I'm slowly going out of my mind.

And this is why I didn't start the Chantix right away... Since starting the Mirapex insomnia is becoming a *huge* issue. I've never had insomnia before. Not like this.

My NP gave me Vistaril. Now the problem with Vistaril is, for me, it gives me a drug hangover all the next day. I want to do nothing more than go back to bed yet with this insomnia can't sleep! :-/ I told her nurse that when the nurse called and said Jennifer wanted to try me on the Vistaril. I already take Atarax so I knew what the Vistaril was going to do. But at the nurses insistence I gave it a try. Did it work? NO. I waited 3 hours to even feel groggy and nothing.

Next up to bat is Ambien. NP said take 5mg's before bed. I'm normally sensitive to meds and don't need as much of things as most people normally do. Did the Ambien help? A big fat no. I looked up the dosages for it and people normally start at 10mgs. So last night I took 10mgs. Got to sleep just fine but here it is 6:45 AM and I've been up since 6:00. Got to sleep about 2:00 AM.

I'm at the lowest dose of Mirapex given @ 0.125 mgs. And that's not even considered a therapeutic dose. If I stop taking the Mirapex I can't sleep because of the RLS. AARRGGHH! The Mirapex is working wonderfully!

This is going to be a *very* long day. I've got to find something that works. Mostly I'm hoping this is a temporary thing and after I've been on the Mirapex a little longer it'll go away. That seems to be the best I can hope for. I've been on the Mirapex a little over 2 weeks. By 6 weeks all sides should be known and some of them may or may not abate. So far the only issue I've had is insomnia. In the meantime I'm a walking zombie. I don't do well with even minimal sleep deprivation.

Anyone have any wisdom regarding finding something to help me sleep?

Every drug so far that our system has come up with that affects neurotransmitters in the brain, causes some very significant down sides.

Some of these negative effects become serious. There is just no way around that. Starting a cocktail of other drugs to pay the piper, just aggravates the
condition.

I would start with the Mirapex and seriously evaluate your benefits vs risk.
And starting a drug like Chantix with Mirapex? NEVER... both affect dopamine in significant ways.

Already Chantix with antidepressants is getting some negative press.
You just might become a statistic by taking Mirapex with Chantix.

If you decide to stay with Mirapex, I strongly urge you to not do the Chantix.
At this time I don't think there are answers for you...it will be trial and error.
But I would try Melatonin before Rx drugs.

Experience with Wellbutrin, and SSRIs has shown that when you alter neurotransmitters in the brain, you cause downregulation of others.
SSRIs downregulate dopamine (this is why people get movement side effects).
Wellbutrin (which raises dopamine) tends to downregulate serotonin, and cause insomnia.
So trying the melatonin may help since melatonin is made from serotonin and if serotonin goes down, so would melatonin.

Ambien? Well this drug has the potential of causing amnesiac behaviors ...sleep walking and other uncontrolled things--some violent. It is not understood how it affects arousal in the brain, and it is now being used to bring people out of comas. Combined with a drug like Mirapex? Who knows what it will do to YOU? I would be very careful.

I am no authority on anything, but I wouldn't trade my 1mg of ativan for anything. I have tried ambien and lunesta and they were no go's for me. I get at least seven hours a night with my ativan, been on it for six years....

I wonder if I can talk my doc into that for a week or so. I've used Ativan in the past but it gives me a drug hangover...groggy for the entire next day and more... Although at this point if something worked to help me sleep it might be worth the hangover the next day. Right now nothing is working yet I still have the drug hangover from Vistaril. Ambien was pretty much like taking nothing at all.

Having been a lifelong imsoniac, and having tried EVERYTHING under the sun, the best pill I ever took was Ambien. 10 mgs. Did the trick. Went out like a light.

My insurance didn't cover it and I could no longer afford it. I was given samples of Lunesta. Did absolutely nothing.

Then I discovered the magic powers of xanax (without really knowing what the heck I was doing).

I took the generic version, Alprazolam. I began taking 1 and one half mgs of xanax to sleep every night. Worked like a charm. My whole body just relaxed and I drifted off to sleep. Now I have lots of stuff going on in my mind so I needed this break.

But after almost 2 years of this, I read where it's not good to take xanax to sleep. That it's better to take a sleep aid. I really did not know the difference. How clueless of me.

I have had memory problems over this.

So I decided to wean myself off. Not the most intelligent thing I ever did. But I am now stable at 1 mg. Not lowering it any more.

But it's nothing like when I was on the 1 1/2 mg of the stuff.

I could take 1 mg at 11 p.m. and be wide awake till 12:30 a.m. . I have no idea why this is.

And if, god forbid a bird sings at 6:30 a.m. , I'm wide awake.

Sometimes if it's quiet, I'll sleep till 9 like I did this morning.

Some nights the sleep cycle is not good. Sometimes it is.

Maybe my body is not liking the 1 mg of the alprazolam and wants more. I'm not taking any more.

I want to be drug free. I want my mental faculties sharp.

I've noticed a difference in my memory already. When I try to remember something and I get it, well I GET IT!!!

But I shudder to think what's going to happen when I am off the alprazolam for good. I'll probably never sleep again.

Oh well.

I did this all my life.

I expected the Ambien to help too! Boy was I surprised. And guess what. I didn't take any last night...why take it if it's not going to work? And here I am up since 4:00 AM and didn't get to sleep til a bit after 2:00 AM. This time my sinuses contributed. I got plugged up on one side. Felt like I had a brick shoved up my nose. Stirred up a lot of dust yesterday piddling around with plants, repotting and such. Going to try and sleep again in just a little bit.