To consider buying sleeping pills online

[Lovestonap]

I have always had a history of insomnia coming and going, normally only on nights where I particularly need sleep, e.g. Before exams etc. At school it would always be Sunday nights I couldn't sleep on. I get anxious about it, and normally by about midnight I know I won't be getting to sleep at all.

Since starting my new job in September which I quite enjoy but is quite hard work Sunday nights have again become a problem, as I know I need to get up at 6 for an early shift.

Doctors won't give me sleeping tablets. I understand why, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about this problem.

Over the last 20 years I have tried all manner of remedies, meditation etc. Essentially if my mind says I need to get to sleep I become anxious and won't sleep. I can do breathing and grounding exercises til the cows come home but it ain't happening. My tired frazzled mind keeps me awake.

One can't call in sick for work because of lack of sleep, and if I ever did this it would just make the pressure worse for the next Sunday night.

So WIBU to order 14 zopiclone online. They cost a lot. 50 quid, but if I only needed one every Sunday night that's essentially 3 months of sleep.

Ethically, legally etc I think I know it's not a good idea, but I'm not sure what else to do?

Perhaps if I did it and then gave them to my DH with instructions for only one a week, that could safeguard me from addiction?

Honestly, all it takes it the thought 'I bet I won't be able to sleep tonight' and that can knock sleep on the head for me. I really do feel your pain. Working nights and my non-sleeping child did for my lovely sleep patterns.

Amazingly, the placebo effect works, even if you know is a placebo effect! So those pills might work. I tell you what beats meditation and all that stuff for me... I think "I will be dying to stay in this bed at 7am so I might as well enjoy it now" and I imagine it's 7am and I know I have to go to work. And how lovely it would be just to be awake and in bed. It makes me at least appreciate the bed. And not feel so frustrated and angry.

Right! Off to sleep with me!

Buy Phenergan. It is an old school anti-histamine. We can get it without prescription here in Australia.

That is what my Doctor told me to use, instead of sleeping pills.

It is bullshit what that other poster said about the doctor not letting you have sleeping pills for a good reason. I also have sleep anxiety and suffer the exact same thing.

So I use Phenergan. Good luck.

GABA 700 can be bought online and is natural. Take 2, wait an hour and if no effect take 2 more. Brilliant stuff.

Try a different GP. Mine is happy to prescribe zopiclone as long as it's not for every night use. I have chronic insomnia. Just be aware it makes some people feel a bit spaced out the next day, I find I have to take it around 7pm for it to have worn off fully by 7am.

I wouldn't buy online.

I second trying melatonin. You can get high dose ones that are very effective.

Melatonin messes with your hormones though. I was given it over the counter in Amsterdam (I naively didn’t even know what it was) and I had bleeding irregularly for 4 months. Something to be aware of.

I vote different gp too. I am on my second prescription of once a week zopiclone. Mine is only once a week because of my work/family set up.
I’ve started early morning waking again (but quite proud managed to stay off mn) but won’t take a zopiclone because I have work the next day.
Good luck kxx

Can you link to some studies please cantaloupe. This is not something I have heard and would be interested to read.

Sorry to hijack your thread OP but I have the same issue so I really sympathise! Would people recommend Phenergan or Doxylamine more?

I too have tried the boots OTC sleep aid and it did absolutely nothing for me, neither does the herbal stuff etc. I’ve tried yoga, reading etc etc. Am at my wits end now, truly. I look like shit too at the moment, bags under my bleary eyes, I never normally get spots luckily but I have a few at the moment and I think it’s due to lack of sleep. I have a very physical job too so physically, I’m exhausted each evening, but mentally I can’t shut down!

Restavit is the only OTC that works for me My doc also gives me 10 sleeping tablets at a time as he knows he can trust me to take them not more than once a week. I feel your pain though, I'm exactly the same and its bloody annoying.

Liquid Nightnurse always knocks me out!

I've found Kirkland sleep aid to be good. It's on eBay. Far better than nytol.

CBD oil. Won't mess you up like prescription sleep medication.

Lovestonap, have you considered asking your doctor to refer you for sleep therapy?

I have a colleague who suffered from insomnia almost her entire life. She was referred for sleep therapy and the difference it made to her is amazing. She now gets at least 6 hours of unbroken sleep almost every night and is like a different person.

Melatonin helped me no end, as does a stroll around the block with the dog last thing.

The only thing that works for me aside from zopiclone is antihistamine. I know that's not what it's for but have you tried it?

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I've been on a concoction of meds for my insomnia and anxiety -mirtazapine worked but made me put on a lot of weight very quickly. Zopiclone did nothing for me at all.

Bizarrely what does work for me is Sominex. I can't take a whole one if I have stuff to do the next day as it makes me very groggy due to having actual sleep, but might be worth a go.

I don't take it every night or even every week. I've just had a whole two weeks off it and I've not slept more than 3 hours a night this whole time, so I will be buying a box tomorrow and playing catch up before I go back to work Thursday.

look at mindfulness and other relaxation techniques.

no caffeine (tea, coffee, chocolate) after noon on sunday.
a nice routine (exercise-bath/shower-audio book) can help as well

Kirkland sleep aid is Doxylamine. I found it much better than any OTC ones here in the UK too. I'm not sure why it's not available here.

Phenergen is good and also good for anxiety. OH buys melatonin on iherb for when he is jet lagged.

I love phenargan. I always sleep like a log!

If you buy it over the counter it's only licenced for use as a travel sickness medication - if you say you need it to sleep they won't sell it.

You have to say it's for travel sickness and that you've had it before!

I’ve had zopiclone and tbh it works best by reducing my anxiety. I know if I can’t sleep I have it so 14 tablets lasts me 6 months. There’s no way you can get addicted to it in uk with them giving you two weeks at a time because addiction comes with you having to increase your dose to get the same effect. You get rebound insomnia if you take it a few days on the trot so unless you have months of supply there’s no incentive to not follow instructions and take as little as you can manage.

Do you really think stuff you can buy online is safe though? That’s the crux here. I would try another gp first but be careful because if they think your seeking meds they will outright refuse.

Also, I am still muggy for c. 2 hours after I wake up from zopiclone, I wouldn’t want to drive first thing after taking it. I tend to take it when I’ve had a awful few days and then I get the bus the next day. Takes 1.5 hours to get to work rather than 20 mins drive but I darent risk driving on it. Or I take it Saturday so if I sleep terribly Sunday It’s with a good nights sleep in the bank. It’s when I have a few days on the trot of 3 hours sleep I stop functioning

As suggested above phenagen is extremely effective and safe - there is no way you can stay awake on it at the right dose. It can be bought in the pharmacy or online for approximately £7 a pack. It's not addictive.

I use it when working nights on my 1st night shift to force myself to reset my body clock on to nights and get an undisturbed sleep if the DCs are in the house with my DH. The only negative is that it lasts a very long time so for a 7am start I would take it at 7pm so I am not too groggy in the morning and therefore not practical to take regularly.

MrsTerry You are right about US overprescribing, and I agree that it is far more dangerous than NHS conservative thinking. I hate the "there's a pill for everything" attitude. A US doctor prescribed a very expensive antibiotic for nappy rash (which I didn't give my daughter).

However, there are good and bad things about health care in all the countries I have travelled to. It is very interesting to see how differently the same problem is treated in different countries- just goes to show what an inexact science medicine actually is. Sometimes, for a thoughtful and conservative patient, having a doctor who trusts and believes you when you say: "I have tried everything- please help me with a prescription" can just be such a relief.

I still think that the OP sounds like someone who would actually benefit from, and correctly use, sleeping pills. Some people do just take them once a week for a short time.

Trazadone? Valerian? Have you been referred to a sleep clinic or been offered CBT?