There is one strange thing that I know made me sleep...

[[Li...]]

...and it was Alka-Seltzer Plus Night Cold Formula.  Now, fair warning first.  I'm not saying to go out and take this stuff.  I'm more curious to see if we can figure out what the ingredient(s) are that caused me to sleep and would probably do the same for a lot of other people.

 

Ok, so even though I was loaded up on CNS depressants like Depakote ER and Klonopin that are supposed to make me sleep, there would be the rare night that I could not sleep at all because I had a cold or flu.  I remember taking Alka-Seltzer Plus Night Cold Formula and it was so powerful that I would actually have about a 3 minute window before the medication would hit me so hard I would be knocked out for 10 to 12 hours.  I no longer have any more of the stuff because I haven't been that sick in a while and the medication expired so I threw the box out.  Anyhow, I looked it up online and I saw this:

 

FAST RELIEF FROM

 

Nasal Congestion

Cough

Runny Nose

Sneezing

Headache & Body Ache

Sore Throat

Fever

 

CONTAINS

 

Aspirin (NSAID)* (pain reliever/fever reducer)

Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide (cough suppressant)

Doxylamine Succinate (antihistamine)

Phenylephrine Bitartrate (nasal decongestant)

*nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug

 

I'm sure there's more ingredients in the stuff, but does anyone recognize something that might be the key to knocking someone who is as bad of an insomniac as me out for 10 - 12 hours?  I'm guessing it's Doxylamine Succinate because it says antihistamine.  However, I remember trying other sleep aids over the years that were antihistamines and they did nothing for me.  Does anyone have experience taking this?  Any ideas on why this stuff works?  And again, I'm not suggesting to run out and get this stuff.  My experience with it may be totally different than yours.

[Guest [ba...]]

I found that NyQuil helped me to sleep, while ZzzQuil didn't work nearly as well.  NyQuill, like ASPNCF (Alka-Seltzer...) contain dextromethorphan, which is known to cause drowsiness, so I'm guessing the combination of doxy (found in Unisom) and dextro work together to help you sleep better.  Phenylephrine doesn't appear to cause drowsiness.

 

I wouldn't recommend taking it except while you have a cold nor should you exceed the recommended dose. 

[[xe...]]

the doxylamine succinate is almost certainly the ingredient which is helping you sleep. This is the same active ingredient as in the strong Unisom OTC tablets, which many people on here (including me) have used at times with some success.

 

Anticholergenic drugs like doxylamine tend to lose their sleep-producing effect if they are taken for more than a couple days in a row.

[[bu...]]

Doxylamine Succinate (antihistamine)  is the most powerful OTC sleep aid available.  It matches the efficacy of some of the Rx grade sleep aids.

[[Di...]]

Definitely agree that it's probably the doxylamine. It's used quite a lot by BBers for insomnia. You can get it in tablet form on its own, without having to take any of those other ingredients.

 

My preference though was to not use it all the time if my insomnia was bad. I also had an amitriptyline AD which was also very sedating. So I would alternate the two meds when things were rough.

[[Si...]]

I agree with everyone else, it's the doxy. You can buy it on its own, so no need to ingest the other stuff for a good night's sleep. I'd advise you to use the doxy sparingly.

[Guest [...]]

I agree with everyone else, it's the doxy. You can buy it on its own, so no need to ingest the other stuff for a good night's sleep. I'd advise you to use the doxy sparingly.

Hey.. Just saw this post.

Could you explain why you'd use the doxy sparingly ?

Is use Unisom sleep tabs . The active ingredient is doxy.

My pharmacist says it's not habit forming. And I sleep well on it, no weird " side effect ".

I'm just curious if there is something I don't know about it....

 

Moo

[[Si...]]

I agree with everyone else, it's the doxy. You can buy it on its own, so no need to ingest the other stuff for a good night's sleep. I'd advise you to use the doxy sparingly.

Hey.. Just saw this post.

Could you explain why you'd use the doxy sparingly ?

Is use Unisom sleep tabs . The active ingredient is doxy.

My pharmacist says it's not habit forming. And I sleep well on it, no weird " side effect ".

I'm just curious if there is something I don't know about it....

 

Moo

 

Moo, tolerance against the sedating effects of antihistamine sleep aids (Unisom, Benadryl) usually builds very quickly if someone uses them regularly. Also, they're potent anticholinergic drugs with minor to major side-effects. I know many people can tolerate them, but I don't and I'm not the only one. I ended up with anticholinergic syndrome after continuously taking Benadryl for 7-8 months. (It means that an anticholinergic drug reaches toxic levels in the body either as a result of a single high dose or because of build-up from continuous use.) I only took Unisom a few times, but it had exactly the same effects on me as the Benadryl. As far as "non habit forming" goes, mild dependence or addiction and w/d are not unheard of, though I'm not sure how common it is.

[[Di...]]

I found that I could use doxy for maybe a week at a time, but I never wanted to use it any longer than that without a break because it was something I needed to have in my arsenal for my insomnia. That's why I would always alternate it with my amitriptyline AD. The last thing I wanted, or needed, while in withdrawal was for either of my life saving sleep aids to poop out on me.

 

Now that I'm post-withdrawal I'm sleeping a whole lot better, so if I need to take a small dose of doxy every 2-3 weeks or so I'm fine with that, but I also still have my AD as well to take every so often too.

[Guest [...]]

Okay, this just scared the crap out of me.

I take Unisom almost every day!

Half a 25 mgr tablet.

 

Wow..thanks for sharing. I didn't know that.

 

No idea how I will fall asleep now, but I'm going to try!

 

 

[Guest [ba...]]

mOO - don't be scared.  I've taken a lot of Unisom in my life.  Took it before benzos and took it during withdrawal.  When I decided to stop taking Unisom, I slept poorly for a little over a week, then started sleeping OK on my own.  I'm not back up to 7-8 hours yet, but I get by on 5 and it's slowly improving.  I take melatonin occasionally.  It seems to help.

[Guest [...]]

mOO - don't be scared.  I've taken a lot of Unisom in my life.  Took it before benzos and took it during withdrawal.  When I decided to stop taking Unisom, I slept poorly for a little over a week, then started sleeping OK on my own.  I'm not back up to 7-8 hours yet, but I get by on 5 and it's slowly improving.  I take melatonin occasionally.  It seems to help.

 

Thank you...

It really got me worried.

I looked up that syndrome. Yikes...

Trying to not take it when I feel tired.

But most of the times I will just sleep 2-3 hours if I don't take it and I just can't do much on that little sleep for weeks...

 

You didn't get used to the Unisom too quick?

 

[[Di...]]

Moo - I honestly think it would be a good idea to find something else that helps you sleep, and not put all your eggs in one basket. In fact I think it's something that everyone who uses doxy, or any other sleep med, should do. I know a lot of people take doxy long term, but the thing that always scared me was what would happen if it suddenly stopped working. I simply could not have done my taper if I'd had to deal with the constant insomnia. I would have reinstated a long time ago.

 

That's why I was glad I found that the amitriptyline AD worked just as well as the doxy for me. I now had an alternative and I could mix things up and not be worried that either one was going to stop working for me.

[[Si...]]

Moo, maybe I did not emphasize it enough, but I believe that anticholinergic syndrome from therapeutic doses is probably very rare. Regardless of the anticholinergic syndrome, I would still advise anyone not to take antihistamine sleep aids over a long period of time, mostly because of tolerance and the cognitive and mood-related side effects. But that's just my opinion.

[Guest [...]]

Thank you all for replying.

Will try to mix this up a bit.

Moo

[Guest [ba...]]

You didn't get used to the Unisom too quick?

 

I'm sure that I slowly grew tolerant to it just like I did the benzos.  While I didn't take detailed notes back then, I imagine that it once gave me 7-8 hours of sleep which slowly eroded to 4-5.  That would have occurred over 3-4 years (perhaps longer).  I again took doxy regularly again for around six months when I stopped taking Ativan, then stopped taking it (as I posted earlier).  If I take it now (which I do only very rarely), I get 7-8 hours of sleep.  It appears that my body has restored to its old sleep response to doxy.

[Guest [...]]

Thanks Bad. I appreciate it...