Sonata

NeedMyZ's · Joined: 07 Jul 2007 Posts: 110

I know Odd Bird has mentioned taking this. I know it has a really short half-life.

I'm looking to try something new. Lunesta is working OK, but probably could be better. Zolpidem gave me headaches. Amitryptilene made me a zombie. So . . . . I'm looking at real Ambien (wondering if the headaches are associated with the generic), Ambien CR or Sonata.

My main trouble is falling asleep. Yes, I wake up in the night, but, if I have been asleep, I don't have much trouble getting back to sleep. Anyway, I'm planning on seeing the Dr. tomorrow.

Odd Bird · Joined: 15 May 2005 Posts: 25

Hi, odd bird here. Sonata is like a a short term ambien. I can take it at 3:00 and be up at 6:00 or 7 it has a half llife of 2-4hours, half of ambien. I only use it these days if I am woken up at 2-4. If I am I am startled- say by my 17 yearold coming home late or my dog being sick. Then I take it, I an am good in the morning. Like I said, I have gotton off the ambien and lunesta. Now I take serequel to fall asleep. I should start a thread about it.

NeedMyZ's · Joined: 07 Jul 2007 Posts: 110

Thanks for your reply! It sounds like something that would be good for me to try, especially for the nights when I've tried to sleep on my own and it's 2:00 a.m. and I'm still awake . . . . . I actually didn't get to the Dr. today, but I may see him in the next couple of weeks.
How long did you take Ambien/Lunesta before you switched to Seroquel? I like Lunesta, but I feel foggy the next day. Zolpidem was great, for a while. The headaches were really bad, though. I take the Lunesta about twice a week. I have a headache right now, and I'm hoping it is just sinus. At any rate, I'm going to quit taking Lunesta for at least a week starting tonight. This is mainly to see if the headache is coming from the med. If I can stay positive, I will probably be fine.

Odd Bird · Joined: 15 May 2005 Posts: 25

I was on ambien for a couple years everynite, then lunesta came out and I was on that for a couple years, then I switched back & forth. I was totally dependant on them. All I have to say is thank God for serequel. Its amazing. I still wake up at nite but can usually get back to sleep, unless I am startled.
Good luck, its a slippery road!

NeedMyZ's · Joined: 07 Jul 2007 Posts: 110

Ain't that the truth! Rolling Eyes

This has been the worst bought of insomnia I have ever had. I have had small cases for as long as I can remember, but they always seemed to pass fairly quickly. My longest round prior to this one was two months. I'm now almost at six months. I took meds ALOT longer this time, too.
My pharmacist has been wonderful about answering my questions. She said that drug therapy sometimes requires trial and error. She also has trouble sleeping, and takes Nortriptylene.
I'm still determining if hypnotics are right for me . . . . . I skipped last night and my headache is better. Not sure if it was caused from the Lunesta or not. . . . . It may be because I have been highly stressed and took 6mg the last few times (I had been taking 4mg). Maybe it was just too much?! I really thought it would be easy to find something to take a couple of nights a week. I usually can do OK for a few days off and have had some great nights of sleep w/o it, but the insomnia keeps peeking through!
Thanks for the support!

sleepylady · Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 206 Location: Memphis

Sonata was the first sleeping pill I ever took and I have to say it worked quite well. Didn't stay in my system as long as Ambien and was great to take in the middle of the night, if I woke up for whatever reason.
I advise you take it on a VERY empty stomach or it won't do much of anything. You might, as I did, build up a tolerance over time too. It won't knock you out for the night but should do the trick for shorter time frames. As long as that's all you're looking for, you and Sonata might be a good match.