Anyone that has found anything to stay asleep. I need your help. I can fall asleep but only sleep for an hour or two.
All I get is broken sleep which is making fighting this disease a lot harder. I use to take Klonopin to sleep but my insurance won't cover it and I can't afford it anymore.
I need something to sleep I really would like to not have to take a script so any type of mineral or vitamin that works for you please let me know. Thank you
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
Magnesium works very well for me.. Best sleep I've had in years.
Posted by needhelp38 (Member # 27665) on :
I take magnesium maybe i am not taking enough. How much do you take?
Posted by tricia386 (Member # 29623) on :
I take 500 mg's a night but Melatonin also works. Start with the 1mg and then work yourself up to 3 if you need to
Posted by Remember to Smile (Member # 25481) on :
I love Magnesium Serene berry flavor powder by Source Naturals. I take it in divided doses throughout the day, esp afternoon and bedtime. Not with abx.
My LLMD has me count up my total calcium intake from all sources, then balance the magnesium about 1:1 ratio. I take about 1,000 mg Ca and 875 mg Magnesium/day.
Couldn't handle more than 200 mg Magnesium at first; it caused diarrhea. Everyone is unique, so start slow and build up to your body's tolerance level.
Other nutritional helps: 500 mg L-Tyrosine on an empty stomach in the evening. Great for combatting S.A.D.
Read "Potatoes Not Prozac" (available via your library system). She offers many useful dietary tips!
Drink chamomile tea and/or a sleepy-time blend beginning in the afternoon.
NO tv, computer, or video games after dark. Try to align yourself with the sun. Adjust your body clock to rise with the sun and sleep when it gets dark. Ok to read something relaxing (an enjoyable novel or light magazine), but electronics are too stimulating.
Keep your bedroom very dark. May need thicker window shades...
Most recommend getting up and leaving the bedroom if you find you're not falling back to sleep. Go to another room and curl up with a book under a warm blankie. Often helps to eat a small complex-carb snack with little protein, like a half cup of brown rice or one slice of Ezekial bread toast with coconut oil spread. Don't allow yourself to eat more than one small serving, or you may find you're re-energized rather than soothed.
Pleasant dreams, Smile
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
Because I am weird,,,,salt makes me sleep like a baby.
Salty popcorn or pretzels etc and I am fast asleep.
A salt tab like they handed out by the handfuls back in the 60's and 70's makes me dream deep and sleep hard. Ambiens dont even work as well.
You tell me why,,,cause I havent figured it out but LLMD says there is a reason for it.
Posted by Dekrator48 (Member # 18239) on :
I started sleeping much better 2 weeks after I started using bioidentical hormones.
I am also helped by taking l-theanine 400 mg, l-tryptophan 1000mg at night, and SUBLINGUAL melatonin 15mg at bedtime(Source Naturals brand SL melatonin comes in 1 mg and 5 mg tabs).
I was told to start with 1 mg sublingual melatonin and work up until it makes you sleepy, to no more than 18mg.
It is also vital that I get off the computer and turn off the lights by about 8:30 pm.
Then I lay down on the couch in the dark and watch tv. I take my l-theanine and l-tryptophan around 9:30 pm and then later when I get real sleepy I put the sublingual melatonin under my tongue and go to bed in a dark, cool bedroom.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
Topic: NATURAL SLEEP - Links to articles & supplements
ADRENAL SUPPORT also included here. --
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i can't sleep for more than 1/2 or so. nothing seems to help.
i tried ambien and all but the side effects were too bad.
i catnap and that's about it. i haven't slept in years.
Posted by penguingirl (Member # 28688) on :
I take at least 600 mg of gabapentin (anti-seizeure medication) which knocks me out but takes me awhile to get sleepy now that I've been on it since July..
I don't think I get a deep sleep though because I get woken up easily by the heater noise or outside noise..
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I take:
250 mg of trazodone 2/3 pill of Ambien 2 - 3 mg of melatonin (timed release)
Then when I wake up several hours later, I take the 1/3 of the Ambien. Works like a charm.
Posted by arkiehinny (Member # 26546) on :
I understand where you're coming from on the sleep deprivation. We all experienced it at one time or another. It's terrible. I found that once I started on Lexapro, then a vitamin called Cerofolin (mega folic acid) and Melatonin, I slept much better. Also chiropractic treatments were started at this time too.
I'll never forget the first night in weeks that I actually slept all night! What a relief. Different things help different people. Good luck!
Posted by kday (Member # 22234) on :
I'd bet it was the Cerefolin that helped sleep and not Lexapro. Cerefolin supports the methylation cycle with methylcobalamin (B12) and L-methylfolate (active form of folic acid). NAC for some reason has negative effects when combined with Folate and B12 and if I were to design this drug, I would have definitely left out NAC. NAC is supposed to help your liver produce glutathione, but when taken with these active vitamins, it actually seems to be able to screw up methylation (bad), and actually halt the production of glutathione instead of encouraging it. Strange indeed. I consider it a design flaw, but if it works for you, use it.
Years ago, I had depression. They put me on Cymbalta. They added Deplin (L-methylfolate), and my depression symptoms started getting better. Against the advice of the psychiatrist, I stopped the Cymbalta, and continued the Deplin for a while. My depression went away.
Looking back, I had no idea what pill did what. But in the end I obviously didn't have a Cymbalta deficiency, but perhaps a folate deficiency combined with undermethylation.
Drugs like Deplin are advertised to increase the effectiveness of SSRIs - a bunch of marketing in my opinion and not much more.
FYI: My own dosing of MethylB12 (initially 25 mg injections - now taking low dose sublinguals), L-methylfolate, and P5P were what allowed me to sleep again.
Posted by 365SunnyDays (Member # 29969) on :
I take 0.5 mg Klonopin and 1.5 mg Melatonin, which gets me through the first few hours of sleep (typically until 3-4 AM), then I take more Melatonin and that usually puts me back to sleep for another couple of hours. Acupuncture and restorative yoga help a bit too.
However, on certain of the abx, I have not slept at all. Not sure if that's a herx or the bugs acting up (I feel like the latter.)
Posted by kidsgotlyme (Member # 23691) on :
my daughter takes 100mg of 5-HTP every night and it works like a charm.
I bought one that also has valerian root in it to get the added benefits.
Posted by terv (Member # 29410) on :
I have had insomnia for 25 years. For the first 20 years I couldn't stay asleep. The last 5 years I couldn't get to sleep. I take 5 - 10 mg amitriptyline to stay asleep. It is an very old antidepressant that is used in small doses for insomnia. When I couldn't get to sleep I added 1 mg of Lorazepam. And some nights when all that doesnt work and I just take ambien on top of that.
I have tried compounded melatonin and it helped some but not enough to eliminate the meds. Gave me some interesting dreams though.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
5HTP and amitriptyline are both similar to trazodone.
Posted by aklnwlf (Member # 5960) on :
I take 2 teaspoons of SuperMag magnesium powder with vitamin C mixed in 2 cups water.
Also I take 2 Vitamin Shoppe M.D Select Advanced Sleep Formula.
It has 5 HTP, Melatonin, Hops, Passion Flower, Valerian, L-Theanine and GABA in it.
Also I might have a glass of wine or a mixed drink.
SuperMag and Advanced Sleep Formula you can get online at Vitamin Shoppe if there isn't one where you live.
Sweet dreams!
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
quote:Originally posted by needhelp38: I take magnesium maybe i am not taking enough. How much do you take?
I take 400 mg in the morning and 400 at night.
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
No help but can relate.. NO SLEEP.. I have tired the magnesium and xanax did get about 4 hrs. but then its up and down all night.
Sometimes I wish I could go to sleep and sleep till the lyme is gone but can't even get a good nights sleep..
Will be reading other's answers..
phyl
Posted by needhelp38 (Member # 27665) on :
Thank you for all suggestions and advice. I really appreciate it.
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