Posted by bleauberry on November 25, 2011, at 11:26:45
In reply to Depression related insomnia. żBest med?, posted by Agomelatinehope on November 24, 2011, at 17:55:00
In terms of meds I would agree with SLS to take a look at tricyclics with focus on the more sedating ones. Ever tried amitriptyline? Nortriptyline? What about ultra low dose remeron (1mg-7.5mg)?
Anytime insomnia is an issue the first thing that comes to my mind is the word adrenaline. I simply make the assumption that for whatever reason we do not know, the adrenaline circuitry (norepinephrine, epinephrine, adrenaline, cortisol, pituitary gland, adrenal gland) is operating out of whack. Either there is too much stimulation going on, or there is not enough counteracting calming going on to balance out normal stimulation. Either way, we've got insomnia and probably depression because of those imbalances.
With that in mind, a totally different approach to treating and curing insomnia is to help the entire glandular and hormonal system find proper balance. There are a handful of adaptogen herbs that can do that and I've tried them. We're all different but my favorite is rhodiola rosea. The others were things like Eleuthero and Ashwaganda. Stay away from the ginsengs except for siberian ginseng. Good adaptogen herbs show their greatest benefits over time....weeks and months....so immediate results should not be expected.
Supplements to help the body make more of its own sleep chemicals would help lay a base foundation under everything else you do to help it all work better. I'm thinking gaba, niacinamide, glycine, magnesium, and maybe a tiny pinch of 5htp (5mg or so).
Herbs to use 2 or 3 at a time would include valerian root, lemon balm, skullcap, passionflower. These should help pretty fast if they are going to help. My experience with them is that they probably don't have the sedation to knock you out they have the calming and pre-sleep relaxation that allows sleep to come easy.
There is a lot of science behind each herb I've mentioned thus far.
Of them all however I can't say enough about rhodiola. Mileage varies and it isn't a super plant to everyone. But as long as this whole game is about trial and error and not really knowing much about why our disease is the way it is or how to fix it, rhodiola has the highest potential of anything else to help in the departments of depression, anxiety, and stress.
poster:bleauberry
thread:1003570
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111120/msgs/1003614.html