‘...and I really hate to take meds for sleep’
it depends on what the meds are; I became convinced that my sleep dysphoria was due to the inability to relax at night; thus, I was prescribed a minimal dosage of lorazepam by the practitioner I liked...she retired and the newbie took a very dim view of the benzo, and refused to refill my scripts...
the newbie replaced the script with buspirone, which works differently than the benzodiazepine; basically, it increases activity of the serotonin receptors,serotonin being an important neurotransmitter for essential body functions, including sleep. The lorazepam (benzo) works by acting on GABA, an amino acid that reduces brain excitability.Both buspirone and lorazepam are neurotransmitters, but the major source of serotonin comes from the intestinal system, while the major source of GABA is the brain. for that reason buspirone is considered less harmful, and is not a controlled substance as lorazepam is.
The meds I take right now are Temazepam (Restoril) 15 MG, and Doxepin, 10 MG. It's the only combo that puts me out, but even then it takes me about 3 hours to relax enough to finally fall asleep. So far, nothing else the docs have prescribed have come close to helping me sleep. I also have sleep apnea so I also use a CPAP machine but I can't fall asleep with the mask on, normally, so I usually put it on when I wake up half way into the night (which normally happens about 3:30 AM).
Temazepam can come in dosages up to 30 MG, but that's way too much for me to use. That dosage causes EXTREME drowsiness, like the kind where you can't even walk. I can't take meds like Ambien or Lunesta because they cause me to sleep walk. Since I live alone that's not good. I got a followup with a civilian neurologist in December, but since I'm switching over to VA healthcare that will probably get pushed back to January and a different provider.