[font=Book Antiqua]It is stated that Insomnia is not treatable. I do not know.I am suffering from the same for quite some time.I was prescribed Benzodiazepines and have been taking for quite some time.In early 2005 I suffered from Depression caused due to tolerance developed to the Benzos. It was the way the diagnosis was done.

After being thru. Antidepressants for over two and a half year I was put on Tranqlizers again that is again benzodiazepines. I am still an insomniac. I do not have any major symptom of depression . May be it is on account of the ADs that I am taking.

It is to find out if insomnia treatable or is it on ' As is where is' kind of disease like Blood pressure and Diabetes. My problems are on account of Insomnia.
For advice.[/font]

Hello harpreetsingh,

I have tried many antidepressants and certainly found that some reduced my sleep badly and some increased my sleep.

I don't think it is possible to say for any one person which tablets will increase or decrease sleep.
You might try telling your doctor of your situation and ask for a change of tablet based on his/her experience.

Welll worth trying, and good luck!!

Try a natural approach. See if your doctor thinks it is a good idea to try say valerian and melatonin instead (I used to sleep about 4 hours a night, now I sleep a good 8-9).

Too bad about the benzodiazepines. I love temazepam, I have the most vivid dreams--well at least the like 4 times I took it

I would get off the benzos as your higher end dosing of benzos will leave you with gaps in your short and long term memory.

Trazadone is well documented to induce sleep shortly after ingestion (25mg or 50mg is the suggested dosage range,personally I use 50mg) and also raises REM levels.I do't know of a *SINGLE OTHER DRUG* used for sleeping and/or depression that exerts this effect.

If you are extremely stimulated,I'd take around 500mg theanine on an empty stomach a couple hours before the trazadone.You may very well need to use theanine (as it potentiates GABA) to deal with anxiety in the evening,as benzo withdrawl is not remotely a good time.

bummer to hear about the insomnia...i used to have it really bad, but it just kind of went away. well, im actually on several medications now and any one of them could have helped solve the sleeplessness issue.
but as far as benzodiazepines go, it has to go without saying that the tolerance to the hypnotic effects is probable the first things to happen when taking a benzodiazepine of any kind. however, there are some people who somehow retain some efficacy even after decades of use, but i wouldnt count on being one of those lucky few.
another option is the newer hypnotics, like ambien or lunesta which have studies showing either no tolerance or at least very slow tolerance to their hypnotic effects. i believe these drugs are, however, just glorified benzodiazepines, seeing as how they bind at the gaba(a) receptor much like benzodiazepines. however, they seem to only bind to the gaba(a) 1 subunit recpeptor instead of all 5 or 6 (i forgot how many exactly) that benzodiazepines do. this explains why ambien and lunesta are really only good for sleep and not anxiety, muscle relaxation or pain modulation. sigh.
if all else fails, start with the atypical antipsychotics. especially zyprexa or seroquel. if those fail, then i dont know what to say...someone else may have better suggestions!

alreadydamned

"I would get off the benzos as your higher end dosing of benzos will leave you with gaps in your short and long term memory."

I have been on benzos for years and have memory problems. I asked but no one seems to think they are the cause. I have never read about it. Do you think if I go off of them some of these problems might get bettter?

On another note. I have pretty bad insomnia. Everything I have tried wears off. ONe thing I have been using lately is combining valium say 5-10mg with several capsules of valarian. As long as I don't take it every day I have had quite a bit of luck/sleep:) with this. good luck. Also make sure when you open the bottle of valairian it stinks a lot . If it does not it is stale and no good.

Iris

Benzos are amnesic. So you probably would notice memory improvements off them.
I don't have that many noticeable memory problems when I drink, but when I've taken benzos and drunk, I get strange memory blanks from that night. GABA receptors, which benzos and alcohol target, are the one of the most numerous receptors in the brain and they have many different subtypes. Some people would be more susceptible, through individual genetic variation, of a memory impairment effect by benzos.

Tried sleep hygiene?

Do you exercise? Can you improve your diet? If all of those are in check I would then think about supplementing with 5-HTP and possibly a sleep study.

GHB

To relieve insomnia - work out until you are dead tired, make sure you stretch (or boy will you ever feel it in the morning) and then you will be too tired to stay awake.

Hey, it works, when your mind is tired and has the choice between sleep or being more tired - it chooses sleep. Another thing i have found that works is progressive muscle relaxation.

Temazepam is the cleanest and best insomnia treatment, but you need 22.5 or 30 mg caps, not the 7.5 or 15 mg caps. I need the 30s. Temazepam does not use CYP to metabolize, has no P-450 induction/inhibition interactions with other drugs, has no active metabolites, and it holds steady for some hours then drops completely out of the system rapidly. Temazepam does not interfere with sleep architecture like other benzos do. Temazepam does not have strong mind blowing side effects like ambien and some non-benzo sleep aids do. You wont do things and not remember what you did with Temazepam Temazepam lasts longer than ambien and triazolam, yet not much longer and drops out of the system fast with no active metabolites. Temazepam is the single best sleeping drug.

Temazepam is carcinogenic and has been found to be both photogenotoxic and photocytotoxic. Studies on animals have demonstrated teratogenic and also carcinogenic effects of temazepam and some other benzodiazepines and the wide spread use of these drugs world wide is of major concern for human health.

Genotoxic drugs have the potential to cause genetic mutations, DNA damage and promote the development of cancer including tumors.

Should this be a cause for concern?