Drug Tripping: My Latest Adventure (Or, the importance of REM sleep)

[Mal12345]

I'm surprised 50mg puts you to sleep. I thought such high dosages (no need to go that high) caused a paradoxical reaction that resulted in more energy rather than better sleep. As for the nightmares, there's something that can be done about that, but I can't remember for the life of me. It think it involves vitamin (B-vitamin?) or mineral (magnesium?) supplementation. Something may be deficient.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/melatonin-not-magic-bullet-sleep?page=2

• It should be used under the guidance of a doctor and sleep professional.
• It should be used at the correct dosage (0.3 - 1.0 mg).
• It should be taken about 90 minutes before lights out.
• It should be used for a short time (less than 3 months).
• It should never be used in combination with other sleep-inducing medications.
• It should never be used with alcohol.
• It should never be used with children (younger than 18 years).
• There are possible interaction effects and could change the effectiveness of your current medication regimen.

Melatonin at an extreme dose also causes reproductive problems.

As far as I can tell, the antidote to nightmares is to take less Melatonin. I could perhaps benefit from cutting the half-dosages in half yet again.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

Here is the dosing page on Melatonin:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl...gredientId=940&activeIngredientName=MELATONIN

Nothing there about taking 50 mg unless you have cancer.

The appropriate dose can vary enormously from person to person. Dr. Pierpaoli, a leading melatonin researcher, has successfully used dosages ranging from 0.1 to 200 mg. That's a 2000-fold difference between the lowest dose and the highest! Several intelligent melatonin users we know started by taking 3 mg at 11 p.m., and then adjusted the dose from there. If they found that they slept well but were drowsy in the morning, they cut the dose in half. If they found the dose had little or no sleep-inducing effect, they increased the dose by 3 mg each night until they got the desired effect. We have received reports from one person who gets good results from less than one milligram, and several from people who use in the vicinity of 20 mg. Most people get good results with doses between 3 and 10 mg.

https://www.erowid.org/smarts/melatonin/melatonin_info.shtml

 

[Mal12345]

https://www.erowid.org/smarts/melatonin/melatonin_info.shtml

Between 3 and 10 mg.

But it's impossible to overdose.

 

[Ginkgo]

I love stories like this.

Sometimes doctors prescribe medications for a single condition, when they could also be reasonably prescribed for co-morbid symptoms. It boils down to the chemical reactions more than it does the conceptual nature of the ailment.

You seem to have averse reactions to at least 2 medications now...

 

[Mal12345]

I love stories like this.

Sometimes doctors prescribe medications for a single condition, when they could also be reasonably prescribed for co-morbid symptoms. It boils down to the chemical reactions more than it does the conceptual nature of the ailment.

You seem to have averse reactions to at least 2 medications now...

FYI, we have a hospital here nicknamed Death Valley for a good reason. Doctors here seem to think that death is the ultimate cure for what ails us.

 

[Ginkgo]

FYI, we have a hospital here nicknamed Death Valley for a good reason. Doctors here seem to think that death is the ultimate cure for what ails us.

Are you sure you don't just live in SoCal?

 

[cafe]

I don't take it all the time because of tolerance (though I'm not sure that's what you call it when it's something normal bodies produce), but I use 300 mcg of melatonin when I take it. It's a very small dose and it is enough to make me drowsy enough to sleep.

If I *really* have to sleep at a certain time, I take two benadryl and then take melatonin an hour or so later. It only works if it's a once in awhile thing because benadryl tolerance definitely builds fast.

Have always had sleep problems and my husband works nights, so it's a good thing I don't have to be awake until afternoon.

That PA shouldn't be allowed to prescribe those kind of drugs without adult supervision. This is why (for the time being) I'm totally against tort reform. Can you imagine what these people would get up to if they weren't afraid of being sued? Yikes!

 

[Mal12345]

I love stories like this.

Sometimes doctors prescribe medications for a single condition, when they could also be reasonably prescribed for co-morbid symptoms. It boils down to the chemical reactions more than it does the conceptual nature of the ailment.

You seem to have averse reactions to at least 2 medications now...

I started taking Ginkgo Biloba yesterday, and the loud ringing in my right ear I've had for years is nearly gone. When I woke up this morning, it was entirely gone, it came back but only just a little bit.

 

[Mal12345]

In the long run, ginkgo biloba was a strike out.

Today I saw a podiatrist for the first time. I asked him about prolotherapy. He knew about it, said it has enjoyed some success as a foot treatment, but said that it is not practiced around this area.

I ended up with some stretches to do, a foot splint, a foot wrap, orders to use a bottle of frozen water to bring down inflammation. The foot splint is not for walking around in, but for sleeping at night during which the foot is kept in a certain position (the neutral position, he said).


This is becoming a personal health blog!

 

[Mal12345]

I don't take it all the time because of tolerance (though I'm not sure that's what you call it when it's something normal bodies produce), but I use 300 mcg of melatonin when I take it. It's a very small dose and it is enough to make me drowsy enough to sleep.

If I *really* have to sleep at a certain time, I take two benadryl and then take melatonin an hour or so later. It only works if it's a once in awhile thing because benadryl tolerance definitely builds fast.

Have always had sleep problems and my husband works nights, so it's a good thing I don't have to be awake until afternoon.

That PA shouldn't be allowed to prescribe those kind of drugs without adult supervision. This is why (for the time being) I'm totally against tort reform. Can you imagine what these people would get up to if they weren't afraid of being sued? Yikes!

Benadryl makes me see spiders.

 

[five sounds]

Benadryl makes me see spiders.

Jellin.

 

[Mal12345]

Jellin.

Benadryl also causes worse things that I don't want to mention.

But the spider thing didn't bother me until one morning I woke up on my back, opened my eyes, and "saw" a huge orange spider suddenly drop straight down at my face like an image from hell.

 

[Mal12345]

My podiatrist is a pretty cool guy. Today was my second, and perhaps last, office visit with him.

He said the stretches I need to do only take a few minutes out of my day. I said, "Yes, along with all the other things I'm supposed to do to take care of myself, leaving no free time." He laughed at that.

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

Benadryl also causes worse things that I don't want to mention.

But the spider thing didn't bother me until one morning I woke up on my back, opened my eyes, and "saw" a huge orange spider suddenly drop straight down at my face like an image from hell.

This is beyond funny for me.

 

[xisnotx]

i took 700 mg of lamotrogine...
shallow breathing..
couldn't get words out...
mouth dry...
couldn't control hands...
eyes couldn't focus together...
and
i couldn't walk...

never again. it was basically like dying...

 

[Mal12345]

This is beyond funny for me.

Have you turned into a hater?

 

[ndovjtjcaqidthi]

Have you turned into a hater?

Sigh.

 

[Mal12345]

Oh yes, when the doctor's assistant asked me how much pain I was in, I said "zero" because sitting in that podiatrist lounge chair I was literally in zero pain.

When the podiatrist came into the room, he was ecstatic that my pain was gone. But then I explained that "yes, I'm in zero pain because I'm sitting in this chair." He laughed.

He's the first male doctor I've liked in perhaps forever.

 

[Mal12345]

i took 700 mg of lamotrogine...
shallow breathing..
couldn't get words out...
mouth dry...
couldn't control hands...
eyes couldn't focus together...
and
i couldn't walk...

never again. it was basically like dying...

Even dirt would be a better treatment than most of the shit doctors prescribe these days.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I can't wait until medical marijuana becomes federally legal, and then Obamacare can pay for it!

Actually, I don't really care, but that will be fun to watch.