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Need something to make my mind shut down for sleep. Sleep supp stack failed tonight.

redrobe

New member
I'm in a rough spot at the moment. Been living with terrible insomnia for at least the last 6 weeks. It's affecting all areas of my life.

I just left my girlfriend's place at 6:30am after not getting one minute of sleep and feeling like I was gonna jump out a window if I laid there til she woke up at 10am. Obviously she was bummed out when I told her I had to go to my place to see if I could get a few hours of sleep.

My issue is that my mind feels 'wired' or 'buzzed' even though I'm exhausted and desperately want sleep. Xanax or Ambien put me to sleep because they do something to my brain that chills it out and I'm out before I know it. However I don't have either of those drugs and was hoping to avoid them since they are a short term solution. But since I'd practically do anything for sleep right now I'm thinking about making an appointment with a doctor. Sleep deprivation is literally making me sick.

After a sleepless week last week I did some research and have been taking 1g Tryptophan+1g Valerian+.5g Melatonin at night. This worked ok until tonight. Tonight I just laid there inside my head while I felt the supps affect my body. I've had this happen before when I tried other OTC ideas for sleeping. Years ago I took two caps of Nyquil hoping to sleep and instead had one of the worst nights of my life just laying there awake with nasty chemicals running through my veins.

I've taken Theanine and Passion Flower Extract and they are good for anxiety but do nothing for sleep for me since I feel a stimulant effect on them.

Aside from trying Kava Kava or Phenibut I don't know what else to try. Is there anything remotely close to producing the effect of Xanax?

Thanks. I'm gonna try to get a couple of hours now.
 
.5mg melatonin isn't enough to feel anything. Between 3-6mg is what you need to notice anything. I've tried quite a few sleep aids, and as far as OTC supplements go, without resorting to prescription things like ambien and what not, the only one that worked for me was need2sleep. I take it as a staple supplement, I use it 5 days on, and 2 days off. Basically I just take the weekends off of it and take something else on the weekends, and then go back to it throughout the week.

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I've been like that for a very, very long time. Actually I've always suffered from insomnia since I can remember,
and I tried everything.. Nothing worked and what did work (heavy meds) made me groggy and pretty much unable to function the next day.
No matter how tired I was

Last year (I'm 33) and a half it went away completely, I sleep like a baby. For me it was 100% stress. I changed my job, my personal life/relationship also
and my stress level went down *a lot*.
The one supplement that (even tho' indirectly probably) helped me with that was Lean Xtreme, even if not meant for it I guess regulating cortisol/stress level
if that's the cause, can really help with that.
Not being able to sleep sucks big time, I feel you there, hope you get thru it
 
I agree with both these guys....but....there are so many variables that impact sleep quality it's nuts. Foods, timing of certain foods, room and body temperature, hormones (many directly and indirectly influence sleep and ability to fall asleep/stay asleep), stress levels, exercise volume and timing, room darkess, adopting rigid/consistent sleep/awake time patterns, caffeinated products (even in early part of the day), cortisol levels, thyroid, gear intake, using electronic devices at night/pre-bed, too many to list.

As such, the actual process of finding what it is that will work for you is not accomplished without further frustration. Trial and error sort of thing.

Do yourself a favor and look into/read about sleep architecture and hygeine as these will assist you in developing a more sensible strategy unique to your individual needs. This will at the very at least provide a platform for you to begin with; ensuring that you have the basics down.

I've been dealing with this issue for 5+ years on/off and every time I think I have it all figured out, it seems as if I have to try something new again (supps wise)...so aggravating.
 
no doubt. Whacked is right. If you have other variables in the equation like he mentions the best sleep aid in the world ain't gonna help man.
 
dude i know you say you dont want to use xanax but sounds like you dont have much choice. theres nothing wrong with xanax when taken properly prescribed and if you need it you need it. the big issue with xanax is coming off after long use. you need a psychiatrist to help you come off of it as most general pract arent that exactly experts on those types of drugs.
 
As someone who frequently travels to the other side of the world adjusting to new sleep patterns suck and I feel your pain man.ambien is great for me as well but I use that very sparingly as to not develop dependence

as most said .5 mg of melatonin is nothing. I find 3mg the perfect spot for me.

I just got here last month where I presently am and the first few days were rough adjusting, up al night etc.

Nimbus's poseidon NT with some melatonin is great to help chill you out.

Applied nutraceuticals LIPO pm and melatonin also is a great relaxer. once you get your room in order and your ready for bed try these combo's first for a few days to see how they do before you turn to scripts
 
And I'm up. Got a couple of crappy hours of sleep from 8am-11am or so. Certainly better than zero.

Thanks to you all for the replies. This is helpful.

I was trying .5g Melatonin because I read many reports that if you dose too high it will keep you up and that .5g was a good starting dose.

Looking at the ingredients of 'Need2Sleep' it looks like I have the same stuff (L-Tryptophan instead of 5-HTP) but my dosage was very different.

I'll try to mimic the dosage of 'Need2Sleep' and see if that helps. Gotta say 6g Melatonin seems extreme.
 
I'd start with 3mg on the melatonin. Many also like to take just one cap of need2sleep, since the serving size is 2 caps, 1 cap gives you 3mg of melatonin. But if you have the raw ingredients, then yah, start with 3mg of it and see how it treats you
 
I used to have a very hard time sleeping as well. But after my last deployment i've been sleeping like a baby now that i'm home. But before all this i tried almost everything like yourself. A few things did work for me, my last caffeinated beverage would be at 12pm no caffeine after that, had a completely dark room, supplement wise i got a good nights sleep from CL's REDuction P.M. , App Nuts Lipotrophin PM, and MST's ZMK with Somnidren. All three of those supplements would help me relax and wouldn't leave me feeling groggy in the morning. I would def look into one of them if you haven't tried them.
 
Do you have this problem even on workout days? I would suggest you have a bedtime routine as well as a set bedtime so that your body starts to wind down at a certain time each night. Also echo the suggestion of the previous poster on getting blackout blinds. I would also try transdermal magnesium as it really has a relaxing effect.
 
Melatonin, valerian root, GABA, ZMA, Benadryl. Those are some options that some people find to be helpful. I've tried them all with mixed results. I have Animal PM that I use on occasion and seems to be decent.
 
As someone mentioned, reduction PM and Blue GrowtH help to put me out.

You mentioned xanax. If you relied on this before, coming off it really messes with your sleep schedule.

St johns wort, valerian root, 5htp, tryptophan are natural and will help. Maybe a small dose of phenibut for extreme cases.

Ultimately, your goal should be to find out why your not sleeping. You mentioned stress. Perhaps therapy or meditation. Try to fix it at the root.

Melatonin is great, especially when stacked with something like blue growth. On top of the sleep aid in blue growth, alot of ppl including myself notice a relaxing/stress reducing properties as well.

I would increase your melatonin, and perhaps try reading before bed. Also, stress reducing techniques like meditation are fantastic. Sometimes when I cannot fall asleep I count my breathes. One inhale one exhale = 1. Try to count to 1000. I usually am out before I reach 100. Its a meditation technique that slows down your mind, focuses it on something else other than stressful issues of the day.

Good luck and let me know if theres anything else I can help with.
 
Hey guys, I just wanted to check back in on this in case anyone else is suffering from insomnia.

None of the supplements ended up consistently helping me sleep. The thing that did the trick was and is meditation. I do 30 minutes daily. I've been doing this since last October or so. I highly recommend it to anyone. I did a vipassana meditation course about 8 years ago and I use some of the techniques that I learned there but I'm sure you'd get great benefits from most any technique. Just google some reading about it if you're interested or looking for improved sleep and energy.

I find that even if I don't get 8 hours of sleep that I'm not that tired throughout the day. I'm not sure how it works but I just think of meditation as mental exercise. My brain feels much healthier and calmer now. It's not some drastic mystical change but just a subtle calmness.

If you're having trouble sleeping, hang in there, I know how miserable insomnia is and last year I thought I'd be needing ambien for the rest of my life. Try lots of different things and you'll eventually figure yourself out.
 
I'd give Ergobolic a tried....this doesn't necessary knock you out but it gave me deep sleep.

you could stack it with something that does knock u out
 
Our inhibit p agmatine and zma might work well for a natural sleep aid
 
I also don't know what kind of supplements you use, but if you are even in the market for a test booster, give intimidate a look, because one of its main effects, is great, deep, quality sleep.. knocks a lot of people out. I wouldnt jump on it just for sleep.. but if you use test boosters, it would be worth a shot.

Mike
 
criticalbench said:
I also don't know what kind of supplements you use, but if you are even in the market for a test booster, give intimidate a look, because one of its main effects, is great, deep, quality sleep.. knocks a lot of people out. I wouldnt jump on it just for sleep.. but if you use test boosters, it would be worth a shot.

Mike
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^good point. I definitely feel like my quality of sleep improves drastically while using Intimidate. Normally I don't get a lot of quality sleep but Intimidate definitely helped with that.

Also started using 1 g valerian root like you suggested mike. Haven't had as much trouble getting to sleep as of late (considering I've been an insomniac the past 2 months I'm pretty happy)
 
I've kind of forgotten how to "unwind" at night and its a problem. Even though I knock right out with HGHUp I look for that relaxation. A I 3Z is good here, melatonin can help some but it must be cycled, lavender?

You could just rip a doobie too lol
 
I like bulk GABA powder and that works most nights. Just recently I have tried GABA plus HGH-Up on nights I work out in the evening since those are usually the nights I can't sleep. That stack has been pretty amazing for me. It seems to help me fall asleep (which a lot of products do) but also stay asleep which is usually the problem. It's definitely worth a shot.
 
redrobe said:
Hey guys, I just wanted to check back in on this in case anyone else is suffering from insomnia.

None of the supplements ended up consistently helping me sleep. The thing that did the trick was and is meditation. I do 30 minutes daily. I've been doing this since last October or so. I highly recommend it to anyone. I did a vipassana meditation course about 8 years ago and I use some of the techniques that I learned there but I'm sure you'd get great benefits from most any technique. Just google some reading about it if you're interested or looking for improved sleep and energy.

I find that even if I don't get 8 hours of sleep that I'm not that tired throughout the day. I'm not sure how it works but I just think of meditation as mental exercise. My brain feels much healthier and calmer now. It's not some drastic mystical change but just a subtle calmness.

If you're having trouble sleeping, hang in there, I know how miserable insomnia is and last year I thought I'd be needing ambien for the rest of my life. Try lots of different things and you'll eventually figure yourself out.
Click to expand...

AI Sports Nutrition 3Z caps are pretty awesome..had about a weeks supply,kept me sound through the night..I was impressed
 
Dewey99 said:
I like bulk GABA powder and that works most nights. Just recently I have tried GABA plus HGH-Up on nights I work out in the evening since those are usually the nights I can't sleep. That stack has been pretty amazing for me. It seems to help me fall asleep (which a lot of products do) but also stay asleep which is usually the problem. It's definitely worth a shot.
Click to expand...

I've been interested in GABA for a while now.....how great does it work?
 
jewgold said:
I've been interested in GABA for a while now.....how great does it work?
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Like I said before, GABA does the job most nights but not all the time. It's cheap though if you want to give it a shot.
 
In post #1, the OP said he didnt want to stay/use Kava. GREAT STUFF so why not?
 
I may be doing something really wrong (possibly) but I take 2 valerian roots (G-shop) and 1 melatonin

That sorts me out for about 4-6 hours. that is as much sleep I can afford.
 
jewgold said:
I've been interested in GABA for a while now.....how great does it work?
Click to expand...
I have not used it as a standalone product for sleep, but it is included in many popular OTC sleep aids. I have used it for anxiety/stress reduction. Works great, but quality matters. I only use Natural Factors, Stress Relax, Pharma GABA.
 
taman6886 said:
Otc benadryl?
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OTC Benadryl is what the Dr. prescribed for me many years ago when I quit drinking. Back in the bad old days, my alcohol is what put me to sleep at night, so after detoxing, he had me on Benadryl as my sleep aid for some time. His reasoning? That it is safe when used in moderation, as well as the fact that it is non-addicting.

I still use it from time for sleep issues. Here is what I do personally: (1) 10 mg tablet of melatonin, and one to one and a half tablets of Benadryl. The melatonin helps me relax and get me to sleep fairly quickly. Then the Benadryl kicks in and keeps me asleep. The drawback? Sometimes Benadryl can leave you feeling groggy in the morning. It may have been a somewhat "artificial" sleep in some ways, but it works and if it's that or no sleep, Ill choose this path anytime.
 
I have posted this before, but I take my DAA at night, and DAA plus ZMA helps me drift off nicely, and unless I have to pee in the middle of the night I pretty much stay asleep. Obviously this would only work for the 2 month DAA cycle, but its a start.

I have had insomnia on and off most of my life.
 
boogyman said:
I have posted this before, but I take my DAA at night, and DAA plus ZMA helps me drift off nicely, and unless I have to pee in the middle of the night I pretty much stay asleep. Obviously this would only work for the 2 month DAA cycle, but its a start.

I have had insomnia on and off most of my life.
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I always wake to piss in the middle of the night,fkn sucks..lol
 
John33 said:
I can confirm that 3Z works great, but I also really like Biotest's Z-12, gives me deep sleep and I wake up refreshed. It also comes me down.
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Il look into Z-12...3z is very nice,i basically sleep through the wntir night.
 
Anyone else HATE melatonin?
 
John33 said:
I have not used it as a standalone product for sleep, but it is included in many popular OTC sleep aids. I have used it for anxiety/stress reduction. Works great, but quality matters. I only use Natural Factors, Stress Relax, Pharma GABA.
Click to expand...

I buy bulk GABA from NP and it works just fine. Super cheap too!
 
Whacked said:
Anyone else HATE melatonin?
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I can't figure out it's effects quite yet... sometimes I feel like complete hell the next day taking less than a half mg. Then last night I absolutely could not sleep, so I said to hell with it and popped 2.5mg. I expected to be worthless today, but I awoke refreshed and ready to rock...

I try to use it to reset my sleep schedule when I travel or switch from day to night shift. It sucks though because if I don't get it right, the "hangover" from it is worse than benadryl... It's almost a depressed state vs. a groggy stupid state.

So to answer your question, yeah I hate it, but I feel it might be a useful tool if I could just figure the stuff out.
 
I feel like complete garbage no matter the doise OR timing. Additionally, it makes me relax THEN does NOT allow me to eclipse the resftul state into actual sleep! CANT Stand the stuff
 
What doses are you guys using? You should be using about 500 mcg melatonin. I'm personally a fan of 1 cap SNS Picamilon-150 + 3g GABA pre-bed.
 
mr.cooper69 said:
What doses are you guys using? You should be using about 500 mcg melatonin. I'm personally a fan of 1 cap SNS Picamilon-150 + 3g GABA pre-bed.
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Haven't tried the Picamilon, but the Phenibut-XT at 2 caps (1g) did it for me.
 
Whacked said:
Anyone else HATE melatonin?
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Yeah - it seems to either knock my ass out like a tranquilizer & keep me knocked out the next day or I notice nothing from it -

3Z I like real well -

HGHPro works well too, although it doesn't seem to allow me to sleep much past 7hrs, but they're an awesome 7hrs
 
kingjameskjf said:
I love picamilon, especially before presentations or speaches. Phen I like better for helping me get that deeper sleep.
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I'm thinking of running either that Picamilon solo...or in conjunction with PEA for my 9 hours of lab a week I have :/...that's just Senior Design Lab...god..
Dewey99 said:
Phen is great.....just gotta be careful how much you use it.
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Gets addictive! And toxic at high dosages.
 
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