THIS IS IT!

[katrina39]

I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH CHRONIC INSOMNIA SINCE MID 30'S, SAME TIME I DEVELOPED HASHIMOTOS THYROIDITIS... EVERY DOCTOR SEEN, SOLUTION TO PROBLEM, TAKE THIS, THAT OR THE OTHER OTHER MEDICATION.  WAS TOLD I HAD CHEMICAL IMBALANCE.  SUFFERED SINCE AGE 11 SEVERE DEPRESSION... MY PSYCH HAS GONE THROUGH EVERY MED ON MARKET FOR INSOMNIA AND DEPRESSION, NOW, AT THE END OF THE ROPE...  NOTHING IS WORKING, GETTING SO LITTLE SLEEP, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY CLASSIFY ME AS AMONG THE LIVING...  FED UP WITH DOCTORS WHO HAND OUT PILLS, NOW HAVE NOWHERE LEFT TO GO...  COMING OFF OF DILANTIN, WHICH ADDS TO THE SLEEPLESSNESS...  I AM ON CLONZEPAN, SEROQUEL, TAKE MELATONIN, THEY HAVE STOPPED WORKING...  CANNOT DUMP THESE MEDS RIGHT NOW, UNTIL THE DILANTIN PROCESS OF WITHDRAWAL IS DONE...  TRYING TO TAKE THE INSANITY OF MY LIFE ON THESE DRUGS, AND GET AHOLD OF IT, GET OFF AND GO ON...  BUT, WITHOUT SLEEP, IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN...  I NEED TO DO SOMETHING DRASTIC NOW... FED UP TO MY NECK WITH THE NONSENCE FROM MY DOCTORS...  ANYONE EVER HEARD OF 5HTP BEING USED FOR INSOMNIA?    

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

5HTP or 5 hydroxytryptophan is a naturally occurring aminoacid. It is used as a sleep aid. Food products like turkey and cheese contain 5HTP and it also available as a supplement OTC. But always take it at the advice of your doctor as it can cause complications like chronic pulmonary hypertension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HTP

[KatEyes]

Sorry, just re-read your post and saw you are being treated by a psych doctor. Please do consider a reputable sleep doctor or a neurologist.

[KatEyes]

I have lots of sleep issues that cause sleeplessness, and developed into patterns of insomnia that nearly drove me crazy. It took a very long time to retrain my brain to sleep again, but it did happen. You are wise in weaning off meds gradually - I made the mistake of not doing so once - will never do that again!

What type of doctor is treating you? I'm hoping you are under the care of a top notch neurologist or sleep doctor that is willing to work with you to achieve sleep again. Have you had sleep studies during this whole process? I know it's hard to get a sleep study on someone who doesn't sleep, but sometimes they do medicate patients to get them to sleep enough to observe them.

My sleep doctor never offered me sleeping pills. She treated my underlying sleep disorders, and insisted I work more diligently on practicing good sleep hygiene. Little by little I've made progress. Sleep is now my friend - would like for us to be still friendlier, but we're getting there. Hope you find a doctor like mine who will diagnose any underlying problems, be brutally honest with you, accept no lame excuses for doing the sleep hygiene stuff halfway, and help restore the sanity in your life. Best wishes.