Dic Carlson, Just wondering how you are doing...

[lauraflora]

Hey, Dic, Wondering if you have had any success or anything at least promising, in the various things you have been trying. I am recommending a book, by Julia Ross, called The Mood Cure. She has a full chapter (ch. 3) on serotonin and what the body uses it for, one of those many very important things is SLEEP. Also what a deficiency of serotonin causes - besides mood problems, etc. - INSOMNIA. And how to increase your store of serotonin - starting in the afternoon, into the evening and night. Then how things like stress (and insomnia is a stress so it is self-perpetuating,) depletes your serotonin stores, so you have often to keep up with it.

It also goes into the other things to look out for - such as adrenal or sex hormone imbalances, which being stresses, throw that serotonin out of its own balance again. So one may have to work on more than one thing at a time. She has a full chapter on Sleep (ch. 12), that goes into quite a bit of detail.

Basically, one starts in the afternoon with taking 5-HTP or tryptophan or St. John's Wort (more on those choices is explained in her book, and my own experience.) Then taking some again in the evening, and again before bed. This is to raise up the serotonin supply in one's body. Taking it just before bed is not enough. More can be taken during the night, as needed. (She says that night time is the lowest serotonin production time of the 24 hour period.) After a while, weeks or maybe months, one can cut down. But read more explicit info in her book.

I had done this, successfully, at first, then found I needed to add in some of those hormones for the dreaded hot flashes (I use bio-identical ones), tho things were going rather well. I found sleep to be much easier and longer, for quite a while. Then, I had a stresser hit which just threw things way out again (had a few minor ones here and there that I recovered my sleep ability from, but this was a big one.) I set off my sciatic nerve by sitting on the edge of a hard little chair for about an hour (when I stood up, I realized I was in trouble!) Sciatic nerve pain can be very intense, causes muscle contraction, is hard to alleviate, and thus is a big stress. The whole episode lasted longer than a month. Needless to say, it ruined my ability to sleep. Finally I pulled out the book, and started again the protocol of afternoon, evening, before bed, middle of the night, increasing my serotonin. However, I found that St. John's Wort worked even better - for me - than 5-HTP (altho I still take one with the SJW,) and tryptophan (which is more expensive.) Ross goes into this in her book. Bottom line - the first night I noticed my sleep got better. This has continued and I feel I am getting my ability to sleep back again.

She also goes into various reasons, even genetic, why people can be serotonin deficient. It is a very informative and helpful book, which is why I am suggesting for you to look into it. I also like using a full spectrum lamp for awhile in the morning, since, here in the Midwest, it has been rather overcast. Anyway, I got her book on Amazon (where else!) Give it a try.

[DicCarlson]

Thanks, LauraFlora - I've seen that book before, but haven't read it. Reading the excerpts on Amazon, maybe its worthwhile to eliminate caffeine for awhile. (I still drink 4+ cups/day). Lately, I've just been trying to reset my metabolism somewhat with a Paleo/Keto diet. Basically eliminating the processed carbs and ramping up fats and protein. The last week or so I've had some kind of stomach bug that kept me awake along with my regular insomnia. No sleep and some RLS thrown in for good measure. Most awakenings I take a 1/2 ibuprofen (100mg) and after 1/2 hour or so I can fall asleep again. It's pretty much a marker that my insomnia is Glutamate over GABA imbalance (ibuprofen is a Glutamate blocker). One thing for sure - there is no simple fix and there is no quick fix - most diet and supplement therapies take months to be effective. Thanks again for the info!

[lauraflora in reply to DicCarlson]

You are right that there is no simple or quick fix, and there is probably no single fix (even for an individual person.) I think there is often more than one cause for something, and so one has to come up with more than one solution.

One thing I have found to be very helpful with my own RLS (which I will admit is not at all as bad as many people's on here,) is rubbing progesterone cream (bio-identical!) on the offending area. In about 15 minutes, which is how long it takes to be absorbed, the RLS is gone for the rest of the night. I don't do this as a preventative, but only if it starts up. Some nights I have no RLS at all. Other nights more so. I read about a connection between RLS and progesterone somewhere on some website, and decided to try it. It works well. Yes, I have used ibuprofen for RLS, but I was concerned, esp recently (with the sciatic nerve bout) as I was taking it 2x day at least, for over a month. Anyway, one has to have more than one trick up one's sleeve.

Have you looked into foods that have too much glutamate? Even (beyond those nasty additives/preservatives) various real and healthy foods - like bone broth (that seemed to bother me,) mushrooms (altho they don't bother me,) parmesan or other aged cheese (too much gets me, altho not regular cheese.) I read that people with RLS and other conditions lack an enzyme that processes glutamate into Gaba, which is why the glutamate is so overstimulating. Perhaps you have seen this website, but I will put it here nevertheless. holistichelp.net How to Increase Gaba and balance glutamate

[DicCarlson in reply to lauraflora]

I have seen her website and did a one hour consult with her. Basically, she wanted me to give up caffeine, alcohol, and do a full Keto diet. Best I can manage right now is low carb more Paleo than Keto - cut down on caffeine and booze.

[Hidden in reply to DicCarlson]

I am really interested in your comment that ibuprofen is a glutamate blocker. I take codeine/ibuprofen to relieve pain in the middle of the night (I find I only need the dose of the over the counter stuff rather than the prescribed codeine I have which is stronger) and assumed it was the pain relief that was helping me to get back to sleep. But I may now try ibuprofen alone to see if that works. Thanks!