Sleep meds?

I've been on Ambien for a while now. At one point, I thought it was losing it's effectiveness, so I asked to switch to something else, and tried Lunesta. It was newer at that point, and my co-pay was ridiculous, but I thought I'd give it a try and see if it was worth it. Wasn't really, so I went back to the Ambien. Then, after a while, I noticed a "warning" on the side of the bottle saying to take on an empty stomach. I did that, and it was working like a charm. Now, I'm back to square 1. I've taken my Ambien about an hour ago, empty stomach and I am absolutely not feeling anywhere near sleepy. My body is tired, but not sleepy. I thought of taking another one, but that's a no-no.

Have I built up a tolerance to Ambien? Is there another drug(s) that may help me get to sleep easier/faster? Ambien used to knock me out within minutes after taking it. I would take it, grab the dog, and barely remember crawling into bed. It worked that fast.

Any suggestions out there. I be needing my sleep!!!

Thanks in advance!

the mild sedative tranquilizer trazadone at a 25-50 mg/night.  it increases serotonin, which allows for better sleep.  you will not form a tolerance to trazadone as you would to other agents, if anything, you will find you'll need lesser amounts as time goes on.....restful sleep to you.

I just saw my doc this week and I totally forgot to bring up this issue, as we had so many other things to talk about. I will call his office tomorrow and get his thoughts....thanks for the suggestion!

I had been on ambien for years. I am a terrible insomniac, due to some PTSD. Many years ago, my youngest son fell into our pool and nearly drowned (was blue and not breathing when I pulled him out!). He made a fast and complete recovery, but I was still dealing with that when my father died 2 weeks later! I was a wreck, couldn't sleep, was terrified that something else would happen.

Ever since then, I can't sleep a full night. So Mr. Ambien came along and I could sleep again. But having been on it many years, I started getting a tolerance for it. So my doc switched me to temazepam. And it's working for now. I've been on it about a year now.

As far as the PTSD, I'm over it for the most part. I've come to terms with some things, so now I think the insomnia is just due to the "habit" I had of waking up every few hours to check on my children. I try not to take sleep meds every night and hope to wean myself off of them one day.

 My son has terrible sleep problems, and they put him on Seroquel at first, which worked wonderfully....worked on me a little too well.  When I took it, I literally fell face first into my MIL's lap in mid sentence.  Out like a light.  I had to stop taking it because my kids were all teens at the time, so there was no way I could take that and keep up with those hooligans!  LOL  Later my son was put on Trazadone and it works very well.  He's usually up and down all night long, and has a heck of a time falling asleep period.  He's usually out like a light in about 30-45 min. after taking it.

I love my trazadone. I use a full load dose of 150 mg, though. The additional antidepressant support is a lovely bonus for me.

Thank you all for the advice. I meant to call my doc today, and time slipped.

I think I'm going to see if he will let me try this trazadone route for a while. I honestly think I could use a bit of an anti-depressant support as well.

Again, thank you all!

Ambien comes in several doses 5mg,10mg, and a 12mg extended release. You will build up a tolerance. Trazadone is a wonderful med. 25mg-400mg.You can build up a tolerance to trazadone as well but a lot slower

FYI, for those of you with insurance, Lunesta has a $50 off the monthly copay coupon: http://tinyurl.com/3rene5y
Ambien made me crazy as a road lizard but Lunesta and I are BFFs.

Used to do Ambien, stopped working and the side affects/nightmares/ horror dreams were awful.

Switched to Lunesta and I sleep a SOLID 6-7 hours and wake up refreshed. It is my new love for about a month or so now.