This is a weird subject but I was curious if any of you take any type of sleeping medication? I have 4 children and another one on the way (all either Irish twins or very close to) so needless to say I don’t always get the best sleep. My doctor put me on something called zaleplom and I have been having let’s just say “unusual” side effects. I have been sleepwalking multiple times under some pretty weird (and funny to some) circumstances. To me they’re embarrassing so I don’t want to get into too much detail. I will tell you my wife found me outside naked wearing a winter fur hat and hot pads on my hands. I know it may sound funny but it is terrifying. I have never blacked out, never sleepwalked and have never done anything that I don’t remember. I’m worried that I might try to go driving or something. Anyways, I also like to browse this site while in bed and I woke up to a post that I couldn’t understand. I thought maybe I had responded to someone who said something then deleted their post, then I thought maybe I meant to post somewhere else and accidentally put it on here, then I remembered that I took one of my sleepers. I want to have good repore on this site as it has been infinitely helpful time and time again. I don’t want to be making sleep posts that make me look like a lunatic.
Does anyone else on here take sleeping medication or have had similar experiences? I want to ask my doctor to put me on ambien but I’m afraid to ask because I feel like the doctor will feel like I’m trying to get some medication for nefarious purposes. I also don’t want to tell him that I got them from my mother in law because they were not prescribed to me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long rant.
Handcuff yourself to radiator pipe, you won’t go far and put everybody at risk.
Mike
Hahahaha! But what if I have to go to the bathroom? Oh, wait, duh. I can wear depends. Problem solved. Lol
First rule about medication is: NEVER take someone else’s medication.
Maybe your mother in law has a bit of a habit and requires stronger med’s to meet her needs.
And because you are a “novice” he might prescribe you a milder medication and a lighter dosage.
So please go and see your doctor and show him your deck of cards. All of it.
I bet he has seen it all before, unless you have nailed yourself to a barndoor, upside down.
Maybe you should test the water, by showing him a mole and ask him to look at it.
Or anything else that worries you, …. a tiny bit. And if you trust him, pop the question 100%.
Patient confidentiality is the cornerstone of the medical profession. Like a confession secret.
If he breaks it, he will be ousted in his own community.
Thank you for this suggestion. I actually used to use a lot those techniques but I am diagnosed with insomnia and when I use those techniques to become tired they work but if I don’t fall asleep in a very short window it’s like I’m wide awake again and can’t get tired. That’s why I had to get on the medication. I have been having to sleep on the couch some nights because the kids always wake me up and I can’t fall asleep. It makes me feel terrible leaving my 7 months pregnant wife in there with the kids but I can’t afford to be tired all day.
Yeah, I’m going to make an appointment today. This is sound advice. Thank you.
Do you think I should tell him about the ambien? It made me sleep well and no sleepwalking. That’s what I am afraid of is the sleepwalking.
I take antipsychotic meds that make me sleepy, and it is a lot worse now that I sit around home everyday twiddling my thumbs. I do most of my posts after taking meds, so I have productive things to do to stay awake and not sleep my life away from being inactive. I hope my posts make sense and are on topic, seriously. If I am making mistakes on here, the community has been nice enough not to grill me for it.
Lately, I wake up all over the house and backyard, but this is all new since the lock down started. At work I was always busy physically and mentally, and functioned great, but now I am a zombie and feel like junk. Funny how that works. I don’t dare drive these days. I get a ride from family when I really need to go somewhere.
Ambien does some nasty things to the brain, as the military found out.
Sounds almost a bit too obvious to ask if you’ve ever tried it, but for the rare times I can’t fall asleep, melatonin puts me out, and niacin keeps me out.
But for me, melatonin can be kinda weird. Pop it, maybe 20min later I’ll feel Mr Sandman coming, but if I force myself to stay awake (eg, to finish something) and miss that opportunity, forget it, game over. Mr Sandman goes home. Not even another hit will work.
NicOH puts you into a deeper sleep. 500mg is fine, but I tend to double-up to 1g being that I rarely take it. Bonus if you get a nice tingly “niacin burn”. 
Man, I’m really sorry to hear that. That sounds like no fun at all. As far as this post it is totally cogent and coherent.
I will give this a try. Thanks man.
Ambien is a common longer-term usage sleep medicine. The other one you’re taking is in a class of medications called benzodiazepines I believer meant to calm you down (a nervous system depressant). They can be addicting (xanax, Ativan are two well known drugs of this type) and have side effects like mood disturbances, hallucinations, or at worst suicidal thoughts or even behavioral issues and are more commonly used for things like anxiety disorders or panic disorders.
You might also try a natural way and take melatonin or tryptophan supplements. Those are naturally occurring and can help you fall asleep.
Or pop open a can of Ribs Sleep-Aid…
Thank you everyone for advice. This will give me a lot of options that I was unaware of.
As far as melatonin, you don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) overdo it, but it might take a while to dial in the “right” dose for you personally. I’d get the biggest dose then split into halves or even quarters (cheaper vs smaller-dose pills).
NicOH, just pop a gram and be done with it. You can get the “extended release” (“hex”) version if you want, but for me the straight-up version works fine. And I like the burn.
Oh, if this is a necessarily daily thing, don’t go over 1g/day of NicOH.
Zaleplon is a hypnotic, not a benzo AFAIK but that’s not much better.
If you don’t want to mention trying the ambien just tell your doc about the side effects of what you were prescribed and that you’re looking for something different.
It’s not recommended for long-term use but on occasion I’ll use diphenhydramine (Benadryl) when I really need to sleep and am not tired yet.
I have never been on any meds in 60 years, because for me, the cure for this life is soon and elsewhere. Please be careful with sleep meds, due to tolerance and withdrawal. Tolerance means that more and more is needed to get the same result. The initial dosage soon does not produce the result that it used to produce. Withdrawal means that stopping or reducing the med will cause rebound effect: The initial problem comes back, but not just that, but even worse. Sleep meds are best for very short term use. For ten years, before I retired, I participated in clinical staffings twice a week at JCAHO health facilities. Net result: The reasonable thought comes: Possibility of being mindful to avoid prescription sleep meds to avoid making the situation worse.
The only thing I take to sleep is Melatonin.
I like the time release version, though it's pricier.
Some of my meds might make me somewhat sleepy, but I take most of my meds before bedtime so it works out fine for me. 
...
By the way, I wouldn't touch any sleep medication other than Melatonin.
They're not supposed to be used in the long run, and can have serious side effects.
It sounds like you’ve already been diagnosed with significant difficulty sleeping, and Ambien reportedly works for your mother-in-law, so there should be no suspicion why you would ask about it, especially after you explain your sleep-walking.
It will be up to the doctor to counsel on this matter, but I don’t know whether Ambien is the right solution. As far as I can tell, it seems to be closely related, which makes me wonder if the effect could be intermittent to you.
I’m unclear from reading this thread - have you already tried limiting your light levels for 1-2 hours before bed, and did you already try melatonin? I would think the doctor would have suggested it before going with a prescription drug, but just in case, it seems worth mentioning.
If your kids are waking you because they sleep in your bedroom, then that seems like a compelling reason to start planning how to transition them to their own room, but I’d imagine you want relief faster than that would take, and to get caught up on sleep before attempting it.