I sleep much better - I wonder if this is the reason...

I read (see article below) that Benzo withdrawal has to do with not enough GABA.  Also, it says the body cannot make GABA without Zinc and vitamin B6. 

 

Even though I take a multi-vitamin in the morning, I took supplemental Zinc and Vit B6 before bed and again at 3am.  I slept better than I have in months.

 

Here is the article  http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/how-to-increase-gaba-and-balance-glutamate/

Zinc and Selenium are supposed to promote sleep.  However, for me and most other people, nothing short of an Rx drug will work in the "thick" of your withdrawal. 

 

You are still very early in your withdrawal and things could be UP and DOWN for some time with symptoms and sleep, but they will eventually even out and you will heal.

 

Glad it is working for you and thanks for sharing.

Bob7, Quite an amazing article. Think I am finally convinced to do strict Paleo diet for month to see if there is improvement.  Thank you!

I read (see article below) that Benzo withdrawal has to do with not enough GABA.  Also, it says the body cannot make GABA without Zinc and vitamin B6. 

 

Even though I take a multi-vitamin in the morning, I took supplemental Zinc and Vit B6 before bed and again at 3am.  I slept better than I have in months.

 

Here is the article  http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/how-to-increase-gaba-and-balance-glutamate/

 

Interesting, Bob.  What dose of Zinc and Vit B6 are you taking?

I normally take a multivitamin every morning so that does give me 100% of the daily recommended amount of Zinc and B Vitamins.  However it must not be enough to use GABA due to this benzo nightmare.

 

So I bought a separate supplement to take a couple of hours before bed for Zinc and vitamin B.  I’m not at home right now but I’ll try to go from memory. I think the zinc supplement gives four hundred percent of the recommended daily allowance. I take half before bed and other half in the middle of the night.  That seems very high so I think I’ll try to cut back on it.  I also do the same with the B vitamin complex pill which gives 100% of the various B vitamins. I’ll try to update this message when I get home with the exact numbers. 

 

It worked again last night very well.

 

Just a word of caution with B vitamins.  They can be a type of stimulant and ramp up symptoms for some.  Just experiment around if you want to see how they will affect you.

 

Also, Gaba supplements are a complete waste of money as they CANNOT cross the blood-brain barrier and will have ZERO affect on your Gaba.

 

There are also good posts on this forum that list supplements that could possibly affect you during withdrawal.  After you do some healing, you can begin to introduce supplements that might have set you off earlier.

 

Good luck.

Just a word of caution with B vitamins.  They can be a type of stimulant and ramp up symptoms for some.  Just experiment around if you want to see how they will affect you.

 

Also, Gaba supplements are a complete waste of money as they CANNOT cross the blood-brain barrier and will have ZERO affect on your Gaba.

 

There are also good posts on this forum that list supplements that could possibly affect you during withdrawal.  After you do some healing, you can begin to introduce supplements that might have set you off earlier.

 

Good luck.

Thanks for the clarifications because I agree with you nobody should take GABA supplements.

The article I referred says that your brain cannot make sufficient quantities of GABA unless you have enough B vitamins and zinc.  I do think that is my problem. But I need to continue to experiment with how much zinc and B vitamins.

 

Pls keep us updated.  I did this combo and it worked great for a week but then it lost its effects.

As promised I looked up the actual doses.

 

I had 3 nights with just increasing Vitamin B at night and it did help.  The Vitamin B is call Super B-Complex by Finest Nutrition. It has all the B vitamins at 100% daily recommended values plus some Folic acid and Pantothenic Acid and Biotin.

 

Two nights ago, I added Zinc 25 mg 2 hours before bed and 25 mg at like 3am.  It did help too.  HOWEVER, that is too much zinc.  My tummy hurts.  It might be worth a sore tummy to get the sleep but I will now try to see if I can get by on much less Zinc and still sleep well. 

 

I do think the Zinc and Vit B complex is allowing GABA to be created in my brain and letting me finally feel like sleeping.  I am even cutting back on some of the items I show in my signature (except I am holding on to the Magnesium Glycinate).  These last few night, I put my head down and in 15 minutes, I feel like sleeping and feel good about sleeping most of the night.

 

As promised I looked up the actual doses.

 

I had 3 nights with just increasing Vitamin B at night and it did help.  The Vitamin B is call Super B-Complex by Finest Nutrition. It has all the B vitamins at 100% daily recommended values plus some Folic acid and Pantothenic Acid and Biotin.

 

Two nights ago, I added Zinc 25 mg 2 hours before bed and 25 mg at like 3am.  It did help too.  HOWEVER, that is too much zinc.  My tummy hurts.  It might be worth a sore tummy to get the sleep but I will now try to see if I can get by on much less Zinc and still sleep well. 

 

I do think the Zinc and Vit B complex is allowing GABA to be created in my brain and letting me finally feel like sleeping.  I am even cutting back on some of the items I show in my signature (except I am holding on to the Magnesium Glycinate).  These last few night, I put my head down and in 15 minutes, I feel like sleeping and feel good about sleeping most of the night.

 

Thanks Bob.

I’m looking into 5htp.  Will let you know if there’s anything to it.

 

Btw, I like the meditation you recommended.  Her voice puts me right out!

As promised I looked up the actual doses.

 

I had 3 nights with just increasing Vitamin B at night and it did help.  The Vitamin B is call Super B-Complex by Finest Nutrition. It has all the B vitamins at 100% daily recommended values plus some Folic acid and Pantothenic Acid and Biotin.

 

Two nights ago, I added Zinc 25 mg 2 hours before bed and 25 mg at like 3am.  It did help too.  HOWEVER, that is too much zinc.  My tummy hurts.  It might be worth a sore tummy to get the sleep but I will now try to see if I can get by on much less Zinc and still sleep well. 

 

I do think the Zinc and Vit B complex is allowing GABA to be created in my brain and letting me finally feel like sleeping.  I am even cutting back on some of the items I show in my signature (except I am holding on to the Magnesium Glycinate).  These last few night, I put my head down and in 15 minutes, I feel like sleeping and feel good about sleeping most of the night.

 

Thanks Bob.

I’m looking into 5htp.  Will let you know if there’s anything to it.

 

Btw, I like the meditation you recommended.  Her voice puts me right out!

I think 5htp is useful for mild cases of depression.  It has worked for me when I had some mild depression. But when my depression was real bad I had to take Celexa.  The actor Jim Carrey seems to think highly of 5-HTP-look for him on YouTube by searching his name and the word depression.

Five HTP may help with sleep but i’ve never tried that.

I normally take a multivitamin every morning so that does give me 100% of the daily recommended amount of Zinc and B Vitamins.  However it must not be enough to use GABA due to this benzo nightmare.

 

So I bought a separate supplement to take a couple of hours before bed for Zinc and vitamin B.  I’m not at home right now but I’ll try to go from memory. I think the zinc supplement gives four hundred percent of the recommended daily allowance. I take half before bed and other half in the middle of the night.  That seems very high so I think I’ll try to cut back on it.  I also do the same with the B vitamin complex pill which gives 100% of the various B vitamins. I’ll try to update this message when I get home with the exact numbers. 

 

It worked again last night very well.

 

So you are saying that you take Vitamin B Complex right before bed?  I always thought that Vitamin B gave a person more energy therefore those were supposed to be taken in the morning.  Hmmmm.  Please let us know what brand you are taking, etc.  I am willing to try anything.  I am pretty desperate along with many of us.  Thank you. 

I normally take a multivitamin every morning so that does give me 100% of the daily recommended amount of Zinc and B Vitamins.  However it must not be enough to use GABA due to this benzo nightmare.

 

So I bought a separate supplement to take a couple of hours before bed for Zinc and vitamin B.  I’m not at home right now but I’ll try to go from memory. I think the zinc supplement gives four hundred percent of the recommended daily allowance. I take half before bed and other half in the middle of the night.  That seems very high so I think I’ll try to cut back on it.  I also do the same with the B vitamin complex pill which gives 100% of the various B vitamins. I’ll try to update this message when I get home with the exact numbers. 

 

It worked again last night very well.

 

So you are saying that you take Vitamin B Complex right before bed?  I always thought that Vitamin B gave a person more energy therefore those were supposed to be taken in the morning.  Hmmmm.  Please let us know what brand you are taking, etc.  I am willing to try anything.  I am pretty desperate along with many of us.  Thank you. 

Yes, I too used to think Vit B was to give us energy but perhaps when you need to create GABA, it is more important for that function.  I take about 10mg of Zinc at bed and again at 3am.  The Vitamin B complex is called "Super B-Complex by Finest Nutrition". It has all the B vitamins at 100% daily recommended values plus some Folic acid and Pantothenic Acid and Biotin.

The zinc I took is from Walmart and seems to work.  But I read "Zinc Picolinate" is supposed to be better so I ordered it from Amazon.  In any case, you must break the Zinc tablet up to get only 10 mg at a time.  The dose right out of the bottle is so large I got tummy aches from it (minor tummy ache).  When I cut back to only 10mg of Zinc I was fine.

 

I am experimenting with the best time to take the Zinc and B complex.  Certainly 30 minutes before bed works but I have been increasing that so tonight I am trying 3 hours before bed with the idea it gives my body more time to make GABA.  I also take it when I wake up again at 3am. 

 

So in short...

Before bed, 10 mg Zinc and 1/2 of the B complex tablet.

Around 2 or 3am, another 10 mg Zinc and 1/2 of the B complex tablet.

 

THIS REALLY SEEMS TO BE HELPING ME.

 

Just a word of caution with B vitamins.  They can be a type of stimulant and ramp up symptoms for some.  Just experiment around if you want to see how they will affect you.

 

Also, Gaba supplements are a complete waste of money as they CANNOT cross the blood-brain barrier and will have ZERO affect on your Gaba.

 

There are also good posts on this forum that list supplements that could possibly affect you during withdrawal.  After you do some healing, you can begin to introduce supplements that might have set you off earlier.

 

Good luck.

 

ThEwAy2-

What do you know about 5htp?  I took it last night and slept a miraculous 7 hours. 

Thank you.

It works for some for awhile.  It didn't help me.  Not sure how long it will keep working.  It is pretty safe so keep taking it if you need to and it helps. 

I read (see article below) that Benzo withdrawal has to do with not enough GABA.  Also, it says the body cannot make GABA without Zinc and vitamin B6. 

 

Even though I take a multi-vitamin in the morning, I took supplemental Zinc and Vit B6 before bed and again at 3am.  I slept better than I have in months.

 

Here is the article  http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/how-to-increase-gaba-and-balance-glutamate/

 

You can get all the required vitamins and nutrients from a good balance and clean food diet. Most supplements are HIGHLY not recommended per most Benzo tapering articles I've come across. I was taking every vitamin and supplements you can imagine, thinking I was deficient in most everything going through my "unknown" tolerance to Benzos stage, only to find out it was making things worse! I stopped them all after having a blood test and nutrients test and was only depleted in Cooper? BTW-I had lost 50 lbs going through tolerance and wiithdraw!

Thought for sure I was dying of something! If you have an appetite and can eat a variety of fruits, vegetables and protein, you'll get all the required vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Unless specifically diagnosed with a vitamin defenciency, try to avoid ALL supplements, as they just add money to unproven companies in this field...Too each hi is own though. I'm Not a doctor, or a health professional. Just adding my 2 cents from past trial and mainly error...

Thanks for Sharing Riley!

It’s interesting to see this post, as I have seen effects from B vitamins during my withdrawal as well. I am one of those people who have tried EVERYTHING. B complexes have seemed to help me to sleep as well, though I’m unsure which of the ingredients is the one or two that helps. I don’t take them regularly though because I feel like I’ve noticed a rebound effect a few days later. One constant for me is a sublingual B12 at bedtime, it seems to immediately make me very sleepy, though the effects don’t last long.

It’s interesting to see this post, as I have seen effects from B vitamins during my withdrawal as well. I am one of those people who have tried EVERYTHING. B complexes have seemed to help me to sleep as well, though I’m unsure which of the ingredients is the one or two that helps. I don’t take them regularly though because I feel like I’ve noticed a rebound effect a few days later. One constant for me is a sublingual B12 at bedtime, it seems to immediately make me very sleepy, though the effects don’t last long.

There is a medical condition called Pyroluria which seems to be related to poor Gaba due to lack of Zinc and Vit B.

I am going to read up on it.

 

Following

I normally take a multivitamin every morning so that does give me 100% of the daily recommended amount of Zinc and B Vitamins.  However it must not be enough to use GABA due to this benzo nightmare.

 

So I bought a separate supplement to take a couple of hours before bed for Zinc and vitamin B.  I’m not at home right now but I’ll try to go from memory. I think the zinc supplement gives four hundred percent of the recommended daily allowance. I take half before bed and other half in the middle of the night.  That seems very high so I think I’ll try to cut back on it.  I also do the same with the B vitamin complex pill which gives 100% of the various B vitamins. I’ll try to update this message when I get home with the exact numbers. 

 

It worked again last night very well.

 

So you are saying that you take Vitamin B Complex right before bed?  I always thought that Vitamin B gave a person more energy therefore those were supposed to be taken in the morning.  Hmmmm.  Please let us know what brand you are taking, etc.  I am willing to try anything.  I am pretty desperate along with many of us.  Thank you. 

Yes, I too used to think Vit B was to give us energy but perhaps when you need to create GABA, it is more important for that function.  I take about 10mg of Zinc at bed and again at 3am.  The Vitamin B complex is called "Super B-Complex by Finest Nutrition". It has all the B vitamins at 100% daily recommended values plus some Folic acid and Pantothenic Acid and Biotin.

The zinc I took is from Walmart and seems to work.  But I read "Zinc Picolinate" is supposed to be better so I ordered it from Amazon.  In any case, you must break the Zinc tablet up to get only 10 mg at a time.  The dose right out of the bottle is so large I got tummy aches from it (minor tummy ache).  When I cut back to only 10mg of Zinc I was fine.

 

I am experimenting with the best time to take the Zinc and B complex.  Certainly 30 minutes before bed works but I have been increasing that so tonight I am trying 3 hours before bed with the idea it gives my body more time to make GABA.  I also take it when I wake up again at 3am. 

 

So in short...

Before bed, 10 mg Zinc and 1/2 of the B complex tablet.

Around 2 or 3am, another 10 mg Zinc and 1/2 of the B complex tablet.

 

THIS REALLY SEEMS TO BE HELPING ME.

 

Many thanks for your suggestions!