Favorite OTC for sleep

Please advise me of your favorite sleep med OTC.  Intrusive thoughts keep my brain spinning.

My experience indicates that OTC sleep aids have never had any effect at all on me. Zero. The only ones that work are prescription meds, and they got us here in the first place. I took Xanax for sleeplessness for 15 years, and I slept great every night. When I quit Xanax, the sleeplessness returned. I have learned to lay still in bed and think of traveling up the Nile and seeing the Egyptian monuments. I add as much detail to the journey as I can. Smells, sounds, feeling breezes, the warm water. I don’t think I sleep very much but time passes faster and I do get some rest. it keeps my mind on pleasant thoughts. It’s the best I can do. Good luck to you!

So far ive had zero luck with OTC meds.... you might try Kava, my friends are trying to get me to start smoking pot...sigh...

melatonin and benadryl. if that doesn't work a script for 15 mgs remeron is a bomb

None

Time-released melatonin with 5-HTP along with L-tryptophan puts me right out, but I am pretty much recovered by now, so my wall of insomnia is more or less crumbled away.

I am trying to figure out what is safe to take if you are experiencing PAWS. What doesn't act on GABA?

I take 25 mgs. of Trazodone, a prescription med., it worked great at first and leveled me during the day, but doesn't work as well any more.  (tolerance)

Good lord i felt HORRIBLE on Trazadone, and literally the worst on SEREQUOL. Ive never felt so bad in my life the morning after those drugs. I mine as well drank a fifth of tequilla.  Each person responds different to all this garbage ive learned.

There are a few things that have worked well for me, although not much is working these days.

 

Cetirizine (Zyrtec)

Aspirin with calcium (calcium works well alone if I take a lot of it.)

doxylamine

Benadryl helps me relax, but not really sleep.

 

Relora helps quite a bit (it's magnolia bark). 

Jujube fruit is one of my favorites (Swanson brand). 

 

The thing that helps most is gabapentin, but I only take if about once a week, 100 mg, but it's a prescription.

Trazadone works okay, but it only works once in a great while.  It doesn't make me feel bad.

Now taking Benadryl 25mg and Melatonin. Alternated days.

 

Anyone has any suggesttion? How is Ashwaganda, Chamomile Tea?

I take 3 Hops capsules and I'm out in 25 minutes. When I wake up the next day, I feel great. No hangover.

I drink Chamole tea every night, I use two bags and steep them for about 15 min. I do this about 45 min before bed and have found it works well.

You need to try somehow deal with intrusive thoughts first, if they are causing insomnia. I have intrusive thoughts, until recently was sleeping but didn’t help the anxiety or intrusive thoughts. Recently had prolonged stomach bug which now caused insomnia come back. I’m trying something from Amazon called sleep, gummies, only been couple days so don’t know yet, but contain lavender, chamomile and whole host other natural stuff. Try have a wind down routine, I always read in bed fir about half an hour.