penguingirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28688
posted
This is torture. How many days/ weeks/months do I have to go with horrible sleep? It will take me a good few hours to dose off then I will wake up frequentlly.
Don't know if this is the lyme or the abx that is not letting me sleep or what.
I tried valerian glyerite last night.. no help.. I am so groggy now because I finally slept somewhat consistently from 4am.
I thought about Melatonin because I saw some posts here recommending it, but when I went to Whole Paycheck yesterday to get some, I noticed it says on the bottle, not for long-term use. I'm not sure if that means more than a few months or what.. so I took the valerian way.
I really just want to sleep. This throws of my whole day. I am working from home so luckily don't have to worry about commuting, etc but I can't just nap in the middle of the day either.
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posted
I am sorry penguingirl for what you are going through. Valerian and Melatonin did not help my wife at all. She was able to sleep by taking Magnesium (calm) at night. Her Herbalist recommended drinking skullcap tea before bed time. It also helped her alot.
-------------------- LC 7.09 IGG66,41,39 +ve IGM 41,23 +ve 9.09 Fry's and Igenex were -ve 6 mo ABX LC 4.10 IGG66,39,18 +ve IGM -ve Posts: 73 | From Usa | Registered: Aug 2010
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gmb
Unregistered
posted
I take Gabapehtin 300mg x 2 and Melatonin 3mg x 2 at bedtime. Gabapehtin was prescribed by my Neuro for nerve pain, and also makes you groggy. My LLMD said to keep on it as a sleep aid.
I still wake up every 3 hrs or so, but it's the best rest I can get and still get to work. Not concerned with if I need it long term or not.
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penguingirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28688
posted
Yes I was taking Gabapentin for over 7 months now and feel like I have to keep upping the dose. My LLMD says it's ok to go up to 2400mg. I'm at 800mg or so. I guess I was hoping to find something natural so I would not be dependent on it..
Will we be able to sleep on our own once the lyme is gone??
wgl - what type of magnesium brand is for sleep? I'm sorry - I was thinking the magnesium we take for supplements and it gives me the runs so that was the last thing I needed in the middle of the night.
-------------------- Posts: 1204 | From USA | Registered: Oct 2010
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First she started 1 teaspoon then increased till tolerating BM are obtained.
-------------------- LC 7.09 IGG66,41,39 +ve IGM 41,23 +ve 9.09 Fry's and Igenex were -ve 6 mo ABX LC 4.10 IGG66,39,18 +ve IGM -ve Posts: 73 | From Usa | Registered: Aug 2010
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momlyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 27775
posted
My son has been taking Melatoning (5mg) a CVS brand... since mid summer. He wasn't taking it as much and I asked him why and he said he was getting a lot of nightmares and he couldn't wake up from them (scary).
We talked about sleep. He said it takes him a couple of hours to get to sleep and he wakes up every hour.
He is always tired, but can't sleep.
He is not on any antibiotics. This means it is one of his infections... bb, babs, bart, m. pneum, ???.
I bought a new brand of melatonin... Thompson, sustained release from vitacost. It's only 3mg of melatonin... and it also has B6 - plus no magnesium stearate (filler) which has become more important to me when looking for supplements.
He tried it for the first time last night. He says he fell asleep in about an hour. Stayed asleep all night and no nightmares.
-------------------- May health be with you!
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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penguingirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28688
posted
Thanks guys!
I just went on Vitacost and ordered that melatonin and the magnesium calm.
Until they arrive I'll just up my gabapentin dosage and take them earlier in the night (like 7 pm!) and hopefully can get some zzz.
I am always tired but can't sleep either. I will lie on the bed exhausted but awake.
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kidsgotlyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 23691
posted
5-HTP helps my daughter sleep. She takes 100mg.
The brand that I buy also has a little valerian root in it, but she can't sleep if she takes just valerian root so I know that the 5-HTP is what does the trick.
-------------------- symptoms since 1993 that I can remember. 9/2018 diagnosed with Borellia, Babesia Duncani, and Bartonella Hensalae thru DNA Connections. Posts: 1470 | From Tennessee | Registered: Dec 2009
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While waiting for the melatonin you could try Benidryl. I have to take it every night now because I break out in this horrible itchy hives-like rash each evening. The only thing that helps is 3 Benidryl and it also makes most people drowsy. Although in rare cases it makes them hyper so maybe should try one during the day first as a test.
Good luck, I know insomnia is horrible. I have been taking Melatonin each nite for the last 4 yrs and Lorazapam at bedtime which finally did the trick. Although probably addicted to the Lorazapam now, not good.
Beagle
Posts: 348 | From MA | Registered: Dec 2010
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posted
Melatonin helps me falls asleep, but I am wide awake a few hours later.
I take nyquil a lot. It knocks me out! The only problem is it can make me groggy the next day.
You might want to try it though. You NEED sleep to get better!
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penguingirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28688
posted
Nyquil doesn't help me - it makes me wired. Plus I think there is alcohol in it and I'm on Flagyl.
I know - without sleep how are our bodies supposed to repair?
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momlyme
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Member # 27775
posted
katie- I think Nyquil is a large part alchohol... the sugar is not good for lyme!
-------------------- May health be with you!
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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posted
the entire bottle is 10% alcohol... but you just take a tablespoon... so i really don't think it would be that much sugar
personally, i cannot give up all sugar with my meds. i know i am supposed to, but i throw up all my pills if i don't eat stuff with sugar/carbs!
Posts: 442 | From usa | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
the entire bottle is 10% alcohol... but you just take a tablespoon... so i really don't think it would be that much sugar
personally, i cannot give up all sugar with my meds. i know i am supposed to, but i throw up all my pills if i don't eat stuff with sugar/carbs!
p.s. i forgot about not consuming alcohol while on anti-biotics. maybe i should stop with the nyquil :/
Posts: 442 | From usa | Registered: Oct 2010
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Please do not take Nyquil. It's got some very strong chemicals in it that are not really good for any body, especially for a compromised one. -----------------------
WHAT'S INSIDE NyQUIL, FORTIFIED WITH POWERFUL NARCOTICS !
-by Patrick Di Justo - 10.23.07
� Acetaminophen
One of the many wonder-pharmaceuticals that can be derived from coal tar, acetaminophen was used for nearly a century as a painkiller and fever reducer before anyone figured out how it worked.
We now know that as the drug breaks down in the body, it turns into a cannabinoid: yes, stoners, the same type of compound that makes marijuana so irresistible. . . .
� Dextromethorphan HBr
A cough suppressant. Well, actually, in the body it becomes dextrorphan, a cough suppressant, and levorphanol, a painkiller five times as powerful as morphine. Like PCP and ketamine, DXM is also an NMDA receptor antagonist, so the National Institute on Drug Abuse lists it as a "dissociative" drug. Twelve times the recommended dose of NyQuil leads to distorted perceptions of sight and sound and produces feelings of detachment � dissociation � from the environment and oneself.
For people whose bodies are unusually slow at metabolizing the drug, even low doses of DXM trigger full-blown "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" psychedelic trips.
Doxylamine succinate . . . .
Citric acid . . . .
Alcohol . . . .
Polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol . . . .
Sodium citrate . . . .
Flavor . . . .
High fructose corn syrup . . . .
========================
You can search all these ingredients at other sites but High Fructose corn syrup does terrible things to a body, as can Polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol (connected to cancer).
Acetaminophen should not be taken by anyone with any kind of liver stress (it hampers the liver from producing the very key thing we need for detox: glutathione).
The alcohol in it IS too much for a lyme patient. Way too much, especially at night when the liver has to really do its work. Adding alcohol and acetaminophen can just clobber the liver, not to mention all the other stuff that is not natural to the body.
The coloring alone will make the liver and kidneys work harder just to get rid of that. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
" Melatonin helps me falls asleep, but I am wide awake a few hours later. "
My experience, and what I read in a book about hormones, indicate this occurs when you take too much melatonin.
It happens to me on 5mg, or on a time-release 3mg. It does NOT happen to me on regular old 3mg dose. I am a 6' 200 lb guy.
Melatonin had essentially no effect on me 10+ years ago when I was less sick. Now that I am sicker, it definitely helps me sleep better, provided I use the correct dose.
Posts: 252 | From NJ USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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penguingirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28688
posted
Keebler - I just bought a bottle of valerian glycerite yesterday - it says to put 30-40 drops in a little water. It is so foul-smelling not as bad tasting and it took me forever to drink it (and I only put 10 drops because I wanted to test it out first)
Can I take it with melatonin and magnesium calm when I get those next week? I hope I didn't waste $12 on a 1 oz bottle..
dseibenh - I ordered a 3 mg dose of melatonin.
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posted
I have been taking Trazadone every night for about a year and a half. My GP prescribed it to me when I was diagnosed with Fibryomyalgia (along with Cymbalta). I still take both.
Trazadone is a seratonin modulator with few side effects. It helps me fall asleep right away. I still wake up early - get about 5 or 6 good hours of sleep each night.
Never could take Melatonin, BAD nightmares. But maybe I was taking too much..,
Also, I hate to say this because we are all too sick some times to even think about it, but moderate exercise goes a long way towards a good nights sleep.
I wish I could take a nap though. Can't fall asleep during the day. Always admire those people that can nod off anywhere anytime. I think they call that narcolepsy though. Posts: 54 | From Northern NY State | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
I have the same problem...trouble falling asleep, wake up several times throughout what I'll call a 'light sleep' to pee...really don't fall into a deep sleep until 3 or 4am, and then will often wake up by 6 or 7am anyway.
Would Magnesium Calm (magnesium citrate) work any different than magnesium malate for sleep???
I tried magenesium malate, and magnesium malate did not help me sleep any better...in fact, if anything it made my symptoms much worse, including my sleep issues.
-------------------- Urge Congress on EMF Safety, FCC Must Change Exposure Guidelines for Microwave Radiation Exposure: http://tinyurl.com/2cjq54y Halt Universal Broadband, A Public Health Hazard: http://tinyurl.com/3x7xrmq Posts: 495 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2010
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- PenguinGirl, you just asked:
" . . . I just bought a bottle of valerian glycerite yesterday - it says to put 30-40 drops in a little water. It is so foul-smelling not as bad tasting and it took me forever to drink it (and I only put 10 drops because I wanted to test it out first)
Can I take it with melatonin and magnesium calm when I get those next week? I hope I didn't waste $12 on a 1 oz bottle.. . . ."
================
From your other current post, you say you've been crying a lot. I would NOT use valerian if you are feeling sad.
As you said you took ten drops of valerian last night, that could explain a lot about the tears and mood today. Valerian can be a mood depressant.
If you do try it again, I'd start with ONE drop. ONE drop. But there are better things than valerian. Valerian can really bring on depression. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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Member # 12673
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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linky123
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Member # 19974
posted
Klonopin works. It's not natural, and it's addicting, meaning you have to wean yourself off or there are side effects. But it helped me sleep when nothing else worked.
It's usually prescribed for anxiety, but all it did was make me sleepy. I didn't feel groggy the next day which is plus.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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tick battler
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 21113
posted
My husband has had sleep issues from lyme/etc...for the past three years. He has tried numerous things to no avail. We are finally seeing some progress with Klonopin. He is now sometimes getting a 5 or 6 hour block of sleep and can even get 8 hours total. He tried Klonopin over a year ago and didn't have such good results.
I feel that there are a couple of reasons he is sleeping better: (1) over the past 3 months, we have been turning off his bedroom fuse (and the nearby rooms) at night while he is sleeping. I looked into this because after 3 years of treatment, he only has a few symptoms left...ear ringing, insomnia and headaches...the 3 primary things that can be caused by EMF's!!!!
There was a talk on this by Dr. K which really convinced me this was a factor. We also had our EDS practitioner look what was affecting the sleep center of his brain...and guess what was in there??? Very high EMF's. He is on a cell phone all day too for his job.
The second possible factor for his better sleep is that his levels of lyme are very low now (we think, based on EDS testing). But I really believe the EMF issue is a big part of his problem.
tickbattler
Posts: 1763 | From Malvern, PA | Registered: Jul 2009
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steve1906
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Member # 16206
posted
Hi penguingirl, It sounds like you got a lot of good advise...I hope this note finds you SLEEPING!!!
Good night!
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BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
Benedryl and Lorezepam.
Most of us need a sleep cocktail during Lyme and Lyme treatment. Often, the herbs and supps aren't enough and we need Rx meds.
You must sleep to heal and to stave off utter insanity. (I speak from experience here.)
Find your cocktail and stick with it.
I also take Corvalen D-ribose, 5g 3x/day, to keep my HPA axis regulated. That allows me to sleep through the night. It is the only thing that has allowed me to sleep through the night.
Haley
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22008
posted
Corvalen D-ribose? That's a new one to me. I'll have to check it out. I have lots of problems with sleep.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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BoxerMom
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Member # 25251
posted
Ambien has been a godsend to me. I could fall to sleep, but not get into deep sleep. Ambien allows me to attain enough deep sleep to keep me healthy. My health improved greatly once I began to manage my sleep with ambien. If you're not getting deep sleep (stage 3-4), you will have very difficult time healing.
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