Using Melatonin to Fix Your Sleep Cycle
 

I used to switch my sleep cycle fairly often prior to my injury. For a couple of weeks I would work during the day, then for a couple of weeks during the night, etc. Switching had never been a problem.

Right now, it seems almost impossible to switch. Time and time again, I find myself full of energy at 4 a.m. and very sleepy in the morning. If I get myself tired at 9 p.m., I fall asleep and wake up sometime after 3 a.m.
Today I didn't have to wake up and I ended up sleeping till 1 p.m. like a baby (but then again, I feel very lively at night).

I read that sleep disturbances are common with (m)tbis and that melatonin is exactly the drug that should help fix your circardian rhythm. Today I got some from Slovakia (it's somewhat expensive and prescription-only in Czech). Did anybody else have these problems and did you manage to fix them with melatonin. How did you take it?

I am a little over two months in here and have been having terrible sleep disturbances as well: whackadoodle dreams, rarely get more than 3 hour stretches at a time, waking wide awake but utterly exhausted at 4am. Ugh. My husband brought me home a bottle of Melatonin tonight.

Hoping it helps...I'll let you know how it goes! Please do the same.

I took half a pill around midnight (2mg) and it seems to have worked exactly as advertised!—it didn't exactly make me fall asleep but in spite of sleeping somewhat less than normal, at sunrise (or well, around 8 a.m.) I felt well rested and not wanting to sleep anymore (I had that feeling yesterday at 1 p.m.)

After spending weeks on tons of pills that have yet to give me the effect I'm taking them for (getting rid of headaches; better thinking), it's wonderful to see half a little pill make such a huge difference! :)

I slept!!!!
 

I took a 3mg pill at 9:30 last night and think I fell asleep shortly after midnight despite feeling dead on my feet. But. I slept solidly through until 6:30am!!!

At this point I'm not sure if it was because I exhausted myself getting ready for the holiday, the melatonin or a combo, but I will take it! Haven't had a long stretch of sleep since the first week after my injury. So glad you got some rest as well Thorx! Definitely something to be thankful for today! :)

melatonin
 

I've been taking melatonin for close to 2 years now. I have the most success with the liquid one, and i get it at Amazon. It does help me sleep and I haven't had any problems with it.

Take care

poetrymom

Hmm... Well I took 3mg at 8:30 last night. I think I fell
asleep by 11:30. Woke at 3:15am and now wide awake- like has been my new norm. :( At least it was a straight stretch of sleep though.

I was/am exhausted from the Thanksgiving travel and socializing (Which I was good about excusing myself when starting to overload) It doesn't help that we're not in the most comfy guest bed at my in-laws. Today might be a long day...I'll hope for a better sleep outcome tomorrow.

Poetrymom, have you had to increase how much melatonin you take over time?

Melatonin helps you fall asleep but doesn't help you maintain sleep.

Sleep disturbance is very common with PCS, I suffer from similar symptoms as thorx89, I often sleep only 4 or 5 hours at a time and wake up feeling alert unable to get back to sleep at some god forsaken hour. I think this month I've slept more than last month which is progress, but it's approaching 9 months since my injury! I tend to sleep best when I'm in a good mood, which seems to suggest low serotonin which fits my sleep pattern which is similar to someone suffering from depression and anxiety even though I don't feel like that.

I don't know whether PCS sleep disturbance is physical, poor blood circulation in the brain for example, or psychological like post traumatic stress syndrome or some form of residual anxiety. But something triggers waking up before time. Basically if you can't remember dreaming then you probably had a decent nights sleep.

I have the same exact sleep problem as well.
It's hard to fall asleep and then I wake up at night totally alert. Takes me over an hour to fall back asleep and then I feel very groggy in the morning. And most of my sleep is not very deep.
I think most of it is related to anxiety/depression.

I used to take melatonin and the smaller dose actually works better for me for some reason (1.5 mg vs 3 mg).

Here's an article about "Adrenal fatigue" that I thought closely describes my sleep issues - http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/sleep-disruption

Interesting read. Do you think that stress from dealing with PCS has lead to adrenal fatigue or that it's caused by the actual injury? I think my pulse rate is slightly higher than it should be which suggests too much adrenalin which would tie in.

It's hard to tell like with all the other symptoms of PCS what causes what.

I noticed that most of my sleep issues started after my anxiety/panic attacks started about three weeks after my injury when I had all the weird stuff going on and had no idea what is happening.

The most frustrating one is when I'm super tired/fatigued and feel like I'm falling off my feet and really need to sleep, but once I lay down I can't fall asleep.

I will be going to an endocrinologist to have all my hormones/adrenal stuff checked just to make sure, I do have some ongoing issues even before the injury that might be related to my thyroid, which my regular doc has ruled out a while back, but the more I read about it the more I realize that a general doc might not be the right resource for this (or most of the stuff related to PCS).