Can't Sleep

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User

Posted 10 Aug 2016 at 21:11

Hello everyone

Has anyone had experience of using herbal remedy a (like Nytol) to assist with sleeping?

My OH was prescribed with Zolpidem Tartrate sleeping tablets when he had a muscle injury about a year ago to help him sleep.

He found that by using these he slept through the night and had no need to get up to go to the loo, as he was in such a deep sleep I suppose that his bladder did not wake him up.

Since then he has taken a half a tablet most nights to allow a good- ish nights sleep.

Over the last few months though the Dr has mentioned that the long term side effects ( such as memory loss ) and the onset of dementia have been linked to these tablets. Other newspaper articles recently have cited concerns.

My OH has decided therefore to stop taking them, and so can hardly sleep at all, worrying about the usual things ( that we all worry about on here) and of course only dozing means that the night time loo visits are back in the mix, making sleep even more disturbed.

We have 2 small children and the usual stresses involved with building a house etc to contend with, but the lack of sleep is making my OH very short tempered and angry (at the children) and he is losing things all the time (2 pairs of glasses in 3 days) for example which is putting a huge strain on the whole family.

The Dr has suggested taking Mirtazapine Tablets ( which I see are anti depressants) at night time to assist with sleep, but my OH feels like he would rather try and go it alone to restore some sort of sleep pattern.

Does anyone have any experience that may help?

As always, thank you and best wishes to you all.

Alison

User

Posted 11 Aug 2016 at 11:27

If there is a non medical solution I would be delighted. The one in this house who sleeps through has had the cancer.

The other one (me) gets an average of 5 hours and that's interrupted.

I've tried the herbals etc and they haven't helped. I'm reluctant to go on sleeping tablets as I know somebody who became addicted.

I have nothing much to worry about so it isn't fretting. I either wake for a pee then I'm up or I'm up so need to pee. No rhyme or reason to it.

The only thing that will really knock me out is a dose of night nurse and when it gets too much, ie a few weeks of interrupted sleep I have been known to take a dose. The after effects of groggy next day make you wonder whether it was worth it though.

Could the other half try the new tablets on an alternative night basis so that he gets some sleep.

I do understand his reluctance though. It's a good job his GP has pointed out the long term effects.

I've been given drugs for my arthritis and a buffer because I have IBS. I assumed that since the surgery must know my medical history (it if after all now on the screen in front of the GP) that any medication that caused problems if used long term would have been explained to me. I can also order them online, 84 tablets a time, and the prescription just gets filled and sent to the chemist.

I recently had reason to check side effects (it suddenly occurred to me that maybe it's the tablets causing the nocturia) and found that they should never be prescribed for long term use, and have the potential to cause major damage.

Pity somebody didn't point that out to me or at least a warning flagged up every time I repeat the prescription.

Any help Alison receives would be much appreciated by me too.

Sandra

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Edited by member 11 Aug 2016 at 11:29 | Reason: Not specified

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails

User

Posted 11 Aug 2016 at 22:28

I find two things help. I'm on amyltryptalline for migraine (low dose) and that helps with sleeping and also I listen to a hypnosis app and that often works too. I have to take the amyltryptalline as I was getting three or four migraines a week and I'll be taking that for life, much better than a stroke. The hypnosis cost me a fiver I think and I tend to "listen" most nights on a headset. When I first started it I slept almost as soon as I heard the lady speak. It takes longer now and doesn't always work, but it's been a life saver. It was a weight loss app! But they have apps for many disorders, though the weight loss one has a night time one that doesn't do the wake up routine, which I prefer. The one I use is EasyLoss. I did lose weight at the start too but you do have to concentrate on your food intake and I have gone off that recently, still works to make me sleep though.

Cheers

Devonmaid

User

Posted 12 Aug 2016 at 08:30

I suppose I could listen to John nagging me. I shut off after a while !

Silly me - he'll be asleep won't he!

****

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails

User

Posted 11 Aug 2016 at 13:03

Hi Allison

Since going on 20mg Cialis this past month my night time loo visits have dropped by half to 2-3 times with no bad nights of over 10 times. That of course is having a very positive effect on my sleep and energy levels.

I note from the leaflet it can be used for BHP which I've been told in the past I can't have after RT so unsure what's going on.

Perhaps 5mg might help?

Ray

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