I’m terrified I’ll relapse

[[He...]]

Hoping for both of us that we get better sleep soon for ANY reason. Gym or not.

 

HM

[[Sh...]]

Indeed xxx

[Guest [An...]]

Hoping for both of us that we get better sleep soon for ANY reason. Gym or not.

 

HM

 

HeartMost, you should try my combo of supplements as well. Maybe start slow see how you tolerate them.

[Guest [An...]]

Hey andros. Yeah I have a script for mirt but would rather try natural first. I’ve read the mirt thread and lots of people on their had and awful time trying to get off so I’m not keen to go down that road if I can help it.

 

How much lemon balm did u take? And what kind of magnesium is best? I’m trying valerian tonight

 

I have the 500mg capsules of Lemon Balm (Melissa, it's the same thing). When I was using it, I was taking 2 caps, as well as 2 caps of Valerian, 2 caps of Theanine, 4 caps of Taurine, 4 caps of Glycine, and many other things.

 

Lemon Balm is a good foundation to use with other stuff, because it doesn't attach to the benzo receptor. It does what it does by preventing your natural GABA from breaking down.

 

But don't just use one thing. If you're going to try, start with 1 cap Melissa, 1 cap Valerian,  2 caps Theanine, and see how that rolls for you.

[Guest [An...]]

Also you guys should really start practicing meditation, like I did.

 

I had a stressful day at work a few days ago (more than usual due to some office politics that were affecting me). That night I didn't sleep well. I felt like I was awake from 12midnight to 6am, and then I felt like I finally got a bit of sleep to about 8am.

 

Fitbit said I got 5hr though, with a huge chunk of deep sleep right at that 6-8am timeframe, and my heart rate was thru the roof all night (it looked like my day time charts).

 

I know I'm healed mostly, but I guess even some mild stress will affect me, hence why it's crucial to practice de-stressing protocols daily.

[[Sh...]]

I don’t really believe my fit bit, it says I’m asleep when I’m literally binge watching Netflix on my lounge.

 

I don’t have any of those supps but I do have valerian kava lavender cbd thc and melatonin so I’m gunna try a stack with them tonight.

 

I have done 25000 steps so far today and it’s only 5pm. Plus an hour of weights at the gym. So let’s see how this experiment works tonight.

[[Ga...]]

Just popping in to say hello to Shayna, who, though she may be sleepless and restless in Australia, still embodies courage, strength, positivity and great wit!!!!

 

Spring has almost sprung in your lovely homeland, and soon you will be surfing and sanding to your hearts content.  The sound of the ocean always soothes my spirit and greatly enhances my sleep....may it do the same for you, Dear Shayna

 

Hugs from,

 

GG in good old Virginny🙏❤️

 

[Guest [An...]]

I don’t really believe my fit bit, it says I’m asleep when I’m literally binge watching Netflix on my lounge.

 

I don’t have any of those supps but I do have valerian kava lavender cbd thc and melatonin so I’m gunna try a stack with them tonight.

 

I have done 25000 steps so far today and it’s only 5pm. Plus an hour of weights at the gym. So let’s see how this experiment works tonight.

 

I think it will work for you, but don't let it get you down if it doesn't. Just try again the next day. I had nights when even taking 8 supps at once did nothing.

 

I recommend the breathing right as you go to bed (after taking the supps).

 

I've tried the FitBit and Garmin units. Garmin (surprisingly) is garbage for monitoring sleep. FitBit is much better, but not perfect. There's times when I'm awake, and it measures "light sleep". There's times I'm not wearing the watch at all, and it marks "deep sleep" for the time frame I took the watch off.

 

What you have to do is base the stats on your own body. I know that if I get 1.5hr deep sleep and 2hr REM sleep, I feel awesome when I wake up. Those are my "good" #'s. Are they accurate? Probably not. I bet my actual requirements are less than that.

 

Also look at your heart rate. If you have a lot of "below resting" heart rate, it's likely you got at least some stage 1 sleep. You can tell when your rate goes higher, that those periods were not real sleep.

[[Sh...]]

It didn’t work. 2 tabs of valerian, cbd melatonin then when that did nothing 1.5 unisom. Nothing. I’m just devastated today. I worked so hard yesterday too.

[Guest [An...]]

It didn’t work. 2 tabs of valerian, cbd melatonin then when that did nothing 1.5 unisom. Nothing. I’m just devastated today. I worked so hard yesterday too.

 

I'm so sorry Shayna.

 

I'll repeat what I said before though. First, don't let it get you down.

 

Second, you need to take MORE things, and drop the CBD.

 

Third, did you try some breathing? Like 2-3hr non stop if you have to.

[[Sh...]]

Yes I did the breathing. I don’t know, maybe there’s something really wrong with me. Who knows if this will ever end

[Guest [An...]]

Yes I did the breathing. I don’t know, maybe there’s something really wrong with me. Who knows if this will ever end

 

I think you're just in WD so badly, you need to take more supps.

 

CBD is useless unless you take A LOT, which means 200mg a shot or more.

 

I tried 250mg twice and it didn't do anything for me. With THC it does enhance the THC hit.

 

What Valerian did you try? Was it the root, or extract?

[[Sh...]]

Mexican valerian root and rhizome 1.0g mediherb brand.

 

Honestly andros thanks for trying to help but I’m done. I’m just so tired of trying. Who knows if I’ll get better I’ve been like this too long. X

 

I’ll just have to do my combo when I get to the point I can’t go on without sleep and just deal with that. 3 years is a long time to be like this. I’m exhausted x

[[De...]]

It didn’t work. 2 tabs of valerian, cbd melatonin then when that did nothing 1.5 unisom. Nothing. I’m just devastated today. I worked so hard yesterday too.

 

I'm so sorry Shayna.

 

I'll repeat what I said before though. First, don't let it get you down.

 

Second, you need to take MORE things, and drop the CBD.

 

Third, did you try some breathing? Like 2-3hr non stop if you have to.

 

I would just like to go on record and counter the above by saying that it is quite possible taking NOTHING is much better than taking MORE things.  Just my opinion. 

[Guest [An...]]

It didn’t work. 2 tabs of valerian, cbd melatonin then when that did nothing 1.5 unisom. Nothing. I’m just devastated today. I worked so hard yesterday too.

 

I'm so sorry Shayna.

 

I'll repeat what I said before though. First, don't let it get you down.

 

Second, you need to take MORE things, and drop the CBD.

 

Third, did you try some breathing? Like 2-3hr non stop if you have to.

 

I would just like to go on record and counter the above by saying that it is quite possible taking NOTHING is much better than taking MORE things.  Just my opinion.

 

I know when I was in acute, taking just one thing would do nothing. I literally had to stack like 8 different supplements together, and I'd usually get a 3hr or 4hr chunk.

 

It's strange to me that Shayna can sometimes get good sleep with a couple of Unisoms, and other nights nothing at all.

 

At one point she was taking half a Unisom and that would get her some sleep. I actually tried half a Unisom last night just for @$#% and giggles, and see what my FitBit would say.

 

It definitely made me drowsy, but it did not increase my deep or REM sleep. I was shocked actually, I expected at least a small improvement.

 

Melatonin gives me exactly the same drowsy punch, but actually does increase deep and REM sleep for me.

 

 

So then we get to the fact that if your mind is so terrified (in this case terrified of not being able to sleep) ironically, THAT will keep you awake!! Even Zopiclone, which is what we got hooked into originally, and one of the strongest hypnotics, can be fought against to stay awake. I've read druggies that take it, and fight the urge to sleep so they can feel the relaxed feeling while they're awake. What that means is that your brain will literally fight anything trying to get you to sleep if it's that terrified.

 

So in a sense, you're right, maybe letting go of everything is the key. When I started getting a lot of sleep on Mirt, I had to trust my brain that it could sleep on its own, and I went off everything for a week, not sleeping the first 2 days, but then getting 5hr sleeps, and more constantly.

[[Qu...]]

Mexican valerian root and rhizome 1.0g mediherb brand.

 

Honestly andros thanks for trying to help but I’m done. I’m just so tired of trying. Who knows if I’ll get better I’ve been like this too long. X

 

I’ll just have to do my combo when I get to the point I can’t go on without sleep and just deal with that. 3 years is a long time to be like this. I’m exhausted x

 

Try Valerian at least for a week. Even more than 1mg it's ok. I tend to side with Andros. I wouldn't mix hebs and CDB, better finding a combo that works for you before.

 

Like Benzos, long term use of antihistamine for sleeping may impair cognitive functions and increases the risk of developing dementia (in old people). -> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4358759/

 

I think this holds true also for all RX drugs with anticholinergic effects used as sleep aid.

 

The more I try RX drugs to relieve my insomnia, the more I think they are underrated even compared to benzodiapines. Benzo withdrawal is one of the worst if not the worst one, but judging a drug only looking at what happens when discontinued is quite simplistic. As a benzo taperer I got used to think that if something is very hard to discontinue it should be the worst offender. 7 months and lots of prescripions later I'm less judgemental, expecially in case of lack of sleep. Trazodone (up to 100mg), low dose Mirtazapine (up to 7.50mg) and to a lesser extent very low dose quetiapine (up to 50mg) could be considered relatively safe, at least in the short medium / range. At higher doses I can't say if day're better or worst than daily usage of hypnotics.

 

Actually I also changed my mind about slow / too slow tapering. Many of the best success stories I read come from people (not polydrugged) that took benzo for 3-18 months at therapeutic dosage and then jumped in a short time frame. On the contrary I found many microtapering stories which look like protracted nightmares.

[Guest [Se...]]

Thanku xx I just tipped my Valium down the toilet so it’s not in the house. There’s nothing here now. Xx

 

You made the right choice. But now don't sit there and just take the suffering. Try to experiment with different supplements. Try low doses of AD's even (I know you are really against them). I would rather sleep 4hr a day on Valerian and Melissa (for example), than sleep 0hr on nothing. I would rather try 3.75mg of Mirt, and sleep 4hr, than sleep zero hours on nothing.

 

BTW, something else I did:

 

1. Started meditating every single night, particularly breathing exercises. I would breathe for 2hr straight sometimes. I had a couple of times I breathed for 4hr straight. Didn't do anything the first week I tried it. But the 2nd week all of a sudden I'd realize I'd have fallen asleep for 2hr chunks, or even an 1hr chunk, so I'd go back to breathing (and taking a 2nd dose of something).

 

2. Completely stopped reading any negative posts, or comments. Completely stopped reading any negative studies. I focused on coming here and reading ONLY the success stories. I read as many as I could constantly, and would do it again the next day. You need to get the negative out of your mind. Reading the horror stories is too hard on us. You have to disengage for a few weeks.

 

Maybe these things sound too simplistic, or you have already done them? I don't know. But if you haven't tried them, at this point what do you have to lose?

 

Your advice here in #1 & 2 is critical to recovery.  How do u stop fear if you’re constantly watching a horror story?