Posted by morgan miller on January 23, 2011, at 14:40:44
In reply to ...for sleep quality... » morgan miller, posted by BetweenDreams81 on January 23, 2011, at 11:07:55
The thing about Ambien is that it is a hypnotic, it does not really do anything to the mind and body that enhances sleep quality. Ambien has been given to people that were in a mostly vegetative state for years and were miraculously brought out of that state. Cases of this have been reported world wide. Anderson Cooper did a segment on one patient that experienced this when he was doing 60 minutes.
I think melatonin can be very effective, subtle sometimes, but effective. Magnesium can be helpful too(just stay away from the oxide form, it's not as well absorbed as the rest). I don't think either of these or any other sleep aid will have any effect on your meds. Ashwagandha and Bacopa could possibly interact in some way as they may impact certain neurotransmitters. Magnesium, melatonin, and amino acids like tryptophan and glycine effect neurotransmitters, but I believe in a subtle and more supportive way. Thing is, ambien effects GABA, a neurotransmitter, so it could conceivably interact with your meds as well. Many meds impact GABA receptors, just in different ways. Many times the suppmements or medications we take that all effect neurotransmitters compliment eachother. In the beginning of treatment, and throughout treatment, doctors are more concerned about treating the symptoms and stabilizing a patient more than how each drug may be interacting with each other. If the patient feels better and is stable, this is the priority. Besides, they know exactly what is going on with each medication, if they really thought there was an issue, they would, at least hopefully, do something about it. I think serotonin syndrome is one of the main concerns with doctors. I wish doctors had extensive knowledge of herbs and supplements, I think they would be fine with their patients taking a lot alternative treatments with their medications. I just find it funny that they mix all sorts of medications with their patients' treatment but always advice their patients to not mix herbs and supplements with their medications. If it were not for all the research that was done on fish oil omega 3s and all the evidence of potential benefits, doctors might be saying to their patients to be careful about supplementing with them. This is just one example I can think of. Sorry for the ramble.
Often times people use a sleep cocktail of 3 or 4 or more different herbs and supplements to help them sleep. You may see many of these well known herb and supplement remedies put together in sleep formulations by supplement companies. Here's a list of what I know to be helpful for sleep and maybe you can do a little research on them.
Melatonin-I prefer a 6 or 8 hour timed release version
Magnesium-Glycinate form may be best
Glycine-inhibitory amino acid-improves deep sleep
Lemon Balm
Passion Flower
Scullcap
Theanine-amino acid found in green tea-Jarrow and other brands sell the patented and and maybe superior SunTheanine form
Ashwagandha-Sensoril may be the best form-it's sold by several supplement companies. Himalaya and Avesta also sell good Ashwagandha's.
Bacopa-TheraVeda makes a good Bacopa supplement for sleep
poster:morgan miller
thread:977589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20101202/msgs/977766.html