|
Edwynn -> RE: Insomnia (4/6/2011 8:20:40 PM)
|
Like some others here I've been a lifelong insomniac, though not continuously through all ages.
It eventually got pretty bad, enough to cause sleeping through an alarm clock on occasion, where prior to that even several days of no sleep would not prevent me from awakening with minimal noise. I'd already tried the usual over-the-counter things years ago and figured out soon enough that aside from not liking next day effects, those were for temporary episodes anyway, far from my own situation. When after many years of that it started negatively affecting work I went to the MDs and they did the usual; same approach as OTC but stronger and supposedly safe to take continuously. No matter, my body just adjusted after 2 months or so and now I had 2-3 days no sleep and the medicine grogginess along with. End of that, so I just had to be extra careful about doing whatever it took to make sure I woke up when finally getting to sleep after 3-5 days but having to be up and off to work in 2 1/2 hours.
I think the problem sometimes can be that long term insomniacs keep treating the immediate symptom, and I of course went all over the net looking for solutions addressing sleep only. Eventually I was looking to address other issues too and came across several items dealing with those. So then deciding to try out something for what I thought was another issue I came across 5-HTP (5-Hydroxy Tryptophan) which is what the amino acid tryptophan converts to and is a precursor to serotonin. For the year and a half since taking it I've only had no-sleep nights every once in awhile as opposed to at least twice a week, and only two episodes of 2 day/nights w/ no sleep, as opposed to at least two 2-4 day episodes per month (sometimes 1-2 days 'normal' sleep then 3-4 days no-sleep, then 1 day sleep, etc.).
I still don't often get to sleep all that easy, but it's a huge improvement knowing that it will happen eventually. I had gotten used to the stretches of no sleep and accepted it and adjusted, etc., but after more than 20 yrs. of it I got just plain tired of never being able to relax, and every time it got to the second night of failing to get to sleep I'd say "OK, what this time; 3 days? 5 days?" It became intolerably annoying. Suffice it to say that I eventually got un-used to it. But since taking the 5-HTP I actually get at least three nights of six or more hours sleep most weeks, sometimes even five or six days.
I'll take it.
|
|
|
|
