Sleepless in Lawrenceville

I know you have mentioned wanting to avoid drugs and I certainly understand that. However, I have a few friends in this age group (me almost included) who have had similar problems. Some have taken this Ambien/Lunesta stuff periodically and have given it rave reviews. If you are suffering right now it might be worth trying or considering while you work on many of the good ideas mentioned above.

In the RARE instance that I can't sleep, I take melatonin. You can get it amost anyplace that sells "dietary supplements". It usually comes in 3 mg tablets, but I only need 1/2 of a tablet to do the job. Take it about 1 hour before you want to sleep. It can have a bit of a "hangover" effect, so don't drive or skydive in the AM unless you are sure you are wide awake. As an added bonus, it seems to make the day after a bit calmer. -LBJ Bah! That's because you "rarely" have sleep problems. This stuff might help at the margins. Beth: The book written by the former director of the Mayo Clinic Insomnia Program and Sleep Disorder Clinic is titled "No More Sleepless Nights." Here are the herbal meds it lists as potentially being useful, particularly because our bodies produce less of them as we age: B vitamins (although B12 can get you all hopped up and energized) Calcium (but is really hard to properly absorb, as you probably know) Zinc Copper and Iron Tryptophan (amino acid) Melatonin (sex drive downer) BUT there are no definitive studies on most of this stuff or those that exist are not well documented. They have side effects and can interact with other meds. So be careful with this stuff. If I have a bad case of insomnia, none of this stuff works for me. But everyone is different and there are many different types of insomnia (hormonal, physiological, psychological) and different insomniac-draculinas/draculas. Behavioral therapy is the recommended treatment. Some people also have success with deep relaxation and breathing technique. I am too impatient for this and not meditative enough. Most importantly, we are supposed to be taking a lot of vacations. I think the lack of non-swim-related vacations are depriving me of sleep. Ack. We need Gull or fanstone. I'm just the daughter of a doctor, not a doctor myself.

True, but a clear conscience will do that... I don't understand what you mean by this, please explain.

True, but a clear conscience will do that... As -LBJ Yes, as someone insisted on the horror flick thread, I am an EVIL EVIL sprinter. But I'm down with that, as Kyra would say. So my conscience is currently clear. Haven't swindled anyone lately practicing law because I've been really busy taking hits off the bronchodialator and racing -- not good for sleep. Do not take decongestants and inhaler hits at nighttime, folks. My sleeplessness comes and goes (and I'm a really bad traveler). Sometimes hormones. Sometimes pure stress. But if it takes hold, then the psychological monster takes over. And then I do a lot of reading. Once, I read an 800 page book on the French Revolution in two nights. :groovy: (Charles Dickens was an insomniac.) Oh, insomnia is fun. But I managed to fall off at 12:30-1:00 am last night without any melatonin or peeled grapes or massages or anything else.

Why without drugs? The lack of sleep is going to do you more harm than one of the new offerings in sleep aid drugs. Yep! The only problem with ambien and lunesta is habituation/adiction if you are taking it non-stop over a long period of time. Plus, you might get an upset tummy. But if you only take it very occasionally or to get over a particularly bad spell, it is usually OK. Just be careful. Plus, if you use it too much and then stop, you can get rebound insomnia, another big ugly. These drugs are only meant for short term use. They stop working anyway after awhile and won't combat a night of "panic" in any event. Personally, I don't have any of the side effects if I take one. No groggy feeling the next day. (I took one the night before my 50 free at zones. If it's good enough for Michael Phelps ...) And I have never woken up in the middle of the night to cook or drive around town. I can't believe how the comedians have gone to town on these two rare side effects ...

In the RARE instance that I can't sleep, I take melatonin. You can get it amost anyplace that sells "dietary supplements". It usually comes in 3 mg tablets, but I only need 1/2 of a tablet to do the job. Take it about 1 hour before you want to sleep. It can have a bit of a "hangover" effect, so don't drive or skydive in the AM unless you are sure you are wide awake. As an added bonus, it seems to make the day after a bit calmer. -LBJ

Bah! That's because you "rarely" have sleep problems. This stuff might help at the margins. True, but a clear conscience will do that... As to melatonin inhibiting libido, I just mentioned this to Her Ukrainian Highness and her comment was "I wish." Seriously though, you must have quite a case of sleeplessness, because melatonin knocks me on my backside. We'll send over the UT men's swim team to give you a massage and feed you peeled grapes and see if that relaxes you enough to sleep. -LBJ

I don't believe any of us are suggesting taking Ambien to the point of addiction, but as a possible short term sleep aide, much as Fort suggests. And, as one option among many out there to consider, including the hocus pocus stuff I'm prone to dabble in.

I can also vouch for melatonin. Two years ago I took a business trip to India. One of the people I work with used to be in the Air Force and they did studies on jet lag and melatonin. He gave me a schedule of taking melatonin to begin adjusting my sleep cycle a day or two before the trip and then another for the trip home. It worked in both directions. I never felt jet lagged on the trip over and though I was tired after I got home, I think it was from traveling (including layovers) for 30 hours. I would get extremely sleepy one hour after taking 3 mgs of melatonin and it was bad because I could NOT sleep for the adjustment to work successfully. Have not tried it for insomnia, though, because thankfully I don't have it.

Why without drugs? The lack of sleep is going to do you more harm than one of the new offerings in sleep aid drugs.