Sleeping disorders...

My friend has a sleeping disorder, and he takes Ambien. The problem is, he sometimes hallucinates off them. He's tried other stuff but nothing works, and some leave a bad taste in his mouth the entire next day. He also has dreams where he wakes up and is half awake but still dreaming, and the other night he said something was crawling all over him. He said he has spoken to 3 different doctors about it. Does anyone else suffer from problems like this? What do you do about it?

Has he tried strong antihistamines (like Piriton)? They often have an almost knock out effect, especially if taken occassionally, without the horrible sideeffects you are discribing. Poor guy.

I have had night terrors, nightmares, and episodes of sleepwalking for years. What works for me is Zen meditation because it makes my subconscious mind relax. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm anti-medication, but I do my best to stay off of anything that will alter my body.

Has he tried going to a sleep clinic? They can teach a medication/behavioral approach that works well for some people.

I forgot to mention, he also has congestive heart failure. He is on a transplant list and everything. So I think he may need to be careful of what he takes....

Originally Posted by menagerie mama

I forgot to mention, he also has congestive heart failure.

He is on a transplant list and everything. So I think he may need to be careful of what he takes....

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The sleep disorder could be a side effect of the heart failure. Tell him to ask his cardiologist about it, I'm sure he/she would be able to help.

Originally Posted by lookingglass

I have had night terrors, nightmares, and episodes of sleepwalking for years.

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Eek. We could be twins!

He definitely needs to let his doctor know what is happening. There is a new sleeping medication called Rozerem that might help. (I have no idea if it is safe with CHF, though.) Or there are meds like Trazodone, Remeron or Seroquel that aren't sleeping pills, but cause most people to have more restful sleep.

He may need a referral to a sleep clinic, or at least have a sleep study done to see if he is having sleep apnea, which is where you quit breathing, then startle and resume breathing.

I have heard that Ambien can cause those kind of side effects in a VERY small percentage of patients. I believe they also include sleepwalking, sleep driving (EEEK!) and sleep eating (where you devour everything in your fridge without realizing it, also leading to unknown weight gain).

Def. talk to dr.s and i would also look at holistic options to help with relaxing to help the heart and the sleep paterns.

I have a friend who suffers from bad insomnia (as well as a host of other problems) and it turns out that her blood pressure was sky high and medications to lower her blood pressure also allowed her to sleep more naturally.

~Julia

There's also Lunesta.
It is non-narcotic and it is intended specifically for sleep.

My doc gave me some samples and it does work pretty well.
I don't think doc's have as much a problem prescribing it too since it is non-habit forming.

Sounds like he needs to stop the ambien!
Or maybe try the ambien CR. It is different.
There's also amitriptyline (Elavil) that is used for sleep among other things.
Or carisprodol (Soma) does the same.

Patty

I experienced some bad things with Ambien. I have really really bad insomnia and cannot sleep. I tried Ambien and sometimes I would wake up and find myself kissing my boyfriend and stuff. I didn't even know I was doing it!!! Not to get into that, but I'm just making a point that I would wake up and wonder who is in my bed with me. I have been with my boyfriend for four years and I would wake up not knowing who he was. I wouldn't even know where I was. It also made me feel like a zombie. During the day I felt soo drugged and sleepy. I don't know how I didn't kill myself driving. I kept nodding off at the wheel. That stuff is dangerous!! I would tell your friend to try to find a different medication. I know I struggle with not sleeping. It is very frustrating. I wake up a lot during the night. It's horrible not being able to sleep.

Originally Posted by menagerie mama

My friend has a sleeping disorder, and he takes Ambien. The problem is, he sometimes hallucinates off them. He's tried other stuff but nothing works, and some leave a bad taste in his mouth the entire next day. He also has dreams where he wakes up and is half awake but still dreaming, and the other night he said something was crawling all over him. He said he has spoken to 3 different doctors about it. Does anyone else suffer from problems like this? What do you do about it?

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I have severe anxiety syndrome and cannot sleep! I USED to use the bottle but now cannot even swallow alcohol so I take 100 mg Trazadone and 10 mg xanax to sleep. Days when I am relaxed enough I just take 5mg xanax with my trasadone!

Tell him to ask his doctor about this!

I also take trazadone, but men shouldn't take it. It causes a priapism. Can I say that on here??

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

Or there are meds like Trazodone, Remeron or Seroquel that aren't sleeping pills, but cause most people to have more restful sleep.

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I had tried Trazodone for a while when I was having panic attacks in the middle of the night. Best sleep I ever had, but I would wake up in the morning with my head throbbing... like I could feel every beat of my heart pulsing through my head. It was unreal.

Found out later that and feeling light headed if you stand up to fast first thing are a side effect of this. Eesh, I'm not sure it was worth it.

But then, not everyone has that side effect... so if he doesn't get that side effect it works really well for the sleeping part.

I have that problem of being half awake..well its like you are awake but paralyzed but not really awake. Often it feels like something is in the room with you or something crawling on you. Or sometimes I get the feeling of something crawling on me so bad I jump out of bed. I also have vivid dreams and if I am underwater in my dream I will hold my breath, though I think I'm starting to learn not to do that. All of these used to be really bad when I was younger and over time it is slowly starting to go away. But it still happens... I've never talked to a doctor about it. I do wonder if it has anything to do with my lack of energy and complete exhaustion sometimes though.

I have problems falling asleep. My body is exhausted, but the freaking brain won't turn off. And I just lay there, yawning, with my mind going 90mph thinking about nothing.... well something, but nothing important... like throwing a load of wash in, and how I have to order lunch for a conference in the morning, and then I think, why am I thinking about this, I'm tired, think about nothing.... nothing nothing nothing, did I leave a candle lit in the living room? Better go check... and this goes on for hours. So I take temazipam, you can take 1 or 2 pills depending on how heavy you want to be out. But you need to get 8hrs of sleep when you take them, and they don't give you that "hangover" effect the next morning either. And I only take them if I'm particularly wirey with alot on my mind.... and when I do take them it's usually only 1, cause once my mind fall's asleep my body will just keep on sleeping!

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

I have that problem of being half awake..well its like you are awake but paralyzed but not really awake. Often it feels like something is in the room with you or something crawling on you. Or sometimes I get the feeling of something crawling on me so bad I jump out of bed. I also have vivid dreams and if I am underwater in my dream I will hold my breath, though I think I'm starting to learn not to do that. All of these used to be really bad when I was younger and over time it is slowly starting to go away. But it still happens... I've never talked to a doctor about it. I do wonder if it has anything to do with my lack of energy and complete exhaustion sometimes though.

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He does have that sensation of things crawling on him! I didn't know what to make of it!

I have chronic insomnia and the most messed up sleep cycle of all times. I truly commiserate.