Mollymom, I'm so glad to hear that your sleep has improved!! Also, that you found a mattress that helps you.

The reason that I didn't buy the Temurpedic or any other foam type is that the EPA calls that material a 'sink' when testing for the presence of toxic chemicals in a building or home. That material has an affinity for specific types of synthetic chemicals and many toxic chemicals can be tested for and found in foam, long after the chemical is out of the air. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, I know that chemicals like pesticides and perfumes make me feel sicker (more pain, achiness, headaches, etc) so I avoid them and don't want to sleep on something that's holding onto that.

That was really nice of the salesperson to be so kind thanks for sharing that.

I went to the drug store to ask the pharmacy what to take. They said that most sleeping pills over the counter are just Benedryl. So take Benedryl it will be cheaper.

I take 5-http. It helps the body produce its own seratonin, which helps with depression and FMS in general, plus seratonin breaks down into melatonin.

I also take additional melatonin as needed.

The last time I took Benadryl(actually a generic version), I took one pill (half an adult dose) and it left me groggy the next morning. It used to work well for me at normal doses, but I guess my body chemistry has changed.

I don't take name brand benadryl, I just refer to it by the name brand because it is easier to type and remember than the generic name!

tempurpedic is not good? That's a surprise! Now that I think about it though, Lindsay Wagner looks so ill in that commercial (like she has CFIDS herself), that I always paused a little. She even looked a little ill in her first movie many years ago - sort of a stare in her eyes and no energy.

I have a futon on top of box springs, gets pretty lumpy. I'm inspired by the Japanese as healthy agile people (in 3rd grade in Honolulu I attended a Japanese school while my family waited for Navy Base housing), so a lot of my furnishings are Japanese. I've never thought it was about the bed though - more about totally relaxing the body. In the Japanese school we took a nap after lunch, on pallets on the floor. I was always stiff even in a soft bed, but the Japanese children were happy as clams napping on those pallets. I slept about as well on the pallet as in my bed at home.

My sleep is really poor - waking because of pain. I've tried melatonin (too strong), OTC meds (too strong) and 2 aspirin or a percodan (better than nothing). Since I currently am slowly recovering from the usual winter virus (fever and chills - severe muscle pains), I got pretty desperate for a pain med. I have taken St. John's Wort for the past three days (amazing I'd never tried it before in all these years), and the first night I slept well, and am taking a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. Wake up feeling relaxed - much better than 2 aspirin can do. Then I get tired later again - still a little fever with the virus. No residual feeling in the morning like stronger pain meds.

I have noticed occasional sleep apnea myself over the years - waking up catching my breath - so I'm very leery of any sleep meds that seem even a little too strong.

you know, i swear by Melatonin. Its natural and it works...most of your suggestions are chemicals...i dont take 3mg i cut them in halves and its perfect..you dont wake up lost..and if anything happens in the house while your sleeping you will still hear it..it just doesnt knock you out and yet your sleeping..well just go to the pages below and read up...

http://www.priory.com/mel.htm

http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/...193915/sec1.htm

http://familydoctor.org/online/famd...ticles/258.html

I have Fibromyalgia, I wake up several times all night long, in pain, I have been on Morphine Er 15mg for this. I can't ever get comfortable, my leggs are moving all the time. My husband sleeps on the couch 1/2 the night because he say I can't lay still. I am always feeling sluggish, and I think I look tired. Does this Hell ever stop?

csusie- what dose of melatonin did you try that was too strong for you? I get 500 mcg (half a miligram) tablets at trader joe's.

You may want to get a sleep study to test for Alpha Wave Intrusion, which is related to FMS. Nothing fixed my sleep cycle until I was put on Xyrem.

I take Knock-Out too. Within 1/2 hour, i'm falling asleep. So now my problem is not falling asleep, but staying asleep. I normally wake up 3 to 3:30, and usually can't go back to sleep. But I do hit the hay no later than 9PM, so that's still 6-ish hours of sleep.

So, try Knock-Out (I also take St. John's Wort). It's the stinky valerian root in it that does the job. And holy cow, does it STINK. I hold my breath before it even gets near my mouth. But it works - just as well as my Ambien (which I don't need to take now).

Interesting-before my chiropractor told me I didn't have fibro-then yesterday he said I have many if not all of the same pressure points and I have a subluxation pattern that mimics fibro... and I know I have many of the symptoms of it.

I didn't know about the tempurpedic, boy I wish I did. Two years ago we bought a store brand that mimics tempurpedic, and probably has a lot more chemicals in it. We don't really have the money to get a/nother new mattress... ugh! I am in pain every time I wake up.

But to answer the original question - I take magnesium (tri-mag), inositol, cal-mag-z, and something called "formula 303" which has valerian root, passion flower, and (more) magnesium). Sometimes I'll also put a little lavender on my pillow. I always run a fan, too, for the white noise effect. These things seem to help. As long as I'm not super stressed, I'm able to get to sleep much quicker than I used to. I may wake up once or twice to use the bathroom, but am usually able to get back to sleep. I have RLS too.