going to bed for the night consistently

Yes, please keep us updated @Tart Cherry Jam - my husband used to abuse Ritalin so I don't know if it can be addictive or not.

My sleeping has been better with the new mask, but I still don't feel rested enough. I feel like I am not getting enough sleep. Sometimes during the day I can be really tired, but I think it's because of the GOLO diet pills I started taking. My doctor warned against it, yet she was on board to put me on the Ozempic which causes even worse health problems, the side effects are so dangerous. At least these pills are plant based, they just make me tired, so I have been taking less.

Aiming for an 11pm bedtime tonight - Sweet dreams everyone!

11 pm here too.

The first two days on Ritalin have been good. I would take Ritalin later in the day after sleepiness would set in.

On Tuesday, I took it 45 mins before a meal as advised and it was effective 10 mins later. In the evening, my blood pressure was actually low as happens to me from time to time. It was bot high. Ritalin can cause sped up heart rate and elevated blood pressure. It does not do that to me, maybe because I am on the smallest dose.

It removes sleepiness without causing hypomania. It just removes sleepiness and that is it. It does not cause me to become hyper focused or elated.

So far no side effects but of course it is too early to tell.

Tomorrow I will take it first thing in the morning, trying it preventatively and not as a PRN.

LadyShadow, with sizes 16-18, I wonder what motivated your physician to suggest Ozempic? I do not believe that you qualify for Ozempic based on your body dimensions. Or is your glucose or glycated hemoglobin high?

I do not know about your particular diet pills, but I do want to warn against believing that plant-based means safe. Many of the poisons used across millenia to murder people were actually plant-based or, speaking more broadly, natural.

And I myself am a case in point and a cautionary tale. I opted for Lithium in the past, in part because it is natural. Lithium is a naturally occurring salt. And yet, Lithium killed my thyroid function for good. I have been off Lithium for many years and yet I still have to take Levoxyl, a synthetic thyroid hormone, to compensate. And this is for life.

After many trials of experimenting with different medicines, I am stable now on a low-to-medium dose of antipsychotic Geodon which was developed in a lab. Geodon at this low dose produces no side effects. Plus, it works for me far better than Lithium did.

So between natural Lithium and lab-developed Geodon, Geodon is the clear winner in my particular case.

I wish I had not been going for naturalness in the past. It would have saved my thyroid function. Prior to Lithium, I had never had thyroid dysfunction.

Oh well. But do keep in mind that plant-based and natural can be harmful.

It can be - there is a warning on it about that possibility. I just do not have an addictive personality.

Today I started with one pill of Ritalin in the morning and it was not enough. Then I took another and that one was effective only after a delay. Since the effect kicked in, though, I have had a really good day.

I am afraid that I might need a higher dosage. But at the same time, it could be that Ritalin only works for me when taken later in the day. I will experiment more. On Saturday I will see the pdoc to discuss the preliminary observations with him.

These GOLO pills work really well for me @Tart Cherry Jam - I take them sparingly during the day not exceeding one or two a day. They have some really good reviews, and honestly, I don't see myself continuing to take them after I've lost enough weight. My doctor wanted to put me on Ozempic, because she thinks I'm too heavy even though I am around a size 18 right now, she's crazy in my opinion, I think I'm doing alright.

Stayed up all night last night talking to an old friend I haven't spoken to in 4 years, it was really nice, but it messed up my whole sleep pattern. Will try to go to sleep on time at 11pm so I can be up for work tomorrow.

I also stayed up last night looking for athletic wear. Bought some really cheap on Amazon and should have stopped then but continued browsing. Bad habit. As a result, went to bed almost at midnight. Took Lybalvi and not Seroquel because it was so late but even Lybalvi took 2 hours to act. Lybalvi does not work as well as before. I think the lesson for me is to go to bed before 11pm.

I did not berste myself, though. I reminded myself that I am an owl as my sleep psychologist explained and thus the tendency to get happy in late evening.

LadyShadow, good call not yielding to the physician's push for Ozempic. It is a lifelong medication and you do not need that.

Good luck with GOLO, just be careful because hypoglycemia can make you weak, you know. But you are only taking a little and avoiding having yourbsugar drop too low.

I have a bad habit of getting to sleep at night too, especially when I am on the computer. I get almost hypomanic at night, and I need at least an hour after being on the computer for a long time - @Tart Cherry Jam so I know what you go through.

I didn't even take any GOLO pills at all today because I ate really healthy and didn't want my sugar to drop too low. I kind of know how to work it.

It's almost midnight and I am still on the computer posting on here and a bit manic because I am not even sleepy. I can't even take my meds, because if I am wide awake the pills won't even work. Going to try to get to bed by at least 1am so I can get up at 9am and watch Bugs Bunny cartoons, lol.

Maybe because I took Ritalin twice yesterday but I had really bad dizziness today. Really bad. And it got worse in the middle of the day so on my way back home from the annual physical I avoided the busy highway. Just did not feel safe driving on it. It took me a while getting back home using other less busy routes. Then I took a nap and still was dizzy after the nap, but soon afterwards the dizziness sort of lifted abruptly and the rest of the evening was just fine.

I will avoid taking two pills of Ritalin. I have read on Reddit that dizziness on Ritalin is common and is a dose-dependent adverse effect.

Being a good girl today.

I walked outside for more than 30 minutes this evening. And, I wore a reflective vest over my clothing (i have had this vest for a long time but only today got it out of the closet). Safety first.

I will now go to bed. Just a little bit after 11PM. Not too bad. Sweet dreams, friends!

Good and bad things happening on my end.

1) A very good thing. I have found sleeping headphones that easily and neatly go underneath my sleep apnea mask. Here they are: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SJ6DT4V?
The other sleep mask I tried with an actual eye pillow was way too bulky. I am sending it back to Amazon today.

This is such a relief for me. I needed a solution before May when I will be going on a cruise with my friend. She herself has actually just started using a CPAP (she is an older obese woman). For budget reasons, we will be sharing our cabin so I need a solution to go to sleep with audio without bothering her.

2) A good thing. I fell asleep easily last night and slept soundly until 3:33 AM. I will repeat going for a walk at night. Maybe that will help with how fast I then fall asleep.

3) A bad thing. I am hungry and now will need to eat or at least drink milk before I can fall back asleep with another Seroquel. I sometimes still get that nighttime hunger. Is it that my occasional use of Zyprexa is enough for it to mess up with my metabolism? Yesterday night, I had beef and ate peanuts, then waited for 45 minutes and had a cup of raspberry smoothie with milked hazelnuts and kefir, and then went to bed. You would think that I ate plenty enough to last me through the night but no...

I went to bed just 20 minutes late but it was enough to throw me off. Couldn’t get to sleep. At 4 am I got up and opened the window all the way and took off my blanket. But still no sleep. Gave up at 8 but I’m so tired I’m moving slowly. I’m up and watching loony tunes. I need to get going but oh my body is so tired and achy.

I usually find that if I am too off my sleep pattern I can never get back to it. @Nammu, glad you found the looney tunes, I was up watching it too! I went to bed at almost 2am or a little after and woke up around 9am on the dot. The CPAP says almost 7 hours. I feel pretty good and energized. I may actually go out to an AA meeting later, depends on how I feel. I really enjoyed that salad from Zaxby's, might go back and get another one. I have about a half hour to decided if I want to go out today or not.

I can get very tired in the late afternoon and early evening. But if I stay up past 8pm, I get revived. A naturopathic doctor explained that it's due to how adrenal glands stop producing and go into a rest state after sunset. But they'll start up again after 10pm or so if you're still awake. Eventually, they get depleted.

There's a TCM Body Clock that supposedly explains why we might awaken at 3am (liver issues) or why we can't wake up refreshed at 7am (exhausted adrenals).

So anyway, I've been having days of energy alternating with sleepiness. For example, Monday I was sleepy, but it didn't matter too much because some important folks were out of office to watch the Solar Eclipse in a nearby "area of totality." Then Tuesday was great, but Wednesday blah. I don't think the Nuvigil and Effexor do anything about this, but maybe there's a slight elevated baseline. Then again, I'm taking only about 1/3 dose of each...

Very interesting @SquarePegGuy - I usually get tired at 2pm almost like clockwork every day. It's my naptime, lol. I usually get really tired after I eat too.

Last night was a good night, I slept almost 7 hours and that's a win. I am hoping to get the same amount tonight because I have to go to church early tomorrow morning. It is very true about the 10pm thing, I notice that if I'm up past a certain time on the computer at night, it's really hard to sleep.

again was up at 3:33AM, this time because of hunger. damn it.

Tonight, am about to go to bed. Will be just a little after 11PM

Woke up at 3:45am. One of our old cats isn't eating well, and he's losing weight. So I decided to get up to feed him at this time.

Then I went back to bed at about 4:35, but I didn't fall right back to sleep. Eventually I did, and I woke up at 7:25 very groggy. The CPAP machine reported a sleep time of 9:05. I didn't nap today (yet), but I could easily fall asleep.

I did get a bit energized after completing a couple of easy chores.

But still I'm looking forward to bedtime!

Hey! Great to see you guys posting.

I slept a full 8 hours last night, and I really feel energized. I got up at 7:30am to go to church, and now I am at my parent's house on my dad's computer. I slept about an hour on their couch before getting up and going with my dad to the store. I feel pretty good, just emotional. I am happy to be here with my parents today even though my mind is on my husband.

So yes, Ritalin works, but not right away. I took it a few minutes before 11AM today. It eventually worked and I had an OK day.
Tomorrow I still make another attempt to take in in the early morning and will report on the results.

when taken at 11AM and at least 45 mins before a meal, Ritalin works. The effect does not kick in right away but after about 30 mins, yes, it is effective and effective for the rest of the day. So, knock on wood.

Going to bed now at 11PM. Already took my meds, already poured distilled water into the humidifier chamber.

I went for a walk before bedtime. We will see if it makes it easier to fall asleep.