I am not a walking poster boy for fast results of sleeping meds. I must have tried a dozen different pharmaceuticals so far over a period of 2-3 years, and nothing has really helped...or it helped a little but the side effects were so severe that I couldn't deal with them.

I started with just the occasional sleeping pill - my first was Zopidem (Ambien) though after a time I graduated to Zopiclone (known in the U.S. as Lunesta) which despite its bitter aftertaste, gave me an hour more of sleep a night. I tried some over the counter stuff like Sominex but it was never really strong enough.

I never wanted to stay on the sleeping pills and over time and with the consultation of more than a few doctors, I became convinced that my sleeping problems were probably the result of anxiety, depression or some combination (see my post on the roots of my sleeping problems in the midst of a war). Thus began my slippery slope with every anti-depressant on the market. Here's a brief summary of my history.

The first pill I think was Seroxat - or Paxil as it's known in the U.S. In the dosages I tried it, I didn't get much relief from depression, my sleeping got worse, and my sex life gave out. A well known side effect of SSRIs is that for many people it either kills your sex drive or creates temporary impotence. My sex life has always been an important part of my psychological well being, so I had a hard time giving up sex for sleep, especially when the sleep wasn't really coming on that fast.

We tried a couple different SSRIs (Zoloft and Cipramil, though not Prozac) all with the same effect. I also had feelings of nausea and terrible constipation.

We switched at one point to Trazadone and I stayed with that for almost 9 months. It's an anti-depressant but it's frequently used for sleeping issues. I guess I felt somewhat more stable on it, and the sexual effects were the opposite of impotence...which was kind of fun! But ultimately, it seemed like a waste: I was still on the sleeping pills and still waking up too early. From there it was on to Elatrol with mostly the same effect.

A friend recommended SAM-e, an over the counter natural supplement that has worked wonders for some people with depression. Only problem was it was way expensive. And to get to a therapeutic dose, you have to pay something like several dollars a pill. Nevertheless, I found a great deal at Costco and bought about a dozen boxes (the checkout girl didn't bat an eyelash). It seemed to work at first on the depression, with no nasty side effects, but no real impact on the sleep. Which got me depressed again.

(My wife by the way has been using a "research grade" St. John's Wort blend called Remotiv to help with night terrors which she has suffered from for 20 years since our apartment was broken into while we were sleeping. It seems to be helping a bit, but she doesn't have the same problems with chronic insomnia.)

I switched doctors who tried me  out on something called Effexor. He said he'd had very good results. For me it was just ho-hum. Then I tried Cipramil. Then Edronax. Who nellie, stay away from that one. The effect on sex there was too painful to describe. Let me just say that a romantic get away my wife and I planned had moments of sheer unplanned torture.

I am now using a cocktail of Sulpiride (brand name Modal) and a very old med called Moclobemide (brand name Mobimede). The latter kind of freaked me out - it's a 1950s-era drug known as a MAO Inhibitor. These d days, it's a drug of last resort - when nothing else works. Which has been my case. Oh yeah, I'm still using the Zopiclone to get to sleep.

So far, it's going OK and I'm encouraged. I'll write shortly on what I need to do to get a good night's sleep with this cocktail.

I invite you to join this group blog and post your own experiences with meds so we can all benefit from the power of web knowledge!

-- Brian