Not sure this response will be of much help. Perhaps 4 years ago I was having some trouble sleeping and went to a local farmacia for a consultation. The doctor prescribed Nocte (Zolpidem). It was an expensive visit and it was an expensive prescription to fill. I often notice that doctors seem to have a special prescription book for controlled substances - that is true even at IMSS.

We have a different local farmacia which we have bonded with. I guess we stand out. If I walk in without my wife they will ask - where is your wife ? etc. Within the last couple months they have opened a new clinic and charge 35 pesos per visit. The doctor speaks English (very rare around here). If I self diagnosis that I need an antibiotic or such and visit him he will confirm my diagnosis and write a prescription (for example).

 

I have the feeling that Ambien is a controlled substance here, so you will need a prescription from a Mexican doctor to replenish your supply at your local pharmacy.

 

I had that feeling too, but I thought I'd ask in case anyone knew for sure.

 

Yes, you need a prescription for Ambien in Mexico. Beyond all my other stints in Mexico, I lived all of 2015 in Mexico City.

I've suffered on and off from insomnia. When I had a U.S.-based job that called for frequent international travel to Asia, Africa, Middle East and (too little, as it was all expense account) Europe, I received prescriptions for Ambien both to sleep on the plane and to lessen jet leg (try to stay up to nightfall then take enough Ambien to sleep for 8 hours).

When I lived in Mexico City for 8 years when I was much younger, the altitude did bring on insomnia (Bogata as much, much worse). Eventually, a doctor prescribed Ativan, which helped but is slightly addictive. It was only an uncomfortable week to get it out of the system when I returned to U.S.

Ambien I guess was fairly new when I first got it as my US doctor said he was prescribing it precisely because it as not addictive. That is WRONG. At least for me. It was very tough to get off. For 5-6 years, it was prescribed for me for use every night, I think a 10 mg dose. I had no idea I was addicted until I failed to pick up a refill on time. I was bouncing off walls. I got off it in States.

But with greater age, I suffered greatly from insomnia in 2015. I finally turned to finding Ambien. At first it as difficult with my regular doc reluctant (rightly) to prescribe it. But I'm wise to the ways of Mexico and got legal prescriptions, but this time used it only occasionally, once tor twice a week. If you're fluent in Spanish, you can do get it if you know Mexico or just find the right (but maybe not so right) doctor. (I was married to a Mexican living here before and her family showed me how things really function in Mexico).

Now living at sea level in Thailand I have no altitude insomnia and will live closer to sea level, much as I love Mexico City, when I return.

But again, you can get Ambien in Mexico but again, I strongly urge taking it only occasionally if you get it. The ironic thing is that it gives absolutely no buzz at all, unlike all other addictive drugs. It just puts you to sleep. When I was addicted (that's the right word, I guess), I was slightly miffed that Ambien gave me so much trouble but without the slightest "high" or anything. Didn't seem fair.

 

I have been having big problems with insomnia for a couple of years. For awhile I was taking Rivotril (for which you need a prescription here), and it really helped me get a good night's sleep. Then I weaned myself off it and turned to natural remedies (valerian, melatonin and magnesium), but they aren't helping much. I wonder if I should try Ambien.

 

Ambien, in the right dose, will put you to sleep really fast. It can also make you a little dizzy or floaty. You want to take it and immediately get into bed and turn off the light. If you're not asleep in 10 minutes, it didn't work.

But it has side effects. Like sleepwalking, getting up in the night to snack without remembering it at all (or even, some say, sleep driving!).

In my case, I have headaches the next day from it, and I have more trouble getting to sleep the second night. So it's sort of addictive for me too, in that respect. Usually when I take it I take it for only one night or two, then switch to an antihistimine based sleeping pill. I don't like those either, as they make me really drowsy the next day.

Mostly I just use Ambien when I absolutely have to go to sleep earlier than I've been accustomed to, e.g. for getting up for something important early in the morning, like a flight or appointment. And most of the time half a pill is enough. Which is why my 30 pill prescription has lasted a couple years.

There are, now, a couple other drugs that have come along after Ambien. It was the first sleeping pill that worked on your brain, like an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant pill, rather than being an antihistamine. But they're all strong stuff, and I pretty much support the notion that they should require a prescription from a doctor, especially for people who haven't used them before.

My Mom's doctor told her that the antihistamine-based sleeping drugs were not good for people over 80. That doctor put her on melatonin, and it helped her with her sleeping problem, which is different than mine.

I have trouble getting to sleep, but once I'm really asleep, I'm good. Even if I wake up in the middle of the night for a bathroom trip I can go right back to sleep, no problem.

My Mom's problem was that she'd go right to sleep but after three or four hours she'd wake up and be up for hours. The Melatonin does a good job on that for her, but she had to try different dosages to find out how much to take. (She's on 3 mg/night).

A lot of people develop sleep problems as they get older. It's worth discussing with your doctor. Maybe you need to take a bigger dose of melatonin. Melatonin is addicting too, in the sense that once you start on it, if you skip it you'll have trouble sleeping. But there's no withdrawal or "seeking" behavior, and there aren't any side effects except that if you take too much you'll want to sleep all day. AFAIK there's no problem with taking it for life. It affects different people differently. When my mom started taking Melatonin, the instructions were 1 mg/night for a week. If that didn't do it, 2 mg/night for a week, then 3mg for a week, then 4mg for a week, and then 5mg for a week. If 5 mg didn't do it, come back to see the doctor again (but they make 10 mg melatonin pills, so obviously some people take that much - but the doctor wanted to discuss before my Mom did that).

 

Thanks for your long, thoughtful response to my cry for help. I have asked one of my doctors for a recommendation of an insomnia specialist in Mexico City to help me with this rather distressing medical problem. It's really messing with my life!

 

When your circadian rhythm gets out of balance, job change, stress, late night owl-ness (my issue) it can affect desired sleeping pattern and can be difficult to reset. You may want to try light therapy to help stay awake during the day so sleep at night may be easier.

Here is one company offering such products:

https://www.verilux.com

 

In my case, I think the causes of insomnia are my age (72), stress from some recent health problems plus the death of my mother. I always thought that light therapy was mostly for SAD - never knew it could also help insomnia. Thanks so much for the link!

 

Ojosazules, any expert advice for those of us who suffer from insomnia?

 

I blew $400 on one of those lamps when I moved to seattle, didn't do anything for me that I could notice. Eventually gave it away when I moved to mexico.

Isla, be aware of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration

I think eye doctors will recommend you to always wear sun glasses when outside. Not sure whether that defeats the purpose for syncing sleep rhythms or not.

 

Marijuana is the best insomnia cure I've found. Don't know that it would work that way if one smokes it all the time, but I only use it for that purpose.

 

Not an option for me, but if it works for you, great.

 

FWIW I never did get a refill for my Ambien, I am using both melatonin and an antihistamine-based sleeping pill. The one I use is not the more common antihistamine that's in benadryl (diphenhydramine HCl), but rather Doxylamine succinate, which I think is the active ingredient in standard unisom. A "standard" dose (one pill) is 25 mg, I need far less than that, I either split them in half or 1/3 if I can manage.

One of the two makes me sleepy pretty quickly (20 minutes), the other keeps me from waking back up after an hour or two. Not sure which one does what for me. I don't take a very big dose of the melatonin either, some people take 10 mg, I take just 3.

I don't really like being addicted to the unisom, and I think I read something about it being associated with increased risk of dementia, but I haven't found an alternative.

Isla, did you ever get your insomnia dealt with satisfactorily?

 

Isla, did you ever get your insomnia dealt with satisfactorily?

Thanks for thinking of me and my insomnia problems, which are still with me. I take several drops of Clonazepam after crawling into bed every night. Sometimes it helps me get to sleep, sometimes not. I think a lot of it depends on my mental state at the time I turn out the lights. I'm sure that living through this Era of the Covid Pandemic has increased my tendency towards suffering from anxiety and a bit of depression, but I try my best not to despair when I don't get a good night's sleep.

 

Since my wife's passing (late Oct) I am having sleeping issues (and probably mental health issues as well). I definitely was drinking too much wine/tequila. I've cut that off and I think that is making me less tired. I've always gotten up at 4:30AM (the cats won't let me over sleep). At 6AM I go for a half hour walk. I'm thinking of slowly turning that into a jog. I've generally always gone to bed at 7-8 PM and read in bed until I got tired. Now I am trying to stay up until 10PM...

There really is a little known hierarchy of doctors in Mexico. At the bottom of the ladder are the doctors you find next to a farmacia, up from there you have those doctors at CruzRoja. Next up might be surgeons followed by oncologists. At the very top of the ladder are those doctors dealing in palliative care and anesthesiologists. (Or that is the conclusion I have come to). Each step up the ladder has more powerful drugs available. For example, the oncologist could not provide the same drugs as the palliative care provider. Someone help me - what is the correct spelling of that class of doctor which ends in 'ist' ?

btw : every now and then, if I get the point that I really need sleep, I take some Rivotril drops. That generally works. If I am feeling intense anxiety I take a Lexotan. (I've used up all the CBD oil we had laying around).

 

Since my wife's passing (late Oct) I am having sleeping issues (and probably mental health issues as well). …

I am so sorry to hear about your wife’s passing, MangoTango. I have not been on the forum for quite a while. My deepest condolences.

 

Nice charity that won't acknowledge the fact that a will was written poorly and there was no intention to give 50% to them until both homeowners had passed away.
Sounds like your charity isn't very charitable, insisting on taking money from a senior whose wife has just died.

 

Nice charity that won't acknowledge the fact that a will was written poorly and there was no intention to give 50% to them until both homeowners had passed away.
Sounds like your charity isn't very charitable, insisting on taking money from a senior whose wife has just died.

Yes - initially they were very understanding and (in English) wrote a very nice letter saying they had no interest in my wife's estate. I can't go into all the details but I think my situation may not be a priority (and this is a terrible time of year to get anything accomplished). There is a 'board of directors' for the charity and I have written some of the key players a rather lengthy history and sent it along. BUT I suspect it will sit in their 'inbox' until after the new year.

I do agree with you. You would think a charity would show a little compassion. In fairness to them - I was a little 'slow' in providing all the historical information documenting our will preparation process. (Actually I didn't anticipate the need to prove our experiences). I expected they would repudiate the claim. And not all the people involved know the entire history. Now when you read the whole story - including actual emails etc I think it makes a pretty strong case. But who knows. I had lunch with a couple friends today and they said - think positive. I said - that is not my nature. I would rather expect the worst case and be surprised afterwards.

 

well, it's good that you can get something that helps you sleep, but it's a pity that it takes a benzo. I'm surprised that you can get that in Mexico, you must have had to find a specialist who could prescribe it.

I'm thinking that legalization of marijuana might provide me an alternative to the stuff I am taking, but I'm wary about the side effects. The scientific establishment has been politically against marijuana for so long, and there have been so many studies funded by government with an agenda to make it sound dangerous, that I'm unable to assess how much of that is real science and how much is paid-for-findings and whether there are psychological side effects with a significant chance of occurring.

At any rate, it's no decision for now as the stuff is still illegal and I'm not about to try black market weed and risk having a dealer adulterate it with a little meth just to get me hooked on that.

 

well, it's good that you can get something that helps you sleep, but it's a pity that it takes a benzo. I'm surprised that you can get that in Mexico, you must have had to find a specialist who could prescribe it.

Until a few years ago, you could get benzos, et al. and antibiotics without a prescription. Now, thankfully, that has changed and has cut down on the over-prescription of antibiotics, in particular. I first started taking what I call my "magic drops" when my eye doctor recommended them, before a prescription was needed. Since then, first my former shrink and now a friend who is a physician have written prescriptions for me. Last night I was so tired that I fell asleep on my own, so maybe I won't need them anymore! In any event, I only take a small dose, usually 6 drops.

 

Isla Verde. I feel for you. I had a heart attck ( monor, sortof) in 2015. Insomnia was the result. I would go to bed and the "gears kept turning". Thinking about everything. Will the garden tractor start?, is it going to rain/, did I lock the door?, and so on. I cannot take ambien or anything like that. I have wild dreams and see dead people. Melatonin does nothing for me. I was taking diphenhydramine pills. Worked some of the time. Now I take Zquil which is the liquid form. Also one Ibuprofen. Works great. Been doing this for a month. I am aware that no matter what you take there are side effects. Dementia being the most serious. But a lack of sleep is even worse. I suppose you have tried all the common cures. The only ones that helped were: Dark room, sleep mask and cool room. I hope this helps. Non sleep is like a curse!

 

have you tried full-spectrum CBD oil? It really helps me sleep.

 

Thus may be off topic. Mcdonalds in Canada makes a great breakfast bagel sandwich. I make them with Costco bagels. First is to cook some bacon in the micro. I have a little teflon ring for frying an egg. toast the bagel. add some mayo, 2 halves of a bacon strip, tomato and lettuce. Yummy. BUT not recommended for a good night's sleep. Ariana Huffington has written a book on sleeping. It is interesting. She touches on a breathing exercise. I do not remember the exact method but Dr. Google should have it. You breathe in, hold your breath and then exhale slowly. This helps by concentrating on the breathing and not thinking of the problems of the world. Try it. Costs nothing. No drugs.

 

Mercado Libre seems to have something, but most of what they offer are either books, or for dogs, or for cats. But I think there's at least one 'organic' option that's for people. And I suppose the gummies are for people.

I didn't know it was already legal in Mexico.

 

There is this :
Cbd Oil | Smok

But it is THC free. I'm not sure 'full spectrum' CBD oil is available in Mexico.
At one point we had a cat for which the vet wanted us to try full spectrum CBD oil.
I believe what we purchased came from the States. (It was at least twice as expensive as that from the smok folks.

 

Natural sleep aids without all the side effects... tryptophan, melatonin, valerian, california poppy, kava root.

 

Guess you didn't bother yourself to read through this thread to see that some of us have tried all these natural remedies to no avail.

 

Ambien: Is dependence a concern? - Mayo Clinic