Silenor for Sleep
Posted , 3 users are following.
I have been taking Silenor (5 mg) for sleep the last several days. It has been helpful, but last night after 30 minutes of going to bed, I was starting to fall asleep or felt like I was in this state of being almost asleep and half awake, then I suddenly became fully awake, and felt confuse and disoriented. I decided to get up and noticed my heart rate starting to increase. I tried to ignore, but it contiuned to increase and then finally stay there. My hands also started to shake a little. I was not having a panic attack. I rode it out and eventually my heart rate went back to normal. I think I was having some kind of reaction to the sleeping aid. Has anyone had this experience on a sleep aid? Did I take too much or too little? I'm thinking that while on the sleep aid my body was reacting because I was suppose to be asleep. I wonder what caused to fully awake.
1 like, 3 replies
lily65668 nickz711
Posted
Google Silenor. All your symptoms are on the list of side-effects. It probably took a few days for the side-effects to build up. Maybe try taking a lower dose? Or stopping it altogether? It's not one of the antidepressants that causes severe withdrawal symptoms.
nickz711 lily65668
Posted
Thank you Lily for taking the time to respond. I have the same problem on other sleep aids too. I'll try a lower dose. Many thanks.
lily65668 nickz711
Posted
Have you tried first-generation OTC antihistamines? (Promethazine, chlorphenamine, diphenhydramine - the type that make you sleepy.) Much safer than prescription sleep meds and antidepressants, though you can develop tolerance to antihistamines too.
I used these (promethazine was my favourite) throughout my entire working life, without ever developing tolerance. 50 years down the line they still work on the rare occasions I need to take them no<. But I never took them every night, only a max of 3 nights in a row a couple of times a month. They worked like a dream on the nights I took them, and that was usually enough to calm my fear of not sleeping for a few nights after I stopped. Then I'd start not sleeping again and just tough it out for the next week till it was time to get my antihistamine fix again. The dose I needed never went up either.
To be perfectly honest, a lot of the result was placebo. Sometimes there'd be nights when I'd take my promethazine, as I thought, sleep like a log... then find the little blue pill sitting on the kitchen worktop next morning! But that's the nature of most insomnias - the more sleepless nights we have, the more scared we get that we won't sleep and so on ad infinitum.
If you do want to try antihistamines, make sure they're first-generation, not the modern ones that don't make you sleepy. And don't wait till bedtime to take the dose - take it at least an hour before bed. They take a while to kick in and the effect isn't very strong, so if you're still awake half an hour after taking the pill at bedtime your anxiety will keep you awake anyway. And never take a second dose of antihistamines later in the night if the first dose doesn't work - especially if you're driving next morning. Although they're mild they can make some people feel very groggy if you don't give them time to wear off.