[Mari]

Hi,

We have a huge event we are required to attend in the morning (today).
When I decided two hours ago to text that I am not going, I felt so relieved.
I might need a doctor's note as this will be the second day this week I missed for Very Stupid Stuff That I Wish To Avoid Because I Prefer to Sleep.
I see the sleep neuro in the afternoon anyway and will get a note from his office.

I will see how I feel in a few hours. Maybe I will wake up in time. (HA!)

M

[Mari]

I woke up mostly on time and made it to the event.
Then I started to fall asleep and left early.

Now i have to pack up and get to my sleep neuro long drive a way.


M

[Dmom3005]

Good job Mari.

You are doing a good job getting your self were you need to be.

Donna

[bizi]

how did it go with the sleep neuro?
bizi

[Mari]

Hi,

1 Sleep doc suggests 500 micrograms of melatonin four hours before bed for some of his people.

2 He recommends not sleeping in. On a day off he says it is good to sleep only an hour past the normal wake up time.

3 Bright light in the morning is good. Bright light at night is bad ---for example light from a computer. I asked him if sunglasses at night helped. He said yes.

4 The bed room should be quiet, dark, and cool at night, but he likes people sleeping with shades open so that they get natural light in the morning.

5 Naps are bad in his world of course.

=-=-=-=-=
Mostly I was there so his office could check that my c-pap machine is still working for me. I see him again in a year.

M

[bizi]

what do you think about the melatonin?

[Mari]

Bizi,

He was probably telling that to every body today.

He confirms that we need much less melatonin than the stores sell. He was clear that it had to be taken at 8:00 if you expect to be asleep by 11:00 or 12:00.

Long ago my acupuncturist said I was allergic to melatonin. I do not take it.

Have you tried it?

M

[waves]

Hi Mari

many years ago I tried Melatonin 300 mcg then after a couple days doubled for 600 mcg... it was like a sugar pill. but i was probably NOT observing good sleep hygiene ("Sleep Doc's World")at the same time, which you must for it to work... because it works along with light-exposure to reset the body clock.

sometimes i think my body clock has been so messed up since forever (childhood) that i'm not sure anything could really fix it).

sometimes daylight make me sleepy or increases sleepiness, go figure. :confused.

depending what i do on the computer it can put me to sleep too and it doesn't have to be dim... too bright can do it... it like fuzzes me out somehow.

however when on a "night" schedule and sleep with blinds up, i do tend to wake with the sunrise even if it means i draw the blinds and go back to bed lol!

Surprised by your accupuncturist saying you are "allergic" to melatonin since it is an endogenous hormone. Why did she say that? Might she have been referring to a melatonin supplement you had taken (including inactive ingredients and impurities)?

do you have trouble going to sleep in a room that is well-lit?
is it easier to go to sleep in the dark?
when you are sleeping in darkness, are you awakened by natural light?

i'm glad you made it your appointment. and managed to nap with a doctor's note rather than do stupid work BS.

~ waves ~

[Dmom3005]

Now I'm intrigued by the amount of melantonin.

how does it compare to 5mg of melantonin, is that the same kind of
writing of it.

I don't get this language. Hoping you understand what I mean.


My grandson takes 10mg at night or he wouldn't sleep at all.

Donna

[Mari]

Originally Posted by waves

do you have trouble going to sleep in a room that is well-lit?
is it easier to go to sleep in the dark?
when you are sleeping in darkness, are you awakened by natural light?

Dear Waves

I am sleep deprived more than I am usually.
I probably should not have posted -- just like I should not have been driving. Nothing that the sleep doc said to me was relevant to my particular case. I have to see him once a year in order to satisfy the insurance company. Otherwise, they come pick up the c-pap machine.
He had a spiel that he had for all his patients this week probably.

I can sleep in any environment --- I sleep in the day time better than I do the night. I dislike night time sleep.

I remember in my late 20s/ early 30s a friend invited me to her house for lunch and to meet her parents. She hung out with her mother in the kitchen and I fell asleep in the living room sprawled out on a sofa while her father and his neighborhood friends were watching a big football game. I had such a great sleep. It is strange in a way that I still think about that wonderful sleep.

I realize that Melatonin is a hormone. The acupuncturist used "allergy" language to communicate to me that what I was holding in my hand to show her was not good for me. She might have been talking about the totality of the ingredients but she did also say that the melatonin itself was not helpful to me.

Maybe the "no napping" part was relevant. I drop off to sleep so I do not think of it as napping. The dropping off to sleep sitting in the living room or at my computer is a problem that became more of an issue when I started the Gabapentin and each time I nudge up the dose.
I learned tons of sleep hygiene stuff from the CBT tdoc I had for 8 years. Some of it I follow --->Hubby and I sleep in a cool, dark, cave --- nothing in there-- no phones, computers, radios, t.v. Only alarm clocks.

Dear Donna,

how does it compare to 5mg of melantonin,

My sleep doc would say that you are taking too much. He said to buy a 1 mg of melatonin and cut it in half for 500 micrograms.
Most people are taking two much melatonin. It does not work in high doses. Also, people have to take it four hours before they go to bed.

M