Suggest Treatment For Insomnia

Posted on Wed, 10 Feb 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 Answered on

Mon, 25 Apr 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I do not sleep. Sometimes it's 3:00AM before i go to sleep. I take 5mg of zolpidem and it doesn't help. If I take 1/2 of a Kirkland sleep aid as well, I am groggy next day. It is annoying because I still work and go in late because of it.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Chintan Solanki (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
increase dose or add melatonin

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for writing to us.

I can understand your concern.

Maximum dose of zolpidem is 10 mg. You are using 5 mg since 3-4 years and not able to get enough sleep. In that case I recommend increasing the dose to 10 mg.You can ask your doctor for the same. Even if you cannot get sleep, adding melatonin will be helpful. It is a natural hormone and available as herbal supplement. 5 mg 3-4 hours before sleep or you can use controlled release preparation.

I also would recommend following 'sleep hygiene'.

These are some measures called which would help in sleep. You can find the same in below link.

sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene

Drinking a cup of warm milk before going to bed helps in 30-40% of patients and they do not need medicines as per my clinical experience.

Hope I have answered your query, I will be happy to help further.
Regards,
Dr.Chintan Solanki.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar