Nonprescription sleep aids - recommendations (kidney, pregnant, anti-inflammatories, blood pressure)

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by tasmtairy

Z Quill, liquid. It's just diphenhydramine. Works well for me.

I wonder why, knowing that (most people don't), anyone would spend the extra money when generic diphenhydramine is so much cheaper. Just curious!

[Buckeye77]

There are a number of YouTube videos that are designed to help you get to sleep. I pick one, put my little chromebook at the side of my bed, and usually within 10 or 15 minutes I fall asleep. Otherwise 1 to 2 hours of tossing and turning.

[Wile E. Coyote]

I take Magnesium Glycinate. As you can tell I did not take it tonight.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by Sand&Salt

We have a marijuana brownie at about 7:30 and sleep uninterrupted through the entire night.

It's great, no dependence and no effects the next day. No meds with bad side effects.

We haven't napped since we were children.

No dependence. Really? Yet, every night.

[Hemlock140]

For me, it's having repeats on Magnolia or HGTV. I set the timer for an hour, and am fast asleep well before the TV goes off.

[Sunbiz1]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Re-read Sunbiz's post. It mentioned taking one of the friend's Trazodone pills. Not the same as trying to get it OTC . Not that I would consider that smart. "Borrowing" someone else's prescribed medication usually isn't a great idea. There are counterindications:

https://www.drugs.com/pro/trazodone.html

Then there's the expectations/self-fulfilling prophesy/placebo effect to consider.

My family once owned 2 pharmacies, dad was licensed; I tried almost every pharmaceutical for sleep known to man.
Most are actually anti-depressants/anti-pyschotics, and gave me a horrible hangover; elavil knocked me out for 14 hours!
So I've abandoned the prescription only idea.
Here are my thoughts on non-prescription alternatives.
-Diphenhydramine works, but tolerance becomes an issue over time; and long term not a great idea.
-5 to 1 ratio CBD/THC cannabinoids work great, but again; tolerance becomes a player long term.
-Chamomile tea helps, and honey in it converts to seratonin; just not quite strong enough for me.
But this one is a good start for those seeking organic options.

I'm going with melatonin for the very first time, if this is ineffective; there's another that nobody here has mentioned yet...valerian root. It is the parent plant from which valium is extracted.

[tasmtairy]

Originally Posted by otterhere

I wonder why, knowing that (most people don't), anyone would spend the extra money when generic diphenhydramine is so much cheaper. Just curious!

I buy generic at Dollar General and it's liquid.

[otterhere]

I rotate melatonin, Xanax (prescription), and doxylamine so as not to develop tolerance or dependence on any one of them. If I knew what to buy in CBD, I'd add that to the mix.

[robertpasa]

I tried 10mg Melatonin a few nights ago. I was able to sleep. This was the first time I slept at night without Ambien in many years!

I tried it again and the 10mg didn't work. I took another 5mg. Still nothing. So I took an Ambien which worked.

I also tried ZZZ Nyquil, 25mg. Did not work. Will try a larger does next time.

[otterhere]

Diphenhydramine (active ingredient in all the pricey OTC remedies) doesn't work for me, but doxylamine (active ingredient in Unisom) does, so give that a try; it's also available in generic. I'm not sure why you almost never hear about that one? Maybe because the former works for the majority of people.