Sleepless in NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

I could use some help )

I haven't been able to sleep well for months. It's probably due to menopause

(I'll be 50 in Sept.), and Tylenol PM just wasn't cutting it anymore. So, I

went to the doc, and got a prescription for Ambien 10mg.

Well, after 2 nights of taking it, and waking up at 4:30 AM, I had an

epiphany. I called the pharmacist, and asked him if he was familiar with

gastric bypass surgery. He said, " Um, uh, well...yes. " What that really

meant was I've heard of it, but don't know a thing about it. So, I briefly

explained about the bypassed intestine, and asked him if that's where it was

absorbed, and if that's why it wasn't working. He said, " Oh, no, it's

absorbed in the stomach. The stomach acid breaks it down. " RED FLAG!!! Ok,

so I told him I don't have a full stomach with acid anymore. So, he tells me

to maybe try taking it with something acidic, like orange juice. OK...

Next, I call my PCP (didn't tell him I spoke to the pharmacist), but did

mention that maybe due to the bypass, I wasn't absorbing it well. So, he

tells me to take 1 before bed, then if I wake up, to take another half pill.

So, I do both...I took it last night with OJ, then when I awoke promptly at

4:30, took another half. I dozed a little, but not good sleep until 6:30,

when I finally got up totally frustrated and just made my coffee. Needless

to say, I'm plain old exhausted.

So, my question is have any of you taken sleeping pills with success, and not

the kind where you wake up with a hangover? I'm on the road a lot for work,

so feeling like a zombie is just not a good idea.

Thanks for any input!

Hugs,

Sleepless & GROUCHY in NJ