Posted by Lao Tzu on May 28, 2008, at 9:02:13
Hi. This is what I take before bedtime, which I think has helped me sleep a lot better without having to take any sleep meds.
200IU-400IU natural vitamin E
250mg B3
50-100mg B6
1/4 of a 3mg melatonin tabletI don't know why this works, but before this I would go to bed around 10:00PM and couldn't fall asleep until 1:00 or 2:00 and sometimes even 3:00 or 4:00. My whole sleep cycle was messed up and I didn't feel good the next day. I tried taking Trazadone which my doctor prescribed for sleep, but that didn't help at all. When I first started taking melatonin, it worked great for sleep for a couple of months. After that, it didn't put me to sleep, but if I took a week or two off of the melatonin, then tried it again, it worked. You need to take breaks with melatonin. And they say, start off with a low dose, not necessarily 3mg but 3mg does do the job very well when you first start on it. However, 1.5mg would probably work too. Also, I found that if I was having a really bad time falling asleep, I could take 50mg of Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and that would put me to sleep, but I wouldn't take Benadryl every night continuously. It's not recommended, but in the short term it does work. If you're not opposed to sleep meds, I think Ambien is considered a really good drug, but I've never actually tried it. I'd rather use supplements, but at one point I was so frustrated I thought I might ask my doctor for a better sleep med. So far, I don't have to do that. In the beginning I tried taking vitamin D, B6, B3, GABA, and taurine to see if that would put me to sleep. That regimen ultimately failed. Eventually, I heard that vitamin E was good for people who were taking antipsychotics and it's a really good antioxidant. So I started taking E in the morning and at night and noticed it lifted my mood, and I started to sleep better. Eventually, the mood lifting characteristic of vitamin E wore off, so I stopped taking it during the day and I took it only at night right before my bedtime, which is between 9:00 and 10:00 PM. I also noticed that B6 was essential for good sleep architecture and B3 also is good. I take Niacin, but I've heard that the nicotinamide form of B3 is especially good because it supposedly affects GABA receptors somewhat, which is what a lot of today's sleep meds do. This is just what I've read, but I don't know how true that is. It is extremely important also that you get into the habit of going to bed the SAME time every night, that means taking your supplements and/or medicine, getting in bed, shutting off all lights, making yourself as comfortable as possible. The temperature of your room should be comfortable too and no noisy distractions like TV or music. I also use a sound machine that I keep on all night with different soothing sounds. I like raindrops. This background noise helps to relax your mind. It really helps. Now, I go to bed every night around 9:30-10:00PM and wake up around 7:00AM like clockwork. When I wake up, I'm a bit dopey, but after I take my zoloft, lamictal, and Provigil and daytime supplements, I finally wake up and the dopiness in my head clears, and I usally don't feel exhausted. I told my mom that vitamin E helps me sleep and she thought that was ludicrous. It does sound ludicrous, doesn't it? But what can I say, whatever works, right? I also noticed that if I took too much calcium, say 1200mg during the day continously, I would have a hard time falling asleep that night. However, if I took a lower dosage, say 300mg right before bed, I think that actually helped with sleep. I don't know for sure, but I really don't need the calcium to fall asleep, but maybe you do. Whatever helps, right? As far as taking fish oils at night, I don't think this matters for me. I really don't like fish oils that much. If I take too much of them, I feel more depressed, especially if I take them in the morning. They definitely help with mood, but they also depress me too much, so I can only tolerate 1 fish capsule in the morning, which is not really a clinical dose. Some sources say some people do better on Evening Primrose Oil than the fish oils.
Also, you said that you take a multivitamin. I think this can help you, but like I said before, watch out for folic acid, which most multis have in them. Folic acid can help some depressives but hurt others. I avoid any folic acid supplements at all costs. But that's just me. I don't know if folic acid helps or hurts you. I hope this information is helpful to you, and hope you start sleeping better.
poster:Lao Tzu
thread:831608
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20080326/msgs/831608.html