Posted by ed_uk2010 on January 7, 2015, at 8:09:45
In reply to Re: How strong is Clonazepam really?, posted by baseball55 on January 6, 2015, at 19:33:32
> Ed - I'm just curious. I am going on a trip soon that will completely screw up my sleep cycle. In the past, when I have traveled, my p-doc prescribed valium to get me to sleep on the new time zone.
>
> Is valium best for this? I need something to knock me out on demand and not keep me out for more that 6-8 hours.If you're only taking it for a few days, diazepam (Valium) should be fine. It is likely to work for you unless you take benzos regularly, in which cause it may not cause drowsiness. Occasional doses don't normally cause much 'hangover' unless the dose is high. High doses taken regularly will cause daytime sedation in most people until tolerance develops. Individual response varies but around 5-7.5mg Valium should help you sleep without causing daytime sedation - there is a risk of mild effects the next day, as with any sleep drug. If you've responded well to it before it seems like a good idea to use it again. Be guided by the dose you tried before, unless it's many years ago in which case you could take a bit less (assuming no use of other benzos recently). If you weren't satisfied with it, one of the options below could be suitable.
Zolpidem (Ambien), zopiclone and eszopiclone (Lunesta) usually cause minimal next day effects at their lowest recommended doses but max doses may cause considerable morning impairment in some people, which can actually be greater than standard doses of benzos. The full dose of zopiclone (7.5mg) has been shown to cause considerably more impairment of driving ability the following morning than usual doses of temazepam (Restoril). It seems the Z-drugs are considerably more potent than they are often given credit for. They are effective but there are risks, like with any night sedative. If you respond well to diazepam you are likely to find temazepam (Restoril) similarly useful. It doesn't usually cause morning sedation at low doses eg. 15mg or less.
Some people use melatonin tablets when changing time zones, to help 'reset' their circadian rhythm in the new zone. The usual dose is about 3mg at night, taken for a few days, until your sleep in normal. You can take melatonin plus a small dose of a sleep drug if needed eg. melatonin 3mg plus zolpidem 5mg or diazepam 5mg.
Hope this helps.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1074710
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150102/msgs/1074897.html