I have never understood insomnia. I have been researching Lyme disease and most of its symptoms for years, but insomnia puzzles me to no end. The purpose of sleep is to restore the body right? So why wouldn't I need more sleep? I sleep about four hours each night-give or take...Not very restorative to be honest.
According to Dr.Horowitz about 70% of Lyme patients suffer from this chronic insomnia. It remains untouched by common sleep aids such as Ambien, Benadryl, or Restoril, but why? During my research I found Lyme disease isn't the only chronic insomnia causing illness. People with bipolar disorder can also have the same sudden onset of insomnia. Some patients stay so wired they cannot
sleep for days. I have met people who can attest to that.
Lyme and bipolar disorder are both considered chronic illnesses. The definition of chronic is "Marked by long duration or frequent recurrence" according to Merriam-Webster.By this definition,
people with bipolar disorder or Lyme disease are sick for a long period of time(or until death). During this time, the patient is not only accumulating damage from the chronic disease,but also the
chronic symptom...catch 22, isn't it?
Personally I have had some form of insomnia my entire life. As a baby I slept fine, I just took a long time to fall asleep. I would sleep 10 hours,so no one thought anything of it (that's what I was told at least). On the other hand, when I was 6-7 years old I stopped sleeping (no Lyme DX yet), I could be awake until 2:00 am before falling asleep. When I was a young teenager I used this to my advantage. Wide awake at 1:00am was a great time to catch up homework.
Not much has changed since then actually. (lol)An average night is 3:00 am before falling asleep. A bad night,on the other hand,may have absolutely 0 minutes of sleep whatsoever. None. Wide awake straight through the night.
I have tried everything. No dice.
Valerian root tincture, Ambien, Restoril, melatonin, homeopathic sleep remedies, herbal blends of sleep remedies, avoiding electronics and light for hours before bed...the list goes on..
I had my saliva hormone levels tested, high melatonin in the morning, normal in the afternoon, low in the evening, and then low at midnight. Melatonin supplementation seemed like a good idea. It was one of the only supplements to make a minor difference. It just included one side affect, a hangover the next morning. I would sleep late, struggle to wake up, and then feel groggy the whole day. I tried playing around with the dose, again, no help. I quite after that. If my body wanted sleep it could have it, but for some reason that's not what it wants. There is a reason, I just don't know it.
Dr. H recommends supplements to lower high cytokines. Cytokines are a group of inflammatory proteins. The anti-inflammatory diet, which I have followed since my ND recommended it to me years ago, should lower these. In theory...
Dr. Jernigan and Dr. Hulda Clark teach that excess ammonia in the blood stops the brain from sleeping. Both claim a high success rate for curing their insomnia patients. I tried Dr.Clarks method, taking L.Ornithine before bed. The protocol starts with a low dose then builds up over several days to a rather high dose.
It helped me feel more alert during the day. No change at night though :/
I wonder why that is.
I don't really like the idea of being attached to a prescription drug, just to fall asleep a few hours earlier. Especially for an unspecified period of time. After all, I learned to deal with insomnia a long time ago. Anymore, its not big deal to me...just irritating.
What do you guys use to treat your chronic insomnia? Is it worth trying?
Until next time...
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