sleepless

Recently I stopped taking a muscle relaxer that I have been taking for more then 10 years for a back and neck issues. Now I am having a harder and harder time sleeping..what a pain! I stop taking a med that not only do I not need any more but to make me overall a healthier person (it is the last med I took pre surgery)..and I can't sleep. ~ugh~ any tips? I really hope it is just an adjustment period!

I was prescribed a sleep aid last year during a very stressful period.  I only take it when I am stressed or working a 5-12 and have to get up at 6 a.m. the next morning.  A couple of weeks ago I was very ill and took it for about 12 days straight in order to sleep....then the last two days I had to wean myself off...I don't get much sleep, but it takes the body a few days to get back into a regular sleep pattern without such aids.   Yours might require the same type of "tapering"...you can always buy Melatonin over the counter to help you sleep both my son and my husband take that...just check with the pharmacist.

Try Gravol. Just regular gravol, take 2 before bed....they work wonders in helping me sleep and don't give you the yucky sleeping pill hang over in the morning =) You can get the generic for like $5.99 for 100.

I had the same problem when I stopped taking a medication.  I didn't substitute other medications for it, instead I went for a walk right before bed and had a shower.  After a few days I didn't even need to do that.  Good luck!

Could you try slowly weaning yourself off rather than stopping all at once?  What does your family doctor say about your situation?  I used a sleep aid my doctor prescribed for a week during an extremely stressful time and it did help.  Maybe discuss this with your doctor.

its one of those things..you take or you dont..i talked to my dr about it last week because i have taken melatonin a few nights and wanted to know if that was a problem. He just said it is ineffective and did not give me further advice. with the melatonin i sleep for a few hours and wake up again..My guess is it will just take time. In the mean time..broken sleep sucks!