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REM Sleep

Messages
87
My good doc mentioned using 1-2 mg of sinequan (doxepin) to restore stage 4 sleep. (1-2mg is a very low dose.)

Some time ago, I saw a sleep doctor who prescribed 2mg doxepin saying that at low doses it acted as a antihistamine and generally improved sleep. I don't know. IT didn't do much for me so I don't take it. But he apparently did research to back it up.
 

datadragon

Senior Member
Messages
393
Location
USA
Glutamate issues are a lot of times caused from copper being high compared to zinc, and thats what the things like l-theanine etc I mentioned above help with that by increasing GABA to counter it. The mind wont calm down as its being revved up and have a racing mind.

The body requires specific nutrients to make serotonin and melatonin which I explained in the post in this thread, and many of these happen to be in the progression leading up to adrenal burnout putting a high demand on the body which can lead to depletion of them. If you dont have the 'recipe' ingredients, your going to not make the serotonin and melatonin.

And external factors as mentioned interfere. Common things like Wifi and EMFs, blue light at night are going to further lnterfere with melatonin.

http://amalgam.org/education/scient...alth-effects-emf-exposure-mercury-connection/
EMF is documented in animal and human studies to cause cellular calcium efflux and to affect calcium homeostasis, which may be a factor in the reduction of melatonin levels caused by EMF exposure in animal and human studies.
 
Messages
13
I found this interesting article about CFS and REM, below. The findings are that CFS sufferers, if I have it right, don’t sleep through REM but keep waking up at that point in the cycle. That would be congruent with my own experience: it’s as if my whole night of “sleep” is REM and waking up, about seven or eight tImes. A sleep study I had found more REM than average. It’s exhausting, especially when you add in getting up to go to the bathroom after various anxiety dreams about not finding a bathroom ; ). But thank you participants, in this forum, I just ordered L-Theanine from amazon. Hoping. (Everything I’ve tried heretofore gives me a hangover all day).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198210/
 

Mimicry

Senior Member
Messages
179
I found this interesting article about CFS and REM, below. The findings are that CFS sufferers, if I have it right, don’t sleep through REM but keep waking up at that point in the cycle. That would be congruent with my own experience: it’s as if my whole night of “sleep” is REM and waking up, about seven or eight tImes. A sleep study I had found more REM than average. It’s exhausting, especially when you add in getting up to go to the bathroom after various anxiety dreams about not finding a bathroom ; ). But thank you participants, in this forum, I just ordered L-Theanine from amazon. Hoping. (Everything I’ve tried heretofore gives me a hangover all day).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198210/

I have the exact same problem! I keep waking up straight from dreams several times every night and it can make my sleep very restless. Unfortunately L-theanine doesn’t seem to help with this, and neither do other supplements I’ve been taking to enhance sleep such as inositol, glycine, melatonin, or 5-HTP. I’ve also been taking the drugs pregabalin, trimipramine and quetiapine for sleep as my sleep quality is Horrible in general, and they seem to help to some extent, but they don’t address the problem with constantly waking up from REM sleep.

This is terrible. Without meds and supplements I don’t really sleep no matter how tired I am. With them I sleep for 12 hours a night but wake up groggy, irritable and exhausted. (And I know most of you have the same problem.) UGHH!
 
Messages
13
Keep experimenting! What seems to be working for me now is about 15 milligrams Trazadone and half a vitamin B -12 (I’m really sensitive to it). My CFS is worse now (if I eat sugar for example, I feel like I’ve been poisoned, exhausted coming up stairs, etc). But for some weird reason, the sleep is far better. No stress of going in to work? (COVID quarantine) dunno!
 

Mimicry

Senior Member
Messages
179
Keep experimenting! What seems to be working for me now is about 15 milligrams Trazadone and half a vitamin B -12 (I’m really sensitive to it). My CFS is worse now (if I eat sugar for example, I feel like I’ve been poisoned, exhausted coming up stairs, etc). But for some weird reason, the sleep is far better. No stress of going in to work? (COVID quarantine) dunno!

I’m glad you found some help! A friend just gave me homemade CBD oil, he suffers from severe insomnia and said it’s the only thing that helps him sleep. I’m curious to see if it has any effect on my sleep. I’ve tried CBD before but it was made from hemp juice and it was supposed to be taken in the morning because it had the opposite effect to hemp oil (stimulating, very much like caffeine, gave me jitters etc). My friend’s CBD oil also has a pinch of THC, which could also have some effect. I’ll tell you how it goes.
 

PatJ

Forum Support Assistant
Messages
5,288
Location
Canada
homemade CBD oil, he suffers from severe insomnia and said it’s the only thing that helps him sleep.

I've tried straight CBD oil for sleep but it didn't have much effect. Then I tried an oil that is a 50:50 mix of CBD and THC and found that it works very well for my sleep. The same mix caused insomnia for my sister. It can take some experimenting to find what works for each person.
 

Mimicry

Senior Member
Messages
179
I've tried straight CBD oil for sleep but it didn't have much effect. Then I tried an oil that is a 50:50 mix of CBD and THC and found that it works very well for my sleep. The same mix caused insomnia for my sister. It can take some experimenting to find what works for each person.

That’s very interesting! I would love to try different mixes of cannabinoids but unfortunately both CBD and THC are prohibited here in Finland, at least for now. We used to be able to buy CBD products as supplements a year ago (IIRC) but then the public authorities realized those are technically considered as pharmaceuticals and therefore need additional permits etc. So now I get the stuff from a friend who’s growing this particular variety of cannabis that produces more CBD than most of the other varieties.

So far I haven’t noticed any prominent improvements from the cannabis oil. I don’t think it’s affected my sleep at all. I’ve had probably a little more energy and I’ve been able to do more on some days, but it could be due to a number of things and unfortunately after the more energetic days I crash badly. So there’s that :D

I just absolutely had to wash the kitchen window and change the curtains yesterday because I felt fine, so naturally I’ve been feeling awful today. I could deal with the whole-body ache, shakiness and exhaustion that comes with PEM, but what I am really struggling with are the mood problems. When I’m in the middle of PEM my irritability goes through the roof and I hate my poor spouse for even existing. I have it most of the time, but PEM makes it so much worse. I’ve been reading the irritability threads here and trying most of the recommended supplements, and nothing seems to alleviate the problem (except L-theanine, it seems to help a bit). It’s only getting worse due to the quarantine thing.

Now I try to get some sleep.