What are your go-to remedies when you can't sleep?

[LunaticOnTheFritz]

It depends on how bad it is. I can usually tell before bed if I'm gonna have trouble. If I have to work the next day I will take a 10 mg Melatonin. Otherwise some Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea helps. I'm a reader so sometimes just doing some reading will help. If that doesn't do it then I whip out the YouTube and put on some sleep music.

 

[jsstjohn]

Factually incorrect.

Headaches, dizziness, vomiting.

It increases both serotonin and noradrenaline (aka norepinephrine).

Lots of folks here will be familiar with the delicate chemical dance involved in trying to normalise serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin also influences sex drive, hunger, body temperature (feel like getting stuck with hot flushes and sweating profusely all the time, anyone!?), learning and memory. And if you bump it up high enough, hello Serotonin Syndrome. I can personally vouch for just how fun SS-psychosis is. That shit will put you in hospital without evening blinking!

Noradrenaline? Even more powerful. It’s the one that increases the heart rate (among a myriad of other effects). Which is obviously awesome for people with ptsd who have their sympathetic nervous system on speed dial - let’s throw in a few unnecessary panic attacks because we we’re in short supply round these parts! Noradrenaline is the hormone that keeps sending you into fight/flight episodes when you have ptsd, so it would be a brilliant idea to start messing with that and dropping traz ‘like tic-tacs’.

Next time, don’t Google, ask a doctor or pharmacist.

What I meant by harmless was in comparison to the choices. I vape Grand Daddy Purple (Google the strain) as it calms my mind & body. And Google M.D. I'm not, but have tried many more powerful sleeping agents (9/11 2nd responder) over the years & Trazodone's MOA is very weak and older hence the serotonin lift is minimal. Plz don't speak to your experience as if others here haven't had their own

It depends on how bad it is. I can usually tell before bed if I'm gonna have trouble. If I have to work the next day I will take a 10 mg Melatonin. Otherwise some Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea helps. I'm a reader so sometimes just doing some reading will help. If that doesn't do it then I whip out the YouTube and put on some sleep music.

Issue is the unwanted thoughts, feelings of shame & emotional flashbacks upon waking.

 

[Sideways]

Plz don't speak to your experience as if others here haven't had their own

Handing out advice to the effect of: people can take a certain medication like tic tacs because it’s “harmless”, when it’s absolutely not harmless, is just plain dangerous.

You’re on an international forum, where knowledge and experience levels differ a lot from one member to the next. Factually incorrect recommendations, especially ones that could be flat out dangerous for members, tend to get called out pretty quickly.

 

[notsurewheretoturn]

When I can't fall asleep, I read for a while, and maybe have a small glass of milk. If I wake, which is pretty often, the first thing I do is go to the loo even if I don't need to. An empty bladder can really help as you won't be woken up a couple of hours later by a full one. I think comfort is key to getting back to sleep. Its also pretty cold in my bathroom, so getting chilled and then getting back into a warm bed helps me. Try not to think about how many hours it is until you have to get up, it really doesn't help. Warm bed socks have worked in the past too.

If its a panic attack or nightmare, its back to reading for a while and trying to reset my brain, or maybe take St John's Wort.

 

[jsstjohn]

Handing out advice to the effect of: people can take a certain medication like tic tacs because it’s “harmless”, when it’s absolutely not harmless, is just plain dangerous.

You’re on an international forum, where knowledge and experience levels differ a lot from one member to the next. Factually incorrect recommendations, especially ones that could be flat out dangerous for members, tend to get called out pretty quickly.

I stated Dr's script them like "tic tacs" in no way did I say that's how to take them. They would need to be prescribed by a physician who you should seek for medical advice.