Best Time To Take Melatonin? Staying Asleep?
Posted by: Alan in Obstructive Sleep Apnea, tags: Asleep, Best, Melatonin, Staying, Take, Time
I’ve been having difficulties with sleep ever since I graduated from high school in 1999. I have been to a Sleep Doctor. Originally he diagnosed me with mild obstructive sleep apnea. I tried the CPAP but felt very clausterphobic while wearing it. I tried the life style changes they recommended with no change. I consulted a dentist regarding the dental application that pulls your bottom jaw forward a tad so your tongue doesn’t close your air way off but for some reason we didn’t find that to be a feesable option. So I went with the surgery. UPPP with tonsilectomy and minor rhinoplasty. (if you don’t know what that is, basically they remove my tonsils, adnoids, and my uvula, shorten my soft palette and then trimmed down the muscle/tissue ridges in my nose) I went back for a follow up study since I still wasn’t getting great sleep. My apnea is gone but the doctor said I “sleep with one eye open” and I can’t relax into a deep sleep so I wake up often.
Since all that occurred, I took this 3rd shift position to complicate matters further. I took melatonin previously but it didn’t make a difference. So I was wondering if there was a recommended dosage and time of day I should take it. Should it be taken when I wake up? just before bed? A short time before bed?
For more background, most times I seem to get only 3 to 4 hours of sleep at a time and after 4 to 5 hours of being awake, I am sleepy and want to go to bed again. If I sit for a while and my brain is not stimulated, then I fall asleep. I have tried almost all prescription sleep aides and OTC sleep aids. Oh they help with GETTING me to sleep… but nothing has helped with KEEPING me asleep. I have also taken the smallest dosage of Topamax to help relax me but that didn’t work either.
Thanks in advance!
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December 15th, 2009 at 6:39 am
Now with the Sleep Doctor telling you that you “sleep with one eye open” was he referring to Alpha Intrusion? Sometimes Doctor’s will treat the most serious sleep disorders and not mention other problems that are hurting a person’s sleep. As a RPSGT, I have seen many patients who have been treated for Sleep Apnea, be it CPAP, dental devices, or surgery, but when asked what they have done about there Alpha Intrusion or PLMS to help with their sleep, they will give me a blank look. When told about other sleep problems that a Sleep Study will show they will respond, “My Doctor never told me about that.” It sounds like you are still having an underlying Sleep Problem that can be treated. If it is Alpha Intrusion, it is a waking brain wave that sneaks in on your sleep, most people complain that no matter how much sleep they get they do not feel refreshed, also they can think it takes them longer to fall asleep then it actually does. This can be caused by chronic pain syndromes(fibromyalgia, arthritis) and also psychological disturbances(stress, anxiety, depression), that is why some insomniacs are better helped by a psychiatrist as mentioned by one of the other people that answered your question. Hand in hand with Alpha Intrusion is what we call Spontaneous Arousals, this is the waking up often part you mentioned. Taking care of the underlying psychological disturbance can help with that “sleeping with one eye open” and the constant arousals.
December 15th, 2009 at 7:24 am
yes,sleep well and do some skin care products, and facial masks,too.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Melatonin is best taken approximately 1 hour before bed, and you should NOT try to fight it, because it will become ineffective. Most people just take one, but I have a sleeping disorder, too, so they’ve put me on what they call a “prescription dose” of Melatonin, which is the recommended x3 (not literally I’m just saying in my particular case). Talk to your doctor and ask if it’s a good choice for you. If you’re not careful about dosage when you’re on other meds, it can spell trouble.
December 15th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Call any 24-hour pharmacy, and ask the pharmacist exactly when you should take the Melatonin.
There is a new safe med out called Ambien CR. You need a prescription for it. (No problem) The “CR” means it not only puts you to sleep, but it KEEPS you asleep. I really think that’s your best bet if the Melatonin doesn’t do the trick.
If that doesn’t work, all my insomnia patients who have seen every kind of doctor in the world get REAL HELP from psychiatrists. They are so smart, they go to school an extra 4 years, and they know more about meds than anyone. Please keep that in mind, OK?
Bless you, Sweetie, and I wish you the best of luck.