What brand/type of sleeping pill for first night in Europe?

This is something to discuss with your doctor. He or she will be the best person to give advice on this. Remember that you can have an allergic reaction to any drug. The same pill that works for Rick may or may not work for you.

My husband and I do not take a sleeping pill on our first night in Europe. We take a long walk the first day we arrive, and by bedtime we are so tired from jet lag and walking, we drop into bed and sleep soundly. Just because Rick takes a pill to sleep, doesn't mean you will necessarily need one.

Good advice above. I used to take an excedrin PM on the flight over but nothing else on the first night or flight home. I've gone away from that in favor of Melatonin for a couple nights before the flight (going to bed earlier than normal) through the first night on the ground in Europe. It seems to work well enough for me.

And absolutely test it before you travel!

Hmm... Long haul flight with 4 kids. I can't imagine that you won't be tired enough to sleep:)

I bring melatonin tablets, the brand Midnight, but usually my first night in Europe I've stayed awake and done so much that I totally crash, no need for a sleeping aid whatsoever.

I used to take Ambien on the flight over and on the first night after arrival. This kept me from waking up at 1:30 in the morning. However, I am a very light sleeper. Now, I take benedryl. The only thing I don't like is the benedryl "hangover" the next morning.

Whatever you decide to do, as other posters have said. Try it at home first.

Ambien, or its generic equivalent, does the job for us. With it we're able to get 4-6 hours of quality sleep on the flight over, and it's terrific for acclimating to the new time zone ... with no drug hangover as we've experienced with some of the OTC remedies.
As others have suggested, do check with your doctor (you'll need a prescription for it anyway) and try it out before the trip.

Absolutely, ask your doctor. I'd be especially cautious about pills for a 13-year-old, if you are thinking of giving him or her pills too.

Unfortunately, you don't say which direction you are coming from. I'll assume it's the United States. In that case, if you do get some sleep on the plane, it's going to feel like the night only had about three hours. You may simply be dead tired when you arrive and not need the pill at all.

Wkaty,

Do take heed to Rebecca's advice and discuss this with your doctor and your children's doctor. As others have mentioned, you may be exhausted ( I am) when you arrive to your European destination that you won't need anything to help you sleep other than a a comfy pillow and bed.

Have a wonderful trip!

I use Cabernet. usually requires 3 to 4 doses

James, that is an awesome comment. Personally, I prefer 2-3 doses of Shiraz.

Did a medical professional advise you that you (or kids) even need a sleeping pill, or are you just responding to what Rick allegedly does? I would not take any drug without any justification - you could end up easily feeling worse.

Never heard that about Rick.

Never take anything like that myself. My problem is staying awake after the flight long enough to do all the things I want/need before I fall asleep.

But I understand everyone is different. So please ask your doctor if you feel you will need something. Doctor might suggest something like Melatonin. Or might prescribe something like Ambien. But that will be the doctor's decision and he or she should know best. Also try whatever you end up with before the trip to see if it works as expected and to make sure you don't have a bad reaction.

Completely foreign concept of needing a pill to sleep on the first night.

Usually its a struggle to stay awake until dark.

Where did you read RS takes a pill?

If you do not need sleep aids at home, seems unlikely you would need one for Europe.

If you are not on a sleep aid now, do consult your doctor. You certainly do not want to deal with an unexpected reaction on your first night.

Thanks so much, everyone.

I have issue sleeping even at home. (I already take melatonin.)

My husband, who usually sleeps like a rock, has a difficult time STAYING asleep his first night. That is what I am trying to avoid.

I'll ask my doctor about Ambien for me and try it out in advance. (I haven't slept much the last 3 nights, so maybe it will help.) But, I'll just have the kids drink milk to get some tryptophan.

Thanks again!

Turkey milkshakes for the children. ; )

Either what James and Emily said, or melatonin. I do remember reading in one of Rick's books that he takes 1/2 an ambien on the flight over to Europe.

...but he doesn't say which brand/type.
Rick admits to using Ambien (generic name zolpidem).
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/health/jet-lag

The last thing I want to do is promote a pharmaceutical, but I must
admit that the sleep aid Ambien (generic name zolpidem) has become
my friend in fighting jet lag. Managing a good seven hours of sleep a
night in Europe (or after flying home) hastens my transition to local
time. That way, I'm not disabled by sleepiness that first afternoon
and can stay awake until a decent bedtime. Ambien can have side
effects, and if misused, can be habit-forming; consult with your
doctor, and read and follow the directions carefully.

I concur with James & Emily. A nice glass or two or three of wine will do wonders. I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, and find that Advil PM also works for me. Someone mentioned Benedryl, and that's a good option too. Covers allergies and getting a good nights sleep. The one draw back with Benadryl is the grogginess the next morning.

I don't think there is one fix for everyone, so I concur, checking with your Dr. and trying out options far enough ahead of time are important.

I've been to Germany before, and had problems adjusting to the time difference. I hope to be better prepared for our trip this year.

Ambien has a "hang over" effect the day after for some people, including headache. And impared motor function the day after taking it. (it's a muscle relaxant.) Which means you could fall going down some stairs or getting on or off a bus. A couple of years ago, I had sleep problems, and the doctor prescribed Ambien for me. The main problem was sleepwalking, which is a common problem with Ambien. Plus I had the above described after effects the next day. Just not worth it for me. And I never really felt like I was asleep after taking Ambien, just very dizzy! I really hate Ambien.

Read "Adverse effects" here and see if you're still wanting some Ambien:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolpidem

Benedryl works when I can't sleep. Do not get the non-drowsy formula! LOL! Get original formula.
Works a heck of a lot better than Ambien.
If you do ask your doctor for something, ask if he has a newer sleep drug that is better than Ambien! (They do!)

You wrote:
"My husband, who usually sleeps like a rock, has a difficult time STAYING asleep his first night. That is what I am trying to avoid."
If you read the article above, it says that Ambien has been found to be NOT effective at helping people to stay asleep.
You need a different sleeping pill.

I had a doctor prescribe Ambien for some sleep issues I was having. I take it a few days a week and it works quite well for me. I fall asleep and stay asleep. I travel with it. I should say that I only take HALF of one, and I have no side effects. Once I took a whole one. Never again. Of course, all of this was under my doctors supervision.

Every drug or medicine, prescription or over the counter, has different effects on different people.
I have used Ambien, off and on for years, and have never experienced any of the effects mentioned by Rebecca. Which is exactly why to go to your doctor, get a one month prescription, ( I pay $1. 08 for the generic) and you test it out a couple of weeks before you go to see how effective it is for you, how you feel the morning after, will you have any reactions, before you leave on the trip.

There's Ambien and there is Ambien CR. If your husband has no trouble falling asleep, but has trouble staying asleep, then he needs to talk to his doctor about whether he is a candidate for Ambien CR. Not sure how liberal your doctors are with writing out a prescription for sleeping pills. I have a high stress job which sometimes causes me to have trouble staying asleep, but I have yet to find a doctor willing to prescribe Ambien CR - you'd think I was asking them for hillbilly heroin! The only things that sometimes help me stay asleep are either Tylenol Simply Sleep (OTC) or smoking weed (not really a viable option for you unless you are going to Amsterdam as your first stop in Europe!). But even with the Tylenol being an OTC, I'd still ask the doctor if it is right for your husband and test it out at home before taking it for the first time when you are overseas.

it says that Ambien has been found to be NOT effective at helping
people to stay asleep.

Same thing goes for the shiraz/cabernet therapy.

You might ask your doctor for a muscle relaxant, such as Valium.
But do not drink when taking Valium or other muscle relaxants.

Thanks, Edgar, for the RS info.

Thanks again, everyone.

I wound up getting a 1/2 dose (5 mg) prescription of Ambien. But, frankly, I'm kind of scared to take it. The pharmacist told me that women usually have a more difficult time absorbing it (and the Wiki article Rebecca posted concurs). He said I should take it on an empty stomach to help with that, so it will be absorbed faster and subsequently out of my system sooner. He also said studies have shown that women are more accident-prone the next day (again Wiki article concurs). So, IF I were take it, I will be especially cautious the next day... and not drive either. But, it's the possibility of hallucinations and sleep walking/eating/driving while ON it that freak me out the most. Yikes! (I'd have to hid my car keys from myself under one of my kids' mattresses, I guess.) ;-)

Maybe just knowing I COULD take it will help. (It happened before with another issue and prescription I never took.) ;-)

Ceidleh, my husband only has problems staying asleep the first couple of nights when he travels to Scotland for work. (Like I mentioned, he usually sleeps like a rock.) That's why I have been wondering if I should test Ambien at home (just one night) for the first night I'm in the UK (coming up soon).

But, after reading the Wiki article (thanks, Rebecca) about it NOT helping people STAY asleep, I guess it doesn't make sense to take it. I have been falling asleep okay, just not STAYING asleep more than 5 hours. Unfortunately, the prescription was called in prior to Rebecca's post. I don't know how the doctor would react to my asking for ANOTHER sleeping pill. LOL!

You may want to try Benedryl and see how it does for you. Take it about 2 hours before you go to bed. For me, it is the most effective drug for getting to sleep and staying asleep. No hangover the next day.

Talk to your pharmacist about sleep meds to see which OTC ones you should try.

My wife and I take Ambien on every trip. This time we didn't make the same mistake of years past and automatically took one before bed for the first five nights and it helped a lot. Coming from the West Coast we have 9 hours to deal with and it ain't easy. This trip I scheduled a bike tour for our first day (before we could check into our room) to keep us outside and active. Between not taking a daytime nap and the Ambien, we slept through the night when we would have normally been awake at 1:00am. Don't wait till you can't sleep in the middle of the night to take one, you need eight hours to get the full effect with minimal side effect. I should have saved some from when we came home because I was out of it for a week.

More evidence that every drug affects different people differently.

Another good over the counter sleep remedy is Dramamine. It's sold for motion sickness. People usually take it on a sea cruise to prevent sea sickness. But it can also put you to sleep. This is another of my preferred remedies. Very gentle and effective, for me at least.

"Every drug or medicine, prescription or over the counter, has different effects on different people.
I have used Ambien, off and on for years, and have never experienced any of the effects mentioned by Rebecca. Which is exactly why to go to your doctor, get a one month prescription, ( I pay $1. 08 for the generic) and you test it out a couple of weeks before you go to see how effective it is for you, how you feel the morning after, will you have any reactions, before you leave on the trip."
Well said. We've generally found that testing out any meds in small doses is a good idea, although for either the Cabernet or Shiraz "treatments" I think a more prolonged and extensive trial program is probably in order.