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-   -   That Elusive Sleep (https://www.neurotalk.org/sleep-apnea-and-sleep-disorders/220676-elusive-sleep.html)

caroline2 05-23-2015 11:05 PM

That Elusive Sleep
 
I probably started having sleep issues at about 61 which hit with Fibro syndrome. That was in mid 1999. I worked hard at getting sleep issues fixed. With the help of a friend, we came up with this combo:

7:30PM
3/4mg Melatonin (1mg Soure Naturals, break to get 3/4mg)
500mg Inositol and or 500mg Gaba
Learning what works best for your body.
I've learned to work with these 2 "calmers" so use thru the
day too.

10:30-11PM
500mg Inositol and usually 1 Calms Forte' (homeopathic)

All the above can be adjusted for the person.

This combo gives me 8-10 hrs pretty good sleep.


I've never taken pharma sleep drugs and worked long and hard to get the above combo that works for me.

If I cannot get back to sleep after bathroom run at 3AM or so, I take another Inositol or Calms and this puts me back to sleep good. Lately, I don't need help during middle of night.

Besides Fibro "stuff", OA lives in me bodywide, and a mess from hip replacement in 2010. Left me with nerve damage, IT band damage, shorter leg....good grief.....

Oh, and 2 Advil at 11PM, so no pain during the night.

waterwillow 05-29-2015 04:43 PM

Good for you Caroline, less side effects. A routine is the secret and personally I also put on a mindfullness relaxation tape (MP3) on with lights etc off. Lasts about 20 minutes but find it takes my mind off most things.

Good luck with that.

Auntie Audrey 06-02-2015 03:24 PM

Normally I don’t have too much trouble sleeping, but I have occasionally taken inositol. I’ve found that the combination of choline & inositol seems to work better for me than just inositol. I like the capsules from Twinlab that have 250 mg of each, and taking one late at night usually works well for me.

caroline2 06-03-2015 01:30 PM

I too have used the combo caps but right now just inositol. I'm so THANKFUL how great I'm sleeping as my wake up hours are too rugged. My above routine WORKS.

Auntie Audrey 06-03-2015 04:17 PM

Hi Caroline, so glad you developed a sleep routine that is effective for you. I see that you use only a small dose of melatonin taken very early in the p.m. Did you try larger doses of melatonin, and if so, did they not work very well for you?

Melatonin and I don’t get along very well together. It is a matter of dosage. Small doses are not very effective for me, but larger doses keep me awake once I have gotten up during the night. Taking choline & inositol is a much better alternative for me.

kiwi33 06-07-2015 02:57 AM

Caroline, I used to have problems with insomnia.

I have found that learning and applying what is called sleep hygiene is very effective. Essentially sleep hygiene means developing good habits in preparation for sleeping well.

There some ideas about it here; http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/...vercoming/tips .

Sleep hygiene works for me with no need for prescription or OTC medication.

mrsD 06-07-2015 09:07 AM

Yes, a good Geology textbook is a good way to kick off to sleep! LOL Just reading all the strange names of minerals and rocks seems to glaze me over.

I also read quiet type books before bed. The Mists of Avalon took me several weeks to get thru this way! A little each night.;)
I visit WetCanvas forum and read the watercolor forum each night. It seems to put my right brain to sleep quickly (1/2 hr). I use my phone in bed so I don't have to walk around to get to the bedroom.
People from all over the world share their art work and tricks of the trade and that is handy information for me to have as well.

I found Melatonin was raising my blood sugars...so I stopped it.
I take two Arthritis formula Acetaminophens from Walgreen's for my pain issues. They last a long time and enable sleep.
Sometimes I need aspirin--so it would be AlkaSeltzer at night those days, but I do this sparingly.

NO TV in our bedroom.

Auntie Audrey 06-07-2015 09:52 AM

I hadn’t heard before that melatonin could raise blood sugar. Normally I watch for such an effect when I try out a new supplement, and so far the only problem I’ve had is with krill oil which I now use only occasionally.

The website naturalsleep.org has some interesting articles on various issues related to sleep. Here is a link on side effects of melatonin:

http://www.naturalsleep.org/side-eff...onin/#more-169

mrsD 06-07-2015 10:04 AM

From reading various forums over the years, I've seen several people who get elevated morning glucose readings with melatonin. But not everyone reports this.

There is this article however:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25197811

caroline2 06-07-2015 12:09 PM

The low dose Melatonin does NOT raise glucose in my system, on the contrary. I've never taken anything larger than 1mg over years back when I tried melatonin back before I came up with my combo.

This combo first came to me from a friend who had a bottle of LifeExtension "sleep formula" formulated by Dr. Braverman....don't know if LEF still has it or not. It had not been working for her, she deals with CFS, so brought the bottle to my house and I tried it and it worked for me, then I embelished on it. I do sleep but know my cortisol is low in morning, I'm having my coffee right now to get me going.

We know our population keeps going on some kind of caffeine and it's not a really bad thing overall, as I see it. I drink 2 cups of organic java daily.

Talking to a longtime old friend yesterday, we lost contact for a while, and she called me and I felt so badly for her that she does not sleep very good at all. She is 89 and I'd like to "teach" her my sleep formula, but she would not "hear" me.. So I have to let go and know everyone does what they do or don't do.

Even thou we are friend for like 50 yrs, we are very opposite thinking, years ago I got her to start with grape seed extract, her husband at the time, poo'd poo'd it, and she stopped so. We know when to let go.

I certainly do not have all the answers, but I have some good ones. C


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