Posted by larryhoover on February 11, 2013, at 9:53:27
In reply to Insomnia--Restoril?, posted by brynb on February 11, 2013, at 4:53:23
I'd like to expand a little bit on what Cam said.
Temazepam (Restoril) is a minor active metabolite of diazepam (Valium), which might conceivably have been known as hydroxy-diazepam, rather than receiving a unique name. I would argue that one of the reasons diazepam works as a sedative/hypnotic is via this hydrozy-metabolite. So, why not just take the temazepam directly, and avoid some of the hangover effects (longer half-life) and potential interactions (one more liver enzymatic step) from diazepam?
They say that temazepam is only approved for short-term treatment of insomnia. I've been using it for probably a decade now, and it not only remains effective, I believe it to be the main reason I am doing so much better these days. Sleep is of fundamental importance to my well-being.
A couple of years ago, I actually did a trial of doing without the temazepam, without my doctor's knowledge. I made up my own capsules of graduated declining doses (to avoid withdrawal/rebound effects), and over the course of two months I went to zero. I went without for six weeks, to see if my sleep would normalize, but it never did. I was in a steep functional decline. So, I went back on the temazepam, and I slept like a baby once more. And I went back to being functional once more.
Just a little of my experience.
Lar
poster:larryhoover
thread:1037834
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130205/msgs/1037852.html