Posted by SLS on October 2, 2000, at 22:12:33
In reply to Re: Any Memory Problems - SLS :-)))), posted by jane on October 2, 2000, at 19:47:52
> Since getting to sleep seems to be a problem, would you try increasing the halcion or adding ativan first?
Dear Jane,
You can certainly try the Halcion by itself first. I wouldn't waste my time with anything less than 0.5mg.
Regardless of which aspect of sleep is most problematic, you may need to use both.
Halcion is the most potent of the benzodiazepine sleeping pills. It is also the one with the shortest half-life, about 3 hours. This means that it disappears from the blood stream very rapidly. The consequences of this are not merely that it wears of quickly, but it can allow for "rebound-awakenings". Imagine yourself lying on a trampoline, staring at the third star in Orion's belt, waiting to fall asleep. The Halcion puts you to sleep. It pushes you deep down into the trampoline. Then, it suddenly vanishes and you are released. You go flying up into the air, higher and more awake than when first took the Halcion. This is not a problem if, after the Halcion has worked to push you down, another drug is there to keep you down once the Halcion disappears. This is where Ativan comes in. The half-life of Ativan is approximately 12 to 15 hours. It will keep you down (asleep) the rest of the way through the night and allow you to awaken more smoothly.
Of course, some trial-and-error might be necessary to find the optimum dosages of each drug and when best to take them. For instance, if you wake up too groggy, you may try to reduce the dosage of Ativan. If, at the reduced dosage, it no longer keeps you asleep, you can try to take it earlier in the evening and wait until you go to bed to take the Halcion.
I like the Halcion-Ativan combination. I found these drugs to be very "clean". I didn't ever feel drugged or sedated. Just calmer and sleepier. It's not like Xanax. I have used this combination successfully in the past to treat total sleep deprivation produced by several different drugs. Parnate is one.
I took 1.0mg of Halcion and 2.0mg of Ativan.
You won't know if amnesia or other cognitive effects will occur until you try them. I have seen at least one case in which Ambien produced amnesia whereas Halcion did not. Be the second.
Good luck.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:45447
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000926/msgs/45716.html