rozerem“….do not take it! I have absolutely no idea how this thing even got approved to help induce sleep.
I took it once, and PatriotPartner took it three times, and it kept us awake!
Hell, I’d settle suffering through the published side effects: Side effects may include drowsiness, fatigue, and dizziness. I was wired all night after taking it and didn’t sleep a wink.
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
Have you tried having sex at bedtime? Really, it works! Or try a cup of hot milk. Sleeping pills, even the modern ones are not very good in the long term but they make a lot of money for pharmaceutical companies.
I’ve found Valerian to be very helpful.
I’d also suggest avoiding Ambien. It’ll try to knock you out, but if you fight it at all, you can end up hallucinating. Nasty stuff.
Good sex might help (although not always), counting backwards is supposed to be good as well. Some people swear by Ibuprofen
Learn to let the images come as they will and let go of the thinking about things.
If you want to be put to sleep, take the non-prescription drug Benadryl. It’s actually an over-the-counter allergy medicine, but it works pretty well as a sleep aid. There are some generic brands available.
Up until a few years ago, I would have recommended Vicks Nyquil, but they reformulated it so that it really doesn’t provide much sleep assistance. Oddly, the analog available in Germany, which goes by the name of Wicks Medi-Nait, still does.
Maybe you simply need a clear conscience. 🙂
monty
Herb tea is the best. That, and some breathing exercises do the trick.
If all else fails, put on CSPAN. That would put anyone to sleep.
Regards,
Peter H.
Talk to yourself much?
Raj –
The primary ingredient in Nyquil is Doxylamine succinate, which is an antihistamine like Benadryl. IIRC all non-prescription sleep aids are antihistamines.
There, there, Frank.
It’s OK. Go ahead and carry on your own conversation. We understand. We REALLY do.
It’s like they say, though: “You only have to worry if you begin answering yourself.” 🙂
monty
I prefer Tylenol Simply Sleep, which is Diphenhydromine (Benadryl). I used to have some sort of relaxation tape which would encourage you to focus on relaxing your muscles and repeat “I am relaxed” over and over as you loosen your muscles. That sorta works for me.
I also tune into the Mozart Forever, Always channel on Live365.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Mozart and love to relax by it.
#9 Frank IBC — August 4, 2006 @ 10:20 pm – August 4, 2006
IIRC all non-prescription sleep aids are antihistamines.
I believe this is pretty much true, but I don’t believe that products like Benadryl and Nyquil are sold as sleep aids. Off-label usage.
The primary ingredient in Nyquil is Doxylamine succinate, which is an antihistamine like Benadryl.
It’s been more than a few years since we bought Nyquil, so I don’t have a package that indicates what its ingredients are/were. (We actually do throw out pharmaceuticals after their expiration dates ;-)) What I do know is that, for purchases prior to the early-to-mid 1990s, when I would take NyQuil–per instructions–for a cold, it was almost like clockwork that it would put me to sleep in 30 minutes. For purchases after the early-to-mid 1990s, no such luck. My partner had the same effect. I recognize that that is merely anecdotal–and we contacted Vicks, who denied that the product had been reformulated–but with recently-purchased Medi-Nait, we get the same effect as the old Nyquil.
Downstream, regarding Mozart, I doubt very seriously that his Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, for example, would be useful as a sleep aid 😉 And, if you want to be kept awake, I’d suggest Handel’s Feuerwerkmusik (Music for the Royal Fireworks) instead of Nodoze.
I checked the ingredients of Medi-Nait – they are exacty the same as Nyquil: – Dextromethorphan, Paracetamol (Acetominophen), Ephedrin (Pseudophedrine?) and Doxylamine. But it may have a higher proportion of dextromethorphan.
Sorry, Mozart doesn’t put me to sleep. Bach does, however.
Regards,
Peter H.
#14 Frank IBC — August 5, 2006 @ 9:22 am – August 5, 2006
But it (Medi-Nait) may have a higher proportion of dextromethorphan (than Nyquil).
Could be. It’s my understanding that the list of ingredients on FDA approved packaging reflects their relative percentage in the product (perhaps excluding inert ingredients), but the list does not suggest what the actual percentages are.
#15 Peter Hughes — August 5, 2006 @ 9:35 pm – August 5, 2006
Sorry, Mozart doesn’t put me to sleep. Bach does, however.
Try Bach’s toccata and fugue in D minor for the organ. It is creepy enough that it will almost certainly keep you awake.
My doctor gave me restoril (sp?). They knock me out.
Actually, organ music is soothing to me. That and flutes, spinet, harpsichord and harp.
Bach creepy? Well, creepy is as creepy does…
Regards,
Peter H.
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#19 Peter Hughes — August 6, 2006 @ 3:30 pm – August 6, 2006
Bach creepy?
If you can find it, get a copy of Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D Minor by Karl Richter. It’s a Deutsche Grammophone recording. I have both the vinyl version (from the 1970s) and a CD version (from the 1980s). Creepy? Oh, yes. It is as creepy as the best horror film music.
Bach nice? Try the Brandenburg Concertos. They won’t put you to sleep, though.
I’m late to this thread, but I still have a mostly full bottle of Rozerem in my bathroom. The same thing happened to both me and my partner. Why do they still prescribe that stuff for insomnia?!
And for the discerning among you, I prefer Lunesta to Ambien or Ambien CR, although it leaves a metallic taste in your mouth for a while after you wake up.
Maybe that metallic taste in your mouth is from going down on your bed post during sleep. 🙂
monty