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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / January 2004Can a T sufferer sleep without medication?
I am interested in finding out how a T sufferer could sleep without medication and in particular with those prescription medications. I would be very contented if I could sleep with something I could buy without a prescription. THX FP Hi Francis, Yes... it is quote possible to sleep without drugs. It just takes time. In fact, almost everyone I know with t. (and I would guess that most people with t. in general) do not use any sleeping medication. What keeps you awake is the anxiety that the t. causes, not the noise itself. It's impossible to sleep if your brain is racing worrying about t., listening to it, worrying about falling asleep, etc. As someone who is new to t., it may just take time for your anxiety to subside. Most people just 'get used to it' sometime within the first 1 to 2 years. It just ceases to be a big issue in your life. In the meantime, you may need some outside help in the form of medications, consulting, etc. I used sleeping medications for almost 2 years before I weaned myself off of them. I've been sleeping medication-free for over 3 years now. About the meds themselves, in another post you mentioned Xanax and Ativan. These are NOT tinnitus drugs or sleeping drugs... they are depressants... i.e. anxiety medications... like Valium. They calm the central nervous system and make you very relaxed... which helps greatly with sleep. They work like a dream but they are HIGHLY addictive and Xanax in particular can be nightmarish to try and get off of (from what I've heard). I would recommend only using these as a short term solution. Actual sleeping pills are things like Rhovane called 'hypnotics'. They work amazingly well to GET you to sleep but, in my experience, result is a very poor quality of sleep. At least you are sleeping tho' and they can help break the cycle of insomnia. As for over-the-counter meds... sorry... but they are pretty much useless in my experience. > I am interested in finding out how a T sufferer could sleep without > medication and in particular with those prescription medications. I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > FP >Hi Francis, > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >> >> FP When I was in the navy I slept right below the flight deck and more, I slept right below the high power engine testing station. TO make a point. I learned to sleep though it, it was loud anough to rattle my rack. I think Zuzu is right on the money. It is the anxeity, not the noise, that keeps people awake. Not to put too fine a point on it but a chill pill works well, even though they can be very tough to come by in the beginning of the search for same. Robin Thank you all. I wish I had not prescribed for myself in the beginning of the cycle by reading websites. The mentioning of alprazolam got me into it thinking it is a tinnitus medicine. Now, I am on 0.25 of ATIVAN and making an effort to get rid of it. Thus some kind of substitute such as melontony and herbs pills could be OK, i suppose. FP ================================ > >Hi Francis, > > [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > Robin Whatever works right? You may have to experiment. Just so you know... I don't think you have anything to worry about in terms of addiction. Three weeks on Ativan isn't too long... and .25 mg is an almost homeopathic dose! LOL :) You should be able to get off the Ativan no problem. What I used to use was Rhovane and later, Elavil... but I always had some Ativan on hand in case of 'emergency'... i.e... three nights in a row with no sleep. Ativan is fine to take now and then if you really need a good night's sleep. > Thank you all. I wish I had not prescribed for myself in the > beginning of the cycle by reading websites. The mentioning of > alprazolam got me into it thinking it is a tinnitus medicine. Now, I > am on 0.25 of ATIVAN and making an effort to get rid of it. Thus some > kind of substitute such as melontony and herbs pills could be OK, i > suppose. xanax in very low doses will help and will not be habit forming. i use it only on rare occasions now, but used to take 1mg/day on an ongoing basis. jeff > Hi Francis, > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > > > FP > xanax in very low doses will help and will not be habit forming. i use it > only on rare occasions now, but used to take 1mg/day on an ongoing basis. I suppose different individuals react to drugs differently. Perhaps your innitus is almost gone. When I take 0.5mg of ATIVAN, I have to try hard to find the noise in day time. But the moment i try to trim it, the noise comes right back up. I suppose the only answer is: try it under a doctor's supervision. FP ================================== jeff > > Hi Francis, > > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > > > > > FP "francispoon" <fyfpoon@hotmail.com> wrote in message > When I take 0.5mg of ATIVAN, I have to try hard to find the noise in day time. Having the big T is not fun, as we all know. I respectfuuly suggest that "trying hard to find the noise" under any circumstances is a counter productive endeavor. That only preps your mind to keep vigilent for the noise. Those of us who have successfully lived with T (regardless of the extent of our early struggle) probably began the journey to acceptance/habituation by focusing outward and away from the noise. Some did this naturally, others used hypnosis, cognitive therapy, TRT, etc. PaulS >(francispoon) writes: > I >would be very contented if I could sleep with something I could buy >without a prescription. ..................................... Benadryl an over the counter antihistimine worked for me know and then when I had trouble sleeping. If you are already taking prescription meds for sleep you should wean off these first. Fy , you seem to be beating yourself up because your taking prescription meds. Perhaps you need them for now and should'nt try to get off them till you habituate your tinnitus. - jean - jean i agree with this advice. jeff > >(francispoon) writes: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > - jean > - jean > >(francispoon) writes: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Perhaps you need them for now and should'nt try to get off them till you > habituate your tinnitus. I am taking less than 0.5 mg of ATIVAN, which is a prescription medicine and melatony. Not only it is expensive to be prescribed but very troublesome too. In China, only mental hospitals prescribe them. I have been on them for about 3 weeks and am trying to trim it down and move to something less addictive and hopefull does not need a doctor's prescription every 2 weeks. But ATIVAN is a naughty pill. The noise level comes right back when it goes below 2/3 of a pill. My doctor in China suggests me to try another branch of alprazolam but I want to know if BENADRYL an ENT doctor here has suggested could be a substitute for ATIVAN. What do you think? FP > - jean > - jean You could try a presciption sleeping pill like Rhovane or Ambien. Again, Ativan is not specifically a sleeping pill. It works great for sleep, but that's not it's primary purpose and yes, it is very addictive. Things like Rhovane and Ambien are much easier to get off of. I don't find they work as well as Ativan... but it's better than not sleeping at all. Another thing I used (off label) was Elavil. Elavil is an old school anti-depressant which, for me at least, has a very strong sedative effect. If I take 10 mg about 2 hours before bedtime... it just knocks me right out. The dose for depression is at least 75 mg btw. No matter what you take tho', there are drawbacks. Ativan is addictive and pretty much everything else gets you to sleep by results in poor quality sleep. In the end... your long term goal should be to sleep natually... there is no substitute for natural sleep and no pill that will give it to you. For now... find a drug that works and don't worry about it so much... natural sleep will come in time... when you're ready and when your t. has become less of an issue for you. > My doctor in China suggests me to try another branch of alprazolam but > I want to know if BENADRYL an ENT doctor here has suggested could be a > substitute for ATIVAN. > > What do you think? >I want to know if BENADRYL an ENT doctor here has suggested could be a >substitute for ATIVAN. > >What do you think? ........................ FY, I would not try substituting Benadryl for Ativan on your own. Benadryl is an over the counter medicine in the USA used primarily for allergies and cold symptoms. I know very little about medicines but from what I've read ativan is not "highly addictive" like xanax. Problem is everyone reacts differently to drugs especially central nervous system depressants. What may be easily given up by one person may be very hard to do by another. Since you are in China you must depend on your doctor for medical advice. Gleen all the information you can about tinnitus and treatments from newsgroups and internet sources and bring them to your physician. Some of us have gotten relief from antidepressants such as zoloft, and elavil in low doses. Unfortunatly what works for some does not help others. - jean > >I want to know if BENADRYL an ENT doctor here has suggested could be a > >substitute for ATIVAN. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > I would not try substituting Benadryl for Ativan on your own. My doctor in China, an ENT specialist, suggests me to switch from ATIVAN to ESTAZOLAM. According to him, the latter is more commonly available and is less addictive. ATIVAN, or lorazelam, is available in drug rehabitation centres or mental hospitals only. Rdg., FP =========================== > Benadryl is an over the counter medicine in the USA used primarily for > allergies and cold symptoms. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > - jean try one of those "noise makers". i have one that works on batteries and plays 6 or 8 different "natural" sounds, like birds chirping. i like the crickets the best. called "summer night". there is one called "sea shore" that is nice too. it really does help! jeff > I am interested in finding out how a T sufferer could sleep without > medication and in particular with those prescription medications. I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > FP > try one of those "noise makers". i have one that works on batteries and > plays 6 or 8 different "natural" sounds, like birds chirping. i like the > crickets the best. called "summer night". there is one called "sea shore" > that is nice too. it really does help! Where could you buy a "noise maker" online? Rdg., FP =============================================== > jeff > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > > > FP There are several FREE noise makers available. 2 are mentioned on http://eebee.net/sound/sound.html including instructions on how to make your own CDs. Tinnitus is a pain in the neck Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://www.eebee.net/ http://www.tinnitusrelief.net/ For email: elly at eebee.cjb.net >> try one of those "noise makers". i have one that works on batteries and >> plays 6 or 8 different "natural" sounds, like birds chirping. i like the [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> > >> > FP >Where could you buy a "noise maker" online? .................................. There are some simple techniques you can try at home tonight. Turn your tv to a non-station (snow and static) and adjust the volume to match the volume of your tinnitus. Showering and letting the water beat on the back of your neck can sometimes lessen tinnitus and relax your neck muscles at the same time. Turn your water faucet on to mask the tinnitus. There are music and nature cd's you can buy that can mask tinnitus and relax at the same time. Cd's like Mountain Streams, or Thundering Rainstorms that mimic rain, waterfalls, running streams can be purchased in most music stores. - jean Principles of falling asleep include: Shower to neck to remove built up lactic acid Good algebra book Same time to bed Avoid caffeine after 8 Comfortable bed and sheets. Try folling asleep with TV on. or clock music radio. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com |
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