The Epic Quest of an Insomniac

[maxzar100]

To bad kava kava does not really work for me. It relaxes me, but I can't sleep after it starts wearing off.

I really don't know what to do anymore. I think I am at my limit physically, and mentally I have prob been gone for a long time. I'm pretty much just waiting to die from either physical health problems (tremors are getting a lot worse to) or mental implosion. I can barely tell the difference between reality and hallucinations. My Insomnia is really worsening, and I have no idea why or how to stop it anymore.

I need your advice; when should I give in to the sleeping pills? Can I take them once a week to at least get a few hours of sleep a week?

I'm really sorry to keep moaning like this, but I really have nobody else to talk to.

Peace and Love
Max

 

[DeMenTed]

Maybe some kratom infusion tea would help you 404

 

[maxzar100]

Thanks DeMenTed, I have not worked with kratom much, I will give it a try.

 

[DeMenTed]

I have no experience with it either. I don't now if that website is hypeing it's tea up but as you have tried everything else maybe Kratom tea is worth a shot

 

[parallelwhispers]

I work a night shift job and have found it difficult to fall asleep when I get home at 7 AM.

Delta wave binaural beats have worked wonders for me.
I get home from work, I put the ear buds in, turn it on really low so I almost can't hear it, and I'm asleep within minutes.
I know you can rip ten minute sessions off youtube and put them on repeat.
That's what I do.

I hope they help you out too.

I love you.

 

[parallelwhispers]

I just thought of something else.

You could also get super stoned and shovel in fat saturated foods like a starving pig.

I used to pass out like that all the time in my younger days. In the middle of the day.

Of course... This will probably aid in making you fat, eventually.

 

[maxzar100]

Cannabis does not help me sleep anymore, I feel like it makes it worse. And yes, I only use the chronic, and use large amounts. Even edibles don't really help anymore, strange. I have tried tolerance breaks as well.

 

[parallelwhispers]

other than binaural beats, I know diphenhydramine hydrochloride is a good sleep aid for putting you to sleep. It's sold as benadryl and as a sleep aid here in the US, not sure where you're at.

I don't like taking a full reccomended dose because it leaves me groggy in the morning, I usually use 25 milligrams of that if all else fails.

 

[maxzar100]

Thanks for all the info, I will try the Delta Wave binaural beats. I have tried others with limited success. Good ol' benadryl does not really work for me either, I fear. Unless I take a very large dose, and then it changes my mood.

 

[parallelwhispers]

Some of those beats have an explanation of what the specific frequencies supposedly do.
I've noticed alpha and beta waves keep me awake, beta waves even give me headaches sometimes, but theta and delta waves have a nice lulling effect that seems to calm my mind.

I would recommend going through the whole range of delta frequencies and seeing which one, if any, work best for you.


They also make some with ocean waves and the like incorporated if the delta wave sound bothers you.

 

[The Day Tripper]

You might want to give magnesium suppluments &/ thp (tetrahydropalmatine, from cordyalis) a try. I find they're fairly effective non-addictive sleep aids. THP can leave you a bit groggy/sedated in the morning if you take too much, or too late in the night though.

 

[maxzar100]

I take the calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets daily. I have never heard of THP, will check it out thanks!

 

[Inner Paths]

Hi maxzar100, I only just came across your thread. I occasionally suffer from insomnia, I had my first real bad bout of it after I went on school camp when I was in 4th grade. Not sure what it was, but it disrupted my sleep patterns enough to not allow me to find sleep until 2-3pm for about 6 months which is no good at that age. It came back about 6 years ago after having to deal with some grief issues. The last year and a half has been much better for me though.

One thing that I noticed that didn't get touched on much so far in this thread was some form of meditation or mind focus. These days, my little trick if I have trouble getting to sleep or turning my mind off is to focus on a single image or thought in my mind. My chosen one (and for all you surfers out there) is too play slo-mo in my mind the visual of being inside the barrel/tube of a wave, kinda like this:

[YOUTUBE]

This is one of my methods to induce the mind to sleep, you need to try your best to use 100% focus, let it take up your complete attention. I find it definitely helps me most the time (the other times it doesn't I am probably not focusing enough). Kinda like counting sheep but you make your own version of it and make it peaceful and tranquil, whatever resonates peacefulness to you.

Now I noticed you mentioned resorting to sleeping pills... If you want to go the pharmaceutical path, before you turn to the more dangerous and addictive benzodiazepines (which I very occasionally use as a last resort) I will mention a drug that I used for anxiety and insomnia that doesn't have the addictive side profile of the benzodiazepines.

It is an antidepressant called Mirtazapine (or remeron). It works on the noradrenaline receptors more than serotonin and also the antihistamine receptors. It does wonders for sleep, so much so, that you will have trouble getting out of bed the next morning. But, and a big but, its side effects can be massive weight gain and appetite increase and also can have an effect on mood. And really wacky, vivid dreams and nightmares. I wouldn't turn to these unless you are desperate and have no more options (besides benzos, which are the greater of two evils). It definitely helped me but I am off them now (I will take one every blue moon for the sleep benefits and if I need a good nights sleep though).

Again, I reiterate, leave the pharmaceuticals as a last option for sleep (and if you go that route, Mirtazapine will be less destructive than benzos). Really try and work on finding harmony in bed through purely mental means first, if you haven't already of course. Insomnia is a real problem and I know first hand how much it can wreck havok on your waking life.

All the power to you brother and I hope this helped and you conquer your sleep problems.

 

[maxzar100]

Thanks for all the advice, I am some new supplements on the way that I will try. I hope that I don't ever have to resort to pharma.

 

[Inner Paths]

Thanks for all the advice, I am some new supplements on the way that I will try. I hope that I don't ever have to resort to pharma.

Wise man... Big pharma should only be one of the last resorts, only if your quality of life is so compromised and you don't have any options left. Just like in a thread on here that deals with what to do if a bad trip strikes, only resort to pharma if the only other option is hospital or suicide.

Good luck to you mate, may you find much quality time in the land of nod.

 

[WEM]

I work a night shift job and have found it difficult to fall asleep when I get home at 7 AM.

I also work a night shift on weekends (was all week all summer but I've got school to attend 8am-3pm weekdays), what I've done to help me is I sleep on the bottom bunk of my bunk bed where I've closed it off with sheets hanging from the top bunk, making it like a makeshift canopy bed. I also try to block out as much of the sun coming through the window as possible to make it as dark as I can, because once the sun comes up no matter how tired I am my body wakes up with the sunrise.

Working 3rd shift all summer and going from that to sleeping at night for the first time in months I can definitely say that I have been seriously sleep deprived sleeping during the day, but a paycheck is a paycheck and you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[parallelwhispers]

Your schedule seems worse than mine WEM. You atually have to change your sleep schedule all the time. I just naturally change it back at this point, whenever I get my 5 days off.

Blocking out the light is definitely very important.

Which reminds me of another solution. Super awesome foam "Cool" pillows. I don't know where to find them but I've tried one and they manage to stay rather cool, so you don't have to spend all night flipping your pillow to get the cooled down side.

If anyone has a problem with warm pillows, a cool pillow may be your choice.
and an old home remedy, warm milk and sugar. I never had much success with this, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

I love you.

 

[prottel]

Some years ago I was experimenting with amanita muscaria. Didn't have a dose strong enough to journey with, but it sure gave me an excellent night of sleep. Felt like I was wrapped in a cloud. So refreshing.

 

[WEM]

Which reminds me of another solution. Super awesome foam "Cool" pillows. I don't know where to find them but I've tried one and they manage to stay rather cool, so you don't have to spend all night flipping your pillow to get the cooled down side.

I have 3-4 foam pillows that my grandma gave me one year that are different thicknesses. They work great for keeping your head cool and it never needs flipping, although after a while the center of the pillow starts to show a dent where your head lays so I tend to shift the pillow to the left or the right every once in a while so the pillow has an even amount of wear.

 

[maxzar100]

So I want to share with you all a possible treatment. I recently purchased L-Theanine, source naturals brand (many brands are not pure, they contain D-theanine).

L-theanine can be found in green tea leaves. It promotes relaxation and focus, memory recall, and passes through the blood brain barrier to help release more dopamine and GABA. It is supposed to improve the quality of your sleep without making you feel drowsy or groggy in the morning.

I started with 200mg on an empty stomach (upon wakening). Within an hour I felt much more relaxed, my heart rate had slowed down a little bit, and the "brain fog" was nearly gone. I felt a little happier as well. I took another 200mg in the afternoon, and finally a third capsule one hour before bed.

I fell asleep fairly quickly (maybe?) and cannot recall waking up in the night. I do remember that I had extremely vivid dreams (also rare for me, as I can't usually enter REM for long periods).

Upon wakening, I felt a little groggy, but much less then I usually do after an long night of no sleep. I got about eight hours of sleep, which is very rare for me. After the grogginess wore off (maybe 5 min), I now feel better rested then I have in months. I will keep you all updated.

Thanks,
Max