posted
I'm taking 0.75 mg clonazapam each night before bed. Doesn't always do the trick, but it helps.
Any more than 0.75 mg and I'm too sedated in the morning. Any less and it doesn't help.
Posts: 398 | From By the Salish Sea | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
I take Ambien-25mg-but I break it in half. I think I am dependent on it now though-can't tell if it's psychological or physical dependency.
Posts: 33 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2008
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minoucat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5175
posted
Temazepam is cheap and effective, but can be addictive.
Lunesta and melatonin helped, but Lunesta is very expensive.
There's a generic Ambien now, so if it works for you it's affordable (doesn't work for me)
Seroquel in very low doses (75mg- I broke up larger tablets) worked for me also.
A tincture of passionflower, valarian, and hops along with melatonin also helped until my insomnia got really vicious. None of the other naturopathic stuff worked for me (can't remember everything I tried, but it was a LOT)
Tylenol PM helps sometimes, but I'm wary of both the Tylenol and the benedryl.
You MUST sleep if you are to heal. And not sleeping will make you crazy, literally. So talk to your doc about this and make him take you seriously. Sometimes if you can start to sleep again with a little chemical help, you can start to sleep naturally.
There are some sleep hygiene tricks -- you can google sleep hygiene, but basically, -don't watch TV for 30 min before going to bed (or if you do, watch happy-movies with the lights low--old B&W movies work best for me) -don't do anything exciting before going to bed (I listen to/read unexciting-but-much-loved books--audio are particularly helpful); -keep the lights low for 30 min before bed, and don't turn on bright lights to brush your teeth just before bed time; - -block light and sound from your bedroom.
Me -- I have to take sleeping aids, but I've cut it down to about 3 times a week. The non-sleeping aid nights I just live with 4 hours of sleep if I'm lucky, and that dreadful feeling of lying awake in the wee hours fantasizing about sleep.
At certain stages of LD/Co you might find yourself having really horrible dreams when you do manage to sleep. And sometimes you have no dreams, which is also kind of awful. Oh, and there's non-restorative sleep, too (sleeping aids can help with all this). I never knew how sweet sleep was until I got LD/Co.
Adrenals also play a role in sleep, so it's worth getting them checked out.
Best of luck.
-------------------- ********************* RECIDITE, PLEBES! Gero rem imperialem! (Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.)
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Believe it or not, when I started working my way up on my minocycline (I currently take 100mg X 2 per day), my sleep schedule flipped around, and my sleep issues got a TON better.
I now don't take sleeping pills. (I had tried all the lifestyle changes before but none of them worked and I still needed sleeping pills. Turns out all I needed to do was try minocycline.)
I think it is because minocycline is an anti-inflammatory, and can help reduce inflammation of the brain? I dunno. My psychiatrist said they can use it for other conditions now (even schizophrenia) just because of it's anti-inflammatory effects.
I'm not saying this would work for everyone, in fact, it might not work for most, but for me, it was almost like a mini-miracle.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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quote:Originally posted by atticus: I just can't sleep anymore. I am frazzled and frayed. Does anyone have any tricks? Or know of anything safe to take? I need help.
Ali
I guess it looks like I'm not the one to offer advice on sleeping, but then again I wasn't trying...
Brahms intermezzos are a good prescription for sleeping, for the most part. Opus 117, 118, and 119.
"Sleepytime" (celestial seasoning), or "Bedtime" ("yogi") teas are good, especially the latter. Above all, relax. You may be resting alot during the day, having Lyme, and then "trying to sleep", getting your shorts in a bundle when you fail to slip easily into sleep-- then of course it is even harder to fall asleep. Abx and other meds sometimes make it harder for me to sleep, too. I wish for you to fall, to fall, into a wonderful, relaxed, refreshing, sleep! DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Okay, here I am offering my two cents at four am. I take 150 mg of Seroquel and 30 mg of Temazepam together. So far, that is the only thing that has consistently worked for me.
I happened to have run out of my scripts today, so I tried a new one my LLD gave me; 30 mg of Dalmane. It made me tired for a bit but then it passed; without knocking me out like my other meds did. So I just took 7.5 mg of Valium hoping that will do the trick along with it......
Sleep is a MAJOR issue for myself and my 13 year old son. I have seen him stay up all night a few months ago and NEVER sleep, just totally missed the entire nights sleep and still did not seem even tired the next day.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I take 3g of lunesta. One year ago it didn't work for me-but then nothing did! Some nights all I need is 3g of melatonin, but it's often the lunesta which works very well. Good luck Kris
Posts: 520 | From Maryland | Registered: Jan 2007
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
I have to give my 13 year old son 9 mgs of Melatonin to even hope he will fall asleep.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I have tried all kinds of combinations. What works for me is 1 mg xanax and melatonin. I still don't sleep like a normal person, but it beats no sleep at all.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
15 years ago my doc started me on Amitriptyline for fibro pain/sleep. Over the years I had to up the amount many times and then I added melatonin.
This last fall my LLMD had had me gradually switch to 1-2 .5mg Clonazepam, 1/4th-1 50mg Trazodone, 1/2-1 10mg Zolpidem(Ambien), and 2 Tran-Q.
At times I feel like I could sleep with out all of it so I play with the amounts and plan on reducing as I am able.
I started dreaming again! There were some scary ones at first but now just regular ones.
-------------------- "His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 136 Posts: 189 | From MN | Registered: Dec 2007
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
I'm a slow learner and I think it took me about 4 yrs to realize....if you don't get some restful sleep, you'll never get well.
I tried many different things. Supplements, meds and finally found Ambien CR. CR does it for me, except during those periods when pain levels keep waking me up.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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Lymeorsomething
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16359
posted
I just stay up all night. (Kidding)
Wish I knew. Try to avoid stimulating activities before bedtime.
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
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I am taking Lyrica 150mg 2x a day. It's expensive and causes dependence, but it helps me sleep. I wake up feeling almost normal, except for the pain and tinnitis, which has, most days, become almost tolerable.
People have different body chemistries when it comes to medications. You don't know until you try if something is going to help.
I don't have any success with herbal/homeopathic things, unfortuately. Posts: 353 | From Florida boonies | Registered: Nov 2005
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
melatonin, magnesium, benedryl, xanax, or phenegran all work well.
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posted
My son has horrible insomnia. His LLMD says a lot of people need a combination of meds to sleep.
My son took Phenergan (promethazine) one night because he had nausea at bedtime. He said it was the best night of sleep he's had in a long time. Now he takes it every night and it's really helping.
-------------------- Peggy
~ ~ Hope is a powerful medicine. ~ ~ Posts: 2775 | From MN | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I take 25mg benadryl. I used to add a .5 ativan sublingual tab if needed.
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I take something called Fibrosleep from Prohealth that works pretty well.
I don't like buying products from this company (which makes products for individuas with fibromyalgia) because I have heard they kick lyme patients off their forum.
However, it does work quite well for me when nothing else would.
-------------------- "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - e.m. forster Posts: 921 | From PA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
I have been taking .5mg klonopin, 300mg of seroquel it used to work but is not working any more. I go to sleep fine but awake around 3 or 4 am. and cannot go back to sleep..... Then at 7 or 8 am when I need to get up I start to feel sleepy again My LLMD suggested soma? It is a muscle relaxer I believe. I know that my old cocktail is no longer working so I have to figure out something new. I am taking doxy right now also started 3 weeks ago. sleepless in illinois and yes I do all the "right" bedtime routines warm bath dark dark room cool temp blah blah blah ;|
-------------------- IGM Result Positive CDC/NYS Result Positive
**31 kDa IND **39 kDa IND **41 kDa ++ Posts: 27 | From middle of nowhere | Registered: Aug 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Magnesium to bowel tolerance.
Calcium and Zinc
B-6
Andrographis is wonderful to help me sleep.
A very low dose of melatonin helps many
5-HTP (a form of tryptophan) can be helpful
Valerian root
Skullcap tincture
Putting on gentle music and not watching TV for at least one hour before bed and dimming the lights at that time, too, enough to read. And, as I see the clock, it's time to turn off my computer, too, I guess.
Light into the eyes keeps the brain awake for a long time.
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