I struggle to get to sleep and now when I wake during the night the RLS is still there. That’s new. Does anyone take any type of sleep aid- prescription or OTC?
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Sleeping Aids
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I take Lunesta and it works well.
Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of help, support and understanding here.
Have you had your ferritin checked? If so, what was it? This is the first thing your doctor should have done. Improving your ferritin to 100 or more helps 60% of people with RLS and in some cases completely eliminates their symptoms. If not when you see your doctor ask for a full iron panel. Stop taking any iron supplements including in a multivitamin 48 hours before the test, avoid a heavy meat meal the night before, fast after midnight and have your test in the morning before 9 am if possible. When you get the results, ask for your ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) numbers. You want your transferrin saturation to be over 20% but less than 45% and your ferritin to be at least 100. If they are not, post them here and we can give you some advice.
Are you taking any medicines for your RLS? If so what?
Some things that can make RLS symptoms worse for some people are alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, artificial sweeteners, carbs, foods high in sodium, foods that cause inflammation, foods high in glutamate, ice cream, eating late at night, oestrogen (estrogen) including HRT, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, melatonin, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), collagen supplements, low potassium. eating late at night, stress and vigorous exercise.
Some things that help some people include caffeine, moderate exercise, weighted blankets, compression socks, elastic bandages, masturbation, magnesium glycinate, fennell, low oxalate diet, a low-inflammatory diet, selenium, 5 minute shower alternating 20 seconds cold water with 10 seconds hot water finishing with hot water for another couple of minutes, hot baths, distractions, applying a topical magnesium lotion or spray, doing a magnesium salts soak (epsom salts), vitamins B1, B3, B6, B12, D3, K2, if deficient, and potassium and copper if deficient, massage including using a massage gun, vibration devices like therapulse, using a standing desk, playing and listening to music, creative hobbies, meditation and yoga.
Many medicines and OTC supplements can make RLS worse. If you are taking any I may be able to provide a safe alternative.
By the way I use GoodRx for the lunesta as it is way cheaper than using my insurance.
I'm having great RLS success with caffeine/l theanine combination pill for RLS . Obviously the caffeine is not for everyone but the l theanine on its own is a relaxant . I was on Zopiclone for about 3 months but found even a 15mg dose ( aparantly normal dose is 7.5) only sedated me for 2-3 hours .
Lots of supplements and natural ingredients to try. L-theanine (the amino acid in green tea), Taurine, Apigenin (the active ingredient in Chamomile) Passion Flower, Hops, Peppermint and Valerian Root. Also Ashwagandha is a great herb to initiate sleep and relaxation. If you try melatonin - use a very small amount 0.5 mg in drops or sublingual (I used to break a 1mg in 1/4). Also the sleep teas are great - Sleepy Time, Tulsi Sleep, etc. They contain a lot of the ingredients I mentioned above.
Thank you! These options are something I will check out.
I use gummies that are a combo of thc, cbd and delta 9...they really help.
There’s a gummy that mixes THC and delta 9??
Yes...there are many but here is a brand that I like and they're having a sale
edwinsedibles.com/shop-prod...
Thanks for this link. First, I’m excited to learn about a manufacturer I haven’t heard of before and these look interesting. I love that they’re combining full spectrum CBD with the delta 9 THC! But I don’t think it’s actually THC+delta 9 THC+CBD. From what I can tell it’s just the two: delta 9 THC+ CBD. It’s tricky wording/marketing though. In either case, it looks like a good product (especially if you prefer delta 9 THC) and I’m so happy it works well for you! I’m writing this one down to see if there are any distributors around me. Thanks!
This is just one that I use. I try different brands/chemical combos. I can let you know the others when I get home from work. I take a half to stretch them out.
Delta 9 THC is same exact thing as traditional THC
Really? Then what’s with the drastically different regulations? I can get online and order delta 9 without any problems or restrictions. It can even ship across state lines. But to get THC I have to physically go to the dispensary, can’t legally fly with it or even drive it to another state, nor can I give it to someone. When I last researched it years ago when it first came out, I learned it was a synthetic form. But since you sound like you know I figured I’d just ask you. Are they truly the same? Delta 8 also appears to be different from regular THC or delta 9. Do you believe it to be a 3rd name for the same thing? I’m rusty on all of this.
Yessir they are truly the same. When congress passed the 2018 farm bill they intended to deregulate the industrial hemp and CBD industries. What they didn't realize when they passed the following:
" The 2018 Farm Bill defines hemp as Cannabis sativa L. and “any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers,” with no more than a 0.3 percent concentration of THC. Any cannabis plant that contains more than 0.3 percent THC falls outside the scope of the new law. "
fdli.org/2019/02/the-legali....
was that the vast majority of "Total THC" on a hemp/cannabis plant is in the THCA form - there's a carbolic acid that needs to be removed (that's why it needs to be smoked / vaped with sufficient heat / cooked )prior to the molecule becoming psychoactive. Since they didn't mention THCA and only THC, they effectively Federally decriminalized marijuana and marijuana concentrates. I've recently purchased some "industrial hemp" which tested approx 27% "total THC" and only 0.28% of that total was in THC form.
Big Oops - The intent of congress was to legalize "Rope, not Dope" Lol! As an act of congress, the Bill carries as much weight as the constitution. Some states and localities are passing / attempting to pass restrictions, raiding stores, etc. but many attempts are getting reversed in courts.
As far as the Delta-8, 9, 10, etc goes the Delta is the position of the double-bond on the THC/THCA molecule. With delta 8 its between the 8th and 9th carbon atoms, delta 9 / normal THC has the double bond between the 9th and 10th.
"the scientific name for THC is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or delta-9 THC, or just delta-9. Delta-8 is short for delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, or delta-8 THC. Delta-8 causes effects for users similar to regular delta-9."
michigan.gov/cra/resources/....
I think the use of delta-9 arose after delta-8 became a big thing, but it does create a bunch of confusion. These and other cannabinoids are created via isomerization of CBD - and as you can see in the farm bill, any and all "extracts, derivatives, isomers" etc of "hemp", legally remain classified as hemp or a hemp product.
A word of caution: the testing and oversight of the hemp industry and products is very much inferior to that of the regulated cannabis industry. To wit, the FDA regulates the cannabis industry while the department of agriculture oversees hemp - it's basically on par with, if not less regulated than, the US supplement industry ! So choose your vendors wisely !!
Recently big Cannabis corporations have entered the hemp-derived cannabinoids industry. (GTI, Curaleaf, and several others). I would imagine and hope that they would have relatively high standards for their products. You can see those companies in this link:
mjbizdaily.com/curaleaf-joi...
More studies have been emerging with using varying cannabinoids as sleep aids. CBN looks promising, but more research needs to be done. One bit of valuable information I've gotten from studies and experience is that if you're using cannabis for sleep, you'll want to use a relatively small dose at nighttime. Effects vary with dose, lower doses tend to be more relaxing, larger doses will tend to be more stimulating/euphoric, etc - not what you want to drift off to sleep.! Furthermore, higher consumption levels has been shown to decrease REM and deep sleep.
Everyone's different , but depending on tolerance I would recommend perhaps 2mg - 20mg edible THC for sleep, perhaps 1 to 3 hits if you're vaping or smoking.
Hope that helps! I've been in the industry for quite some time, let me know if there are any more questions or concerns.😉
Wow. You are amazing! Thank you for taking the time to type that out and explain everything in such clear terms! I’m curious about your job! Lol. I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth but now I have another question. Why is it impossible (or at least for me personally it hasn’t been possible) to find organic THC edibles but you can find organic delta 9 edibles (and I don’t necessarily mean with the “organic” seal because I can’t remember if I ever saw that on any of the products)? Is it not true that the hemp goes through some kind of chemical process to isolate the delta 9 in a way that isn’t necessary for normal non-delta 9 edibles? Back when I researched delta 9 there were concerning things I read -mostly about it being new and therefore untested for long term effects. Or something like that. Which wouldn’t make sense if it’s the exact same as THC. Unless whatever I was reading was wrong (entirely possible). Thanks in advance for trying to educate me. 
You are too kind - thanks for the compliment. As far as I know you should be able to find organic THC gummies from traditional cannabis. The majority of mass produced cannabis is grown hydroponically in the US, which at a large scale especially is not feasible to do organically. There are some soil grown operations which produce organic cannabis - so as long as they use organic ingredients and processes they can create legit organic edibles.
To my knowledge hemp derived organic edibles are very rare - I have seen some online which use a straight hemp extract with no isomerization, but they included a lot of CBD. One way to make organic hemp derived edibles would be to source organic hemp with high THCA levels, extract that with an organic process and then heat the extract to convert to THC.
Isomerization processes use an acid as a catalyst for the conversion of CBD to THC , I believe the common way currently is with sulfonic acid. There are unknown byproducts produced from this reaction, and not all labs that produce delta 9 this way are concerned with this!
If I find someone that’s producing organic hemp derived THC as I’ve described above, I will certainly post that.
Cheers!
Thank you so much!
can you take gummies if you are using an opiod such as methodone. I want to take the gummies for sleep but I am afraid of mixing the two
By all means check with your medical care provider before you do that or anything else you may find online. I have seen several studies where they've used cannabis alongside opiod meds and they had been able to reduce dependence on the opiates that way.
here's one:
I take Temazepam 30 mg to sleep. it is a Benzo, it is addictive so that’s the downside of taking it.
I have tried loads of sleep aids - prescription and OTC over the past couple of decades.
Two OTC ones that i have found particularly helpful are L-theanine (for deep sleep) and GABA supplement for sleep onset.
But the most powerful by far is one that i have been taking for the past 6 weeks. It's palmitoylethanolamide, better known as PEA.
In fact, i have had to lower my dose because i have found it quite sedating the next day.
It works to promote GABA (the neurotransmitter) which has a calming effect on the brain.
sleep.biomedcentral.com/art...
"At week 8, PEA supplementation reduced sleep onset latency, time to feel completely awake and improved cognition on waking".
I take this one but i expect there are similarly effective ones out there.
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