LDN and sleep

[toolongtotell]

I've been taking 4.5 LDN for about a month now. I take it in the morning. I'm supposed to move it to the evening at some point, not sure when. I've noticed that it does help me sleep most nights for 10 hours! But I am not waking rested at all. In fact I'd say my fatigue is worse. I am having very vivid dreams but not quite nightmares. I take other meds for sleep. I rotate baclofen, tinizidine, and ambien, Not taking them together. What are others experiences on LDN with sleep and fatigue? Thank you.

 

[PatJ]

Once I found that 2.5 mg is my sweet spot, and stopped playing with the dose, my sleep improved. After some experimenting with times in the evening I found that taking it around midnight works best for me. I've never tried taking it in the morning.

I also rely on other things to improve my sleep (see my signature.)

 

[toolongtotell]

Thank you, How did you know that 2.5 was your sweet spot? I titrated up pretty quickly with 1.5 mg compounded pills. adding 1.5 every 2 weeks. I'm sleeping so much better than ever but I could sleep for 24 hours now, it seems. I have a moderate/mild case of ME and am able to be out of bed and heading a household with 2 elementary aged kids most days, although my wife is the breadwinner and does all morning routine and most evening. I am usually pretty active between 10am-3pm. But now I can't even get out of bed until 10am. And I am asleep at 9pm at the latest. All I ever wanted was to sleep for the last 3 years (my sleep story is much like what I read of yours patj) and now I am able to, maybe I just need to catch up?

 

[PatJ]

How did you know that 2.5 was your sweet spot?

I started at 0.125 mg because I had read about some people having problems with side effects from a too high starting dose, and from increasing the dose too quickly. I increased by 0.125 every 2-4 days. I made it up to 4.5 but found that I had anxiety. I then slowly cut back until 2.5 was the point where I had benefits without drawbacks. One of those drawbacks was that I felt even more tired than usual and the tiredness didn't go away. Cutting back to 2.5 helped to improve my sleep but not have the excessive extra fatigue that I experienced when I went above 2.5.

Once I stabilized the dose it took about a month or two for occasional odd but bearable little effects to subside.

But now I can't even get out of bed until 10am.

Once your immune system gets a boost (with the help of the LDN) then your body will need more rest. According to Dudley's LDN site tiredness is a common side effect. I realize that isn't necessarily the same as needing more sleep but one can lead to the other.

Most side effects don't last longer that 7-10 days after remaining at a particular dose. Many people find that 4.5 mg is too high but that they do well on a lower dose. Others stay at a lower dose for a month or two, then increase by something like 0.5 each month.