Mary
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After falling asleep, did you ever dream you were looking in a mirror and saw a red face looking back at you?
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After falling asleep, did you ever dream you were looking in a mirror and saw a red face looking back at you?
The crow flies again .....I didn't know any of this - thank you for being the constant voice of GABA doom!
I hope your still around...but your using lemon balm and atarax together? No issue with interactions? Do you take it at the same time?regarding supplements i tried everything which is mentioned in this thread -with No help.melatonin makes me feel even worse since a few months.even if i take it only every now and then.
am currently on
triazolam(benzo)
mirtazapin(low dose)
atarax
lemon balm
Relora(with Magnolia)
Supplements which made me feel worse(warning for those with tendency to react paradoxicly
ashwaganda
rhodiola
Unisom
melatonin
diphenylhydramide
valerian and hops
supplements which made me fell much worse
I agree .... lemon balm (Melissa) and Atarax would both be metabolized in the liver by CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, and it's possible that each may act as either an inducer or inhibitor of the other, or a potentiator.I hope your still around...but your using lemon balm and atarax together? No issue with interactions? Do you take it at the same time?
wow you may have explained why I have sudden severe insomnia. I have not taken my 3 brain sleep herbs for the last 4 nights, that includes lemon balm.@Mary
The crow flies again .....
Along with Lemon Balm (Melissa), others in the same P450 /CYP3A4 metabolizing enzyme string are almost anything you might want to try for sleep. These are powerful herbs, but not everyone reacts badly to them. Just in case, tho, thought I'd list them here. They set me back significantly, but at the time I was already in a downward spiral, so who knows.
Just in case, others that come readily to mind are: Skullcap, Passion Flower, St John's Wort, Valerian, and to a lesser extent, even tart cherry, tho weakly ...... depends on your system and sensitivity: they generally use GABA receptors to produce their effects (and are metabolized via the same pathways that metabolize diazepam, etc) and in doing so, they down regulate those receptors, creating significant negative responses if you're already sensitized to their action. Not everybody is.
If you've ever been on a longish course of anti-anxiety or sleep medications, anything benzo, or even SSRIs, odds are you might have a poor response due to the down-regulation of GABAa and GABAb receptors, along with NMDA issues, and that ingrained sensitivity can take a long time to repair itself.
So just be cautious, and trial these carefully. Low and slow. Watch for anxiety, insomnia, depression, anhedonia, muscle issues as a sort of warning.
There. Done spreading cheer. Apologies.
What a thoughty and helpful post !!!!I'm not saying everyone with insomnia has a breathing problem. It's just important to rule out.
What a thoughty and helpful post !!!!
Hi @YippeeKi YOW !! -- I was thinking the very same thing and was planning to comment on it a
I agree, tho I react badly to Benadryl, so I use Unisom, which is like a gift from heaven for me. Like you, a little less than 1/2 a tablet (the dose for some reason is 2 tablets, so that's 1/4 of the rec'd dose) is more than enough.The main thing out of those three above are the benedryl. That's the one that most consistently puts me to sleep.
high dose melatonin is, forgive me, horse-puckey
Oh sweetie, that wasnt aimed at you .... it was a general comment for anyone who bumped into one or more of several posts scattered around, about the miracle of waaaaay over the top doses of melatonin .....I should have clarified that the part I liked in ZeroGravitas' post is where he talked about fixing a non-24 hour sleep cycle which I kinda wonder if I have.
I too found that pain relief was more effective than prescription sleep medicines, and also OTC antihistamine.With access to only basic medical care for physical needs... I sleep well every night now. After decades of ineffective prescription meds and herbal meds,, I need effective pain relief at night so take the codeine/paracetamol Tylex I get prescribed, and added Piriton. an OTC antihistamine. Sleep though the night almost every night... Such a blessing
It sounds more like classic tolerance withdrawal.I saw this increasing dependence on Lyrica (pregabalin) as my body counteracting its effect,
At some point, you may have to bite the bullet, keep slowly tapering your doses down, and then swallow hard, and when you're down to a teeny tiny fragment of your original dose (not the dose you started titrating off of, which would undoubtably have been higher), stop completely. This is very very hard to do, and for good reason, so try to find a specialist to discuss this with once you get to a place where it seems like a possibility.I managed to get them both down to minimum dose, but I found them near impossible to cease completely.
Once the meds have done their predictable damage, getting off them requires a lot of time and patience, two things that Drs dont seem to have an abundance of.
There are no health care personnel in my life as such so this forum is ....Hi @YippeeKi YOW !! -- Great post! Your last comment reminds me of something I learned many years ago regarding the health issues we face. In short, we're on our own. Yes, we can get help from various health care practitioners who are humble and who truly have our welfare at heart, but so much of our time is spent navigating a labyrinth of doctors and health care institutions (often run by hedge funds these days) that really don't care nearly as much about us as they do their bottom line.
We also deal with myriad health care "specialists" with their conventional ways of doing things, both of which can do great harm if we don't keep ourselves informed. We are truly on our own in a lot of ways, but this forum makes that reality a little less harrowing. Thank goodness for the many folks here who have a great deal of understanding of each other and what each of us go through on a daily basis. And who generously share the knowledge and experience they've gained over the many years of dealing with difficult health issues.
Church !!!!We are truly on our own in a lot of ways, but this forum makes that reality a little less harrowing.
Totally !!! I honestly believe that this site saved my life, and I get very ruffly when I see people dropping in it to raid the library as it were, giving nothing back, or sell things or protocols or disciplines or magic gizmos (yes, they occasionally slip thru the mods) that, you know, reset your electrical, like, vibe, and know when you've got a headache and can silently adjust your aura til it goes away.... caveat emptor, and read the fine print, which usually has a version of YMMV, right under 'Made In China' .....hank goodness for the many folks here who have a great deal of understanding of each other and what each of us go through on a daily basis. And who generously share the knowledge and experience they've gained over the many years of dealing with difficult health issues.