morningstar
Cathlete
Hey folks,
I've posted about my sleep issues before and I wanted to give an update as to what seems to be working (somewhat) for me.
First, a recap: I was recently diagnosed with sleep maintenance insomnia, which is just what it sounds like, I have no problem getting to sleep, I have problems staying there. I wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes many many times and sometimes for as long as a couple of hours. I was also diagnosed with low iron, which was causing a mild restless legs syndrome, exacerbating the issue. I have trouble maintaining a deep sleep, specifically, which means I rarely enter a dreaming state, so necessary to be rested. Some of the issue is also environmental and behavioural, so I am working on those as well.
I have tried a number of things in the past: over the counter sleep aids (didn't keep me asleep at all), melatonin (got me to sleep, didn't keep me there), GABA, 5FTP, some others. Nothing helped and I really really didn't want to take prescription meds if they could be avoided. My sleep doctor offered to write me a prescription and so far I've held off.
What I've tried the last week or so is a combination. At dinner time I take 10 pellets of Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan, a traditional Chinese medicine herbal combination. Just before bedtime I take 2 pills of L-Theanine, an amino acid. I originally tried taking these spread out throughout the day, but that left me sleepy during the day and didn't really help at night.
The last couple of days I also changed my iron supplementation from the ferrous gluconate I've been using for 20 years to ferrous sulfate, a much stronger iron supplement.
My results from this past week: I sleep very deeply, dream a lot and don't wake up during the night. However, I do wake up earlier than my alarm, by an hour or so, so I'm still not getting the recommended 7-8 hours, more like 5 1/2-6 hours. When I wake up at 4:00am and my alarm is set for 5:30, it's pretty annoying, but I now know not to bother just lying there in bed. It's hopeless, so I might as well get up and start my day. The sleep I am getting is much more restful than before, however.
I have ordered some homeopathic moon drops from the States and if they make it through customs, I'll give them a try and report back.
One more thing I did was to stop wearing my Gwoof (GoWearFit/BodyMedia). It's sleep measuring function was helpful in letting me know how screwed up my sleep issues are, but it also made me really paranoid. Knowing exactly how little sleep I got the night before just made me even more tired. I would find myself syncing it only after I worked out so I wouldn't end up psyching myself out of a great workout just because the Gwoof said I didn't sleep well.
I am going to try to get my doctor to actually find out why my iron level is so low, given that I have been supplementing for so many years, and given that I tripled my iron supplements 6 months ago and my iron levels are still so low.
Okay, that's it. My search for a great night's sleep continues and I'll report back as things progress.
I've posted about my sleep issues before and I wanted to give an update as to what seems to be working (somewhat) for me.
First, a recap: I was recently diagnosed with sleep maintenance insomnia, which is just what it sounds like, I have no problem getting to sleep, I have problems staying there. I wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes many many times and sometimes for as long as a couple of hours. I was also diagnosed with low iron, which was causing a mild restless legs syndrome, exacerbating the issue. I have trouble maintaining a deep sleep, specifically, which means I rarely enter a dreaming state, so necessary to be rested. Some of the issue is also environmental and behavioural, so I am working on those as well.
I have tried a number of things in the past: over the counter sleep aids (didn't keep me asleep at all), melatonin (got me to sleep, didn't keep me there), GABA, 5FTP, some others. Nothing helped and I really really didn't want to take prescription meds if they could be avoided. My sleep doctor offered to write me a prescription and so far I've held off.
What I've tried the last week or so is a combination. At dinner time I take 10 pellets of Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan, a traditional Chinese medicine herbal combination. Just before bedtime I take 2 pills of L-Theanine, an amino acid. I originally tried taking these spread out throughout the day, but that left me sleepy during the day and didn't really help at night.
The last couple of days I also changed my iron supplementation from the ferrous gluconate I've been using for 20 years to ferrous sulfate, a much stronger iron supplement.
My results from this past week: I sleep very deeply, dream a lot and don't wake up during the night. However, I do wake up earlier than my alarm, by an hour or so, so I'm still not getting the recommended 7-8 hours, more like 5 1/2-6 hours. When I wake up at 4:00am and my alarm is set for 5:30, it's pretty annoying, but I now know not to bother just lying there in bed. It's hopeless, so I might as well get up and start my day. The sleep I am getting is much more restful than before, however.
I have ordered some homeopathic moon drops from the States and if they make it through customs, I'll give them a try and report back.
One more thing I did was to stop wearing my Gwoof (GoWearFit/BodyMedia). It's sleep measuring function was helpful in letting me know how screwed up my sleep issues are, but it also made me really paranoid. Knowing exactly how little sleep I got the night before just made me even more tired. I would find myself syncing it only after I worked out so I wouldn't end up psyching myself out of a great workout just because the Gwoof said I didn't sleep well.
I am going to try to get my doctor to actually find out why my iron level is so low, given that I have been supplementing for so many years, and given that I tripled my iron supplements 6 months ago and my iron levels are still so low.
Okay, that's it. My search for a great night's sleep continues and I'll report back as things progress.