Reducing sleep aids experiment

[xchocoholic]

peggy-sue

sorry to hear about your sleep issues but reduced
pain and better digestion is a good sign. Have you
tried the knockout regime I was using ? Any brand
of melatonin worked for me but only natural
factors 5 htp. I used theanine to stop my mind
from racing but found klonopin was better since
I have myoclonus.

madietodd

I'm not sure why virastop helps me sleep sometimes.
All I can feel is the food leaving my upper digestive
tract which is definitely helpful. But I don't know
if there's another ingredient in this that helps me
sleep.

I've been using it for years now for digestion because
it's the strongest one i could find and sometimes
it helps but not always. I use candidase for digestion
too.

I suspect digestion is the
reason it helps me sleep tho. My digestion has been off since 2005.
I'm using creon now due to low elastace. It's still not
strong enough tho. I do best with blended foods now.


I'm lucky to have a dr who tested me for that.

tc ... x

 

[peggy-sue]

It was just one bad night.
They happen. It's over.

I can (mostly) at least rest quietly when I can't sleep.

I've never tried melantonin.

I didn't have "normal" circadian rhythms before I got sick.

Left to my own devices I will turn day in to night.
I rarely ever get hungry, I only eat once a day - late in the evening.

I'm not good at noticing any "bodyclock" anything.

I didn't suspect it would help, given my lack of rhythms...
(except for dancing - I do have a natural rhythm there. )

Do you have "Marks and Spencer" in Canada?
I was there yesterday and they have boxes of liquered cherries in dark chocolate in for yuletide - I got 3 boxes on "special offer" and they are utterly scrumptious, and a *lot* cheaper than the wee shop in Forfar.
They are not handmade and not quite as good, but for the price, a wonderful substitute.

I did eat 9 of them last night.... perhaps that was my downfall.......

 

[xchocoholic]

Nine liquored cherries woulda got me too. ; )
We have to do these things tho or else we'd never
feel normal. I had waaaay too much caffeine today
because I had to get out or else I was going to go nuts.
No telling what it's going to take tonight to make
me sleep. Like you said tho it is what it is.

Good to hear you can dance. ; )

 

[xchocoholic]

I live in Florida. We don't have a Marks and Spencer's
here but I'm sure I could find liquored cherries somewhere.
I wasn't handling liquor well the last time I tried
it tho. Chocolate isn't good for me either but I still
eat it just not nearly as much as I'd like too.

I took 50mg 5htp and .125mg klonopin and was
wide awake at 12. I took 1/4 tsp children's dye free
benadryl and was asleep within 20 minutes and woke
up at 6. Not enough sleep but at least I slept.

I was soooooo tempted to take melatonin. Then I remembered
how Benadryl always makes me sleepy too. : ) So far
so good.

Even tho melatonin isn't considered addictive
I think my body got used to it. In a sleep deprived
state in the middle of the night, I really crave it.
As much as I crave chocolate.

 

[peggy-sue]

I'm afraid I resorted back to 6 painkillers yesterday.

I was in pain; I was grumpy;
I didn't give a toss about my resolution to stick to 5.
And I finished the box of chocolate cherries - 10 of them.

Very naughty - they are small, there is not even a half teaspoon of liquer in each, but it is still mixing a tiny amount of alcohol (which I should not touch, being an alcoholic) with codeine.
I didn't give a toss.

I perhaps the lack of sleep the night before didn't help.

I'm going to stick to 5 today.

I did sleep last night, a few wakings but not much to worry about.

Did you have a good time when you went out?

Looks like we both hit a;

"stuff what's healthy, I need what is going to make me feel good today"

day, yesterday!

Don't worry about it. When quitting something, these days happen.
The "wagon" is still there, you fall off, you get back on.

 

[xchocoholic]

That's why I try not to buy goodies. I'd be finished with
all 3 boxes in 3 days. ; )

I'm with you on taking pain meds. No sense being
in pain when there are pain meds available. I get
grouchy and sometimes tearful when I'm in pain.
I'm assuming you've looked at alternative treatments like
surgery or pt ? Taking meds daily has to be rough.

I had pem today so my day was spent fuzzy headed
and napping. I'm glad I know this is pem but really
hate it. At least since I know I'm not fighting it or
getting frustrated. Getting out was worth it tho.

I've been melatonin free for 3 nights now. : ) Tonight
will be my fourth nite.
Nothing exciting to report but it's still too early.
I'm still dealing with the psychological effect of giving
up a chemical i thought i needed.
tc ... x

 

[peggy-sue]

I am waiting for an NHS appointment for physiotherapy...

The sciatica is caused by my having a...... wait for it.....


functional something or other. I nearly "ran" out the room when that word was used!

One of my legs is functionally an inch shorter than the other.
I am two different heights, depending on which leg I stand on;
but my legs were measured and I was told they are the same length.

So something's gone weird in my hip and/or back. The clinic where I got my legs measured did not look at my hips, or pay any attention when I told them that I'd had trouble in my back and hip before.

Or that I am post-menopausal, so I am concerned about crumbling bones.
(loosing an inch in height was quite enough to get me concerned about my bones.)

It's not in my medical records, because I've gone straight to an ostopath for those things before.

They gave me some foam rubbery material to cut into shape to put inside my short leg shoe.

(better really, than wearing a bright lime green clog and a bright red clog because the heels are slightly different heights, which is what I was doing for a while. I was balanced, even if I didn't look it.)

I can leave goodies as long as they are unopened.

I only had 5 painkillers yesterday. I ate no chocolate cherries. There are two boxes intact.

(But they are a special thing for this time of year;
3 boxes for £6 is a real bargain;
I am tempted to raid my savings and get a year's supply;
it's my birthday soon....;
winter is coming;
I need the warmth of the liquer bit on my tongue with the comfort of the chocolate and the scrumptiousness of the cherry--full of wonderful anti-oxidants and things which help my brain work.

And they're not very sweet....)

Can you see where I am coming from?


Did you read your last sentence?

"'m still dealing with the psychological effect of giving
up a chemical i thought i needed."


You used the past tense!

You said "I thought I needed".... not "I think I needed"

You're succeeding.

You're beating it!

 

[xchocoholic]

Good point. I'm getting used to the idea that I don't
need the melatonin. I had the bottle on my nightstand
2 nites ago thinking I'd made a mistake giving this up.

I slept from 10 - 5 last night on 40 mg 5htp and .1 mg klonopin.
My digestive tract felt backed up so I took a candidase
and virastop and 1/8 of a tsp of benadryl and fell back
to sleep for 2 hours. So 9 total.

I would love to have seen your mismatched shoes. lol.
What a creative solution. Hope your nhs appt goes
well.

You have more willpower than I do when it comes to
goodies. I allowed myself to eat as much chocolate
as I wanted a couple of years ago. I called it my never
say no to chocolate phase. I'm that way with most
sweets tho. It's a good thing those Halloween size
treats aren't gf.

 

[peggy-sue]

My mismatched shoes didn't look too bad - that sort of thing fits with my own personal "style" anyway.
(second-hand, make-do-and-mend...)

Michael did not worry about being seen with me like that - not even when we went on a weekend break abroad. Thankfully, neither of us is what you might call fashion -conscious.

The subtle change in your thinking, indicated by your use of the past tense,
is really and honestly a massive breakthrough.

(I just hope it wasn't a typo caused by your ME !)..
And you got your 9 essential hours - with just one waking.

You are succeeding - you are beating it, you are winning! Well done!


I can't sing, and I can't put musical notes in, to indicate this should be musical, but...

"Have a banana!"


(no, i wouldn't thank anybody for a banana, I want chocolate liquer cherries!)

 

[xchocoholic]

I'm getting dangerously close to shopping for
liquored chocolate of any kind. With the holidays
coming up this shouldn't be hard to find.

I'm not feeling the "massive" change but I'm getting
there. The fear of withdrawal has subsided. I can
sleep without melatonin. : )

When I started using these about 5 - 6 years ago
I'd had insomnia most of the time for 16 years.
I was just learning about supplements and the
people at a local health food store helped me
find these.

My previous traditional
Dr had me taking klonopin, benadryl and trazadone buy
they drugged me too much to function. And they
didn't work half the time. So
feeling like I could sleep was new and exciting.

I think I made a mistake taking these every night for this many
years tho. But who knows. Maybe it was

good for my
body to get caught up on sleep.

I'm not fashion conscience either. T shirts, jeans and
comfy shoes work for me.

 

[peggy-sue]

Ooooh - comfy shoes are a must.
No high heels, ever. Lovely soft supportive insides.

Michael buys me my new shoes. He understands the importance of good shoes.
And jeans. (Black Levi 501s. Second-hand from charity shops. Can't afford them new!)

I only had very bad sleep troubles for about 3 years - the kind where you are lucky to get 2-3 hours altogether in 24 - zombies don't get a look in when you're like that.

You endured that sort of living nightmare for 16 years?

No wonder you stuck to the stuff like superglue!

 

[xchocoholic]

Super glue is a great way to think of it.

Yeh, I'm one of those who was told they had CFS and
would just have to live with their symptoms. Can't
tell you how happy I was to finally find the internet
in 2005. : ) I suspect most of my anxiety and uncontrolled symptoms coulda been avoided if the medical community
had their act together. I was too sick to know which
way was up.

I discovered rocker bottom shoes last year. They help
my back pain because the stop me from putting
my weight in my heel. They can be hard to balance
on tho. Have you tried these ?

 

[peggy-sue]

Never heard of them.

But will look out.
I only wear clogs because I get pains in my achilles tendons/back of my heel, from shoe backs digging into them. Michael buys me Reikers and Steibels and Eccos and Hotters and Romikas. He spoils my feet.

It stems from him being a mountain climber.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Do you have "Marks and Spencer" in Canada?
I was there yesterday and they have boxes of liquered cherries in dark chocolate in for yuletide - I got 3 boxes on "special offer" and they are utterly scrumptious, and a *lot* cheaper than the wee shop in Forfar.
They are not handmade and not quite as good, but for the price, a wonderful substitute.

I did eat 9 of them last night.... perhaps that was my downfall.......

I am not familiar with "Marks and Spencer". Are those cherries a 'house brand' or something I could look for in other stores. liquored cherries in dark chocolate sound like just what I need.

 

[xchocoholic]

Liqoured anything would be acceptable too. ; )

So someone decided that screeching their tires
was a good idea about 2 am. I took virastop and
candidase with some mag citrate and hope
to be back asleep quickly.

I took 1/4 tsp children's zyrtec instead of 1/4 tsp children Benadryl too see
if the benadryl was adding to my fog. It seems like such
a small amount but maybe it's still too much for my
sensitive brain.

g nite. i hope. x

 

[peggy-sue]

Little Bluestem, the boxes are an "own" brand, but M&S do get top makers to make their goods. (They are known for being top quality - and overpackaging). These are made in Germany.
I found their website, but these are not on it for mail order.

Something similar has to be available somewhere you can get hold of them....

 

[xchocoholic]

I had to resort to taking the other half of .125 mg klonopin,
1/4 tap benadryl and
even some pepto bismal at 6. I was just tossing and
turning till then.

I miss the days when
sleep was natural. I got about 6 hours total. Resting never
works as well to rejuvenate my body as actually sleeping does.

I feel uncoordinated and sleepy but too awake to sleep.

 

[peggy-sue]

I slept badly last night too, don't know why.

I took 5.5 painkillers - I was awake for longer in pain than I sould have been.

But the remaining cherries are still unopened.
I feel vile today, but have to go and have a shower - I'm going out tonight.
To the opera!
Now, that perks me up a bit!

 

[peggy-sue]

You said;
"I miss the days when
sleep was natural. I got about 6 hours total. Resting never
works as well to rejuvenate my body as actually sleeping does."

All I can say is.....

 

[xchocoholic]

You said;
"I miss the days when
sleep was natural. I got about 6 hours total. Resting never
works as well to rejuvenate my body as actually sleeping does."

All I can say is.....

Lol. I'm not smart enough today to understand this.

It's been a long day. Fighting to stay awake so I could
go grocery shopping.