should i try sleeping pills?

[behndy]

so, i don't sleep much. like 3-4 hours most nights. and i wake up every 3 hours if i do get more than 4 or so a night.

it hasn't really impacted me i think, i seem to function okay like this. and i've been in this pattern for about 10 or 15 years.

i'm a little curious if i'm missing out on any feeling better day to day stuff. mebbe the occasional bouts of slight depression i go through just feel normal 'cause i'm used to this?

i've had tons of friends encourage me to try some of the newer sleep meds. i don't take anything but an occasional vicoden recreationally, and i like the idea of not relying on drugs to get through the day.

any thoughts? experiences? WILL IT MAKE MY PEEN AS LARGE AS RON JEREMY'S LIKE ALL THE ADS PROMISE?

[Twangasaurus]

Tried Melatonin? A lot of sleeping meds are kind of cray-cray.

[hbombgraphics]

Melatonin is OK but you can wake up a bit groggy
the danger with any of them is that if you are in a bad sleeping pattern and you wake up in 4 hours the pills will just make you feel like you are walking in sand all day

Have you cut out any stuff that prevents sleep throughout the day? Afternoon coffee and such?

[space6oy]

my doc just put me on generic ambien. i've had a hideous time getting to sleep for years. think it's helping but am not really sure yet...

[behndy]

Twangy - i've not tried melatonin.

HBombah - that's my fear. either not being able to wake up like if someone's breaking in my house or my dog needs out, or being groggy which would.... kinda.... defeat the purpose of getting more sleep.

caffeine has never really kept me up. i get rambly and jittery if i drink a buttload of coffee, but i only have a cup 2ish days a week when i stop for bagles before work or at brunch when i eat out with friends. i drink a monster occasionally at work if it's been really busy and i'm dragging ass.

but it's not anything new. i THINK i'm happy like this, with smaller chunks of sleep, but i'm curious if i would feel better if i slept more like normal humans are s'posed to. but i've been like this really since i was 15 or so. shit. so like 20 years.

Spacey Hoy Toy - how are you liking the Ambien? i have a grrLy friend that texts me all drunken style incoherence and sends me risque pics when she's on an Ambien. then apologizes later. she gets pretty wiggly.

[hbombgraphics]

yeah I am a major sleep walker anyway so being more knocked out has never been healthy for me.
I am probably a 5-6 hour a night sleeper (less now with the baby)
If you feel good and don't get sick all the time I would just go with what your body can handle

[futuresailors]

Twangy - i've not tried melatonin.

HBombah - that's my fear. either not being able to wake up like if someone's breaking in my house or my dog needs out, or being groggy which would.... kinda.... defeat the purpose of getting more sleep.

caffeine has never really kept me up. i get rambly and jittery if i drink a buttload of coffee, but i only have a cup 2ish days a week when i stop for bagles before work or at brunch when i eat out with friends. i drink a monster occasionally at work if it's been really busy and i'm dragging ass.

but it's not anything new. i THINK i'm happy like this, with smaller chunks of sleep, but i'm curious if i would feel better if i slept more like normal humans are s'posed to. but i've been like this really since i was 15 or so. shit. so like 20 years.

Spacey Hoy Toy - how are you liking the Ambien? i have a grrLy friend that texts me all drunken style incoherence and sends me risque pics when she's on an Ambien. then apologizes later. she gets pretty wiggly.

pix?

But I've taken sleeping pills a couple of times. You know the like one day a month where you wake up and you're like "fuck yeah, I'm up! I'm awesome! You're awesome! let's have some toast!" It was like that.

I'd fux with that zzzquil.

[Achtane]

But I've taken sleeping pills a couple of times. You know the like one day a month where you wake up and you're like "fuck yeah, I'm up! I'm awesome! You're awesome! let's have some toast!" It was like that.

Welp now I know what I'm gonna be addicted to.
Imagine waking up positive. Imagine being ready to take on the day.
MY GOD...

[LaoWiz]

Ambien works pretty well. I have a prescription for generics but haven't refilled it in a year. But be careful taking sleep pills. You develop a tolerance and they start to not work as well. I used it when I knew that I needed sleep. Sometimes I would take a half or a quarter. Some people freak out on ambien, though. If you've had a couple of drinks that shot fucks you up fast and things get wobbly. I always like Valium better.

Also, have you tried a sound machine? I always have mine on a white noise setting that helps to drown out noise from the outside world. Like having the sound of an air conditioner on or loud fan. Helps me a lot. Exercise can help, too, if you are stressed and shit. Usually, when I can't sleep it's stress or my body is like, "where's the booze?", if I've had a few days of excessive drinking. That doesn't happen much anymore these days, though!

[LaoWiz]

But I've taken sleeping pills a couple of times. You know the like one day a month where you wake up and you're like "fuck yeah, I'm up! I'm awesome! You're awesome! let's have some toast!" It was like that.

Welp now I know what I'm gonna be addicted to.
Imagine waking up positive. Imagine being ready to take on the day.
MY GOD...

There's this stuff called Vyvanse which is prescribed for ADD. You could have shitty sleep, take a little bit of this shit in the morning, and then feel awesome. It's in a capsule so you just take what you need. Basically speed but in low dosages and some food in the stomach you don't get speedy and crazed. You just get shit done. Even the most horrible work is bearable as you plow through it. Haven't had it in a year. Better go see the doc soon!

[contraterrene]

i take a supplement called L-5-hydroxy tryptophan. i dont know if it helps me fall asleep, but it keeps me asleep. as an added bonus, it gives me crazy vivid dreams, and i almost never remember dreaming without it.
one night i dreamed that i invented a sitcom called Bum Limo, a reality show about 6 bums in a limo. i was psyched on the idea for weeks, haha

[Jeff-7]

Was on temazepam when I went through a bad period of depression and insomnia years ago. Knocked me out cold but I'd wake up kinda groggy, not as bad as say diphenhydramine though. Nowadays I just use a fan and the TV with the sleep timer set when I go to bed. If it's completely quiet I lay awake and think, my brain can't stop going if I don't have "white noise" like was mentioned earlier.

[dubkitty]

It doesn't sound like Ben's having trouble falling asleep, though. it can't hurt to try the pills--you can always stop taking them if you don't like them--but i think that if you've been this way for 20 years you're probably fine and set in a cycle that works for you.

[Jero]

What kind of mattress do you sleep on? Has it been the same one for the 10+ years you've had a sleep schedule like that?

[behndy]

yah. i kinda run on 3 hour cycles. i sleep for about 3 hours then wake up and it can take me about an hour to go back to sleep. so i usually don't get to bed till about 2 or so, then i have to be up at 6.45, so after a 3 or 4 hour cycle i'm pretty much up and ready for the day.

i usually wake up pretty positive. my grrL gets pissed off because i roll out of bed ready to go and she's always like, "give me 15 minutes, okay 10, fine FIVE fucking give me TWO DAMN MINUTES THEN I'LL GET UP.".

i feel like Dubby describers, where it's maybe been so long it's just a different way of sleeping i've adjusted to.

the hydroxy tryptophan sounds interesting. lol. i DO already wake myself up giggling at dreams as it is though. hurm.

thoughts. things to think on.

Jero - yah. i've had the same bed for about 7 or so years now i think. it's just a normal firm'ish mattress with a super awesome 3 inch foam top add-on. thing is COMFY. my pillow sucks lately, gonna grab a new one tonight. i do sleep for shit if i nod off on the couch. my couch isn't the best.