Sleep Problems

[Guest guest]

I have sleep problems, as do many of you. Several things have helped including getting a new bed (!). I bought a firm bed with pillow topper from IKEA and sleep much better now. I also find that if I do NOT have coffee after about noon I sleep better.

I have sleep apnea and use an oral appliance to relieve the condition. If any of you are curious about these devices, let me know. I have some useful information and potentially useful perspective on them. (I am not able to use the CPAP mask due to an obstructed nasal passage). The appliance works, although it is somewhat uncomfortable. And expensive ($700 - $2,500 depending on where you have it made).

There is another often very effective way to sink into a deep restful sleep. MASSAGE. If you can arrange it, try a professional Swedish massage with the masseur bringing his portable table to your home. Even if you can do this only a few times a year it may help. A good Swedish massage (avoid deep tissue or Shiatsu or sports massage) should induce sleep that is in my experience more restful than that brought on by any drug.

I have massaged a few friends of mine when they were overnight guests. I have been able to induce deep sleep in them through this technique. I also put the young son (5 years old) of some family friends into a very deep sleep through a gentle back massage. He was being very cranky (often a sign of fatigue in young kids) but didn't want to go to bed even though they had gotten him into his pajamas. He let me give him a back massage and he fell into the kind of deep sleep that is so accessible to children and so elusive for the rest of us.

If you live with a partner, the two of you may find it very helpful to learn the basics of massage, both for intimacy and for more restful sleep.

Jerome

In a message dated 3/16/2010 10:30:48 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nelsonvergel@... writes:

Dear Joe

Have you gone to a sleep lab to determine if you have sleep apnea? Are you drinking caffeine after 3 pm or exercising late? Are you taking any new supplements or medications that may be interfering with your sleep?

I take 10 mg of generic Ambien right before dinner (food slows down its absorption a lot). But I hate how Ambien has erased my memory of the past. Regards,

Vergelpowerusa dot org

From: Joe Cornish <joecornishatt (DOT) net> Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 11:29:48 AMSubject: Sleep Problems

I've been taking 1 mg clonazepam and 30 mg temazepam for years to help me sleep. I may

have a tolerance to them now, because they are not working well lately.

I would appreciate it if members would share what works well for them for sleeping.

Thanks,

Joe

[Guest guest]

I have sleep problems, as do many of you. Several things have helped including getting a new bed (!). I bought a firm bed with pillow topper from IKEA and sleep much better now. I also find that if I do NOT have coffee after about noon I sleep better.

I have sleep apnea and use an oral appliance to relieve the condition. If any of you are curious about these devices, let me know. I have some useful information and potentially useful perspective on them. (I am not able to use the CPAP mask due to an obstructed nasal passage). The appliance works, although it is somewhat uncomfortable. And expensive ($700 - $2,500 depending on where you have it made).

There is another often very effective way to sink into a deep restful sleep. MASSAGE. If you can arrange it, try a professional Swedish massage with the masseur bringing his portable table to your home. Even if you can do this only a few times a year it may help. A good Swedish massage (avoid deep tissue or Shiatsu or sports massage) should induce sleep that is in my experience more restful than that brought on by any drug.

I have massaged a few friends of mine when they were overnight guests. I have been able to induce deep sleep in them through this technique. I also put the young son (5 years old) of some family friends into a very deep sleep through a gentle back massage. He was being very cranky (often a sign of fatigue in young kids) but didn't want to go to bed even though they had gotten him into his pajamas. He let me give him a back massage and he fell into the kind of deep sleep that is so accessible to children and so elusive for the rest of us.

If you live with a partner, the two of you may find it very helpful to learn the basics of massage, both for intimacy and for more restful sleep.

Jerome

In a message dated 3/16/2010 10:30:48 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nelsonvergel@... writes:

Dear Joe

Have you gone to a sleep lab to determine if you have sleep apnea? Are you drinking caffeine after 3 pm or exercising late? Are you taking any new supplements or medications that may be interfering with your sleep?

I take 10 mg of generic Ambien right before dinner (food slows down its absorption a lot). But I hate how Ambien has erased my memory of the past. Regards,

Vergelpowerusa dot org

From: Joe Cornish <joecornishatt (DOT) net> Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 11:29:48 AMSubject: Sleep Problems

I've been taking 1 mg clonazepam and 30 mg temazepam for years to help me sleep. I may

have a tolerance to them now, because they are not working well lately.

I would appreciate it if members would share what works well for them for sleeping.

Thanks,

Joe

[Guest guest]

Hi there, I saw the message about sleep problems.

I have been on zopiclone

(Lunesta in the US, Zimovane in the UK), which is a so-called “z”

drug, very similar in its actions to drugs from the benzodiazepine (BZD) class,

and have found that this drug does wonders for getting me to sleep and keeping

me asleep (in the highest dose available in the UK, which is 7 mg).

When in South

Africa, I take the king of the BZDs – flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) 2 mg, which works as though I have been coshed over

the head with a two-by-four, without any headache or adverse effects whatsoever!

On the other hand, I have found that lorazepam 2 mg about 10 minutes before bed

works very well, as does diazepam

(Valium) 10 mg or alprazolam (Xanax) 2 mg.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I

know about the propensity for addiction – and I

couldn’t give a damn. So I am addicted to a good night’s sleep.

Big deal.

Although I am a member of this group, I do not have HIV /

AIDS and am thus not

on HAART – I understand that

ritonavir does not combine with those BZDs which require hepatic P450 clearance

(diazepam and alprazolam would therefore be impossible). I know that lorazepam

is the preferred anxiolytic in those cases where alprazolam is not feasible…

Thanks

Philip Chandler

[Guest guest]

Hi there, I saw the message about sleep problems.

I have been on zopiclone

(Lunesta in the US, Zimovane in the UK), which is a so-called “z”

drug, very similar in its actions to drugs from the benzodiazepine (BZD) class,

and have found that this drug does wonders for getting me to sleep and keeping

me asleep (in the highest dose available in the UK, which is 7 mg).

When in South

Africa, I take the king of the BZDs – flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) 2 mg, which works as though I have been coshed over

the head with a two-by-four, without any headache or adverse effects whatsoever!

On the other hand, I have found that lorazepam 2 mg about 10 minutes before bed

works very well, as does diazepam

(Valium) 10 mg or alprazolam (Xanax) 2 mg.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I

know about the propensity for addiction – and I

couldn’t give a damn. So I am addicted to a good night’s sleep.

Big deal.

Although I am a member of this group, I do not have HIV /

AIDS and am thus not

on HAART – I understand that

ritonavir does not combine with those BZDs which require hepatic P450 clearance

(diazepam and alprazolam would therefore be impossible). I know that lorazepam

is the preferred anxiolytic in those cases where alprazolam is not feasible…

Thanks

Philip Chandler

[Guest guest]

I had been having sleep problems myself for months until the last four days. In my case, it was due to perimenopause (hormone imbalance). I was having hot flashes too. My doctor was adament that I not go on Black Cohosh because it caused liver damage in some people in a study. So I decided to try "Vitex" (Now Brand) which has Chasteberry and Dong Quai in it. It didn't work for a few days and then started working the last four days. No hot flashes and full nights of sleep now! I feel great. So ladies, you may want to try this if you are going through the change. My nurse practitioner said that if it doesn't work in up to 3 months, stop taking it. It may not work for everyone.

[Guest guest]

Hi

I just recently started giving my son melatonin. He fell asleep immediately and

then was up at 3am wide awake. I did some reading and found out that it can

cause nightmares etc if the dosage is too high.I figured that it could have been

a nightmare that woke him then he was just awake. So i took it right down to a

quarter of a capsule and it is much better. He still falls asleep quickly about

8:30 and then sleeps through till about 6:30.

Hope that helps

Heath

>

> What type/strength of Melatonin have you tried?  It didn't work for us at

first

> either, then I tried the 3 mg time-release capsules.  My son would also go to

> sleep fine, but wake up around 3 and squeal for hours.  The time release

> capsules finally got him to sleep through the night.

>

[Guest guest]

That helped me with my gbaby

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Re: sleep problems

Hi

I just recently started giving my son melatonin. He fell asleep immediately and

then was up at 3am wide awake. I did some reading and found out that it can

cause nightmares etc if the dosage is too high.I figured that it could have been

a nightmare that woke him then he was just awake. So i took it right down to a

quarter of a capsule and it is much better. He still falls asleep quickly about

8:30 and then sleeps through till about 6:30.

Hope that helps

Heath

>

> What type/strength of Melatonin have you tried?  It didn't work for us at

first

> either, then I tried the 3 mg time-release capsules.  My son would also go to

> sleep fine, but wake up around 3 and squeal for hours.  The time release

> capsules finally got him to sleep through the night.

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

we use Kirkman on the rare occassions we need it.

From: Carla <darionzen78@...>Subject: sleep problemsAutism and Aspergers Treatment Date: Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 8:38 PM

What type/strength of Melatonin have you tried? It didn't work for us at first either, then I tried the 3 mg time-release capsules. My son would also go to sleep fine, but wake up around 3 and squeal for hours. The time release capsules finally got him to sleep through the night.

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have any advice re getting a nights sleep? Since my hypo symptoms

have taken a turn for the worse - (undermedicated I'm sure, even though my endo

is trying a lower dose!)I am finding it so hard to get to sleep, any suggestions

would be appreciated

Thanks

Han

[Guest guest]

Hi Han - Ive been seeing a psychoneurologist because of poor sleep - she says that this is because being hypothyroidism stops you sleeping and then Ive learned a behaviour of sleeping badly. The answer is counter intuitive - stay up later until you feel sleepy and get up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays. Actually, it really does work - though I keep falling off when Im not well etc but in general do sleep much better than I have for years and definitely worth a try and more effective than valerian and lemon balm and less side effects than sleeping tablets! I had to do a sleep diary for a couple of weeks showing when I went to bed and woke up and for how long awake during the night, from this she calculated the amount

of sleep I need - which was quite a lot less than I thought I needed - Ive concluded that I was going to bed earlier than I needed because I was so tired but actually she was right to restrict sleep or bed time to the time needed to sleep, then the quality of sleep improves and you feel less tired!Gill

Does anyone have any advice re getting a nights sleep?

[Guest guest]

have you been checked for sleep apnea?

>

> Does anyone have any advice re getting a nights sleep? Since my hypo symptoms

have taken a turn for the worse - (undermedicated I'm sure, even though my endo

is trying a lower dose!)I am finding it so hard to get to sleep, any suggestions

would be appreciated

> Thanks

> Han

>

[Guest guest]

Hello

I have suffered with chronic insomnia for more years than i care to think about. However it has improved greatly over the last 3 months and continues to do so,totally due to a CD/book i stumbled across, in my local libary.

Its called "I can make you sleep" by McKenna. I listened to the enclosed CD that night and woke up 6 hours later,6 HOURS,i would have given my right arm for 6 hours of refreshing sleep previously. Other than using the CD periodically, I havn't started reading the book yet,mainly because i dont want to know how he does it,why it works,i am just thankfull that it does.

I now understand what you said in your post about undoing learnt bad sleep behaviour,because this is in essence exactly what listening to the CD corrects

From: Gill <gilljohnthurgo@...>Subject: Re: Sleep Problemsthyroid treatment Date: Wednesday, 27 October, 2010, 18:50

Hi Han - Ive been seeing a psychoneurologist because of poor sleep - she says that this is because being hypothyroidism stops you sleeping and then Ive learned a behaviour of sleeping badly. The answer is counter intuitive - stay up later until you feel sleepy and get up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays. Actually, it really does work - though I keep falling off when Im not well etc but in general do sleep much better than I have for years and definitely worth a try and more effective than valerian and lemon balm and less side effects than sleeping tablets! I had to do a sleep diary for a couple of weeks showing when I went to bed and woke up and for how long awake during the night, from this she calculated the amount of sleep I need - which was quite a lot less than I thought I needed - Ive concluded that I was going to bed earlier than I needed because

I was so tired but actually she was right to restrict sleep or bed time to the time needed to sleep, then the quality of sleep improves and you feel less tired!Gill

Does anyone have any advice re getting a nights sleep?

[Guest guest]

Hi Sheila

Congrats on the charity status - well done.

Yes I have had the adrenal profile, all are on the low side. It just makes

things so much worse when one can't get a night's sleep

Han

>

> Have you done the 24 hour salivary adrenal profile test to check your levels

> of cortisol and DHEA

>

[Guest guest]

OK Han, so what are you doing about your low results for your

cortisol and DHEA? Are you taking any supplements?

Luv - Sheila

Hi Sheila

Congrats on the charity status - well done.

Yes I have had the adrenal profile, all are on the low side. It just makes

things so much worse when one can't get a night's sleep

Han

[Guest guest]

Hi Han

I used to have terrible sleep problems with hyperthyroidism (not hypo sorry).... I'm sure you've tried these anyway, but I thought no harm in mentioning them again

- exercise - getting at least 40 mins a day, walking or gentle swim

- not eating anything (not even half an oatcake) after 7.30pm or earlier if poss

- meditation

I also found a yoga nidra (yoga sleep) CD that my neighbour gave me was really good for refreshing me when I felt nervous and exhausted - I can email a copy to you if it might help - let me know if you're interested - it won't help you sleep but can help you to cope with not sleeping, it's a deep relaxation thing that's supposed to be the equivalent to a few hours sleep. Can help to break the cycle.

jo

x

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo

Thanks for your suggestions, I would really appreciate your email re

suggestions.

Han

>

> Hi Han

> I used to have terrible sleep problems with hyperthyroidism (not hypo

sorry).... I'm sure you've tried these anyway, but I thought no harm in

mentioning them again

[Guest guest]

What is 5-htp Chris?

Han

>

> have you heard of, or tried, 5-htp for sleep problems?

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo,

Could you send me some info on the yoga sleep CD you were talking about, as I'm

in the midst of tackling a long-term insomnia problem and the CD you mentioned

sounds really good!

Lv

> I also found a yoga nidra (yoga sleep) CD that my neighbour gave me was really

good for refreshing me when I felt nervous and exhausted - I can email a copy to

you if it might help - let me know if you're interested - it won't help you

sleep but can help you to cope with not sleeping, it's a deep relaxation thing

that's supposed to be the equivalent to a few hours sleep. Can help to break

the cycle.

> jo

> x

>