Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I just shelled out $1,750 (!!!!) for Brain Training…basically a fancy brainwave optimization/neurofeedback franchise (BrainState Technologies) that recently underwent trials at Wake Forest Baptist U. and was found to be effective at treating insomnia.
It did not work for me AT ALL and I am out $1750 and feeling like a total schmuck. If interested, I blogged about the experience in detail at http://wonderhussy.com/my-experience-with-brain-training-as-an-insomnia-treatment/.
I feel like Brain Training is a moneymaking scam. Furthermore, the therapist who administered my treatment advised me to stop using isochronic tones AT ONCE, since they are bad for the brain. Isochronic tones are what SleepTracks are based on…so was she just saying that to bash the competition?
If you read my blog, you'll find that my sleep did improve temporarily during my course of treatment because I wasn't able to drink or smoke weed, so my life got very dull and I started going to bed at midnight, like an old lady. This humdrum routine was pretty effective in keeping me asleep….but once the course of treatment ended, and I resumed living my life (without alcohol or drugs, at first, but with plenty of excitement)…my insomnia came back.
I've come to the conclusion that I can either choose sleep, or an exciting life.
Sorry…..I choose life.
I tried acupuncture for about 6 weeks once…and it did absolutely nothing for me but drain my wallet. Not recommended. I found it suspiciously hokey and unscientific…maybe it's one of those things where if you WANT it to work, and believe it will work….it works. But it didn't work for me.
I had moderate success with SleepTracks…when used religiously as part of a cognitive behavioral therapy regime. I still use the tracks on occasion for afternoon “naps” (they don't really help me fall asleep…just sort of mellow me out). But when I was using them religiously, along with all the other CBT crap, I experienced moderate success.
OMG that was a TERRIBLE article for those of us already freaking out about not getting enough sleep!!!! Every resource I read says you're supposed to STOP worrying and that you WON'T DIE if you don't sleep. Supposedly, once you stop worrying about not sleeping, you'll sleep.
Reading this article freaked me the fuck out. It basically reinforces my paranoia that if I can't sleep, I WILL DIE, whether due to lack of cellular regeneration or cancer or whatever!
Holy hell, I really want to try this!! I've been thinking about it ever since Martin sent out the link to that ABC news story about the Australian doctor who is also doing it (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/12/rebooting-the-brain-new-progress-in-the-treatment-of-insomnia/). I find this idea intriguing…it sounds like it might actually work!!
It is SO FRUSTRATING that there is an option out there that I have no access to. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if someone opens another clinical trial in my area… I don't have health insurance, so I could probably never afford it otherwise :/
I've tried two or three natural sleep remedies with similar ingredients to this…none worked for me in the slightest. But I'm willing to give it another try, if no one else wants to…
Not to sound like a crazy hippie constantly advocating marijuana…but I'm here to tell you, IT WORKS.
As a long-time insomnia sufferer, I have tried Trazodone, Seroquel, Temazepam, Lunesta, Tylenol PM, Ambien, blah blah blah. If they worked at all, it was only for a short time, and then my body got used to them and they quit working.
I was desperate, so even though I DESPISE being high, I tried marijuana. I should be the poster child for the medical marijuana movement: I DO NOT use it recreationally. The only time I use it is IN BED, ALONE, FOR SLEEP.
I am also a health nut, so I don't like smoking. Thus I tried various alternative methods of ingesting the marijuana: vaporizer (expensive and too time-consuming for those mid-night wakeups), tincture (hard to find, and not powerful enough for me), even chewing a wad like tobacco (expensive, gross and ineffective).
I finally hit on a method that works: baking it into cookies. I eat a small cookie about an hour before bedtime, and the high lasts 8 hours. It has the effect of sort of anchoring me deeper in my sleep — before, I would wake up frequently and be unable to get back to sleep. The mmj sort of keeps me anchored deeper, so that I only wake up once or twice, but don't fully emerge so am able to sink back under quickly.
There is some grogginess in the morning, but that's usually the result of having eaten too big a cookie. You can experiment with dosage.
If you live in a state that has mmj, and you suffer from insomnia, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY URGE you to set aside your prejudices and preconceived notions and try this. Big Pharma (whose lobbyists control Washington) wants you to believe that mmj is unsafe, untested, bad, whatever. But take two minutes and read all that teeny-tiny print in the information leaflet you get with your Seroquel prescription…talk about side effects!!
Decide for yourselves…but please also THINK for yourselves. I'm telling you…I tried EVERYTHING, and this really works!
Hi Nikki! I, too live in Vegas, and suffer with insomnia… it doesn't seem like there's much medical interest in our condition here! I've been to doctors, therpists, a chirpractor and an acupuncturist…all they wanna do is give you pills, not work with you to find out the root cause! Very frustrating.
So I've been doing my own research online, and going it alone. I've found a system that somewhat helps–sleeptracks paired with copious amounts of medical marijuana. Between the two, I have been sleeping ok…not great, but better than before. I am still experimenting and will not stop until I have cured myself 100%…I'm looking at maybe doing brain training if my current plan doesn't work better in the next month or so.
Anyway I could go on all day about the things I've tried/am trying, but I won't bore you. Good luck!
I just re-read my response, and what a typo: I meant to say it's NOT a fast, easy answer (like pills).
Anyway, I am going to stick with it for 6 full weeks and see what happens. During this first week, it actually feels like I've backslid a little — I'm staying technically asleep longer, but I'm having poorer-quality sleep. But I'm not giving up!
🙂
Hey Daz, I have found that booklet you sent me to be extremely valuable. That coupled with the isochronic mp3s from SleepTracks have made a huge difference on my sleep. Thanks so much for sharing, and to anyone else who's reading this that hasn't tried this method… DO IT!
I'm only one week 1 of the “4-6” week plan…but already I've seen a difference. I really think this works — it's a fast, easy answer (like pills)…but hopefully it will last!
Hey Darrin! I'm interested in reading “Learn to Sleep Better Without Drugs..” if you can send me a copy it would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks 🙂
I have a 3-part system for sleeping.
1. Sleep Tracks — I listen to the Insomnia Buster track at some point in the afternoon or early evening, and it primes my brain for sleep later on.
2. I turn the air conditioner up so that it's pretty cold in my room
3. I have a medical marijuana prescription, and I've found that to be the most effective sleep aid. I don't like smoking (I'm a health nut) so I take 3 drops of tincture (an MJ-alcohol infusion) under the tongue, then I eat a cookie made with cannabutter (this doesn't kick in til later in the night, and keeps me asleep). Then I take a few hits off my vaporizer…between all 3 of these, I drift off nicely!
Seriously, I am not a recreational pot smoker…but if you live in a state that has medical MJ, I *highly* (no pun intended) recommend it for insomnia. I find it to work better, and have fewer harmful side effects, than Seroquel, Ambien, Trazodone, and all the myriad other “legit” pills my doctor & Big Pharma like to shove down your throat.
If Pfizer or Merck had pot farms…everyone would be using this for sleep. But, until they do……..
GOOD LUCK!
🙂
When ordering Sleep Tracks, you get three different mp3s:
1. The Insomnia Buster track (which is NOT designed to make you fall asleep — you're supposed to listen to it during the day at some point, and it “trains” your brain to fall asleep later). This is the 20-minute relaxation-type thing I was talking about.
2. The Whole Night track, basically white noise which you can play on a loop all night.
3. The Fall Asleep track, which IS meant to make you fall asleep if you have difficulty doing so.
I don't have trouble falling asleep initially, so I've just been using the Insomnia Buster each day in the afternoon. I still wake up in the middle of the night, though, and am unable to fall back into restful sleep…even if I'm running the Whole Night track. So I gave up on using that track, and just use the one in the afternoon.
I have tried using the Fall Asleep track when I wake in the middle of the night…but that doesn't help me reach deeper sleep, either.
OK, I emailed you. For the record though, Pzizz (which I have already tried) sounds like the same thing…talking, white noise and binaural beats designed to trick your brain into sleeping deeper. Didn't work for me 🙁
Seroquel worked OK for me on and off, mostly if I used it in conjunction with medical marijuana…but I quit taking it because I don't want diabetes and heart problems!
I ate a mmmj-laced Rice Krispie treat about an hour before bed last night, and was able to sleep for 5 solid hours before waking up. Not bad! I'm going to make a batch tonight, and try that for awhile. That stuff knocks me out at least as well as Seroquel, and it's not as bad for you if you're eating it instead of smoking it. Although eating Rice Krispie treats every night isn't exactly health food…hope I don't turn into a fat-ass! But at least I'll be a well-rested fat-ass…
🙂
