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[pixie]

Some very interesting points on here.  The montmorrency cherries someone referred to is are a 'special' breed, that contains lots of melatonin.  The drink is called cherry active and is very expensive.  Some people say it helps with sleep, gout, and fibromyalgia.  Melatonin is a hormone that is produced naturally but it declines with age, which is why older folk sleep less. It regulates your sleep pattern/cycle.  As a supplement,  apparently you only need a very small dose and more than a 1mg tablet is a waste. They say its not a good idea to take long-term as they don't know the effects, but it is generally safe, I think if doesn't interfere with any of your other meds.
I had a much better night last night - managed to sleep from 11.15 until 5 am, then went back to sleep from 5.40 until about 7.30.  Sometimes I have some really awful nights, getting only 3 or 4 hours, but it usually settles.  All my symptoms are a lot worse when I've been under a lot of stress at work/home.  The  long weekend has helped.

[silverlady]

What pixi says is right, more is not best with melatonin thats why I like the drops or spray.

After fifty men and women produce less melatonin, and have more difficulty sleeping.

You can buy Cherry Active iin most independant health shops and is more expensive then the juice drink you get in supermarkets.

More and more research is being done on melatonin it is considerd safe, though it is suggested that it should be avoided by people who are suffereing from certain types of depression also some auto immune conditions. 

It is also good for the skin and hair ( not to ne confused with melanin) and is an antioxident. I have been taking it on and off for years with no ill effects.

Surgeons do sugest it is not taken before an op, as are other vitamins or herbs.

Like vitamin D, melatonin is considered a type of hormone.

silverlady x
 

[panda762]

It's called Cherrygood and has 25% tart cherry and 5% montmorency cherry. It was only £1.50 for a litre in tescos and is a nice drink, so if it doesn't help at least I haven't bankrupted myself
x

[cc26]

Me too... Disrupted sleep for a good few years now, Im in a routine though. I  wake up most nights between 2am and 4am, I get up make a cuppa and go back to bed, drink the tea, lay down and go to sleep again, sounds wierd I know but it gets me back off again, but almost always need a nap in the day feel so old... Think I will try the cherry thingy, see if it helps..

[pixie]

Maybe i'll try the cherry good.  I really did not like the cherry active taste, and would rather stick to the melatonin supplement because a drink late at night sets off the old bladder

[CLKD]

I would prefer a cherry tart with cream please 

When my restless legs were bad I would sleep with them up the top of the headboard which gave me pins and needles.  For 2 years I had 3 thick blankets under the mattress on my side, but my legs would roll over onto the Husband who would then wake.  Nurofen helps when all else fails. 

Caffeine doesn't affect me.  How about Horlics then Susan  or a hot chocolate drink, or juice? the problem with not drinking regularly is that the kidneys go into over-drive and more urine is made, it can irritate the bladder so that we get up more in the night 

[pixie]

Goodnight everyone, I hope we all have a better night. 

[JJ]

Nighty night - sleep embrace us all for at least 7 hrs please

[pixie]

Not a great night last night. It seemed very hot compared to the night before, sheet on only, then very cold!! Awake every couple of hours. I had been out last night and had a plate full of greasy vegetables and noodles, maybe that was the culprit. Back to the healthy regime tonight - bananas and cherries etc.

[Ziggy]

Ugh, I've just had a dreadful night. Went to bed at 11.15, just drifting off at 11.50 when the dog starting barking and howling like the hound of the baskervilles, goodness knows why. This woke me right up again. Then started to drift off again but suddenly got this really disturbing image pop into my head, I think all the horrible bits of all the crime thrillers I read had jumbled together and jumped into my head in a very unpleasant way. I couldn't get the image out of my head every time I tried to sleep. At 2.30 I came downstairs and made a cup of hot milk. Back to bed at 3 and I think I finally went to sleep at around 3.30/3.45 until 7.30. I don't know what was wrong with me, I was hot and my skin itched. I wonder if it is anxiety about losing my job that is disturbing me. I wouldn't have said I was particularly anxious at the moment but maybe subconsciously I am. Anyway I feel like a zombie now.

[pixie]

I kept dreaming about work, because everyone was going on about a problem yesterday afternoon!  Was it a full moon? It was only 1 degree warmer than the night before.

[panda762]

I think the cherry drink may have helped as I managed to stay asleep for over an hour at a time on a few occasions, although I'm not sure avoiding ibuprofen was a great idea as I woke several times with joint pain and am now as stiff as a board. I did take ages to settle (can relate to dreaming about work) Ho humm....xx

ziggy: I can't watch any horror movies / thrillers due to the bad dreams I'd have. Hope you feel better soon  x

[JJ]

I slept ok 1-9 woke up once but just got back to sleep quickly thank goodness.

Susan, why don't u just try taking a quarter off your tablet, if that's poss. See how you manage over a week.

[Rosebush]

Susan i too have to take Zopi, i cut a 7.5mg tab in half and it stops night sweats flushes etc for up to 4hrs sometimes 5hrs, i have just had 2nights without tab and barely got 2hrs broken sleep due to body heat, sometimes it can take 15mins to cool off then 15mins to fall back to sleep then 10mins later, on comes the next lot of body heat so i am awake again..i feel so worn out...

My Gp last week had a chat with me about zopi, said maybe i could try  10mg Amitriptyline, to calm me down so i can drop off to sleep, but its not calming down i need to enable sleep, its the sweats i need to stop, had them now for 13yrs, been on Femseven 50 Hrt patches for 3yrs, and at 62, do not want to take any higher dose of Hrt, so like you i do not want to replace zopi with something else, i have tried cutting the tab into 4 which is difficult to do, and took just 1 bit of it, but that did not work so i know i need the 3.75mg to get 4hrs straight sleep, also my eye bags look worse after 2nts without sleep..tried 2 banana each day, but not working, tried hot drink, even tried small brandy, but still the hot sweats wake me..Can you please post if lowering your zopi works for you..xx

[pixie]

Hi Susan,

Good idea to try and cut pills in half, probably easier to do when in a positive frame of mind and off work.  Like someone said, it gets better eventually. X