Insomnia is horrible and it can wreak havoc on all areas of your life. If you can’t sleep, you can’t think, and if you can’t think, you can’t do your job well. It puts your emotions on edge and relationships suffer. It can affect your appetite and sleep-deprived people will either eat too much or too little. Prolonged insomnia can have seriously detrimental effects on mental health, and after a while of not sleeping, people start to hallucinate.
Unfortunately, insomnia is something that many “floxies” suffer from. Fluoroquinolones inhibit the neurotransmitter GABA-A, “the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It plays the principal role in reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system.” Fluoroquinolones have similar effects on neurotransmitters to what happens when people go through benzodiazepine withdrawal–antagonism of the GABA-A receptors which leads to anxiety, psychosis, paranoia, paraesthesia, tinnitus, hypersensitivity to light and sound, tremors, suicidal ideation and tendencies, and INSOMNIA.
There is a vicious cycle when it comes to insomnia–if you can’t sleep, your anxiety and paranoia increase, which can make you even less able to sleep, and the cycle goes on.
Fortunately, many people have found relief from their insomnia. Here are some tips that people have provided for things that have helped them to sleep, and have relieved the cycle of fluoroquinolone-induced insomnia:
- Eliminate all sources of caffeine from your diet.
- Sleep in a completely dark room–either black-out your windows or set up a cot in a closet.
- Use ear-plugs.
- Melatonin.
- Visualize sleeping soundly in a peaceful place.
- Eat a banana before bed.
- EHT from Nerium.
- Cannabis.
- Eliminate alcohol from your diet.
- Calm Spirit Pills (Chinese Medicine).
- Meditation.
- Epsom salt baths.
- Borax baths.
- Baking soda baths.
- Prayer.
- A few spritz of magnesium oil spray and a couple of drops of Frankincense oil on a piece of cloth under a pillowcase.
- Kavinace PM.
- Benadryl.
- Tylenol PM.
- Herbal/Supplement sleep aids
- Honey with sea salt under the tongue.
- Valerian root.
- Low-dose naltrexone.
- EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).
- Acupuncture.
- Zinc monomethionine.
- Magnesium.
- Tart cherry juice.
- Exercise 4+ hours before bedtime.
- Cut down on salt intake.
- Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) supplement.
- No screens (computer, phone, t.v.) before bed.
- Gaia Sound Sleep.
- Natural Calm Magnesium.
- 5HTP.
- Emperor’s Tea Pills (Chinese Medicine).
- Hypnotization (through an app).
- Bioidentical progesterone.
- Ambien.
- Benzodiazepines.
- Turn off wi-fi.
- Avoid soy.
- Sleep-restriction therapy.
- Listen to the radio on a foreign station or a boring station.
- Relaxing music.
- Silva Meditation For Deep Relaxation.
- Breathing Exercises.
- Don’t eat red-meat for dinner.
I hope that these tips help you! Insomnia can be debilitating and tortuous. I hope that you find some relief from your insomnia through using some of the methods mentioned above!
Sources:
- Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, “Ciprofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity: evaluation of possible underlying mechanisms.”
- British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, “Neurotoxic effects associated with antibiotic use: management considerations”
Red Kratom in higher doses is sedating.
I’d nix the ambien unless it is a last resort. I did take zolpidem, the generic, for a couple months since I was not sleepy AT ALL, was very very sick, and had major breathing issues, but then I weaned myself off asap. But I would try all the others first for sure.
Check for parasites. My own leviquin experience just about ruined my life . I researched and came up with candidas and parasites. The leviquin was so powerful it knocked all the good bacteria out of my system allowing all the little creatures to invade. I went from horrible joint pain, uti’s, brain fog, insomnia, torn ligaments, back pain, literally ready to die. Now I sleep like a baby with no medications involved. It’s been a horrible journey but all of you can do it.
This really should be included in the article as it is almost for sure another root cause for some Floxies, the Fluorine from the Cipro gets into the Pineal Gland (and in fact it has been said by at least one expert it is “drawn to that Gland” maybe more than any other place in the body, and calcifies it), and reduces Melatonin production, which of course ruins quality of sleep AND screws up the sleep cycle both causing Insomnia.
So Melatonin IMO is VERY important, and I am quite sure I have read that Melatonin is ALSO a free radical scavenger (acts as Antioxidant) and will help protect against Fluoride damage, so another reason to raise levels back up, it may even help chelate it. (Can’t remember for sure just how accurate these are but I believe I am right here)
——
Some studies on Pineal Gland linked here:
http://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/pineal-gland/
“studies have found that calcified deposits in the pineal are associated with decreased numbers of functioning pinealocytes and reduced melatonin production (Kunz et al., 1999) as well as impairments in the sleep-wake cycle. (Mahlberg 2009).”
Because we have a string of problems including joints , tendons,thyroid and because we may sleep on our back, front or side, I think having the right support is essential. This includes the right type of mattress and pillows, also a body pillow may take the strain from limbs and joints. Temperature building up can also make a difference. I imagine its all experimental until you get it just right for you.
Here are my tips I have posted in older articles, and I will not Anxiety and Insomnia VERY often go together, so things that help one can often help the other
http://www.naturalnews.com/026605_fluoride_fluorides_detox.html
This article shares some important tips (references are not great in it, though, very incomplete) on using Iodine and Borax to chelate Fluoride from the body. The one thing this article incorrectly omits is the importance of taking Antioxidants in any detox
I include this here because the other important thing this article points out is how Fluoride screws up the Pineal Gland (much like the Thyroid Gland) which screws up Melatonin production which causes Insomnia.
So there are IMO at least FOUR BIG common root causes here for Insomnia for Floxies and very easily someone could have all 4 issues: GUT issues, having the Pineal Gland screwed over by Fluorine AND having Gaba/Glutamate balance thrown off, and Fluorine/Fluoride stripping Magnesium right out of cells. There is likely more I am forgetting, but these 4 will be very common.
I had very bad Insomnia at the beginning myself (I already had some pre-Flox too) and I
took lots of Melatonin along with a few other things and they all helped a lot, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I TOOK MANY THINGS ALL AT ONCE. I have to stress this point, because any Floxies who think taking one or two things is going to curb Floxie Insomnia are sadly mistaken, this is a severe infliction, and thus severe measures need to be taken, high amounts of MANY supplements to try and counter the gross imbalances created by the Drug. (including robbing Magnesium as mentioned which is relaxing to system)
So I am very sure I would have got a LOT less sleep without these things I took, and only because I took about TEN things total did they probably help (which eventually as I healed and Fluorine toxicity was alleviated I was able to taper them down more and more to finally nothing) . I tried taking less and/or smaller doses, and I would have to get up after an hour and take something else or more of something, again and again until finally I would fall asleep. I eventually learned that a LOT of stuff in large amounts was the only way I could get sleep when the Insomnia was at its worst, and took those an hour before bed so I would not have to keep getting up. Here is some of the things I took/did, probably in order of importance (sometimes several of them would be included in one supplement)
– Chelate Fluoride and avoid more exposure
– Heal your Gut – Get testing if necessary (though it is often inaccurate)
– Diet/Supplements – No caffeine, no stimulants of any kind, no junk food, etc
– Magnesium definitely – It is calming and robbed from body, take LOTS and good forms!!!
– Melatonin – Also very important IMO see above
– Gaba & L-Theanine (by countering Glutamate the tired and wired type of Insomnia)
– Cherry Tart juice (adds to Melatonin again, I took this ON TOP of Melatonin supplements)
Notice those are addressing root causes, then I also used more things as well:
– Valerian Root
– 5-htp
– L-Theanine
– Passion Flower
– Hyland’s Calms Forte (homeopathy)
– Lavender aromatherapy
– Lemon Balm
– Hops
– Catnip Herb
How about trazodone? anyone get help from this drug? it is not benzo…
For those who struggle with insomnia and/or anxiety, this may be helpful.
“Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm) being both carminative and antispasmodic, is active specifically on that part of the vagus nerve which may interfere with the harmonious functioning of the heart and the stomach. Recent experiments at the University of Heidelberg have confirmed that the action of the volatile oil begins within the limbic system of the brain and subsequently operates directly upon the vagus nerve and all of the organs that are innervated by it. Accordingly, neurasthenia (complete nervous prostration), migraine, and nervous gastropathy are amenable to its healing power.”
Just in looking through amazon, the reviews on this are interesting – https://smile.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Melissa-Capsules-100-Count/dp/B00020HQU0/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1478573160&sr=8-3&keywords=Melissa+officinalis+%28Lemon+Balm%29
I’m going to add something here that might be a little controversial, but if it helps someone, then it’s worth it. I had a neurotoxic reaction to another antibiotic called metronidazole, and it appears that it causes the same CNS problems as floxed patients, by affecting GABA. One thing I suggest to other patients with metronidazole toxicity who have horrible insomnia that can’t be treated with natural means, is to try an antidepressant called mirtazapine. I know it’s a drug and it’s not a solution for everyone, but it was a life-saver for me. I know a few other people with MT toxicity who have also had improved sleep because of it. It’s taken at bedtime and has a sedating quality to it. My biggest suggestion is to start slow–I literally never even took the lowest dose because it was just that strong–I started with half of that dose.
Will the insomnia end? I was floxed Oct 2017, and up until last week was able to fall asleep, but only for 4 hours.
Now there is no sleep at all, period. Started taking ambien, which is leaving me a bit foggy, but I have no other options, nothing is working!
I’ve read a bit about GABA and Cipro causing issues with it. Does this repair?
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