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Doxepin and Insomnia

Posted , 5 users are following.

jay98690
jay98690

Hello, I've been struggling with insomnia on/off now for over a year. The doctor has tried several different medications, Temazapam, Clonazapam, and a few anti-anxiety medications to include, Lexapro, Trazadone, Mirtazapine and now Doxepin. Thus far, Mirtazapine (7.5 to 15 mg) gave me the best relief, however it stopped working about two months ago. So far with the Doxepin, it doesn't seem to be helping much. I've been taking 50mg for almost two weeks now. The doctor suggests I bump it up to 75mg. I've had little side effects but my question is how can some folks take between 3 and 6 mg of Silenor (Doxepin) and get to sleep and here I am at 50mg and potentially going to 75 mg. with no relief yet? Does this take a few weeks to see improvement for chronic insomnia. I also take Magnesium Taurate and Melatonin for sleep. If that still doesn't work I reach for the Benzos. My ultimate hope is that 75 mg of Doexpin will do the trick. Has anyone else had luck with 75 mg of Doxepin?

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • lily65668
    lily65668 jay98690

    Posted

    Sorry to hear about your problems Jay. I know this won't be much help, but I'm afraid the problem is that you've been taking sleep and anxiety meds for too long, and your body has developed tolerance to them. It can help a bit to swap them around, but they all provoke tolerance in the end, particularly if you've been on a wide variety.

    I'm a bit surprised your doctor is still prescribing anything from the benzo group on a long-term basis, as these are known to be highly addictive. In Europe, this group is normally only prescribed long-term for its anticonvulsant properties (clonazepam) or to elderly people who've been on benzos for many years, as a result of careless prescribing in the 1960s and 70s, and who can never come off them as a result.

    I'm sorry if this sounds bleak, but I'm afraid you're going to have to research other methods of improving your sleep, or coping with less sleep.

    • jay98690
      jay98690 lily65668

      Posted

      Thank you. I'm actually considering acupuncture at this point as well.

    • venkatesan21677
      venkatesan21677 jay98690

      Posted

      Dear Jay Im 55 years & I have been taking Clonazepam 5 for the past 3 months. Besides that Im also taking Elesert 100 which was working in the initial stage is now not working and during night I miss sleep. During night Im even switching off the night lamp which irritates me. From today onwards I have decided to take only Elesert 50 as these medicines should not be suddenly stopped. Even at the age of 90 many elders r sleeping without any disruption. But even a small change in the brain disrupts our normal life. So I suggest that slowly u can reduce mgs. I m also taking Homeopathy medicines which has given tremendous effect on my health. Ok.

       

    • lily65668
      lily65668 jay98690

      Posted

      A friend of mine who suddenly went through a period of poor sleep around the age of 50, and who'd tried everything including hypnosis and homeopathy, found acupuncture very effective. However, it took about six months of regular sessions.

      I also agree with some of the other posters on here. Having got yourself well and truly hooked on sleep meds, it would be inadvisable to stop suddenly. It's better to taper.

      I was always a poor sleeper, even from childhood, and my sleep pattern was permanently wrecked in my mid-20s, when I took a nur sing job that involved working an impossible shift system. After a year or so of that, I never got back even to the poor sleep that was normal for me.

      I never took sleep meds - knew far too much about them - but used to rely on taking a dose of antihistamines two or three nights in a row after a run of particularly bad nights. Then I'd just tough it out for the next week or so, to avoid getting hooked on them. (Antihistamines, when used as a sleep med, are just as addictive as the prescription kind.)

      I survived for another 40 years, to the end of my working life, getting poor sleep. It makes you tired but it doesn't seriously affect your health. I'm perfectly fit and healthy now, at age 73. Interestingly, I found that once I retired from paid employment I started sleeping well again. There's a message in there somewhere!

      Someone calling himself bemmeh put up a very wise post on these boards a couple of years ago. I wish I'd heard his words 50 years ago. He gave me permission to quote him, so here goes:

      Partial quote from bemmeh:

      ...The moment I stopped struggling against insomnia it simply started going away, though not suddenly. It took quite a while. But the improvement was real from the start. Insomnia is not a thing in itself. The ability to sleep is so strong among us, humans or animals in general, that it is almost impossible to seriously alter it. Insomnia in us humans appears when we TRY (and therefore struggle) to sleep. You just need to stop doing all the things you are doing FOR sleeping and let your body and mind do whatever they want - if you sleep it's OK but if you don't, that's OK too (everybody has bad sleep for all kinds of reasons once in a while). When sleep time comes just go to bed, close your eyes, and rest. Don't TRY to sleep, as you are used to do. Just rest! If sleep comes that's OK, if it doesn't that's OK too, you haven't been very successful in getting the amount and quality of sleep you have desired anyway - that's why you call yourself an insomniac. So why keep on trying/desiring? Just let it go. Accept your reality and move on to the things in life you can control over. Sleep is not something we can control. You just need to trust your body and mind for it and stop trying to do anything whatsoever for it. Good luck!

      End quote.

  • linda44908
    linda44908 jay98690

    Posted

    You might try to add 5-HTP, GABA, L-theanine and passion flower to your evening repertoire. I used to take 32mg of Tamazapam a night but, after two years, I had gottten used to it. My sleep doctor added Trazadome 150mg. This was far too much, lingering into the following day. I have been able to cut down to 16mg of Tamazapam and 75mg of trazadome. I found a cognitive behavioral app that helped me improve my sleep. The OTC supplements I take were approved by my sleep doctor. In time I hope to cut down and finally eliminate the prescription medication. After years and years of doing shift work, including many years of overnights, my doctor was not sure if I could sleep normally again.
  • venkatesan21677
    venkatesan21677 jay98690

    Posted

    Dear Lily I fully accept your words.  When our body is well as soon as we go to bed we will sleep. But even after taking pills we don't have sleep. But the sleep pattern differs from one person to another. Keeping our mind relaxed makes us feel better & automatically sleep. Sharing experience make everyone better.

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