Re: Question about sleep aids

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am taking Flexeril for my Fibromyalgia and ReA. I am well rested

yet not hung over. Since it is a muscle relaxor I feel better in the

morning when I take it. I usually get a good nights sleep, 7 hours

now that I am on it. I do not like sleep aids, except melatonin a

natural supplement that quietly relaxes you and our bodies naturally

produce it to help us sleep. I have bought it at any store, Walmart,

CVS, etc. Very inexpensive.

MK

> > What are people in the group?using to sleep at night?? I'm not

having

> a whole lot of luck finding something that doesn't give me

> the " hangover " or migranes or the jitters all night.? Merry

Christmas

> and Happy New Year to all of you!?

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I used to take melatonin too, it was lovely but I've since heard that

people with autoimmune disorders should definitely not take it so I've

stopped...has anyone else heard this?

[Guest guest]

Regarding Melatonin:

Actually, I heard a recent report that Melatonin may have several

benefits for sufferers of chronic inflammatory/auto-immune diseases.

It's been shown to reduce TNF-A (Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha) levels,

which are a key indicator of many of the pathways that these diseases

operate through. It's been demonstrated to benefit those with eye

problems (uveitis, iritis etc), and may have similar benefits for the

whole body....

I have never heard of any specific reason to *NOT* take it for such

patients.....though I'd certainly be curious to look into such reports

further. After all, you can usually find evidence to support almost

any idea or concept on the Internet if you look hard enough......

- from Maine

[Guest guest]

Regarding Mindi & the product she mentioned: rather that tell us each

directly, how about simply posting the information to this list so

that we can all see?!

I don't think that the list admins or members will mind....

-R.

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[Guest guest]

Hello, all.

I would like to announce to the first that I appear to be

having some sort of (at least partial, temporary -- though I hope it's

much more than that!) remission. I haven't said as much specifically

to my doctor yet, nor officially dropped out of consideration for SSDI

-- though I will probably do that even if I do get sick again, because

that nightmare has just run its course for me. I have lost whatever

tiny scrap of faith I had that the system would offer me any solace or

help whatsoever; all it's given me so far is massive amounts of wasted

time and a mount of useless stress which only made my burdens worse

rather than offering even the slightest hope of alleviating them.....

Now, that said.....I wanted to address the second coming (if you'll

pardon the expression!) of this Melatonin discussion.

Keep in mind that the " disclaimer/warnings " on those supplement

bottles are basically lawyer boilerplate, little more than a default

template for flimsy (almost nonexistent, in reality; but it's one of

those industry practices that nobody really questions) protection

against legal liability.....they have little to absolutely nothing

whatsoever to do with medical science, facts, or specific knowledge of

issues relating to the things being warned against.

Virtually every supplement, if you look closely, has a warning about

sensitive people like those with auto-immune conditions. Again, it's

for their own legal protection -- not your medical information/insight.

I have never found any specific reason to consider melatonin to be

harmful in any way -- though, like almost anything, if overused it can

force your body to alter its own neurochemical balance to compensate

and make you tolerant to/dependent upon its effects.

Granted, dependence is NOT a characteristic of all neurochemicals.

cannabinoids and many other compounds normally though of as " drugs "

actually exist in the body under normal everyday conditions -- in that

instance, they're called " endocannabinoids. " these substances do not

have physical dependency characteristics as such, though of course

like anything one can develop tolerance and/or psychological addiction

to them if one is susceptible to the latter.

So, I wouldn't take the " warning " on melatonin very seriously. It's

among the least harmful substances we have in our non-pharmaceutical

arsenal and also among the most beneficial -- its benefits, when used

in very conservative moderation, are numerous and go way beyond just

being a sleep aid.

There has been, as I previously noted, research showing its potential

to reduce Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) levels, a key sign & pathway of

runaway auto-immune reaction.....specifically in the eyes for Iritis/

Uveitis, but potentially throughout the body. And this is just one of

its many benefits.

A cousin compound, 5-hydroxytryptophan (aka 5-HTP), is the immediate

precursor amino acid to Serotonin (5-HT2) and helps naturally support

higher serotonin levels in the brain as well as the entire body. This

can increase nausea in those with such problems, because in the

digestive tract, serotonin is the primary signaler of nausea & the

need to vomit.....but otherwise, is a far superior option to classic

" reuptake inhbitor " antidepressants which build up the same levels of

the same compounds. For example, the same " support the body instead of

override it " approach can be taken with Dopamine levels by taking its

immediate amino precursor, N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine or the second-level

precursor, straight up L-Tyrosine.

Sorry for writing the huge novel of a message but this is a topic of

great interest to me over the years. I hope this is helpful to you

all, in some small way, as you have all been so helpful to me in this

agonizing eight-year battle to get to this point!

I am now tapering down off my pain meds which were giving marginal

benefit anyway after three years on them almost continuously at

increasing levels/changing medications.....and though I do still

experience considerable pain & some symptoms, it's nothing like that

it was the past 4 or so years in particular. I may not sustain this

permanently, and in fact *expect* future complications, echoes of this

nightmare to pop up......but with hope, meditation, prayer, excercise

and a whole lot of laying up merit (what we zen buddhist hybrid

quaker, world-religion-appreciating philosophic mutts call " dana " ) for

the karma that I'm going to need to pull up out of this morass....

Just today, when we thought our financial crisis had reached a fever

pitch and we would have to vacate our leased home of the past four

years.....our landlandy miraculously offered us a full month rent-free

to get back on our feet and even offered to work with us after that to

ensure we'd survive, one way or another. I'm working at a frenzied,

even frantic pace since the New Year to resurrect our existing

business, open up new projects & avenues of work, etc.....but at least

now I know that my efforts are backed up by another layer of security.

I still have to secure the best possible new projects for myself and

the partnership of fellow self-employed/small businesses we call

Xerces ( http://xerces.com/ if you're interested; new site is in what

I call " Return of the Jedi Death-Star-Mode " at the moment but will be

getting much sleeker & more filled out in the days to come!).....maybe

even enlist with a more traditional company to back that up with an

over-arching " day job " .....whatever it takes, I'm prepared to do.

Just have to get my crazy-insanely-great-resumee'd, 196 IQ'd, super-

slick-self-promoting self in front of the right people, make my

pitch.....and sustain this remission! Wish me luck, and if anyone out

there needs a hand up, I think I'm almost ready to provide that to as

many people as I can -- starting, whenever possible, with the fellow

chronically ill.

All the best to everyone!

- from Maine

ryan@...

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