Hi D2M - sending you sympathy . Not getting enough sleep can do terrible things to you...very interesting that many of us have sleeping issues and turn to alcohol to get to sleep..

I use Tryptophan to help me sleep at night. Just 2 tablets - you can now get it at health food stores (L-Tryptophan). It's a supplement not a medication, and it has helped me tremendously.

I believe ~Q took Ambien to help him sleep - check out his threads. It did not interfere with the Nal.

Best of luck. I hope you get some sleep soon!

D2M - I have a younger girlfriend (32) who thinks Ambien is one of the devil's drugs. She said this over a year ago after she weaned herself off, was also a heavy drinker & eventually quit...I don't see her very often so don't know details at the moment as to how she did quit except it was pretty much cold turkey and VERY hard. I could ask more if you wanted more 1st person testimonials...I just remember her stressing how much she HATED Ambien...FYI

Good luck & again, welcome to our place!

That's right, I did. It helped a great deal in getting me to sleep and did not interfere with Nal at all. For me, a 1/2 dose of Ambien knocked me out for the night. What I really like about Ambien is you don't wake up all groggy.

I only use ambien now maybe once a week at the very most.

Q

I asked my Dr about just this and he said that Ambien is only a problem if you are taking it every night over a long period of time. I was taking it maybe 3 nights a week for a couple months. I would take ambien usually if I'd laid in bed for an hour or so and felt I just wasn't going to get to sleep.

I had not problem what so ever backing off to just taking it once a week or less.

Q

Hi, not sure how old you are but as we age melatonin decreases. You might want to try that as my doctor suggested it and G4M, I think has had success with it. I have also heard of 5htp helping. I have tried Ambien in the past and it didn't work all the time for me. I used it now and then and finally gave up. If you have a sleeping problem you should definitely not exercise late in the day. Make sure you have low lighting before sleep time and no t.v. in the bedroom. Another thing is sleep apnea. My nephew went to a sleep clinic,most covered under ins. He was put on a breathing appratus an is doing great. Just some thouhts and also don't eat for two hours before sleep time if so have just something light. Just some food for thought!

Yep, I have the same problem. If I'm off Nal and not drinking I have bad dreams and Insomnia. I take 2 Melatonin and 1 over the counter PM med.

Melatonin is not a drug!!! It is a natural substance that we have in our system that is reduced as we age. I might also suggest that you try a sleep study. I have a nephew who could not sleep and went to one of these studies. He now has a sleeping appratus that has cured his problem. It would be worth a try. Not sure where you are but these things are usually covered by insurance.