Cycling supplements for sleep?

Therapeutic Efforts Supplements & Lifestyle
#1

I’ve had l-arginine and melatonin suggested to me for sleep problems while off fin, but with the warning of potential tolerance. For those of you with persistent sleep problems from fin, have you perhaps found a combination of supplements that you can cycle to get sleep on most nights? I’d rather stay away from any more prescription drugs, by the way.

I was thinking of using arginine once a week, melatonin once a week, maybe valerian too? Benadryl/diphenhydramine(an OTC drug) helps me greatly when I take 1/4 of a 25mg pill(fewer awakenings to pee, feel rested when I wake, though with a small hangover), but tolerance is very quick from what I’ve read, so I could cycle that once a week too. Maybe Unisom could also be thrown into such a cycle?

Obviously it is not good for you to become dependant upon any substance for attaining sleep, but I’ve come to accept the fact that fin has broken my sleep mechanism and normal sleep is no longer possible for the time being. I have read where Mew has said sleep started to normalize for him at least somewhat after 1.5-2 years off, and others have suggested improvements around the 6-9 month mark, so I am hopeful that this is one of the fin sides that can reverse itself a bit, but obviously it may take a while.

#2

I took melatonin much more often when I have sleeping problems. I’ve taken it every day for a month. The good thing about it is that if you take too much you still sleep but the quality degrades. If you go off for a while then start it again it has the same effect in my experience. Again I recommend source naturals. The extended release is good if you wake up often. I didn’t find the product on their website but it’s in whole foods.

Try also the vitamin D if you’re not already. Many of us have had great improvement on it. Check the threads on this forum.

I’ve tried sleeping pills, benadryl, and valerian. Sleeping pills and benadryl are both downhill roads. You will lose memory and get more tired the more you use them. Many of us have impaired excretory functions which means these substances take longer to get out of our systems. Valerian is chemically very similar to Valium. It’s also a downhill road, you take it and feel great for a little while then you’re dependent. Feel free to do the research and listen to Eminem’s Relapse album for a really good picture of what these chemicals can do to you.

“Valerian extracts appear to have some affinity for the GABAA receptor, a class of receptors on which benzodiazepines (Valium) are known to act.[2][3]” WIKIPEDIA