Insomnia is killing me...please help..what worked for you?

Symptoms Physical
#1

6 months off now and my insomnia is getting worse, I use to get around 3-4 hours sleep the first months but now I cannot sleep at all…what have propecia done to cause this? is it fucked up GABA or what? I also got bad tinnitus so I do not want to take any drugs that might be ototoxic and make it even louder. What have worked for your insomnia and did it ever get better with time? I don’t even care about libido and ED anymore…I just want to sleep…I’m thinking of contacting a sleep clinic but I’m sure they will just give me some knock out drugs to treat it…

#2

Calcium, zinc, and fish oil supplements have helped me sleep sometimes. I live in a state where marijuana is legal. Indica (as opposed to sativa) marijuana helps quite a bit. There are indica edibles specifically made for sleep that work pretty well

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#3

Tried all the above m8 except marijuana, not legal here in Norway…I really don’t want to do the drug route for sleep…but I might have to try Remeron or something soon…

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#4

Sleeping for the body is do-able as long as you force yourself to lay on time for 7-9 hours but sleeping for the mind and actually getting REM sleep is very difficult with PFS and takes discipline and experimentation. Some PFS sufferers cheer their erections but I cheer when I have a deep sleep or a dream because it means there is still hope to become normal again.

I believe the accepted protocol on this and other PFS forums to recover brain chemistry for REM sleep is to supplement 1-hour before bed: L-Theanine, Gaba, 5-HTP. And possibly: L-Tyrosine, Taurine. Not necessarily all at once!

Try these too:
Magnesium or calcium-magnesium
Hawthorn tincture
Valerian root drops
Ginkgo Biloba

This is expensive and hard to find but very good for sleep: amazon.com/Tranquinol-V-cap … tranquinol

#5

Have you tried melatonin ?

#6

Yes…didn’t help either…

#7

Only thing that helps for me is zoplikon. But i dont want to recomend IT because its hard to stop taking IT.

#9

I would recommend Trazodone

#10

Have you tried going to bed early, if you are not in bed by 9-10pm it is very difficult to fall asleep under PFS. Try to experiment for a few weeks even earlier like 5, 6, 7pm

#11

Go to a sleep specialist, you might have sleep apnea

#12

Sleep apnea has nothing to do with PFS-related insomnia. I had sleep apnea before using Fin and before PFS, but never had anything close to insomnia. However, insomnia was my first PFS side effect and one that is still with me, 5 years post-crash.

I’ve seen 2 different sleep specialists and started using a CPAP for my apnea 4 years ago, and still deal with insomnia and early-morning awakening to this day.

#13

That’s interesting someone also uses low dose clonazepam with melatonin and another benzo. Unfortunately I have not yet had access to zopiclone which j hope to be a helpful tool

I’m going to try gabitril /tiagabine. Anyone tried it??
Pretty shit scared tbh

I tried a lot of stuff already and only benzos work so far althugh still quite unacceptably, so I thought I’d ask for tiagabine

#14

5htp and l-tryptophan helped me a bit. I would try it.

#15

Valerian helps me too
and exercise … running / weights / swimming
and cold shower before bed

#16

Right now I’m taking Acetyl Glutathione which allows me to wake up feeling refreshed and without headaches and once in a while Choline Inositol and Tyrosine which seems to cause vivid dreams. PFS did a lot of damage and we need to sleep 9 hours a night for many weeks preferably at the correct time (waking up in the morning as nature intended)

#17

I rotate numerous sleep aids to avoid addiction. My sleep is quite good now

-phenibut twice a week (very effective)
-clonazepam once or twice a week (knocks you right out),
-zopiclone twice a week (very effective),
-noble kava anytime (effective)

I also take magnesium and sometimes melatonin in addition although they are not necessary with clonazepam since it is very strong

#18

Hey there. I’ve posted quite a bit about my insomnia. (I stopped sleeping TOTALLY for 1.4 years).

https://forum.propeciahelp.com/t/methyl-steroids-and-or-time-luck-100-cured-my-sexual-probs/9416

  • Ignore all the garbage posts (ex. zinc(!?))
  • The very expensive new sleeping pill Balsomra has helped me considerably.
  • Working out INTENSELY after 9pm for 30 minutes plus Balsomra puts me into “heavy rest/some sleep” for 7 hours.
  • In the past these worked well:

doxepin 50mg
mirtazapine/remeron 30mg
nortryptaline100mg

#19

I frequently use Clonazepam and/or oxazepam. I keep coming back to those because they are efficient. Just remember to keep dosage as small and infrequent as possible.
Zopiclone was pretty good when it worked but the it didn’t really last.
Tiagabine didn’t work for sleep either.

#20

Try a 3 months cycle of clomiphene (25mg/day) and anastrozole (0,25mg/day) to fix hormone imbalance.
Then before go to bed take lorazepam (1,25mg) and oxatomide (30mg).
You should have very good sleep (8 hours) without interruptions.
With this protocol I have never developed dark circles under eyes.

Good luck man and stay strong. You are not alone.

P.S. When you stop anastrozole (0,25mg/day), you have to follow this regimen to avoid side effects.
Day N 0,25mg
Day N+1 Nothing
Day N+2 0,25mg
Day N+3 Nothing
Day N+4 0,25mg
Day N+5 Nothing
Day N+6 Nothing
Day N+7 0,25mg
Stop.

#21

I took Zolpidem (sold under the brand name Ambien, among others) for almost 2 years every night. That helped me fall asleep and stay asleep when I initially had insomnia. Interestingly, after about 2 years I noticed being tired in the evening, then taking zolpidem, and being wide awake again (the effect got reversed). I then quit, and have been able to sleep without any meds since. Sleep quality is far from great (wake up multiple times at night), but I can sleep since many years now.

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Insomnia and Brain Spasms