Getting desperate for a good nights sleep - has anyone ever been prescribed hard core sleeping tablets and did they work?

[Strumpetpumpet]

I’m 55, been on HRT for 2 years and recently increased dose on advice from Newson health so I now take
oestrogel 4 pumps
utrogestan 2 tabs
testosterone gel
also taking magnesium glycinate, vitamin d, ashwaghanda for anxiety

i rarely have a problem falling asleep but I’m averaging about 4 hours a night and I’m at the end of my tether. I had a really good night about 3 weeks ago, I’d gone to bed at 8pm absolutely shattered, and woke a few times but in total I got about 8 hours sleep and I felt amazing, I’d forgotten what it’s like to get a good nights sleep, but unfortunately it was a one off, and I can’t do that every day because I don’t normally get home from work until 7 ish.

I’ve tried amitriptyline which the gp prescribed a couple of years ago but it didn’t help, so I’m reluctantly wondering if I should ask for something hard core.

If I could just win the lottery I’m sure I’d be fine 😂

This was some time back but I was prescribed Zopiclone and it always worked for me. They are addictive so the GP only would ever give me about 14 at a time.

I think of them often as it is hard to remember what waking up refreshed after a good night's sleep feels like.

Have you tried phenergan or melatonin?

Get some promethazine OTC, they work a treat.

Kirkland's Sleep Aid are brilliant; I think I ordered mine from the US after a recommendation on here. I don't find anti-histamine type tablets very effective, but these put me into a deep sleep.

What dose of Amitryptiline were you on?

l use zolpidem. Kirkland and phenerghan work for a bit, but it wears off

Antihistamines?

What do you do in middle of night when you wake up & can't sleep? Do you lie in bed or do you get out of bed? Do you listen to podcasts in bed to keep the boredom at bay, do you watch TV or start cleaning house or ...?

My sympathies I have had sleeping problems for decades. Menopause wasn't even the worst!
I use phenergen when I am desperate now my advice is don't take it for more than 2 weeks and take breaks like at the weekend. It's an old fashioned anti histamine and you can get it online without a prescription. It has different effects on different people but my advice is to take one tablet of the lower dose then increase if you need to. It works like magic on me but its a short term thing.
As a pp said the best sleeping drug is zopiclone but it is super addictive , if you can get it prescribed don't waste it! Take one tablet only when you are desperate. It is totally not available online in UK legally without a prescription but I believe if the firm selling it is based elsewhere it is possible to get it. I wouldn't though in case you get counterfeit drugs.
Phernagen works almost as well for me. For what its worth I did a free online cbt course which really helped my sleeping but my problems are mostly to do with sleep anxiety and the fact that I don't need much sleep, it took me half a life time to work out that I couldn't sleep because I wasn't sleepy. You sound as if your issues are different. Good luck.

I'd try first generation sedating antihistamines first, things like chlorphenamine, promethazine, diphenydramine, doxylamine.
My brief use of hardcore sleeping tablets ended when they made me spend the night hallucination with no memory of it the next day and even more exhausted then before taking them. As it was my GP said maximum 3 nights a week. There are safer things I'd try before going down that route.

I’m not sure Zopiclone or Zolpidem are that addictive. I’ve had them for years, some for extended periods. I don’t get any withdrawal symptoms.

They prescribe them long term in the US

That is what my GP told me so I had assumed they were correct.

I go through phases of wakiing in the night and was having a really bad spell with mild night sweats so have upped my oestrogen dose which has stopped the night sweats.
If I do wake up I put the radio on and if I'm not back to sleep within about half an hour, and theres nothing interesting to listen to, I put the light on and read. Very occasionaly I'll go and make a hot drink - flavoured tea or hot chocolate. I live alone so no-one else to disturb!

I have come to terms with waking up in the night and try to not get stressed about it, although feeling knackered is still not great.

Sorry if I’m being an arse but are you trying all the usual sleep reccomendations
• getting outdoors and sunlight on your face first thing, and late in the evening
• exercise
• no caffeine in the afternoon
• no screens for two hours before bed
• warm lights upstairs - no glaring white bathroom light while you brush your teeth
• bath before bed
• feet and hands outside the covers
• weighted blanket proportional to your body weight.
• no screens in bedroom

Dramamine is brilliant and non habit forming ( it’s actually an antihistamine) .
Pity you can’t buy it in bottles of 500 here like you can in the US.

Where do you get Dramamine?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I’m going to contact my GP on Monday so I’ll mention the medication you’ve suggested x

Hi yes I’ve tried/am doing all those except the sunlight first thing is difficult during the winter as I leave for work at 7 and have to drive so don’t manage an early walk any more x

normally I just stay in bed and try to relax, at weekends I’ll get up and make a drink x

I started on 1 tablet and worked up to 5. Had absolutely no effect x

Perimeno here so not nearly as bad, but I also at absolute best get 6 hours, mostly it's 4-5 hours of constantly broken sleep. Exercise doesn't work. Sleep tablets help but I also have children and a bloody dog I have to get up for so I can't take them. Husband had a go at me for being sleep deprived for years and said I need to get to a gym blah blah blah. I could happily sleep and never wake up right now, but can't even sleep, so I guess that bonus is out.

I get zopiclone. Half a tablet can sometimes be enough.

Loratidine (antihistamine) and melatonin (from the States) here. I often wake once for the toilet but go straight back to sleep and get 7ish hours in total. I used to get very broken sleep.

I've had both zolpidem and zopiclone on long term prescription, which is very hard to get but I have major insomnia which would ruin my life if it wasn't controlled.

I don't think they're addictive at all. You do get rebound insomnia if you stop taking them, which may be what GPs are referring to. But there's no craving or any withdrawal symptoms you get from them.

They definitely work to help you sleep. Zopiclone has quite a horrid taste which can be persistent well into the next day. Zolpidem doesn't do that but it can make you act a bit silly after you've had it if you're still awake.

You can buy both online without a prescription from dodgy websites. I know people who do this regularly and they've never been poisoned or had a bad reaction from them. They seem to work as described. But I really don't know how keen you'd be to take knock off tablets.

My GP prescribes Zopiclone - enough for 14 days out of every 28, which works for me. No 'hangover' the next day, either.

I agree - couple of piriton knocks me out! ... try 1 first and titrate from there if needed!