Best sleeping pill for longer term use?

Hi, as I have gotten older my sleeping has become less. In reading all the responses I hate to say that every one of the suggested sleep aid used in long term has been proven to add to the cause of dementia. The reason I know this is my dad, 80 years old, is now dealing with dementia. His doctor gave a list of medications to stay away from that are known to be a problem/cause. There is Tier 1, 2 and 3. The Amitriptyline, Diphenhydramine, and Doxylamine are 3 that are used and they are in the tier 3, which is the worst. That is why I stopped all the OTC sleep aids and was looking for a safe prescription to ask about. I have a cabinet full of natural sleep aids but only sleep 3 hours with them. It's very frustrating because now days everything is bad for you! Just really want a good 6-7 hours uninterrupted sleep! Just wanted to share what I have learned about dementia mainly, it's an awful disease and would like everyone to know what I have learned.

Ive used Ambien for a good while. Recently my doctor didnt want to prescribe it anymore and had me try trazadone. I started hearing my name called out and other voicesthat i knew weren't real. The doctor said to stop. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks and i really want something i can use longer term, but one that doesn't make me crazy.

Well, everyone has it covered! Both amitriptyline and trazodone are great for sleep. The only other thing I may suggest is plain old Benadryl. It is the active ingredient for sleep in Tylenol PM and those types of drugs. If you take other drugs for pain relief and dont need the extra tylenol, you can take a Benadryl at bedtime.

I use Trazadone for sleep. It works great for me. I can get up for my kids or the bathroom and get back to sleep. I don't feel drowsy in the morning when I get up either. Hope this helps!

I also take amitriptyline 50mg at night-time for sleep. I agree 100% with the other response. I have chronic pain and also have insomnia. I took Ambien for years and have had serious memory issues as a side-effect. I've since switched to Amitriptyline and it totally helps with sleep. It's not like a normal sleeping pill though (because technically it's not a sleeping pill), you need to take it a couple of hours before bedtime and then it just slowly creeps on you, and before you know it you feel "naturally" sleepy. The side effects that I've had have been minimal and include: sweating, dry mouth, dizziness. I didn't get the dizziness at lower doses, I just started getting dizzy when we upped the mg to 50 from 25.

Hi, i would talk to your dr about trying amitriptyline. They are primarily an antidepressant when used at higher doses, but i was prescribed them for relief of pain and insomnia. They can be used safely long term. I've been taking them for 2 and a half years now. They take a little time to get in to your system, say a week or 2, but they are the best thing i've tried. And i've tried a lot of things! I take 50mg an hour before bed