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Boots SleepeazeTablets
by basketofbuttons
If I am stressed I have trouble with sleep, either I have trouble dropping off or if I do manage to drop off quickly, then I find I can snap awake during the middle of the night for absolutely no reason at all and it's just impossible to get back to sleep again. I drive my husband mad as I start to spend ages wriggling around the bed, ... trying to find a comfortable cool position.
Not wishing to resort to prescription drugs, I tried a bit of DIY and bought some of Boot's own brand 'sleeping tablets' called Sleepeaze. Not a very original name, I grant you, but I thought they might be worth a try as I had nothing to lose. I paid only £3.05 for a little box of 20 tablets, which the pharmacist assured me would only act as a very light to mild sedative and they wouldn't make me feel groggy the following morning.
The tablets are small and white and as they are coated, they are also very easy to swallow. I took two about half an hour before bed with a very small glass of water. I have used these sleeping tablets now on about 8 occasions so I have used up best part of my box of 20 tablets but I'm afraid that as a sleeping tablet they just don't do the trick for me at all. I think I might need something a little bit more industrial strength.
These tablets didn't help me to drop off and I found myself lying in bed 'waiting' for my self to feel relaxed and sleepy. I still wake up several times during the night and can't get back to sleep once I have woken up. This happens regardless of whether I have taken these tablets or not and I don't honestly think they make one jot of difference to the quality of my sleep.
On the upside, they don't make me feel groggy the following morning, either. That's possibly because they are absolutely hopeless, though, so as far as my recommendation of these pills go, I'm sad to say they are simply no good for me at all and I might as well have had a couple of Smarties before bed.
I give them only one star.
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Lloyds Tens Machine Digital Pain Reliever
by spiritwood
I first experienced the joys of a Tens machine when in labour with my now 3 year old daughter. I had decided on a homebirth and no pain relief ( fool ) and had begged a Tens from the Community Midwife team. The one that they gave me was a dual channel machine (better for labour ) and it was a bit battered. Considering the life that it ... had led ( howls of agony and much foul language I imagine ), it did the job well. The whiskey and hot baths helped too of course.
My daughter was delivered safely and I achieved my aim of minimal pain relief (bar whiskey and swearing) so all was well that ends well. Or maybe not. Having my daughter left me with a permanently unstable pelvis and painful back, and as a result of this I am on strong opiate pain patches and top up codeine/morphine/ tramadol probably for the rest of my life. I also walk like John Wayne so if you see a pink haired hippy type hobbling around the Welsh beaches, do stop and say hello....
The medicine that I am on is semi-effective but I do get some quite harsh breakthrough pain. As I breastfed I did not want to keep popping yet more pills ( even though my Dr gave me the go ahead and only a tiny amount is transfered in breastmilk anyway) so I looked towards more topical treatments and another Tens machine for home use. As the previous one had gone back to the midwives, no doubt to witness more foul language, I decided that I would grab one of these Lloyds pharmacy ones.
Now I love David Hasselhoff as much as the next person, but I doubt that even the smooth talking hairy one could send electricity down my spine and pelvic regions quite like this little machine... (I do not want to think about this too much though....)
I have had this for 3 years and it has even survived being dropped down the toilet. Twice. Unlike Mr Hasselhoff I would imagine.
WHAT IS TENS?
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or Tens, is the usage of electricity powered by a usually small and portable machine. The aim is to stimulate the nerves and release endorphins which aid pain relief.
The benefit of TENS for pain is controversial as some people find it does not work or they cannot stand the sensation of being slowly and cruelly electrocuted. Many people including me find them invaluable. There ARE some serious contraindications for certain people so please check out the safety section below.
THE MACHINE:
The Lloyds one was the easiest one for me to access locally and it seemed to be a very reasonable price. I think that I paid £14.99 for mine when it was on offer. It was basic and certainly had less features than the maternity one but this is a single channel machine and I did not expect too much. It came with two attached electrodes and a digital screen. There were several options for adjustment of the current and pulsing pattern which is useful for those who do not enjoy the experience of being electrocuted continuously at high power. I however did and found the lower settings far too weak and wibbly for my obviously quite masochistic needs. When powered up full whack, this little plastic box packs a punch. There is a 15 minute timer on the unit but I have worn it for hours at a time with no ill effects.
The unit itself is a housed in a white and clean looking plastic case with decent sized buttons for on/off, mode and stop. The buttons are large enough for somebody with a visual impairment to navigate as they are not too close together or tiny. It features an adjustable current/intensity and a timer facility. The Lloyds Tens machine is quite a dainty piece of kit at just 12 x 6cm and can easily fit in a pocket. Like all of the Tens I have seen, it has a belt clip on the back allowing it to be securely attached to jeans etc or even a shirt pocket. This machine is powered by 2x AAA batteries, but these are not included in the box which is a bit of a drawback.
ELECTRODE PADS:
All single channel Tens units have two electrode pads (the dual channel ones have four ).
In the case of the Lloyds one the electrodes are attached to a decent and sturdy 3ft cable. The electrode pads clip to the top of the machine and replacements are available for between £5-£9 online via Amazon or Lloyds themselves. I have replaced mine twice due to cat hair issues and water damage (see below ).
I have not experimented to see if another brand of electrodes would fit but I would hazard a guess that they would going by the standard design of the connectors on this machine. The pads have a peel off cover and are sticky yet residue free. To use these you basically plonk them where you want them to be and they do stay put. You can replace the covers if you wish when finished with the machine or stick them to the back of the Tens like do. Each set of electrodes lasted me approximately 9 months or so after a lot of heavy use (and cat wrestling).
HOW TO USE:
The Tens from Lloyds comes with decent enough instructions which are easy to follow. There is also a wealth of information available on the net. In a nutshell though, you would need to choose the appropriate mode relative to your pain levels and needs and the location of said pain. I would recommend that anybody who is new to the experience of being pulsed by sharp stabs of electric current starts off on the lowest setting unless you want everybody in the vicinity to laugh as you hit the ceiling. A lot.
The Tens is useful for many types of pain including arthritis, back pain, labour pain, sports injuries, period pain and all manner of sprains and aches. It is especially suited to back pain.
Although not a miracle cure in any capacity the Tens is very useful tool to have when you suffer from chronic pain.
FEATURES:
* Predominantly safe and effective for the majority of people but read up on contraindications in the case of pregnancy, cancer, epilepsy and infection.
* Simple easy to use interface with decent sized controls
* Minimal side effects (some topical skin irritation is noted in some users )
* Easy to Use, Lightweight and Portable
* Complete with 2 (single channel ) very sticky pads that stay put.
* Easy to buy replacement electrode pads
* Adjustable Power and pulse patterns to suit a variety of needs.
* Provides temporary pain relief
* Requires 2xAAA batteries (not included)
SAFETY:
This list is very important to consider if you do decide to give a Tens machine a go.
Tens should NOT be used by anybody with an artificial cardiac pacemaker (or other indwelling stimulator, including across its leads) as it can interfere with the implanted device. ( Digby, G. C.; Daubney, M. E.; Baggs, J.; Campbell, D.; Simpson, C. S.; Redfearn, D. P.; Brennan, F. J.; Abdollah, H. et al. (2009). "Physiotherapy and cardiac rhythm devices: a review of the current scope of practice".)
It is unclear whether there is risk attached to using a Tens over a site of infection and there is the concern that this could spread the infection deeper into the body, however there are few peer reviewed studies on this. I imagine that the electrode pads would need to be replaced for every use in the case of infection therefore making it a costly exercise.
Tens machines are also contraindicated for people who have epilepsy and ironically pregnancy is also contraindicated despite their main uses being for labour.
The electrodes should not be placed across the eyes, uterus if pregnant, across the larynx/voicebox, internally, on broken skin or wounds, over a tumour (in vitro experiments show that electricity promotes cell growth ) or directly on the spine.
In conclusion:
Tens machines used to be fairly unobtainable for the mere mortal a few years ago but have become more popular and less expensive in the last decade and I can understand why. I find this little machine to be very affective in breakthrough pain management and it has often stopped me from having to reach for strong medication. I recommend this 100%. Eventually I will replace it with a dual channel one which is more powerful but for everyday use this gets full marks from me. The only downside would be the rather mean lack of batteries in the box.
Thank you for reading my (long) review....
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Boots SleepeazeTablets
by rji0907
I am not a great sleeper, yet if I don't get a good 7-8 hours sleep, I am like a zombie the next day so it is really important to me that I get a good nights sleep. My problem is that with such a hectic life, I struggle to switch off at night and I am a light sleeper generally anyway so the slightest noise wakes me up and then I struggle ... to get back off, meaning on average I only get 5 hours sleep maximum.
I didn't feel the need to visit a doctor as I don't see it as a medical problem so I visited our local Boots chemist and got some 'off the shelf' sleeping tablets to see if they would help me get a good nights sleep.
I purchased the Boots Sleepeaze tablets on the recommendation of the chemist in Boots and I specified that I wanted a mild sleeping tablet that would help me sleep through the night, but wouldn't 'knock me out' to the degree that I wouldn't be able to be alert if my son needed me and I didn't want to feel groggy or sleepy for work the next day.
For the price of £3.05, you get 20 tablets in a box and you take two tablets with water, 20 minutes before going to bed, though the instructions do stress that if these don't work for you, you aren't allowed to take a third tablet during the night.
I have to say that these tablets worked really well for me. I found that I still woke a couple of times during the night, but I managed to get back off to sleep again really quickly and I felt the morning after that I'd had a really good nights sleep. I didn't feel low or lethargic and I felt quite energised which was exactly what I wanted.
Although I didn't sleep through without waking, I was really impressed with these. I only wanted a mild tablet anyway as I was really worried about side effects and I didn't want to get 'hooked' on stronger tablets so a mild tablet to aid my sleep was all I wanted and that is what I got with these.
If your sleeping pattern is worse, then you may need something a little stronger than these or something prescribed by a doctor, but for mild concerns where you just need that little bit of help to switch off, then these are great.
Overall, these are well priced sleeping tablets, they work well on mild problems and don't leave you feeling groggy or drowsy the day after and therefore they come with a recommendation from me.
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