Hi,

This is my first post on this site and I'm hoping someone is reading this topic and can help me.

I am a 51 year young woman with fibromyalgia and have great trouble sleeping -- getting to sleep and staying asleep! My doc has had me on antidepressant meds and also xanax and clonazepam. These helped a bit but had side-effects that I won't go into. There were a lot!

So now I'm looking for natural alternatives that will help me sleep without causing any unwanted effects. I have been using a valerian supplement for a month or so which has helped a little but doesn't put me to sleep like the meds did.

What would people recommend as natural sleep aids?

Hi there hope_lady,

I know exactly how you feel having suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome/ME for 5 years and had various pills thrown at me by the doctors with promises of improved sleep and other symptoms as a result.

I've had all the antidepressants going which did nothing for my sleep and I'm not even depressed! amitriptyline was the worst leaving me comatosed for half of the next day

I've tried a lot of supplements and found 5-HTP helps me sleep if I take 300mg an hour before going to bed.

I have also found though that good \"sleep hygiene\" has improved my sleep the most. I have a set bed time of 10pm, have a relaxing bath with epsom salts before getting into bed, and don't watch any tv after 9pm. I also make sure my bedroom is as dark as possible with thick lined curtains. Oh and I learned elsewhere online that being too hot in bed is one of the major reasons for disturbed sleep so I don't have a huge duvet or wear a lot in bed (sorry!)

If you haven't tried any of that I'd recommend you give it a go. It might sound simple or silly but it really does work - at least for me!

Hi hope_lady and welcome to the forums!

I'd agree with what cathjay has already said but would like to mention a few other things that have helped me.

I while back I wrote a fairly extensive blog post about stress reduction in chronic fatigue with a section on sleep. I also recommended supplements for stress that will also aid sleep. The blog can be found here - Stress Reduction in Chronic Illness

I have personally found melatonin to be very good for getting me off to sleep....and also keeping me asleep! I use only 1mg at night about an hour before I want to go to sleep and that is enough to bring on natural feelings of sleepiness. Melatonin is the body's natural sleep hormone which in healthy individuals is produced in the evening, particularly when light levels drop. It is available over the counter in the US and online in many other countries including the UK. It's also cheap.

Another supplement I've found helpful recently is phosphatidylserine (PS) which reduces high night time levels of cortisol which prevent restful sleep. High cortisiol at night is often present in those of us with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia.

Now everybody is different and it is usually advised to have quiet time before bed. However I have always found listening to music through headphones or leaving the TV on low puts me to sleep when all else fails. I think these help to distract me from stressful thoughts and help me reach the level of relaxation needed for sleep.

Everyone is different and needs to find their own combinations of techniques, supplements, medications etc for sound sleep but I hope some of this helps.

All the best<br /><br />Post edited by: Maff, at: 2009/08/23 21:10

Hi guys,

Thanks for all of your suggestions! I went and did some reading on this site and elsewhere about 5-HTP, melation and PS and they all seem worth a try!

Thanks cathyjay as well for you \&quot;sleep hygiene\&quot; suggestions - there certainly can't be any harm in a nice warm bath can there

Maff - I didn't realise you ran this site! What a great job! The blog you sent me to was very helpful and I read a lot of your other pages too...great stuff. I don't know how you do it with still being sick yourself but please keep it up if you can!!

Good health both!

I want to you to get out of this problem. Really sleeping disorders are very bad diseases. I also once a time was caught by this disease. First of all forget depression, don,y think too much. These are the main reason for sleeping disorders. I am suggesting you some pills. Check out more here at : Natural sleep aids
. I hope these will really work for you.