What's your thought on taking drugs?

[XemaSab]

A few years ago the doctor put me on a low dose of Elavil for problems getting to sleep. It usually takes me over an hour of lying in bed in the dark before I fall asleep. That was the original problem.

But lately my body has been tired but my brain is still going... and going... and going. Not like racing thoughts, but my brain's just not tired.

I worry that if I actually take the pills to fall asleep, I'm setting a bad precident. I'm all about the bad precidents. I now drink coffee every day, and I typically have a few drinks in the evening. I don't want to go through life as a totally chemically dependant fiend, taking all these different substances to counter each other, but I also don't want to go through life totally sleep deprived and cranky either.

You're probably the wrong people to ask (except Billy, Mason, Heidi, and Wesley :hi: ), but what do y'all think?

[NMMNG]

1. My take on meds

Avoid them if you can, but take them if you need them.

I myself have to take Trazodone and Melatonin to get to sleep and stay asleep (and some days I still have difficulty). I think the fact that I'm a day-sleeper is my biggest issue, and hope that once I stop working nights I'll revert to normal sleep patterns. Until then I'll stick to the medications because without them I get little or no sleep.

[REP]

2. Elavil is an SSRI, Not a Sleeping Pill

It's an old anti-depressant, used for just about everything it seems. I take it, along with Topamax (an anti-seizure med) to prevent severe, persistant migraines. It doesn't make me sleep, or even sleepy; I can take it any time of day but it did take a couple of years to get over the dry mouth it causes.

Have you tired the good ol' "good sleep hygeine" routine? No caffeine in the PM (if it has any effect on you) and limiting alcohol; keeping the bedroom dark and only for sleep and sex; getting up and going to bed at the same time every day, period; refraining from heavy exercise late in the day; leaving the bedroom in you can't sleep after half an hour, etc if you're uncomfortable with the idea of using a pharmaceutical?

[XemaSab]

3. In low doses

it has a sedative effect. :shrug:

And uh, the last paragraph? I resemble those remarks! :D

[REP]

15. In Some, Yes

I take 75 mg, which is a fairly smallish dose, so maybe that's not enough for me to feel the sleepy. That said, almost nothing makes me feel the sleepy - I'm a nightmare to anesthesize (Versed wakes me up and keeps me up, for example!)

You said you have a drink or so each evening; most of the sleep hygeine lectures say ixnay on the ooxebay. Of course, if you're like me, you've heard the lecture so many times you can do it yourself - you too may have a serious sleep disorder (I apparently am too dumb to both sleep and breathe simultaneously at the same time).*




*obscure song reference

[KitchenWitch]

12. Elavil is a tri cyclic antidepressant, not an SSRI

I was given Elavil for sleeping problems awhile back and it did the trick.

[REP]

13. You're Right; Too Much Wine with the VD Dinner

Tricyclic, SSRI - they all look alike this time of the AM!

[KitchenWitch]

14. ROFL

I get that!

Prozac was developed because a lot of folks did not like the side effects of TCAs.

[REP]

16. Edit: "Elavil is a Three-Wheeled Antidepressant, Not a Sleeping Pill"

Did I mention we had a lot of wine with dinner? And it's late and I'm still goofy from the Best Valentine's Day Ever?

[KitchenWitch]

17. Wine with dinner - check

Best Valentine's Day ever - check!

Good for you!

:hi:

[REP]

18. We're Not Big Drinkers

And I stopped being drunk hours ago, which means I have a headache now, but being drunk makes a better alibi for screwing up what class of drug I'm cramming into my maw! :hi: Hope your VD was neato, too!

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. I have learned the hard way, that sometimes medication is a necessity.

I don't know what I would do some days without the miracle of Flexeril and Vicodin. I think one should not suffer in the name of purity if one does not have to. :hi: And this coming from a woman who used to just suffer through aches a pains. No need to be a hero.

[XemaSab]

5. Oh, you don't know me

If there was a gold medal in martyrdom, I'd be the reigning champ. :D

[billyskank]

8. I don't think that's the same at all

If I understand correctly, you are taking analgesics to address pain that will not go away otherwise.

But Xema just wants to sleep at night. Not being able to sleep is clearly an unnatural situation. There must be a reason why she is unable to do so. Merely prescribing her a pill to put her to sleep is treating the symptom but not addressing the problem. A real doctor will help her to find out why she cannot sleep, and fix the problem so that she is able to do so without the need for medication.

In the meantime I think medication is appropriate so that she is able to sleep, until the real problem is addressed. I just don't believe it is an appropriate long-term solution.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. You are absolutely right, billy.

I just did not want Xema to think that there is something ineherently wrong in the need to take medication. But I wholeheartedly agree with you that in this case, all measures should be taken to address the underlying cause. I hope I did not sound flip.

[billyskank]

10. You didn't sound flip at all

Your point was well made. Medication does have its place. :hug:

[XemaSab]

11. I'm generally more into the holistic approach

but since it seems to be a lifelong problem that ebbs and wanes, I'm not sure I want to commit myself to adding another chemical to the daily reportoire.

:shrug:

[billyskank]

6. I understand your concern

My own view is that the need for a drug is sufficient indication of a problem, and that it is highly desirable to correct the situation so as to make the drug redundant.

But I don't want to give you any trite answers that won't be any help to you. I don't have any difficulty myself, so I have no understanding of your predicament. Advice such as "just try to get into a healthy routine" will not help you, because the fact that you are on medication shows that you aren't able to do that. I'm sure you have tried.

I guess the only person to ask is your doctor. Make sure they understand that you want to really cure the problem so that drugs are no longer necessary. If your doctor really wants to help you then they will be very happy to work through this with you. Medication as a palliative is not a long-term solution. For the moment if it helps you sleep then it is okay, but I think you are right to fear long-term dependency.

Sorry I can't help. :hug:

[Archae]

7. To where?

Where should I take them to? :P

[CornField]

19. I dislike the fact that I need to take a pill everyday

Although I understand it is a necessity... I just don't like it. I don't like thinking that I'm so weak that I cannot function properly without some intervention. *sigh*

I'm not much help at all. Ignore me.

[Heidi]

24. Weak?

In my estimation, it doesn't matter whether one is taking a prescription medication for a physical or psychological condition. Taking the steps necessary to live a full life is a strength, rather than a weakness, and I hope you'll find a way to stop thinking of yourself as weak for having a condition that requires medication. :hug:

[Deja Q]

20. Why give the pharmas bloated sums of money? WORSE, why the frig

should we then look like bigger "health risks" to the 'insurance' companies?

And given my senitive nature with them, amongst other problems :cry:, I'm skeptical to try any more.

[SixStrings]

21. I won't even take an aspirin. Can't trust these money-hungry

corporations. Is anybody else sick and tired of these Cialis and Viagara commercials bening shoved down our throats in every medium possible? Enough already...

[RandomKoolzip]

22. I used to take all sortsa anti-depressant/anti-anxiety meds.

AND I used to take all sortsa illegal substances too. But I've been off my meds for about a year now and I feel great (well, relatively), and I haven't had any illegal substances in about seven years.

The meds really DID help out at the time, though.

What I would suggest to you is taking low doses of whatever you need, or perhaps trying natural sleep-inducing techniques like breathing methods or meditation. Have you quit caffiene? I used to have sleep problems until I cut caffiene COMPLETELY out of my life. ANd any caffiene ingested after 3 o clock will keep you up for hours at night. Don't worry about becoming dependent....I'm sure there's a healthy way of dealing with this.

[SteppingRazor]

23. I think you worry WAY too much...

This both explains why your mind is racaing at night, AND why you're biting your nails over eating a couple of prescription pills.

I don't have the energy to go through the laundry list of unhealthy vices I have courted in my still-young life, but the list is long. And, hey, I'm fine. If the doc tells you to pop a couple of sleepers, go ahead and see how it works for ya. If you don't like them, then they'll be easy to stop taking (it's when you really like things that they're hard to stop).

[JitterbugPerfume]

25. I avoid medication

but also being a victim of insomnia , I can see why you have sought help . Insomnia is a terible thing

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

26. "Better living through pharmacology"

Gimme pills. Gimme shots. Gimme lots and lots of drugs. That's what they're there for!

Actually, I take pain pills for my arthritis, and every seven weeks I go to the hospital and get hooked up to an IV drip for my Remicade. Without it I'd be in a wheelchair by now. With it I can function almost normally.