I started with Amitriptyline. If you are not well hydrated with water, the grogginess is pretty overwhelming.

I tried Melatonin for awhile. It worked but I didn't like it.

And finally, I tried Calms Forte (OTC) which is made by Hylands. You can find it at CVS and the Vitamin Shoppe. I take two tablets every night. And, I add one tablet (OTC) of MidNite which is also available at the drugstore. I take Neurontin at night so the combination pretty well knocks me out. If I do wake up, I can take more MidNite as it does not give me a hangover in the morning regardless of when I use it. I've been on this combo for several years now. Sleep and Fibromyalgia are never a perfect science. What works for me may be a total miss for the next person. Take care.

Oh, Lord. I've been in a struggle with sleep since I was 15 and I'm way older than that now. My rheumy wanted me to take various benzodiazapines, but I kept quitting them, mainly because it was so hard to stop them. I have tried just about every herbal remedy. These work pretty well--kava, valerian, passion flower. I also use homeopathic remedies. Ones that have worked for me is caffeine, gelsenium, and the combination remedy, called Quietude.

Eventually, I broke down and started using Klonopin. Then I thought I'd try to see if I could come off of it again. I tried everything which worked for awhile, but tended to stop working. I never took Lunesta, but I did take Ambien. With Ambien I had strange nightly anxiety attacks, that I don't have otherwise.

I just had two sleep tests, and am going to get a CPAP. If it actually helps me sleep I may try to to slowly go off of Klonopin.

Yea, I would suggest a sleep test for hubby. Will tell if he's getting deep sleep....a common problem for us (not getting it).

First best treatment was trazodone for me to put me into deep sleep. Weaned myself off because of groggy side effects. I have sleep apnea and no deep sleep until hour 7 AND insomnia. Tried amitryptiline....didn't work for me.

Melatonin decreases as we age....doc put me on 10mg, worked for while sometimes with valerian root for calming effect and sometimes with gabapentin (you can also take a gaba supplement). Also, I've been told many of us lack 5 htp due pain lowering our serotonin levels and that along thyroid problems also have quite an impact on sleep.

Fast forward to serious insomnia probs for me and now I am on Belsomra and it is the charm for me. I am the commercial for nighttime wakefulness, so it gets me to sleep and then if I'm balanced with hormones and all else, I can stay asleep and get a good night's rest (that's relative of course). BTW, there are tons of great OTC natural sleep meds these days. If I didn't have severe insomnia, I would have tried some of them. Good luck!!

BTW, RX sleep meds I've tried and that haven't worked: lunesta, rozerem worked for a while and non-addicitive, ambien worked for 2 weeks but gave me a horrible hangover and then my body became to used to it, sonata didn't work either.

I've read amitryptiline is good for us fibro peeps for some reason or another...maybe he can half or quarter dose,....just a suggestion. You can tell this is my #1 battle! LOL Take care, hugs, JP

I took Elavil for a number of years. Taking it several hours before bedtime helped and being sure you can sleep about 7-8 hours also helped. I also noticed that the lower the dose the less side effects in the morning.

The only med that shuts down my brain, and gives me the deep, stage 4 sleep, (not dreaming) is Xyrem: (sodium oxybate). I've been writing about it for years. Without it I was bedridden. Now, I can get out and about and have some joy in my life.

Ask a sleep specialist about this. It's prescription only, and costly, most insurance co.s will pay for it. I've been using it for about 10 years or/and longer. Just love the way I sleep now. I wake up rested and restored. Can't do it on my own.

Trazodone is my choice of medication. It comes in all different strengths.

You can try a different dosage until you find the one that helps you sleep, but doesn't give you morning grogginess,

I have been using it since 2008, with good results.

I have tried a many sleep meds. They all cause side effects for me.

Ambien and Melatonin cause severe depression the next day. Also, I have used Amitryptaline but in a very, very tiny dose...I get the liquid amitryptaline and take two drops...you read that correctly...only TWO DROPS. And that works, but only if I use it every few weeks. If I use it more often it has no effect. Also, if I take a larger dose I feel awful the next day.

Almost every night now I take three extra strength acetaminophen and one chlor trimeton (old time antihistamine). You can find chlor trimeton on the bottom shelf in some pharmacies and Walmart. But this doesn't always work for me.

Sleep is so difficult for us...grrrrrr.

Rachel, the FDA warns not to take more than 1,000 mg tylenol every 6 hours because OG possible liver damage.

Just to be clear, Elavil is another name for Amitriptyline.

Itsjustme...yeah, yeah, I know all about the warnings for acetaminophen. But I also want to sleep.

My doctor routinely does blood work to check my liver, etc. for damage. He knows I take more than the recommended dosage. So he keeps close tabs on my liver.

I wish there were other things that helped me. But I have side effects to just about everything. Even ibuprofen makes me very very ill.

I forgot to add that I appreciate your concern, Itsjustme. It's good that people on here give each other advice when they think we might be hurting ourselves. I realize that dosage of acetaminophen is not good for most people. Thanks for caring, Itsjustme.

I had a sleep study done that showed that I slept all night, but I didn't get a deep sleep, so I was still tired in the morning. I've been on Trazadone since then and it's worked great. I get a deeper sleep and I don't feel groggy in the morning. I can really tell it's working because if I forget to take it, I'm exhausted the next day and can barely function.

Susan

What must of is would live is a goods nights sleep and the right kind of sleep.i take seroquel@9pm then Xanax,then ambien,and fall asleep for a little but the hollows under my eyes tell the sad story of trying to get some sleep w fibro and chronic pain.ivd tried most of what everyone mentioned here except that Belsara(sp)Is that expensive?i have a relative that took it and his first night he said was best sleep ever but it didn't continue.will definitely look into it!!

I started it for fibro pain, with the added benefit of a good night's sleep. Was started on 10 mg, then 20, then 30, then 50. At 30 I had mild grogginess which dissipated after I got up and started moving around. At 50, I slept all through the night, deep sleep, but felt like a zombie for a good portion of the day, plus had a hell of a time getting out of bed in the morning. I just felt getting up was almost beyond me. Did it for almost 2 months, then called my rheumy, and am back down to 30. You should be drinking a lot of water throughout the day, especially if you are taking it in combination with pain medication. Also, have D levels checked. There has been a correlation of low D levels with fibro sufferers. My rheumy upped my dosage from 2000 D3 per day to 500 per day. I feel so much better and not as lethargic and lacking in energy.