Today I'm embarking on a new course of treatment for my various sleep and mood issues, which I've preliminarily concluded are very closely linked. My doctor kept trying to push a sleep study down my throat and I wanted to scream at him "I'm depressed, numb nuts, not sleepy!!" But as I sat at my desk sleepy as hell after what I thought was a full 8 hours of sleep, wishing that the windows in my building did in fact open, I started to explore the idea that maybe this guy did know something (so THAT'S what those degrees mean!).
Doing my own interweb research, I found out that sleep disorders and depression are closely linked, tho it is uncertain as to which one causes or complicates the other. Well yes, I guess I do feel a helluva lot better when I actually have a good night sleep, which is something entirely unrelated to how long I actually am in the bed trying to sleep. I keep thinking of a book I had as a child, "Sweet Dreams for Sally" which was a Care Bear book about a little girl who couldn't sleep because she was scared of the dark and how she was hella grouchy and unfocused during school.
Pretend Sally is me.
That's how I feel some days, wishing I had my own Bedtime Bear to help my tired cantankerous ass out. Instead I've been relying on adderall to keep me awake, which my friends and I have dubbed "praying to Little Blue Jesus" (if you haven't seen Talledega Nights and heard the various embodiments of Jesus.... well never mind then).
I've tried every depression medicine in the world (ok, not really, but it seems like it) and nothing really works that well. And thanks to my bitchass insurance company, I can't get the latest medicine my doctor prescribed to me anyway because they want me to try all the shit I've tried before that didn't work necessitating that my doctor prescribe me this stuff in the first place. So eff it.......today I'm going in a different direction. I got some 5-HTP from the natural foods store, which makes your body produce melatonin (which helps you sleep) and seratonin (a key brain chemical affecting mood) and I'm going to give it a whirl*. I also got some chlorella for energy and overall health improvement (I guess it works as a detoxifier), which seems to work for my beau. I'm sick of dumping more and more chemicals in my body, which might (temporarily) fix one problem while causing me a host of other problems which need more chemicals to fix. I know natural remedies work, but there are just so MANY. But I have to start somewhere, and this 5-HTP stuff kept coming up over and over as a natural depression remedy. I got a 30 day supply, so we'll see how things are in 30 days. I know I'm just tired of looking to Little Blue Jesus to get me through and would rather get some assistance from Mother Nature instead.
*Before you run out and get some 5-HTP just because I did, PLEASE do your own research AND consult with your physician first (even though I didn't, because doctors tend to frown on natural remedies because most just want to throw more drugs at you). 5-HTP can interact badly with certain medications, including anti-depressants that affect seratonin levels. The medicine I take doesn't affect seratonin, so I won't be dying from Seratonin Syndrome--which basically means you OD on seratonin--any time soon. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.
I wondered where you went. (I don't twitter so it could be that you weren't gone from the web at all).
I actually take melitonin to help me sleep. I used to take tylenol pm, but it turns out, it actually made my stomach hurt! I guess the difference between the HTC & the melitonin is the HTC helps produce the melitonin, whereas I'm just taking the synthetic form of the it? IDK...I mean I assume it's something like that, but I got it from GNC for like 4 bucks. It works well. Instead of knocking me out (like tylenol pm might do) it helps me "drift" off to sleep. I can "fight" the effects of it (unlike other sleep aids that basically force you to go to sleep), so thats good. I've been taking it for...6 months?
Did I say HTC? Isn't that the initials for weed mixed up?? THC? yep. I think so. That's funny. Would that be considered a freudian slip? I don't even smoke.
Since I'm writing. My therpist is REALLY into natural remedies. Besides the melitonin, she also put me onto Bach Flower Remedies. It helps me with my anxiety...although I've done some googling, and maybe it's moreso a placebo effect? Not sure but if it is, I'm cool with that.
She also mixed her own concoction for me with flower essences that help me with other emotional problems I have.
And since you were doing your own research, you probably know about St. Johns Wort. Which I have but don't take because I've heard about some ill-side effects...(but surprisingly it's a natural remedy that appears to *really* work for moderate depression).
Jaded: Yea, I've still been on the web. Just had to change locations. Glad you found me!
I've taken melatonin as well, but the added benefits of seratonin production appealed to me with the 5-HTP. Based on the first night, it seems like it has the same effect as melatonin alone. Guess time will tell if the seratonin makes a difference.
I would like to get more natural remedies, especially for mood. I tried St. Johns Wort a long time ago but it didn't help. When I went to the natural food store there were just so MANY supplements. I'll have to do more research.
Hey Sis!. Yes... sad. We say more to the world than we do to each other. So I will stalk you now thanks :) haha! I will "follow" you to the ends of the earth.
Maybe it is genetic. I just went to see an endocrinologist in December regarding all the same stuff (and my fatness).
She recommended I take melatonin to help me sleep. IT IS AWESOME! Putting that little one to be is like wrestling bears so it works me up. Then there is all the thinking, my brain spins some nights. Also, I have my 'manic' evenings were I am getting a lot done so I do not slow down and go to bed.
Bed time is the time my home is FINALLY quiet. So in that my mind becomes more active and I need the I actually take melatonin to help me sleep.
Perhaps I will add the serotonin. I am not on any prescription meds (thank God because that costs $)so it can't hurt huh.
I wondered where you went. (I don't twitter so it could be that you weren't gone from the web at all).
ReplyDeleteI actually take melitonin to help me sleep. I used to take tylenol pm, but it turns out, it actually made my stomach hurt! I guess the difference between the HTC & the melitonin is the HTC helps produce the melitonin, whereas I'm just taking the synthetic form of the it? IDK...I mean I assume it's something like that, but I got it from GNC for like 4 bucks. It works well. Instead of knocking me out (like tylenol pm might do) it helps me "drift" off to sleep. I can "fight" the effects of it (unlike other sleep aids that basically force you to go to sleep), so thats good. I've been taking it for...6 months?
Did I say HTC? Isn't that the initials for weed mixed up?? THC? yep. I think so. That's funny. Would that be considered a freudian slip? I don't even smoke.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm writing. My therpist is REALLY into natural remedies. Besides the melitonin, she also put me onto Bach Flower Remedies. It helps me with my anxiety...although I've done some googling, and maybe it's moreso a placebo effect? Not sure but if it is, I'm cool with that.
She also mixed her own concoction for me with flower essences that help me with other emotional problems I have.
And since you were doing your own research, you probably know about St. Johns Wort. Which I have but don't take because I've heard about some ill-side effects...(but surprisingly it's a natural remedy that appears to *really* work for moderate depression).
Ok. That's it. Seriously.
Jaded: Yea, I've still been on the web. Just had to change locations. Glad you found me!
ReplyDeleteI've taken melatonin as well, but the added benefits of seratonin production appealed to me with the 5-HTP. Based on the first night, it seems like it has the same effect as melatonin alone. Guess time will tell if the seratonin makes a difference.
I would like to get more natural remedies, especially for mood. I tried St. Johns Wort a long time ago but it didn't help. When I went to the natural food store there were just so MANY supplements. I'll have to do more research.
Hey Sis!. Yes... sad. We say more to the world than we do to each other. So I will stalk you now thanks :) haha! I will "follow" you to the ends of the earth.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is genetic. I just went to see an endocrinologist in December regarding all the same stuff (and my fatness).
She recommended I take melatonin to help me sleep. IT IS AWESOME! Putting that little one to be is like wrestling bears so it works me up. Then there is all the thinking, my brain spins some nights. Also, I have my 'manic' evenings were I am getting a lot done so I do not slow down and go to bed.
Bed time is the time my home is FINALLY quiet. So in that my mind becomes more active and I need the I actually take melatonin to help me sleep.
Perhaps I will add the serotonin. I am not on any prescription meds (thank God because that costs $)so it can't hurt huh.