Insomnia

[rosstheboss]

Have any of you guys tried herbal remedies? When I gave up smoking weed the missus got me some stuff from a health food shop - Valerian Root capsules, it worked a treat, has been used for 1000s of years and restores natural sleep patterns (as opposed to the elephant tranquilizer effect if you see what I mean!). There's a second capsule you can take to speed the Valerian Root up - I'll dig the bottle out in a bit and let you know what they're called.

Also winding down before going to bed - i.e. a bath and reading a book before lights out to calm you down, sorts me out to.

And of course the usual - avoid coffee, tea, booze, fags, sugar etc etc too!!

 

[Neil]

Do you find the quality of sleep makes a huge difference. I rarely get a proper deep sleep and when I do I can tell because I will have a dream. Non-refreshing sleep is a living nightmare, yes I can sleep because I am tired but rarely do I wake up feeling less tired. I find quietly reading for an hour before going to bed helps me get at least 4 hours solid sleep.

+1

I also find that reading or watching something helps me get to sleep.

Truth be told, though, getting off to sleep isn't normally a problem, it's waking during the night, then managing to get any decent sleep afterwards.

 

[warpedboy2]

Hot milk with a little bit of sugar works for me.

 

[cyfa2809]

Hot milk with a little bit of sugar works for me.

Used to have that as a kid!

Works though...

I think then maybe i too avoid going to bed. I love sleep yet it is almost like an inconvenience in this modern lifestyle of ours.

I too know i have deep sleep when i have dreamt.
Normal sleep is fine for me though. sleep through most things, deep sleep or not.

Im not sure how i have accustomed myself to little sleep and still feel ok though.

 

[Scougar]

I always stayed up REALLY late as a teenager.. say between 2 till 4am before going to sleep. I don't have an issue sleeping though thankfully... it's just that I don't want to go to bed

 

[velomaniac]

Rekiborter wrote:

velomaniac wrote:
Weirdly due to having ME I find insomnia is almost my default setting and thus it does not bother me too much. I am always tired and unable to sleep properly, it'll be an early grave for me let alone an early night


Ditto - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia here.

Do you find the quality of sleep makes a huge difference. I rarely get a proper deep sleep and when I do I can tell because I will have a dream. Non-refreshing sleep is a living nightmare, yes I can sleep because I am tired but rarely do I wake up feeling less tired. I find quietly reading for an hour before going to bed helps me get at least 4 hours solid sleep.

Fibromyalgia as well, same here, yes its the going to bed knackered waking up knackered thats the worst part. Eventually I do get a near comatose nights sleep due to the system just shutting down through sheer exhaustion but I have zero control over this. Its definitely at its worst at this time of year.

I have tried herbal remedies, zero stimulants etc but to no effect. Only prescription strength sleeping pills can knock me out for a proper rest but I refuse to go the drug route untill its desperate.

I have an Uncle who lives in Shetland, how he can stand it in the near perpetual winter dark is beyond me :shock:

 

[Neil]

Weirdly due to having ME I find insomnia is almost my default setting and thus it does not bother me too much. I am always tired and unable to sleep properly, it'll be an early grave for me let alone an early night

Ditto - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia here.

Do you find the quality of sleep makes a huge difference. I rarely get a proper deep sleep and when I do I can tell because I will have a dream. Non-refreshing sleep is a living nightmare, yes I can sleep because I am tired but rarely do I wake up feeling less tired. I find quietly reading for an hour before going to bed helps me get at least 4 hours solid sleep.

Fibromyalgia as well, same here, yes its the going to bed knackered waking up knackered thats the worst part. Eventually I do get a near comatose nights sleep due to the system just shutting down through sheer exhaustion but I have zero control over this. Its definitely at its worst at this time of year.

Might be worth you considering my suggestion a few posts back - high dosage vitamin D3 during the dark months.

I have tried herbal remedies, zero stimulants etc but to no effect. Only prescription strength sleeping pills can knock me out for a proper rest but I refuse to go the drug route untill its desperate.

Just out of curiosity, as you mention fibromyalgia and sleep issues, have you tried 5-htp at all (don't get any formulations that include Vitamin B6 with it, though).

 

[flibble]

I've tried 5-HTP and it was awful. Woke up feeling like I hadn't slept and had the most awful vivid dreams.

I used a hop pillow. It took ages to be persuaded by a mate who swore by it (it's a small pillow that you put inside your pillow). It smells slightly of wet dog initially but really does the job and at 4 or 5 quid, got to be worth a shot if nothing else is working for you.

http://hoppillows.com/buy-hop-pillows/

 

[REKIBorter]

I am currently trying out D-Ribose with Magnesium & Malate. Makes a big difference but no cure. If I stop taking it within 24 hours I have a complete relapse. All the suggestions are obviously meant with good intent but if you don't have ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia you won't understand. There is no wonder drug or treatment yet, only symptom relief.

@velomanic - has your fibromyalgia spread since you were first diagnosed? Only asking as mine started in my hands and arms but has appeared to have spread to my shoulders and neck.

 

[rosstheboss]

Reki - I was diagnosed with ME during my a levels, I had it treated homeopathically, which did the trick, although the symptoms I had were on the low end of the scale - I can totally sympathize with the 'can't get up in daytime, can't sleep at night'. It's also worth bearing in mind that at the time ME didn't officially exist (to quote one doctor (the school GP!!!!): "ME is a load of bollocks"!!!!) and also a lot of people can be very derogatory about homeopathy. At the time the official line about ME was basically "Cheer up and if you get the joint pain, take some ibuprofen!" Homeopathy was an avenue my parents and I looked down and it worked.