Need help/suggestions to beat my habit of using sleep aids to get to sleep.

eckstg · Nov 23, 2009

I need to find ways to stop my daily routine of taking over the counter nighttime sleep aids with Diphenhydramine to get to sleep.I take way over the recommended amounts.I usually take 5 or 6 (50mg gelcaps) also 1 (50mg) amitriptyline hcl and about 60 to 90 minutes later 1 generic (10mg ambien).Sad thing is i have built such a tolerance that i still find myself awake 3 hours later after all those medications sometimes.

I developed this habit very young in my teens by taking a couple tylenol pms on school nights.This bad habit just got worse with time.I think i have been taking the Diphenhydramine on a regular basis around 200mg and up since maybe 2002.I know this will catch up to me if i continue.I just started the ambien this year and the amitriptyline hcl the last couple of months.The amitriptyline hcl was recommended by my doctor after i told him of suffering from depression.I didnt want to start taking antidepressants like zoloft and prozac because you have to take them multiple times every day and have withdrawals if you want to quit so he prescribed the amitriptyline hcl to take once a day before bedtime.

I plan to come up with a plan to stop all daily caffeine intake.All i drink throughout the week is caffeinated sweet tea and on weekends diet sundrop.Both are loaded with caffeine.Im gonna switch my sweet tea to green tea i do believe if the home brew kind or nutraplanets are reasonable.Ill also switch the diet sundrops to either green tea also or caffeine free.I was drinking a cup of coffee prior to workouts but i think i may need to stop this also.I also have been taking 1 (25mg) bronkaid/ephedra tablet preworkouts.Should i stop the pre workout ephedra and coffee or think it may good enough to just quit the regular tea and sundrop?

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Hungarian · Nov 23, 2009

eckstg said:
I need to find ways to stop my daily routine of taking over the counter nighttime sleep aids with Diphenhydramine to get to sleep.I take way over the recommended amounts.I usually take 5 or 6 (50mg gelcaps) also 1 (50mg) amitriptyline hcl and about 60 to 90 minutes later 1 generic (10mg ambien).Sad thing is i have built such a tolerance that i still find myself awake 3 hours later after all those medications sometimes.

I developed this habit very young in my teens by taking a couple tylenol pms on school nights.This bad habit just got worse with time.I think i have been taking the Diphenhydramine on a regular basis around 200mg and up since maybe 2002.I know this will catch up to me if i continue.I just started the ambien this year and the amitriptyline hcl the last couple of months.The amitriptyline hcl was recommended by my doctor after i told him of suffering from depression.I didnt want to start taking antidepressants like zoloft and prozac because you have to take them multiple times every day and have withdrawals if you want to quit so he prescribed the amitriptyline hcl to take once a day before bedtime.

I plan to come up with a plan to stop all daily caffeine intake.All i drink throughout the week is caffeinated sweet tea and on weekends diet sundrop.Both are loaded with caffeine.Im gonna switch my sweet tea to green tea i do believe if the home brew kind or nutraplanets are reasonable.Ill also switch the diet sundrops to either green tea also or caffeine free.I was drinking a cup of coffee prior to workouts but i think i may need to stop this also.I also have been taking 1 (25mg) bronkaid/ephedra tablet preworkouts.Should i stop the pre workout ephedra and coffee or think it may good enough to just quit the regular tea and sundrop?

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

I would stop the pre workout ephedrine as well, Cutting all this caffeine at once would be extremely hard, and would make you feel like crap. I suggest you start tapering down your caffeine intake gradually. In the course of 2-3 weeks try and eliminate all caffeine from your diet, and see if it will become easier to fall asleep.

lordt · Nov 23, 2009

I have had sleep problems for years. The only things that help to some extent are no caffeine after lunch and no alcohol. If I can fall asleep I still will wake up through sleep meds, but it is much easier to fall asleep earlier. With more meds, I am too thick headed to function in the morning. When I go boxing or do sprint intervals are the days that I get the best sleep.

^normal · Nov 23, 2009

dont forget that gear can prevent sleep.

Gators · Nov 23, 2009

True Protein makes a good sleep aid, it worked well and no hang over

MightyJohn · Nov 23, 2009

I could be wrong but with that chemical cocktail You take before bed sounds like You might be fighting sleep...if I take a sleep aide & don't allow Myself to relax I'll stay up all nite as well....if I allow Myself to relax, no sleep aide needed

John99Test · Nov 23, 2009

You should also get checked out by a doctor. Not being able to fall asleep is also a sign of severe underlying problems. The body does not want to let its guard down so to speak to fall into deep sleep. Bro, it also may be mind over matter too. Get off the ambien. I have seen some people sleepwalk into other houses on that shit. Good luck.

Gymratforlife · Nov 23, 2009

I can fall asleep but always wake up a few hours later starving. Sometimes I wake up 2-3 times a night though. I have found a product that is a powder and you mix with water that knocks me out and I wake up feeling like a million bucks. Its made by a company called hitech pharmaceuticals and the product is called somatomax.