Possibly its effect depends on WHY you aren’t sleeping 
Possibly.
-XT
I too suffer from chronic insomnia. For a while I was taking velarian root combined with a calcium/magnesium supplement and it seemed to work. Lately, I’ve fallen back into simply going without enough sleep for several nights until I’m tired enough to drop off more easily. I have also found that I cannot fall asleep if my blood sugar gets too low, so sometimes a late night snack helps. My advice: try everything, stick with what works for you. Good Luck!
No caffeine after noon. Those 4 hours make a difference for me.
I like the 3mg time release melatonin. A normal 1 mg gives me great sleep. For 4 hours or so. this is my current savior.
Stress is really my biggest problem. If I have something I can obsessively think about all night long, I will. I suspect winning a lottery might help. I haven’t been able to do the research.
I’m fine as long as I take 1 benadryl and 1 melatonin (3mg). I do get the waking-middle-of-night thing.
This may require trial-and-error, as I assume that various drugs are better at combating various types of sleep problems. Here’s what I found out…
I took a high-stress job which required a large amount of travel about 7 years ago. After a couple of years, I developed sleeping problems when I was on the road. At first, I tried diphenhydramine which worked very well for about 2 weeks, but it seems I built a tolerance to it rather quickly. On a recommendation from a cow-orker, I tried Melatonin, but I swear the many times I tried it, it did absolutely nothing for me (i’m not sure why because I hear a lot of good things about it).
However, that the one thing that has consistently worked for me is doxylamine succinate. I’m not sure what it is about that drug, but even over months of sporadic sleeping problems, it has been very good at taking care of the problem, allowing me to get a full nights rest. At one point I was splitting the tabs in half and it was still effective.
Back then doxylamine succinate was the main ingredient in Unisom, but it seems that in the last few of years Unisom changed to diphenhydramine (I found that one out the hard way). It’s like the majority of “brand name” sleep aids use diphenhydramine, but if you look hard enough you can find store brand (i.e. “CVS” or “Target” brand quasi-generics) that contain DxS.
HTH
Another vote for valerian, as well as a new suggestion: a calcium and magnesium supplement. You can’t take it on an empty stomach, so have some buttered toast or something, then take all three. You may also want to add the melatonin.
In my experience as a doc, it’s very unlikely for someone with the degree of sleeplessness described by the OP to get any benefit from any OTC or herbal or nutritional medication.
Frankly, it’s unlikely that most standard prescription sleep meds will help, at least more than temporarily. I hope the ambien continues to be beneficial in the long run for the OP.
I’d counsel considering a discussion with a sleep specialist for anyone with chronic severe sleep disturbances.
Well, I’m not taking it anymore unfortunately. I’m hoping to get in to see my new GP sometime week after next when I’m back in town though I’ll only have a week to schedule an appointment before I’m back on the road. While I was taking it I was definitely getting at least some help from it however, in that I would say I was sleeping at least 4-6 hours perhaps 5 nights a week…which is a HUGE improvement. I will say that after my perscription ran out I was right back to the way I have always been…which is maybe getting a few hours a couple nights a week.
In a general sort of way what would this entail? And who would I go to for it? My GP?
-XT
While I haven’t seen it in a while, I used to buy a product that was melatonin and B12. Often times, one quarter of a tablet was enough for me.
Web MD has a few tips on finding a sleep specialist: Where to Find a Sleep Specialist
Also, if you find yourself having trouble sleeping don’t lie in bed trying to force yourself to sleep. Get up and read a book or get on the computer.
Thanks everyone for the help and advice! Appreciated!
-XT
No time right now for a long answer, but I’ve found that a gram of phenibut (Google it) and 50 milligrams of diphenhydramine will cause an intense, genuine-feeling drowsiness and usually result in a very good night’s sleep.