I bought a bottle of Time Release Melatonin, hope it works.

[texanwitch]

I can fall asleep but not stay asleep.

Also bought some Valerian, I need some decent sleep.

[catzies]

1. I'm on both, it works for me

I hope it works for you.

An hour before I want to start to get sleepy, I mix in kava kava drops with my valerian in a shot glass and down it, and chew my melatonin about 20 minutes before I'm going to bed.

I'm a light sleeper and my sweetie snores like a bzzsaw, so it always wakes me, then my brain engages and I don't go back to sleep.

Pot works for me for that (to fall asleep and stay asleep), but cash flow is too tight for that these days.

Let us know how it works for you. Give the combo a few days.

[texanwitch]

3. I glad it works for you.

I am also a very light sleeper.

I run a fan at night even in winter for the white noise.

I hate not getting enough sleep, feel like a zombie all day.

[catzies]

10. I'm big on the white noise too, even with earplugs and my "binkie"

You know those satin, herbal-filled eye pillows? I don't go to bed without it nowadays like I didn't go to bed without my Linus blanket when I was little. I call it my "binkie."

I sleep with white noise, ear plugs, my binkie, valerian/kava kava and melatonin and I still don't get a good night's sleep except once or twice a week!! And I follow all the traditional "sleep hygiene" rules: no TV in the bedroom. bed is only for sleeping, moderate caffeine intake, etc. etc.

Sleep deprivation is the pits. It can make your life miserable. :hug:

[texanwitch]

12. Working early voting doesn't help either.

During early voting I am getting up when I was usually going to bed.

[margotb822]

2. Get a prescription for Trazodone

I was having problems sleeping, but I hated Ambien. Trazodone is great, much more natural sleep and I actually feel rested in the am.

[texanwitch]

5. I know someone who tried Ambien, she walked in her sleep.

Her husband caught her walking out the front door.

[LynneSin]

36. Not only did I walk in my sleep on Ambien...

but I fell down the steps and banged myself up real bad.

Stay away from Ambien

[no name no slogan]

7. I hated Trazodone, loved Ambien CR

I always got severe night munchies with Trazodone, and always felt hung over in the morning.

Ambien CR was great: I fell asleep, stayed asleep and woke up feeling great. I never had any of the side effects you hear about. Unfortunately, my insurance changed their formulary, so I had to go off it and go onto Risperdal instead (augmented with Seroquel, as part of the bipolar treatment).

[seemunkee]

33. my daughter hallucinated on Ambien

Trazodone worked for her.

Texanwitch, I hope you are seeing a doctor, if not you should be.

[Taverner]

4. Both will work. Also consider Kava Tea

just make sure its of the root only - the leaves of that plant are poisonous, the roots, not.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Two Bendryl

I take them every night and sleep like a baby. I've used all the prescription stuff, but the generic Benadryl that I pick up at my local market does a great job.

Friends of mine told me about this. They've done it for years.

[texanwitch]

8. I have problems with Benadryl.

It makes me jumpy and I have really strange dreams.

I know people who do take Bendryl for sleeping.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Rats

I'm sorry to hear that.

I got nothin' else, sorry.

Good luck..................

[texanwitch]

11. The best place to sleep was the beach house.

The last time I slept really well was back in September before Hurricane Ike.

The old beach house was giant sleeping pill.

[catzies]

13. Frugal living tip: generic brands of Sominex have the same active ingredient

as Benadryl, i.e. diphenhydramine, and usually cost a lot less.

I was on that stuff for years - it's not addictive or habit-forming, but i was dependent. I'm on valerian/kava kava as I've been weaning myself of diphenhydramine since December.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. Great!!

It works really well for me, although I've got a veritable pharmacy here if I want to use something else to sleep. Benadryl seems to be the most benign, as well as not containing any ibuprofen - easier on the liver.

I thought I was getting a pretty good deal on the generic Benadryl at 9 bucks for 100 tablets. But I'll certainly check the generic Sominex.

Thank you very much.

Watch the kava kava. I had a cousin who got really sick from taking it to sleep, and did some research, found out that it's got some bad side effects. I don't remember the particulars - it was at least ten years ago, but it was bad. So be careful.

And thanks again.

[catzies]

17. And thank YOU for the kava tip

You're right about staying away from the ibuprofen and Tylenol PM because of the acetaminophen/liver connection.

I've found that my local pharmacies and even my KMart store brands all carry a generic sleep aid that is 25mg diphenhydramine HCl and that's generic Benadryl!!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

18. As long as you know the chemical component,

it's amazing how much $$$ you can save.

My physician said he doubts he's ever taken a drug that wasn't generic.

I'm old enough to remember BEFORE generics were legal, and, boy, what a difference they make!

I just checked regular Sominex prices online - WOW! - I do a whole lot better at my local Giant or Harris Teeter.

Do you remember the Sominex commercials - they were so long ago, you probably don't - that sort of oooozed the line, "Take Sominex tonight and sleep - safe and restful, sleep, sleep, sleep"? By the time it was over, you were dozing off..................

[catzies]

21. LOL! yes, I'm old enough to remember those!

If you find generic "sleepies," as I call them, make sure you get them in good ol' pill-in-a-bottle form, and not those damned blister packs. I hate those things!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

25. I sort of agree with you

about those damn blister packs, but the bottles - where you have to line up those arrows in order to open them - are a royal pain. I open mine, and then just leave the top poised there, not engaged, because I never know if I'm gonna be able to get it open again.

It's always something, ain't it?

:toast:

Sleep well, friend............................

[catzies]

29. I do what you do with the bottles: cap comes off & stays off!

Since I don't have small children in the house, it's OK. I could never manage those caps either.

Pleasant dreams and sleep well! :loveya:

[MissMillie]

14. how does it know what time to be released?

:shrug:

[texanwitch]

20. When it knocks on the inside of the bottle.

:rofl:

[Kajsa]

26. LOL!

Hi Texanwitch!

Melatonin works great for me.

I take 3 mg. right before bedtime and sleep
through the night, which is a real treat for
me now.

Good luck and sweet dreams!

:hi: :pals:

[texanwitch]

28. The bottle I bought has 3 mg. tablets.

I think they will work.

I am looking for my beach sounds CD's for the old 5 disk player.

I am really missing the beach house.

[Kajsa]

34. I know, Texanwitch!

I remember your posts when you visited there.

You are a beach person, like I am.

Good luck, and again, I hope you have restful
sleep and sweet dreams.

:pals:

[TK421]

16. I've taken the Melatonin...still do from time to time....

and it definitely helps me...but a weird side-effect of that stuff is extremely ( I mean, almost right in front of your eyes real ) vivid dreams. The friend who recommended them to me told me he had the same side-effect. I didn't feel it was anything to worry about, but the dreams were very,very real to me at the time I awoke.

[KittyWampus]

19. Works for me. How old are you Texas Witch? Could your hormones be starting to switch around?

In which case a MINUTE amount of progesterone cream might work.

Also, check your diet. Eating too much sugar/carbs throughout the day also affects ability to stay asleep.

[texanwitch]

22. It could be the hormones.

I have always been light sleeper, that is my major problem.

[KittyWampus]

24. look at your diet. Eating too much carbs > temporary serotonin boost that wears off couple of hours

into sleep.

Serotonin is the most important neurotransmitter in the regulation of appetite and sleep. Carbohydrate, by stimulating insulin production, can boost serotonin levels, but only temporarily. Deficiency of serotonin causes carbohydrate cravings; when you satisfy these cravings insulin is released which causes serotonin to be made giving a temporary lift.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

23. Melatonin gave me REALLY fucked up dreams, like bad ones

Valerian works, but it smells like feet.

I used to have good success with 5-htp and it also evens out moods. I should probably start taking it again.

[TK421]

27. Fucking A....you too?

read post #16

[Bryan]

30. I highly recommend melatonin

Within an hour of taking it, I'm dead to the world. 3 mg was actually a bit high for me (6'3", 250 lbs.); it made me very sluggish in the mornings. I'm down to one or two 300 mcg tablets a night.

[old mark]

31. I have used melatonin for several years, an it works better than anything else.

I also use ear plugs and keep the room dark.

mark

[Locrian]

32. tryptophan

I take 500 mg of tryptophan a night, along with the timed release melatonin. Works wonders at staying asleep. Valerian, not so much - knocks me out, but then I wake up in the middle of the night.

[LibertyLover]

35. I usually take one melatonin

and one benadryl and that combination helps me sleep. My greyhound bitch has night and day mixed up and wants to go out 2 and 3 times a night. Since I'm the one who usually hears her howling first, I get up with her. Using the melatonin-benadryl combo means that I can get back to sleep. I know that you have problems with benadryl, and there have been times when we didn't have any in the house, so I would use valerian and melatonin. It worked well too. Good luck.