Given the progression of your posts, your seem to be ok at the current moment. But do not hesitate to call a suicide helpline if you need to. Maybe some of your earlier posts were jokes, but with everything you apparently have going on in your life maybe they weren't.

Bill, I've no really great words of wisdom or advice but I did write out a reply that I had used "This day too shall pass" in the content, but deleted it and went with a bit of levity knowing you're a cat admirer.

My story is similar in that I've had my share of difficult days and desperation as many here have. I had to leave my excellent job of 25yrs due to a health injury. After months of physical and occupational therapy, desperate not to loose my job, I went back prematurely. It caught up with me quickly and no longer could I preform as I once did and couldn't just let my friends cover for me. I left on disability. Being the only source of income and facing much less income plus no means of earning due to my mobility issues, I incurred a lot of stress like you, in addition to having to take meds to manage pain related issues.

I was prescribed many different sleep medications to help manage but still had many sleepless nights. Lot's of stuff going on, the stress was a major factor. There is no magic pill I've run across yet that completely shuts down my mind. The only thing that has helped me is focusing on other people's needs and tons of prayer. I pray for everything and everybody. My faith is what gets me through some days, rinse and repeat. Additionally, smatterings of counseling now and again help ground me.

I don't know where you are spiritually but it's all I have to offer that works for me. I still take ambien to help me get thru some nights, and still face making some difficult choices, but my faith grows stronger in spite of things, and I'll not give in, I just make necessary adjustments to make things work...after all, I still have to feed the cat

I've suffered from severe insomnia for almost 25 years. Nothing I've ever tried has worked to relieve it. At this point I've resigned myself to the reality that if I get 4 hours of sleep in any given night, it was a very good night.

I wish you better luck finding a viable solution.

Ambien alone shouldn’t be legal considering all the crazy/dangerous shit people do on it without remembering the next day.

The alcohol and Ambien is not good. I know from experience. I’ve woken up to shit I don’t even remember doing. One time, I woke up in an ex-girlfriend’s bed without remembering how I got there the night before...i spoke to her on the phone, I drove to her house, gave her a great time, and had absolutely no recollection the next morning.

Other times I’d cook food and mess up the kitchen or post non sense on Facebook, or send incoherent texts to people.

I stopped the Ambien since having guns in the house while taking it freaked me out...there’s no telling what could happen.

try some CBD, it's better than mixing and matching different kinds of heroin.

if you're daring, get some just plain jane weed.

I'm afraid to try the prescription stuff. The over the counter stuff knocks the hell out of me. In a fog until the next afternoon and it really doesn't provide a deep sleep. I had a rough patch and one Sunday night I'd had enough and found a Tylenol PM. I had to call off work the next day because I was afraid to drive.

My problem is that I have a mind that doesn’t stop. Ive actually been diagnosed with ADHD. Even since I was a kid I couldn’t sleep and my son is the same.

Only way I can sleep is if I’m exhausted.

The only thing that really works for me is daily exercise and maybe some weed before bed.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I'm afraid to try the prescription stuff. The over the counter stuff knocks the hell out of me. In a fog until the next afternoon and it really doesn't provide a deep sleep. I had a rough patch and one Sunday night I'd had enough and found a Tylenol PM. I had to call off work the next day because I was afraid to drive.

I'm the same way. They knock me into a brain fog that's really weird and creepy and I don't feel rested at all.

Please post an update on how you are doing!
Excersize and no alcohol/pills will help you get your mojo back as well as a good night’s rest.
All those chemicals can’t be good for you.

the importance of getting proper sleep cannot be over emphasized. check out Dr. Matthew P. Walker's 2017 book Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.

Dr. Matthew Walker on Sleep for Enhancing Learning, Creativity, Immunity, and Glymphatic System 2-28-2019 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick interview

setting up your sleeping area is a good start - dark, cool, remove all electronic devices.

setting up for bed also helps. avoid (block) blue light 2-3 hours before bed. quality blue blocker glasses work, and you don't have to change any bulbs.

lack of sleep, sleep deprivation, not getting 7-8 hours sleep per night is showing contributions to chronic disease and improper brain function re: alzheimer's & dementia.

alcohol interferes with the proper stages of sleep. in the second link above - Dr. Rhonda Patrick interview, at the 02:23:02 mark - How alcohol may have a short-lived sedative effect, it tends to fragment sleep, and suppresses REM sleep.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is adding a boxed warning to certain prescription insomnia medication following reports of injury and death resulting from sleepwalking, sleep driving, and engaging in other activities while not fully awake after taking these medicines.

The new warnings will be required for eszopiclone (Lunesta), zaleplon (Sonata), and zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, and Zolpimist), the FDA said in a safety communication.

"We recognize that millions of Americans suffer from insomnia and rely on these drugs to help them sleep better at night. While these incidents are rare, they are serious and it's important that patients and health care professionals are aware of the risk. These incidents can occur after the first dose of these sleep medicines or after a longer period of treatment, and can occur in patients without any history of these behaviors and even at the lowest recommended doses," FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless, MD, said in a news release.

In addition to the boxed warning, the agency will require the addition of a contraindication against using these drugs in patients who have experienced such an episode after taking them.

The FDA reviewed 66 cases reported to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System or found in the medical literature, in which patients engaged in activities while they were not fully awake, such as sleepwalking or driving, that resulted in serious injuries or death after taking eszopiclone, zaleplon, or zolpidem.

There were 46 reports of nonfatal serious injuries, which included accidental overdoses, falls, burns, near-drowning, exposure to extreme cold temperatures leading to loss of limb or near death, and self-injuries such as gunshot wounds and apparent suicide attempts.

The 20 deaths reported were from carbon monoxide poisoning, drowning, fatal falls, hypothermia, fatal motor vehicle collisions with the patient driving, and apparent suicide.

It's not the first time the FDA has flagged safety issues for insomnia drugs. In 2013, the agency flagged an increased risk of next-morning impairment with zolpidem and approved lower recommended doses for zolpidem. A year later they noted a risk of next-morning impairment with eszopiclone and lowered the recommended dose.

"We have closely watched the safety profile of these drugs since they were approved. When our ongoing safety monitoring recently reflected the risk of more serious injuries and deaths from patients on these medications who experienced complex sleep behaviors, we determined there was a need to take stronger steps to inform the public," said Janet Woodcock, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

"We'll continue to monitor and evaluate these risks associated with insomnia medications and communicate with the public or consider further actions, as appropriate," she added.

Healthcare professionals are encouraged to report side effects from eszopiclone, zaleplon, or zolpidem to MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting program.

From Medscape. No link provided as is subscription service.