Progress Report: Sleep, Magnesium, Pain Mngmt

I have not had any Ambien CR since October 22nd. I'm still not sleeping too well, but mood has been good. I can't understand how a sleep med affected my mood so much, I took it at night to sleep and would have thought it cleared my system by morning.

Anyway, broken sleep every night, but I know I'm sleeping because I dream. My short term memory seems to be a bit better as well. I wake up feeling refreshed but get sleepy as day goes on.

I am having more frequent migraine pain, but the meds are still working pretty well. And now if I lay down during the day to try to sleep off the pain, I can actually sleep. While on Ambien CR, I literally could not drop off no matter what I took. Even ER trips only produced a short nap.

So, no more Ambien for me. My doctor wanted me to taper off not quit cold turkey so I can't get her to give me anything else to help me sleep until this "taper off" period is over. I copied down the schedule she suggested for the taper off, but I will not get back on the Ambien CR to taper off. I don't want to go back into that black mood I was in. I have 3 more weeks of "taper off" before I can get anything. I'm just going to have to tough it out.

I have increased my Magnesium tp 1200 mg daily. I take 3 (400 mg each) tablets every morning with my regular meds. The dosage instructions say 3 tablets daily with meals. So far, no improvement. And I notice I'm back to taking pain meds daily again. I don't know if its the lack of sleep. No bowel issues either. Magnesium can cause loose stool so I thought that was another good reason to take it. With this stupid IBS, I struggle with constipation complicated by pain medication. So far, nothing has changed.

I'm feeling pretty sleepy right now, but reminding myself that its not worth it to take a short nap now and not sleep tonight. I have to pick up kids from school anyway so I can't nap.

Anyone have any suggestions on sleep meds?

Have you tried melatonin? Pass it by your pharmacist to make sure it's ok with your other meds though. Lots of people find it works well for a sleep PRN.

I also found Tylenol PM works well. I just take one.

Congratultions on getting off Ambien, Kim!

I am sure it wasn't and is still not easy, no matter what.
I was wondering, how is your Vit D levels currently?

I have noticed after I had mine checked last year and found out they were too low, that once I started supplements
I was feeling a bit better, and slept a bit better. So maybe it's not Mag alone?

Also, I've heard L-tryptophan or 5-HTP is good for sleeping problems, too.
Supposedly is by prescription only, but it's here in Canada, I don't know about US.
http://www.raysahelian.com/tryptophan.html

The only question - can we take it with triptans?? I think we would have to ask our dr or pharmacist about that one.

Risa