Melatonin

[ShoppGirl 5,018]

I don’t think it has anything to do with surgery but since I have had to get up super early for all these tests I have wacked out my sleep schedule and like a baby I have my days and nights mixed up. I tried to fight it by staying awake and I only slept for 3 hours two nights in a row then last night I fell asleep early but I forgot to set alarm and I slept for 16 hours. My friend suggested that I try melatonin and I just bought some but when I asked the pharmacists about taking it with my other meds she said to start with the lowest dose because some research suggests that it may wack out the way your body naturally produces it. Has anyone used this as a temporary thing to just get back on track or does it cause even more issues.

[catwoman7 11,220]

I use it all the time, although I've read what you heard - that it really shouldn't be used all the time because there's a risk your body will stop producing your own natural melatonin.

[Nabih_bawazir 9]

My experience with sleep pills:
1. melatonin, only use at weekend
2. ashwagandha, its great for sleep quality
3. Seroquel (prescription), increase appetite
4. Dayvigo (prescription), best sleep scheduler

Thanks to my physiatrist to give me this

[FifiLux 499]

I have suffered on and off with bad insomnia for years and tried all forms of prescribed or over the counter tablets. teas, sprays, lotions etc.

After my op and my stays in hospital the surgeon prescribed me sleeping tablets (stilnoct) but I found they didn't really help with a good sleep more just helped me fall asleep. I felt my recovery was being slowed down by a feeling of complete and utter exhaustion as I was only managing about 3 hrs sleep a night and I was waking up at the times the nurses used to call to my room - 11pm, 4am, 7am etc.

In March I bought a red light to use in my bedroom at night time, it activates your natural melatonin, and I find it is working wonders. It runs at a bright level for 14 minutes and then spends another 14 minutes dimming but I find I am rarely awake by the time the dimming happens. I am asleep in minutes, if I wake during the night I can usually now fall back asleep but if I have an issue I just turn the light on again. Most days I now wake up feeling like I have had a great sleep.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,653]

I use melatonin 5mg during the week and I add ashwagandha on the weekend and anytime during the week where I don't feel I'm getting a good quality sleep. I try not to use them EVERY single day, but some weeks I have to and other weeks I don't have to at all. Just depends what's going on during the day.

[ms.sss 15,720]

i've never used melatonin, BUT...

some tips from a self-proclaimed insomniac (i.e, me! lol)

i sleep very little (always have, but even less so since losing the weight). pre-surgery i averaged maybe 6 hours a night; past five years or so, its closer to 4 or 5. weirdly enough i still function perfectly fine during the day, and if anything i probably have an excess of energy (but i digress...).

ANYWAY, if i had a few days in a row of very, very, little sleep, and i KNOW i need to get some sleep for some event (like early morning yoga, or need to go to the airport, or gonna have a long party day - like xmas, etc - or something) here are some things i do to ensure i don't toss and turn and stay up all night:

1) don't eat or drink anything (other than water) at least 4 hours before bed.

2) do a bit of cardio a couple hours before bed - OR - some deep stretching just before bed.

3) no screen time at least an hour before bed.

4*) sometimes a hot shower just before bed also works, but then my wet hair may annoy me. so this one is a hit or miss.

Good Luck! ❤️

[ShoppGirl 5,018]

Thank you all for your suggestions. It helps to just know that I am not alone in this. Some of these options I have never even heard of and others that I had forgotten.

For starters, I am one of those people that has the tv on 24/7 just for the background noise and I always turn it to a familiar show at night so the tones do not wake me. I absolutely cannot sleep when it’s quiet but I’m sure the light from the tv is not helping me now. If I go to a friends house or the power is off or something, I listen to podcasts and I think maybe I need to switch to that to eliminate the blue light for starters and I definitely want to do some research on that red light as well

Also its curious you mention the hot shower at night @ms.sss because I recently started sweating at night dampening my hair and bed clothes (I assume it’s the beginning of the change) so I switched to morning showers… maybe that’s playing a part In all this. Perhaps until I get back on track I need to take a second shower or bath. I guess I won’t have the sweating excuse for not doing a little cardio at night either.

I had a really bad experience with Ambien years ago so I want to steer clear of the prescriptions if at all possible. Two of you mentioned the ashwagandha. I hadn’t heard of that one. I will have to ask my dr about that with my other meds too. Another friend just told me that she has had luck with that magnesium that you spray on your feet for anyone reading this later. I am so relieved to know that there are so many things to try. Something has to work so I can get some 💤. Thanks again.

[FifiLux 499]

This is the light I got, saw it being given in the gift bags for the Oscar winners this year so figured if they thought it was good enough to give them I would give it a try.

https://helight.com/

I got it at half price on Amazon.

[JennyBeez 289]

As someone who also used to use quiet tv as background noise to sleep, I want to suggest a different audio sleep aid. It doesn't work for everyone, but it got me through some tough insomniac stretches in the past. There's lots of apps that you can install on your phone or tablet -- I use "White Noise Generator" for android devices. It's free and lets you mix settings to find a sound that works for you. I have the best luck with a mix of quiet waves and wind underneath louder purple or brown noise (rather than white -- white noise actually keeps me up!). My mother uses it too, but with a mix of rain, wind and a fan under super-loud white noise. You can set a timer so you don't have it playing all night.

[catwoman7 11,220]

6 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Thank you all for your suggestions. It helps to just know that I am not alone in this. Some of these options I have never even heard of and others that I had forgotten.

For starters, I am one of those people that has the tv on 24/7 just for the background noise and I always turn it to a familiar show at night so the tones do not wake me. I absolutely cannot sleep when it’s quiet but I’m sure the light from the tv is not helping me now. If I go to a friends house or the power is off or something, I listen to podcasts and I think maybe I need to switch to that to eliminate the blue light for starters and I definitely want to do some research on that red light as well

Also its curious you mention the hot shower at night @ms.sss because I recently started sweating at night dampening my hair and bed clothes (I assume it’s the beginning of the change) so I switched to morning showers… maybe that’s playing a part In all this. Perhaps until I get back on track I need to take a second shower or bath. I guess I won’t have the sweating excuse for not doing a little cardio at night either.

I had a really bad experience with Ambien years ago so I want to steer clear of the prescriptions if at all possible. Two of you mentioned the ashwagandha. I hadn’t heard of that one. I will have to ask my dr about that with my other meds too. Another friend just told me that she has had luck with that magnesium that you spray on your feet for anyone reading this later. I am so relieved to know that there are so many things to try. Something has to work so I can get some 💤. Thanks again.

I'm the same - I can't sleep if it's too quiet. But instead of the TV, I have a radio next to my bed. I turn that on at night (usually to BBC World Service since it's on all night, but it really doesn't matter...). Music might keep me up - but news doesn't. I keep it on all night. If I'm away from home, I have to click on the BBC's web site from my phone and put it next to my bed - otherwise I can't sleep. Something like that might work since it wouldn't involve light. The other thing I've used a few times in the past are some of the Tibetan singing bowl videos on YouTube. Some of them go for eight hours. There are other kinds of meditation/relaxation/sleeping videos on YouTube as well.

Edited June 20, 2024 by catwoman7

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,653]

I like to listen to rain sounds. I like the Calm app. Often when I put on the sounds of thunderstorms or just heavy rain, it knocks me out. I love it.

[ShoppGirl 5,018]

On 6/20/2024 at 10:47 PM, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

I like to listen to rain sounds. I like the Calm app. Often when I put on the sounds of thunderstorms or just heavy rain, it knocks me out. I love it.

I have the free version of the calm app and I use it for mindfulness during the day which helps sometimes with mild anxiety. I think I need to practice it more when I’m not anxious to get better at it for it to work for major anxiety but that’s another story. I tried one of the sleep ones last night and it was just weird. Some others that are available on the app for sleep look promising but they are locked for the unpaid version. I do t like the keep sounds Most of them just make me feel like I need to pee. lol. I wish they would let you listen once for free and then make you pay for it so I would know if it’s worth it to sign up.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,653]

51 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

I have the free version of the calm app and I use it for mindfulness during the day which helps sometimes with mild anxiety. I think I need to practice it more when I’m not anxious to get better at it for it to work for major anxiety but that’s another story. I tried one of the sleep ones last night and it was just weird. Some others that are available on the app for sleep look promising but they are locked for the unpaid version. I do t like the keep sounds Most of them just make me feel like I need to pee. lol. I wish they would let you listen once for free and then make you pay for it so I would know if it’s worth it to sign up.

I don't listen to the talking or weird music lol Literally just the rain and thunderstorms. That always puts me to sleep. I keep my room cold, snuggle under the blanket, put in my earbuds with a thunderstorm on, and it really helps.

[JennyBeez 289]

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

I have the free version of the calm app and I use it for mindfulness during the day which helps sometimes with mild anxiety. I think I need to practice it more when I’m not anxious to get better at it for it to work for major anxiety but that’s another story.

Ooh, I always fall behind on that too. I've heard from so many people how important it is to practice when you're not feeling symptoms so you can kind of mentally pull it up easier when you need it -- muscle memory, but for the brain? -- but it's one of those things that I'll do for like a week and forget one day and not pick it back up. Meanwhile I know it would probably work amazingly since I've done similar things to practice getting out of night terrors (counting fingers, etc). ISTG if I don't set alarms to remind me to do certain things, they never get done.

[ShoppGirl 5,018]

1 minute ago, JennyBeez said:

Ooh, I always fall behind on that too. I've heard from so many people how important it is to practice when you're not feeling symptoms so you can kind of mentally pull it up easier when you need it -- muscle memory, but for the brain? -- but it's one of those things that I'll do for like a week and forget one day and not pick it back up. Meanwhile I know it would probably work amazingly since I've done similar things to practice getting out of night terrors (counting fingers, etc). ISTG if I don't set alarms to remind me to do certain things, they never get done.

Well I’m only tried it the last couple of years and thought it was so Hokey and weird. I felt absolutely ridiculous at first I swear but I had a therapist that kept gently telling me to just give it a fair shake and suggested that I practice in private when I wasn’t anxious. Well, to my surprise it actually does work for me. I have cut down significantly on my reliance of anxiety medication and also learned to be mindful doing other things such as crafts to reduce stress. I totally get the people that think it’s all a crock. I was absolutely one of them, but it actually works. 🤷🏼‍♀️