I cannot sleep.

Weird dreams ????  !!!!!  I am going to try my first dose tonight , thanks so much for writing back.

Anna

Some people will have weird dreams on Melatonin, but they go away after a week or so. For sleep, here are some dose ideas:

trouble falling asleep? take a sub-lingual (melts under tongue) 1-3mg

trouble staying asleep? try a time-release, also 1-3

for sleep, they say start melatonin at the smallest dose and see how it works. If you buy the 1mg's and its not enough, you can take 3.

Melatonin as a breast cancer preventative /tumor shrinker has been tested for years in Europe. My naturpath doc has me on 20mg per night. I take that AND the 2.5 sub-lingual.

Magnesium. Many people are deficient and women especially are often not getting all their calcium absorbed because they don't have enough Magnesium. I am never constipated and can take 650mg of powdered Natural Calm in water every night without a change in my bowels. Everyone is different, so you will need to experiment.

Calm's Forte is a homeopathic, very mild, gentle safe. Even for kids. Works for some, but many with severe problems won't feel anything. Does nothing for me.

I worked at a very good health food store in the vitamin/supplements section for 2 years, so I have alot of personal experience and feedback from customers on many things. Happy to offer my opinion on brands, etc. But I am not a medical professional. Your average medical professional knows nothing about supplements!

Sleep is a complicated issue. Looking to the cause may be your best hope. If it is anxious thoughts and "monkey mind", then getting up and writing things down, bio-feedback and restorative yoga before bed will likely help.

If it's hormone driven...that is chemical and figuring out how to adjust those body chemicals is the best best.

Not eating 2 hours before bed and daily exercise will help no matter what the cause.

I feel your pain, ladies. I have struggled with this for 12 years. When i lay down at night, the cancer goblins come in and tease my brain. The only thing that seems to chase them away is thinking about sex (I am single...sigh...and not dating) so I hope to fall asleep before they creep into my brain. i hope this will pass, the farther I get away from my BC experience.

Anna,

      It is a small world. My husband is also a carpenter and The FireChief for Boothbay, poor guy he has had a tough year with me and then that major fire a Washburn!!!  plus they had the fire convention here in town in Sept. So it was a crazy year for him. We actually live on BartersIsland.

I used to own a restraunt in town for 10 yrs called NO Anchovies. The last few years I have worked at China By The Sea. I had to give up my job due to all the SE I got and still have from this long road. I made it through th A/C and thought okay I can do this but the Abraxane and herceptin just gave me such bad nerve pain and I am still dealing with it. I have worked all my life and this drives me crazy. I have 7 more Herceptins to go if my Muga holds up which I have had major problems with. Then I am going to Boston for Reconstruction DIEP. I have always considered myself a strong person but this has brought me to my knees. Enough of me feeling sorry for myself.

     Yes St.Andrews is a dream hospital where else do they serve you Lobster Rolls!!!!!! It makes me so mad when people say stuff about the BandAide Hospital, its so insulting to that hospital cause they have always been on top of things with me or any family member and they transfer you right out if need be. My Son had Basilar Arterie Migrains which through him into stroke like seizures and I will tell you I don't know what I would have done without there help. And making sure he was stable enough to transfer him. See I go on and on sorry.

    Wilson Chapel is one of the prettiest places to get married!!!! I bet you have some beutiful photos!!! Ocean point is so relaxing I love going there by myself and just sit on the rocks it takes all the troubles away.

When I took meletonin I took 2-3mg tablets not the extended release does not work as good. I hope this helps. I just got some MAG. and thanks to reading these posts I am in hopes it will help my leg and back issues.

                                      Take care and wishing you sweet-dreams!!!!

                                                     For Us All!!!!!

Wow and I thought Iwas the only one not sleeping. It must be a whole combination of things that are causing this. From meds to anxiety. Just when we NEED our sleep and rest. I woke up at 12:45 a.m. this morning and that was it for me. My Doc gave me some Ambien, which I'll try tonight. It's 6 p.m. and I'm tired already. Unfortunately reading these posts it looks like it doesn't work for too many ladies here. Three hours is the longest I've ever slept in a row and then it's every hour looking at the clock. UGH! That gets old real fast. The lack of sleep in turn gives me painful back spasms because my bodies in a knot fromnot sleeping. Oh the joys.I don't know what I'd do if I ever slept 6 or 8 hours. I'll probably think I died or something. Hope you all find good rest eventually,

Artsee

Twirlgirl you mentioned :

Magnesium. Many people are deficient and women especially are often not getting all their calcium absorbed because they don't have enough Magnesium. I am never constipated and can take 650mg of powdered Natural Calm in water every night without a change in my bowels. Everyone is different, so you will need to experiment.

What is 650mg of powdered Natural Calm? is it magnesium, calcium or something else? I am looking for calcium in a form that may not contribute to constipation---have reduced iron in the multi vitamin which has helped, but I think calcium is also part of the problem. Really need to get calcium and am starting to look into other options besides the food store.  Any ideas?

Karen..  I know what a jounrey indeed!! i am goin on three weeks post op and still cannot sleep with out taking ether a 1/2 xanax or a Ambien CR. I have always had issues with constipation and take magnesium and some Fiber Smart powder from the health food store. The anxiety is my issue with this whole ordeal and usually happens at night.

I will need chemo and will imagine sleep will be a issue during this process also. I was on a customized melatonin creme and my oncologist said to get off this creme as it is considered a hormone. The creme worked for me and liked it . But if it could interfere with  the upcoming chemo, i am obeying her!

Praying we can get some restful nights and consistently!!

Donna, I would get another opinion on the melatonin during chemo. I took it during rads, and my doctors did not seem to object. Yes, it is a hormone, but it is shown to actually prevent cancer, not cause it. It is much safer to take a natural sleep aid than a chemical to help you sleep.

Vivre  and twirlgirl.. totally agree about the melatonin and got so confused as the oncoloigist tells me I need chemo and then get off of the melatonin as they are not aware of it as most naturpath;s do. I am goin to go back to it after a period of time as IF I am with this DR., i want to do it her way..FOR NOW!

I am all for the natural versus chemicals and just want this all over so I can get back to restoring and rebuidling. The chemo part is just scary to me and not looking forward to it.

Thanks for the great info!!!

Donna, one of the best books I read while going though treatments was by Dr. Ray Strand,
"What your doctor doesn't know about nutrition may be killing you"

You can read some of it on his website.

He talks a lot about the lack of doctor training in nutrition and supplements and cites many cases where people did better on chemo by adding supplements. He says that they keep the good cells strong while they do not help cancer cells to survive, which is what most doctors are led to believe. I believe that I came through rads with very little burning and no fatique because I exercised daily, ate well and took some supplements, including melatonin. I had a hard time sleeping, and I felt it was better to use something natural than something chemical.

EWB, I am really feeling great a year after treatments. I started reading constantly during treatments on good health, every book I could find about prevention of breast cancer. I also found a great chiropractor who is a guru with nutrition and supplements, when my doctors offered no help. They have one nutrittionist in the onc department, who has group seminars but I wanted it to be more personal. This chiro helped me tremendously. I lost 35 lbs, just by choosing healthy foods and daily exercise. She does blood tests to make sure  I am getting the proper nutrition. I also keep reading and reading. I find that books are my incentive. They reinforce good health and keep me motivated to keep it up, not to mention the fact that I look and feel better than I did before. Good luck!

Are you not supposed to take Magnesium with dairy??? I take mine with milk every evening. And it is a laxative for me!

D

EWB~ like Virve, I have been reading like a mad woman since my dx. But I have to say, I grew up with health nut parents and for my whole adult life 20+ years, have always studied nutrition and supplements on my own. Then I worked in a great store selling them and went to many trainings and learned alot from my customers as well.

A book I use as reference I think is worth every penny (about $30) and I use it often, is Healthy Healing by Linda Page. she is a Naturopath doctor. It is very comprehensive. Many larger health food stores have an info kiosk with a computer system that allows you to search a huge data base for specific supplements, aliments and will give info on potential interactions between meds and supplements. Will also tell you what foods might interact with supplements and make them less effective. Call around in your area and see what store has one of those.

As to finding a guru, not a quack...well I found my cancer-specific Naturopath from my surgeon's office staff, actually. Sometimes there is a nurse or patient's advocate that does referrals for other things like support groups, etc. They sent me to a great place for complementary care.

Where do you live? I am part of an online community for healthy living and healing that also has lots of resources. If you go there and join (its free, like this site) you can post a question and anyone who lives in your state will chime in with info to help you find someone good. It's truely a wonderful, welcoming community. Here is the web address:

www.my.crazysexylife.com

 And on the Magnesium, its is often in your Cal-Mag_VitD mixes, but not enough Mag. And if you want to help with sleep, the Natural Calm is so quick to take effect. More Mag is not going to be bad for you, it will help your Calcium absorb better.

best wishes~

Elaine~ If you go on craxysexy, look me up and say hi!

I'm Tay.

 I just ordered the Calm's Forte!!! How many should I start with and how long before bed if anyone can suggest?! Can Natural Calm be takened with this as well ?