Anybody Ever Used Sleeping Pills?

Well? Have you?

I have pretty bad insomnia and it’s really annoying. I was thinking when I have a flare up I could knock myself out one night with pills and hopefully reset my sleeping pattern that way. I realise this could be a terrible idea but I think it’s worth a shot.

The drugs I’m looking at are Xanax and Zopiclone. If anyone’s used either of these, how were you the next day? I train in the morning and I don’t want to be jellied off my tits and drop a dumbbell on my face.

Z-12 is worth a try first. I don’t have too bad of insomnia, but there are nights my brain doesn’t turn off. Z-12 definitely helps.

Biotest is hard to come by in the UK but I’ve used the various ingredients in Z-12 and they didn’t do anything for me.

I have tried pretty much every single potential fix except prescription meds

My friends swear by Rozerem (Ramelteon) but I’ve never used it. Ambien and Xanax both make me too sleep-hungover the next day but they work great. A quarter of a xanibar will put me to sleep for 10 hours.

Things that have helped but not consistently:
Tylenol PM
Zinc
Melatonin

Best sleep aid I’ve found is 1/4 or 1/2 of a Flexiril and a finger of hard alcohol. I can fall asleep quickly, sleep well, and feel good the next day.

How do you go about getting Xanax, would a doctor just prescribe if you told them you had a sleeping problem? I have them but in limited quantities used for flying so I can’t waste them on sleeping.

Good ideas here, the last ones will really knock you out …

Do you actually have insomnia or is your sleep pattern screwed up(something like jetlag)?

If it’s the former, the half life of xanax is too short if your problem is staying asleep. If it’s the latter, you can’t change it in 1 night.

Yeah it’s the sleep hangover thing I’m trying to avoid.

The half life of Zopiclone is such that I don’t think it’d mess me up too badly the next day, but I suppose I’d just need to try it and see.

I’ll check out Rozerem. Thanks, Pangy

I’d just buy them illegally

The former. I’m fine once I finally fall asleep but it’s the initial switching off that fucks with me.

I have it in my mind that I could just medicate the shit out of myself one night and that might shock my body into some kind of routine but I suppose that’s probably just wishful thinking

That’s great! Thanks very much for that

I see this ending badly, particularly if your thinking of going the Benzo route.

You can’t play guitar and take sleeping pills if you have sort of talent. You’ll end up dead.

Tell me you are over 27 at least.

Haha, that’s a very good point which I hadn’t considered.

As the singer in a rock band my time would be much more productively spent taking heroin. I bet you sleep like a baby on that shit

I’ve been taking Zopiclone on and off for years. I’m a shift worker and I use it when required. There was a particular time in my life where I took it every night for months on end. I’ve taken it with a finger or two of whisky. Not for the lucid feeling it provided, but because I usually have my whisky at night.

Every once in a while, I will wake up in a bit of a mild funk if I wake up within 8 hours of taking the pill.

I take it maybe once a month now. When I do, I sometimes black out and have conversations with my wife that I don’t remember. I do not have this issue even when extremely intoxicated. My dose varies between 3.75 mg and 7.5mg depending on how important my sleep is that night.

Overall, the drug has improved the quality of my life and I always have a bottle on standby.

Now THAT is interesting!

Do you feel much of a hangover type effect from it? Are you a bit fucked up the next morning?

I LOVE Ambien. Best shit ever.

I get a bit of a mild hangover feeling if I wake up within 8 hours of taking the pill. So if I take it at 10pm and wake up at 4am, I’ll feel a little off until 6am. The effects of the drug last for up to 8 hours, so after that the feeling goes away. It doens’t prevent me from doing anything and I’m still 95% functional. Much more functional than I would have been had I not taken the meds. A cup of coffee solves the feeling. Your mileage may vary as I’ve been told some people get bad hangovers in the morning. I forgot to mention earlier I get a metallic taste in my mouth as well.

Yea, the blackouts are different. I’ve been in bed when all this has happened. It’s not as if I’m running around the house doing things. They were full on conversations that I have no recollection about. Apparently I’m much more agreeable in this state.

Cool, thanks for that. The blackout conversations are slightly worrying because there’s shit I don’t want my girlfriend to find out about, but at least I can be like “Baby, it’s just the Zopiclone talking…”

How long does it take to work? Do you take it right before bed?

Sorry for the barrage of questions but sleeping pills are something I’ve been considering pulling the trigger on for years but have always been unsure whether or not it was a good idea.

I have some L-tryptophan that I take occasionally when I need a good night’s sleep. Seems to do the trick the few times I’ve used it: close my eyes and blank oblivion until I wake up. Can’t say that this isn’t just a placebo effect, but I’ll take it.

Also, when are you training these days?