Reducing sleep aids experiment

[maddietod]

Best of luck with the move!

 

[xchocoholic]

thanks @madietodd

It's going as well as can be expected. I'm into working for 20 minutes then resting for 20+ minutes. I should be finished today tho.

I wanted to add that I took 1 mg melatonin and 100 mg of 5htp for 3 nights in a row. I felt great after 2 nights but couldn't completely wake up after using these for 3 nights in a row.

I'm back to .1-.125 mg klonopin. I use k for myoclonus so couldn't tell you if it would work for anyone else. My myoclonus keeps me from getting a good nights sleep. I didn't realize how well it worked for thus until I tried using theanine instead. My body just feels so much better when i sleep.

Gotta run. tc ... x

 

[xchocoholic]

I probably got glutenned 2 nights ago. Not that I can be certain but my best guess is that it was from So Delicious coconut with almond bars.

I had complete and total insomnia at 2 am and I'd been trying to fall asleep since 11.

Taking an extra .125 mg klonopin didn't help so I took 1 mg melatonin and 50 mg 5htp. I slept ok after that only waking up a few times.

I took the mel and 5htp again last night.
For some reason my sleep is deeper and more refreshing if I take the mel and 5 htp. I don't know how to describe it other than I'm not feeling as stiff.

I won't be taking those tonight tho. These appear to build up in my system and make me too drowsy.

Just sayin .... x

 

[xchocoholic]

Just wanted to add that before discovering melatonin and 5htp I couldn't sleep at all if I was reacting that way. My doctors answer was no to worry. Eventually you'll fall asleep. lol. Sure doc. He right. After days of no sleep and feeling like Hell I would finally get some sleep. It was never as good as it is on the mel and 5htp tho.

I've needed up to 9 mg of melatonin and 300 mg of 5 htp for this problem previously. I was relieved that the lesser dose worked.

 

[Old Salt]

You shouldn't have much trouble dropping melatonin as it isn't addictive or habit forming. The trick is to get your brain to secrete its own melatonin again. I think this inability to either secrete or utilize melatonin is a part of CFS, since it's something a lot of sufferers have trouble with - getting sleepy at night, a process regulated by melatonin.

Klonopin might be difficult to drop as it acts on the CNS and can be addictive, so good luck with that.

If we could just get decent stage 4 sleep we'd all be significantly better off anyway. Does anyone remember what a good night's rest feels like?

Avoiding all grains, no wheat, rice, oats, etc, and no sugar, made all the difference for a good nights sleep and improvement overall.

 

[xchocoholic]

Avoiding all grains, no wheat, rice, oats, etc, and no sugar, made all the difference for a good nights sleep and improvement overall.

Tx but I was already doing all that. I was mostly paleo.

I finally eliminated all melatonin and 5htp about a month ago. And gave up liquid Benadryl 3 nights ago.

Yay !

Even small amounts, like .25 mg melatonin, 10 mg 5htp and 1/8 tsp of Benadryl were causing brain fog and sluggishness.

I'm still slowly reducing my Klonopin that I take for myoclonus. I'm down to a tiny bite or appr 10% of a .125 mg tablet. I'm having some myoclonus but trying Natural Calm instead of taking more K.

I'm getting sleepy around 10 pm, so that's great. But I'm only sleeping 3-4 hours a nite now. Klonopin would put me back to sleep but I have to try getting off of it.

I also started using blue green algae for energy last week.

Gotta run.. tc .. x

 

[xchocoholic]

I slept from 11-12:30 am last night. I tried taking Virastop, strong digestive enzyme because I could tell I had undigested food in my gut. That's normal for me.

And I tried taking more Natural calm, mag citrate but was still awake at 4 am.

I was jerking myself awake every time I fell into rem, nocturnal myoclonus, so I took 1/2 of a .125 mg tablet of Klonopin. I was asleep within 20 minutes and woke at 10 am. Yay ! So far I don't feel drugged or uncoordinated but I know this drug can revisit me at any time.

I suspect the tiny bit of caffeine (appr 10 mg), the fingertip size bite of chocolate and 16 oz of Vitamin water xxx I used to give me the energy to do my laundry may have interfered with my sleep.

These tiny amounts of stimulants didn't cause insomnia before. And I can't get moving without taking something. Caffeine and xxx appear to be the most effective. Provigil didn't work for this.

I miss the days when sleeping and waking was effortless.

Tc .. x

 

[xchocoholic]

Update. I'm normally taking 1/3 -1/2 of a .125 mg Klonopin and occasionally need 1 to 1 and 1/3 of a .125 mg tablet. I take these for nocturnal myoclonus dx via sleep disorder study.

I haven't found any reason for the increase or decrease in my myoclonus. But it may be too early to see a pattern. Overall my movements are more intense / stronger though. That's a bad sign.

I'm only sleeping 5 -6 hrs each night. Typically straight through from 10 -12 pm till 4 - 6 am. Occasionally I'll fall back to sleep in the morning but normally I'm too awake.

I really miss the depth and length of sleep I was getting from the melatonin, 5htp plus Benadryl.

The upside, if you can call it that, is that I'm thinking more clearly. I'm actually feeling bored from watching tv versus not understanding it. Conversations are easier. So no more drug addled candor just me/cfs cognitive problems. Lol.

Another plus is my OI doesn't feel as overwhelming as it did. I can stay upright longer but my cognitive abilities aren't what they would be if I were supine. I still need to lay down regularly and can feel the reversal of hypoperfusion. And I have more energy, coordination and muscle strength.

I can see why I liked these sleep aids so much tho. Only sleeping 5-6 a night now after sleeping 8 - 10 a night for the last 5 years is frightening because of how sick I was starting in 1990. I don't want to blow it.

Will have to see how this pans out. Tc .. x

Eta. At 11/8 @ 2:30 am, I had to take a appr .3 mg mel and 5 mg 5htp to fall asleep. I wasn't the least bit sleepy. It's possible that the sweet pot chips I ate contained gluten. But I really don't know. 11/8 was a good day tho. Still had enough energy to get out of my home / prison.

 

[xchocoholic]

Approximately 20 mg of caffeine from a caffeine pill and about 2 oz xxx water got me moving yesterday. I've been mostly couchbound due to a uti and getting glutened for 2 - 3 weeks and had to do laundry.

I was definitely WELL rested and that ALWAYS makes a difference. It's key in fact. My body won't respond if I'm not. I was waiting my natural energy to kick in but it never happened.

Sadly, my brain isn't working as well as the rest of my body. Lol. My thinking is quick but incomplete. From my experience only someone trained to look for these cognitive problems would recognize this. I've only met 3 people in my life who could tell my brain wasn't really in gear even tho I could talk. Two worked with special needs children. I'm not sure how they can tell but they know to talk slow to me and not overwhelm me with too many words.

I needed extra Klonopin to sleep last night but only .125 mg total. I had a lot of myoclonus. I felt sleepy so that wasn't a problem this time. No need for melatonin or 5htp. I rarely take these nowadays and don't miss the fog. Doh!
What a dummy. Lol.

I'm only getting about 6 hours of sleep each nite still. Down from 8-10 hrs on mel, 5htp, Benadryl and Klonopin. Midnight to 6 am typically. But every 3-4 days I'll fall back to sleep within an hour and wake up around 10 am. I still feel too wobbly to get out of bed when I wake up. Probably from the Klonopin.

I'm always happily surprised that taking caffeine and xxx reverses my muscle weakness and fatigue like it does. It works unless I have pem or an infection or got glutened. Now I just have to play with the dosages. And resist the urge to push myself with these stimulants. Doh !

What I wouldn't give to have known as much as I do now back in 1990. Or sooner. DQ2's have no business eating gluten.

Tc ... x