Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I'm happy to say that 2013 is off to a pretty good start for me. I had a rocky first couple of weeks– around 2-4 hours of sleep on my good nights– but recently I've been doing very well on a regimen of melatonin. I have a very specific schedule that I keep because repetition and regularity help me sleep. Since I've been taking medication, I always take my regular Restoril (30 mg) and then, in addition, a small amount of melatonin. It took a few tries to get that dose just right– 1 mg didn't seem to have any effect at all, and 3 mg gave me restless sleep punctuated by vivid nightmares. But 2 mg seems to do the trick. After I take that, I turn on my heated blanket (if it's winter), set my music (I always play a soft track I found on iTunes– it's not really the particular music that helps me, just the fact that I listen to it every night as I prepare to sleep), and take my shower. After I'm done with that, I usually let myself lie in bed and read for a bit (NO SCREENS), until I feel ready to fall asleep. Then I use a function of my alarm clock that, over the course of 90 minutes, plays the same track on loop progressively quieter and quieter until it shuts off. Rarely these days do I hear the end of that loop! I've found that my routine helps me immensely. Does anyone else have routines/rituals/schedules they follow to help them sleep?
-Ollie
I know I need more sleep when:
I can't focus on anything.
I have sat against a wall and become practically comatose.
I am hungry all the time.
I mainline caffeine to compensate.
EVERYTHING is funny.
I look like a sea hag with a pair of shiners.
Just a few from my considerable personal list.
It is an interesting thought, but I have yet to see any correlation in myself. Maybe I'll have to experiment to see what you mean.
-Ollie, AKA iWearAmask
My psychiatrist prescribed me that drug recently (within last 4 months) in the form of clonazepam, a generic, I believe. Anywho, what I've got are 0.5 milligram wafers that are extremely fast-acting. That said, I was not prescribed this drug for treatment of my insomnia but instead as a spot treatment for frequent anxiety attacks. If/when I feel one coming on, or if it's already begun, I am supposed to use them to head it off. Anyway, I had no real side effects from the pills. My doctor said that in the event that I took too much (with regards to a past overdose) I would simply fall asleep. That has never happened to me, though I have grown sleepy from taking 2-3 at a time. I find the drug extremely effective for my anxiety because it has a very relaxing effect in small doses. The small dose may also contribute to the relatively low risk factor that is my becoming addicted to it. Because I don't take a lot of it at once, and I only take it infrequently (as needed), I have not become addicted.
Hope I was able to help.
-Ollie AKA iWearAmask
