Asking the doctor for sleeping pills?

[itsanADHDthing]

Immediately after adderall wears off I (sometimes) become sleepy, but about 2 hours later, I am wide awake.

On days that I do take adderall, which is almost every day, I am up to 1 am or later (1 am being the earliest, average is 1:30-45). On drug holidays, I am usually out by 12:30, and that's just because I watch tv until midnight.

What keeps me up at night is that I do not feel tired. I do not feel the urge/need to sleep. I am usually up texting/skyping/calling my girlfriend who is currently three hours behind me. If I lay down I can go to sleep eventually, I just have an extremely difficult time putting those items away (I feel she is much more important to me).

I have taken Valerian Root before, which does nothing. Melatonin works if I take about 15mg or higher, but that tends to cause me to wake up randomly throughout the night, usually in a very uncomfortable.

I am wondering if it be okay, by these boards standards, to ask the doc to prescribe something to help me sleep? If so, how do I go about asking them without sounding like I am looking for a quick fix (I am 18, and I am going to be seeing a new doctor for a refill on adderall also)? Would it be okay to ask for something other than ambien? I have taken it in the past and it hit-miss medication for me (sometimes it knocks me right out, other times it takes 90 or so minutes, sometimes not at all, and I tend to have bizarre conversations with people that I am unable to recall).

I am not a big one on homeopathic remedies (medications exist for a reason), meditation (I can not keep my mind focused on something like that), or the like. I have college coming up and sleep is essential to keeping my grades up.

[known_guy]

When I was initially diagnosed with ADHD like 3 years ago, I was put on Dexedrine Spansules. Since I couldn't sleep due to it, my psychiatrist just immediately, easily prescribed me Ambien, without me asking for it.

It would be perfectly fine to ask your doctor about medication options for your insomnia.

[Sandy4957]

Agreed.

And some medications may work better for you than Ambien. I used Ambien a while back, but today I only use Lorazepam. It stops the sort of mind-spinning.

[sarahsweets]

I think mentioning you have had ambien in the past and relaying that you are having trouble with sleep again should be a good way to start the conversation . I take sonata which is a very short acting med that can be taken for night waking. It lasts around 2-3 hours and I have not had any issues waking up in the morning.

[theloner]

I'd mention the Ambien, he could suggest Klonopin which helps me, I take Remeron at bedtime also.

[kolaborator]

Yes, it is more than appropriate.

I would actually go as far as to say that every new patient prescribed a Sched II stimulant should also be given a 30-day script of 5mg Ambien, if for no other reason to counteract the initial crashes and depressed states that manifest in the evening in the first days of using stimulants.

[itsanADHDthing]

So, I was prescribed Trazodone. It makes me relaxed and want to go to bed, if I can find the energy to climb in to bed (literally, my bed is 5' off the ground). But, I get horrible, head pounding migraines. During the day, I am left unmotivated and very apathetic towards everything.
So, I need to try something else.

I will report back when I get something new.

[tudorose]

I only know of one solution to this (one that I can't physically do myself at the moment) which is exercise to exhaustion. 65km on the bike to and from work used to do it for me. Other than that I have no ideas. I don't sleep well and haven't since being held up in 2003. Last week I had two full nights sleep in a row which is unheard of for me. If I get through to the morning without having woken up through the night I am always surprised.

[SweetCode]

I Don't recommend klonopin , it has a really long half-life and makes me fell like my meds aren't working in the next day , I use to take 2mg (Tried lower doses but nothing works.) at night

[known_guy]

As of now I have Temazepam on hand to help with insomnia when necessary.

I also personally am not fond of taking Klonopin as a sedative. I needed to take 1.5mg of it to work, when I would only need 0.25mg or 0.5mg in the day to help my anxiety.
So it felt like a waste, or like overkill. There are more effective benzodiazepines more suited for insomnia; yeah, for me Klonopin was primarily/best (by quite a bit) used when I had severe anxiety.

I am not a fan of benzodiazepines but my doctor tells me getting sleep (even if I need to take Restoril) is better than staying up all night.

[SquarePeg]

Going on the computer is stimulating and will do nothing to help you sleep or make you tired.
Things like exercise during the day (not before bed) and avoiding stimulant drinks can help. So can reading. The effort required to concentrate on a book makes me tired. Don´t switch activities in bed.

I was so tired last night I went to bed and didn´t read because I was too tired. Big mistake, I was awake for 2 hours. I only need to try and read a chapter and that would have finished me.

[Altair]

You pay your doctor to treat you, simply point out that amphetamines are ruining your sleeping cycles and suggest that you need something to put you back on track short term. this way you will most likely get either benzos or z drugs. If the doctor suggest seroquil or zyprexa for sleep. Walk out and change the doctor. Most likely he is experimenting with you.

[known_guy]

Originally Posted by itsanADHDthing

So, I was prescribed Trazodone. It makes me relaxed and want to go to bed, if I can find the energy to climb in to bed (literally, my bed is 5' off the ground). But, I get horrible, head pounding migraines. During the day, I am left unmotivated and very apathetic towards everything.
So, I need to try something else.

I will report back when I get something new.

Thanks for the update. I also dislike(d) Trazodone. Quite a bit, actually. After putting up with it for weeks I stopped taking it, preferring even sleeplessness over Trazodone's side-effects. If possible weight-gain isn't a concern, I found Remeron far preferable, but that's likely because I also have Depression. Uhm, perhaps you could give Seroquel, Vistaril/Atarax, or Doxepin a try?