I have debilitating insomnia issues where I cannot sleepFor 4-10 night

Hello. I understand what you are going through. I am 76-years-old and have had the same thing. A couple of years ago I started watching everything that I ate. I figured out from keeping a journal that food additives and the chemicals that they put in foods were keeping me from sleep. I would be shaking on the inside and my brain just wouldn't shut down. The first culprit was MSG in Chinese foods that got me thinking. Then I started figuring out it was from other foods too. Try eating whole foods without a long list of additives. I can eat whatever I want as long as it doesn't have additives. I am very sensitive to all of them and they definitely keep me awake. Some foods are worse than others. My sleep isn't perfect now but it is much better. Give it a try and keep a journal. You never know. Hope this helps because I know how miserable we can be without sleep.

I am 69 years old and slowly since menopause, the quality of my sleep has declined. It turns out there are about 8 amino acids your body can’t produce AND you are less able to digest nutrients from food as you age. I have foud 2 amino acid supplements that have really helped.

Gaba is an amino acid that I was low in. The best way to know whether you’re GABA deficient is whether you can remember your dreams the next day. Well, I hadn’t done that in years. Apparently the trick with GABA suppleents is that you need to start low and titrate up. There are many low quality supplements out there, so beware. Also, your body metabolizes it better as a dissolveable lozenge or powder that you hold on your tongue until it dissolves. Trudy Scott is a nutrition based health practioner who does a lot of work with her patients using GABA. Google her…she has a fabulous blog and will give you an idea of what brands are best.

Secondly, I’ve had fabulous results with an amino acid Powder called Perfect Aminos. I now sleep better as a result of taking it. I stopped taking it for awhile bc I was busy and it has high protein…..which messes with me keeping track of protein per meal consumed due to osteoporosis. Also, the stevia in the flavored powder can be a bit too much for me. Long story short, I’ve been having problems with an eyelid that’s been fluttering for weeks, driving me nuts. So I tried the Perfect Aminos in with green juice to get rid of the overwhelming sweetness of Stevia, and hallelujah the eyelid stopped jumping right after that drink.

The guy who developed Perfect Aminos is an MD (in his 70’s or 80’s ) that has a lot of patients that just can’t seem to get well. He used this first for himself, to recover from an tendon injury that just wouldn’t heal—he does marathons. When several medical interventions couldn’t heal the tendon, he took this and it healed quickly. So he started using it on his patients. They claim its highly bioavailable so the protein iseasily used by the body. If you have kidney problems, I’d have your dr. look at the ingredients and the product claims to determine if it’s healthy for you. It definitely helps sleep and other problems. Some people have used it for weight loss as a partial meal replacement but I don’t need to lose weight so haven’t done that. What I also occasionally do is take a half scoop with my green juice in mid am as a snack and then another half scoop in juice mid afternoon as a snack. That way I get a full dose over the day but in smaller increments so the Stevia doesn’t get to me in one sitting. The co. that makes this is called Body Health.

Hope this helps you. It’s a God thing that I even discovered these supplements and my daily life is full of hope and energy now instead of dragging my tired butt around trying to get things done.

@mamab5
GABA is not an amino acid.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter in your central nervous system. GABA lessens the ability of a nerve cell to receive, create or send chemical messages to other nerve cells. GABA is known for producing a calming effect. It’s thought to play a major role in controlling anxiety, stress and fear. Decreased GABA levels are associated with several neurological and mental health conditions, as well as other medical conditions. Increasing GABA levels may help treat high blood pressure, diabetes and insomnia.

@mikebiker THx for correcting me. I know there around 8 essential acids but I can’t name them; not a scientist.

@katieliz Can you mention the name of the company that sells these?

@rjdowdell25 The brand that I found works for me best is Wyld. I think if you google this, places to get it will pop up. Getting this (it’s considered recreational here in Colorado, if you want medical you need a medical card. Recreational is not as strong as some medical formulations) might depend on where you live.
Not sure if there is any stigma associated with THC, etc, but when the traditional medications (Lunesta, Ambien) offered have side effects and aren't helpful, trying something else made sense to me.

I am so sorry to hear of your challenges with insomnia. At 79, I've been dealing with chronic insomnia for 50 years. Latest idea that helps is to listen to boring audio books on Audible. No offense to Mr. Churchill, but I'm finding his books on Marlborough and even World War II curiously (and delightfully) sleep-inducing. The voice actor who reads them has a beautiful baritone voice and plumey British accent. On some level, I suppose I'm absorbing a little history, which is good. (I am an English major, and somehow eluded all history courses. For the purpose of helping with insomnia, however, I recommend books in which one is not personally interested, lest one be kept awake attending to content.) Good luck!
Susan L. Golden

I have had insomnia issues since I was a small child. My kids have it. There’s isn’t as bad as mine Thank God. I have gone days and days without sleep. Once I go a full night without sleep the next few nights are sleepless too and I don’t get any more tired than I was the 1st night without sleep. Trazadone works for me. I take 150mg’s every night with 10mgs of melatonin. Works most nights. But as always not every night. Good luck

@sarg27 I have had insomnia for nearly 3 years now. Never had it before. I have a bladder condition that has burning and urgency that keeps me getting up multiple times during the night. I’m happy for you that Trazadone and melatonin has helped you! Trazadone just made me super dizzy and I would sometimes black out. Since then I started having vertigo and the bladder issue is when that really started. I’ve had migraines, pressure in my head everyday. I also have a good bit of numbness in my neck the right side of my face and around my mouth. I believe I have nerve damage from surgery I had about 2 and a half years ago. My life has been altered drastically. I have had an MRI, and CT Scan all negative. I’ve had physical therapy to manage the vertigo and imbalance due to that. I’m waiting to get approved for strength therapy. I’ve tried a number of things to help me sleep but nothing keeps me asleep for long because of the IC bladder issue. I’m very fatigued and on and on… I don’t really know what to do now? I have done a lot of research to find safer drugs to take for my condition and watch what I eat and drink and eat as healthy as I can as well as exercising at home as much as possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I’m really frustrated at this point. I believe in God and healing; prayer is the first thing I did before going to doctors.