Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] My son was killed in the line of duty in 2004. (police officer) At that time I went on Ambien in order to sleep. As time went on, mainly in the last two years I was taking one at night, one during an early nap in the afternoon and sometimes more than that. My family bugged me to get off so in July I told myself I could get off. I am was having alot of pain in my legs if I sat in a car or straight chair. Anyways my doctor recommended I take seroquel to help me get off Ambien. It seemed to help me get sleepy but lately has not helped me sleep for 6-7 hours. I teacher 2nd grade so have to be ready for combat duty (ha) I talked to my doctor yesterday and said I wanted to go back to Ambien but she said she would rather I did not and thought it would be better if I try something else. She prescribed trazodone 50 mg and I can take two a night. I took two and it made me sleepy but that was and hour and a half ago and I am wide awake. I am 62 and with working full tiime and teaching two nights on top of that, I need my sleep. That s all I want to do is sleep. Please let me know what you would suggest. I noticed I already had a bottle of trazodone in the cabinet so it probably did not help me sleep before. It was dated about 2 years ago. Help if you can. F Sawyers
[|AI|]  Hi, In my opinion, you should combine non-pharmacological methods of improving sleep with your medicines (either Seroquel or trazodone) to get the best possible results without needing to overdose. Try simple techniques of improving sleep hygiene like avoiding naps in daytime, avoiding coffee or stimulants from evening onwards, eating your last meal at least two hours before bedtime, cutting down on alcohol etc. Also practice relaxation exercises like yoga or progressive muscular relaxation exercises to help your body relax and get good sleep. Taking only medicines will not solve your problem. Best wishes.