Sleep aid that seems to be working

[sospan]

Like a lot of us with a head injury, I suffer from sleep problems. I doze off intermittently at random times during the day and then at night time. I only have a few hours sleep.

Over the years, I have tried all the usual advice - no drinks late at night, reduce "screen" time, dark room, cold room, herbal products etc. No real effect.

I came across the BBC program "The truth about sleep" where Dr Mosely a fellow insomniac experimented with various sleep techniques. None of the products cured his insomnia completed. However, one product did manage to extend his nighttime sleep. It was a white powder in a sachet that is added to a drink mid evening. If it worked for him, I thought I would have a go.

Typical of the BBC they made sure we couldn't see the name but through some play back freezing, I managed to work out it. It is a product called Bimuno available in the UK by mail order and from some high street retailers.

The first few nights were interesting, they did warn that you may get some "gurgling" coming from your stomach. Well lets say, I wouldn't take it in the company of anybody other than close family and friends and certainly not your local Vicar! The gurgling subsided after a few days making us at least tolerable to live with.

Similar to Dr Mosely, we did find it gave us a 1-2 hours of extra sleep but it is depth of sleep that we really noticed. It was much better and we tended to drop off to sleep quicker. We had thought the sachets would have worked for a short time and then worn off. After a few months the effects seem to be maintained.

When we initially found the product it is quite interesting that it mainly based on ProBiotic fibre which can be got from Lentils

, Chickpeas, Butter beans, Leeks etc. Which falls in line with what we have been saying about a healthy diet - removing processed food and eating like your grand parents with plenty of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish etc. Whilst limiting alcohol, caffeine and most things that are unhealthy.

The other thing, I found is to put a little Vicks or similar under my nose which seems to help with night time congestion.

[cat3]

Sounds interesting. And after Googling it I find it's 'Pre-Biotic' rather than Pro-Biotic and apparently had good results in treating IBS, which is good news for me as sleep deprivation and IBS are the bane of my life !

I didn't see the programme so thanks for this Sos…...Love Cat x

[sospan in reply to cat3]

No problem,

My wife has type 2 diabetes and one of the side effects of the medication has been diarrhea. She has found it has helped immensely with that.

The gurgling is a bit embarrassing at first but also reassuring that it is getting to where it should be.

The company's customer service and technical knowledge is excellent. If you are interested in trying it for yourself they make be able to send you a sample to see if you can tolerate it.

[cat3 in reply to sospan]

I'll do that ; it's testament to how much faith the company has in the product if they're happy to have it trialed before purchase. x

[MaxMteliso]

Glad you shared about sleep problems after sustaining head injuries. I for one couldn’t sleep for 5 months in 2002 and sleeping tablets were not helping. High time to find an effective solution. However its history now