can’t stay asleep

[syuri]

Update: buddy of mine says he combines XR melatonin and trazodone. Melatonin for sleep maintenance of staying asleep and trazodone for sleep onset. Would this be a good solution? I’m tempted to try it tonight but I don’t wanna build tolerance to melatonin. Seems safer than a harder hitting z drug though.

 

[Ateam2023]

Update: buddy of mine says he combines XR melatonin and trazodone. Melatonin for sleep maintenance of staying asleep and trazodone for sleep onset. Would this be a good solution? I’m tempted to try it tonight but I don’t wanna build tolerance to melatonin. Seems safer than a harder hitting z drug though.

Give it a try, report back, it couldn't hurt,

 

[Ateam2023]

Give it a try, report back, it couldn't hurt,

What might be a good solution for one person might not be a good solution for another person, so you gotta just give it a try and see what works best for you

 

[syuri]

What might be a good solution for one person might not be a good solution for another person, so you gotta just give it a try and see what works best for you

Will try tonight and see how it does me. I figured it’s better first line compared to relying on yet another pharmaceutical drug right off the bat. I think the only think stopping most people would be grogginess lol.

 

[Ateam2023]

Will try tonight and see how it does me. I figured it’s better first line compared to relying on yet another pharmaceutical drug right off the bat. I think the only think stopping most people would be grogginess lol.

And I think after you get used to the drug, the grogginess goes away , most people don't stick it out.

 

[Eddie.]

Update on the Zolpidem, i took half pill yesterday and only woke up 2 times which is nothing compared to before, also i went back to sleep immediately and wasn't wired. Morning wake up was nice, no grogginess or anything. Although, my smartwatch shows abnormal results, too many wake ups and 80 minutes of not sleeping at all but i think it's false.

Update: buddy of mine says he combines XR melatonin and trazodone. Melatonin for sleep maintenance of staying asleep and trazodone for sleep onset. Would this be a good solution? I’m tempted to try it tonight but I don’t wanna build tolerance to melatonin. Seems safer than a harder hitting z drug though.

I've gone up to 30mg melatonin XR and it couldn't keep me asleep, if it wasn't expensive I'd go 100-200mg. Now i take it mostly for it's brain antioxidant properties than sleep help.

 

[Cyp180]

Update on the Zolpidem, i took half pill yesterday and only woke up 2 times which is nothing compared to before, also i went back to sleep immediately and wasn't wired. Morning wake up was nice, no grogginess or anything. Although, my smartwatch shows abnormal results, too many wake ups and 80 minutes of not sleeping at all but i think it's false.

What mg do you take and prescribed meds or ?

 

[Eddie.]

What mg do you take and prescribed meds or ?

Stilnox comes in 10mg only and i took half of it, first time yesterday. I buy them from a pharmacy. Plan is to take it 2-3 nighs a week for couple weeks and then drop most of my gear to low amounts, drop reta and halve HGH. I believe my sleep will fix to a point.

I don't take any other meds like ssri, psych etc and never have. The rest of meds (general) i use is a ppi, statin, beta blocker and ivabradine for heart rate.

 

[Cyp180]

Stilnox comes in 10mg only and i took half of it, first time yesterday. I buy them from a pharmacy. Plan is to take it 2-3 nighs a week for couple weeks and then drop most of my gear to low amounts, drop reta and halve HGH. I believe my sleep will fix to a point.

I don't take any other meds like ssri, psych etc and never have. The rest of meds (general) i use is a ppi, statin, beta blocker and ivabradine for heart rate.

In Europe, Zolpidem also comes in 5mg tabs.
Hope it helps you mate

 

[syuri]

added Tren a few days ago, forgot to add that. today was the WORST trensomnia i’ve had. I used gabapentin, 20mg melatonin XR, and 50mgs trazodone… NOTHING helped me. Just feel groggy now. But i did fall asleep later, so I’m grateful. Might bump my dose down from 140 -> 105mgs ace weekly. I’m going to try using a beta blocker to calm me down, my heart was damn near about ready to burst my chest open. Propranolol is OTW from pctzone so I’m gonna try atenolol.

 

[syuri]

Yes, **propranolol can cause weight gain in some patients**, and **slowed metabolism (or perceived metabolic slowing)** is one of the commonly proposed mechanisms. Here’s what the evidence and clinical experience show:

### Why Propranolol Can Lead to Weight Gain
1. **Beta-blockade reduces metabolic rate**
- Propranolol is a non-selective beta-blocker. It blocks β2-adrenergic receptors in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue.
- This inhibits sympathetically mediated thermogenesis and fat oxidation.
- Studies show that non-selective beta-blockers like propranolol reduce resting energy expenditure by ~5–10% (approximately 50–100 kcal/day), which can add up over months.

2. **Reduced exercise capacity and fatigue**
- Patients often report feeling more tired or having lower exercise tolerance on propranolol.
- This leads to decreased physical activity → lower total daily energy expenditure → weight gain.

3. **Shift in substrate utilization**
- Beta-blockade reduces lipolysis and favors carbohydrate over fat oxidation.
- Some patients report increased hunger or carbohydrate cravings.

4. **Fluid retention (less common with propranolol than with some other beta-blockers)**
- Usually mild, but can contribute a few pounds.

### How Common Is It?
- Studies and meta-analyses:
- Average weight gain on propranolol: **1–4 kg (2–9 lbs)** over 6–12 months.
- More common with non-selective beta-blockers (propranolol, nadolol) than with cardioselective ones (metoprolol, atenolol).
- One older study (1980s) found ~30–40% of patients on propranolol gained >5 lbs.

### Comparison with Other Beta-Blockers
| Beta-blocker | Average weight gain | Notes |
|---------------------|---------------------|-------|
| Propranolol | ++ to +++ | Non-selective, lipophilic → more metabolic effects |
| Nadolol | ++ | Non-selective |
| Carvedilol | ++ | Has alpha-blocking (vasodilating) properties |
| Metoprolol, Atenolol| + | Cardioselective, less effect on metabolism |
| Nebivolol, Bisoprolol| Minimal or none | Vasodilating, better metabolic profile |

### Practical Tips If You’re Gaining Weight on Propranolol
- Ask your doctor about switching to a more weight-neutral beta-blocker (e.g., nebivolol or bisoprolol) if the indication allows.
- Monitor calorie intake — the small drop in resting metabolism makes it easier to overeat without noticing.
- Prioritize strength training (less affected by beta-blockade than cardio) and NEAT (non-exercise activity).
- Some patients do better with lower doses or splitting the dose (propranolol has a short half-life).

### Bottom Line
Yes, propranolol frequently slows aspects of metabolism (energy expenditure, fat oxidation) and is one of the beta-blockers most associated with modest weight gain (typically 2–10 lbs). It’s usually not dramatic, but it’s real and well-documented.

If the weight gain is bothersome and the propranolol is being used for anxiety/migraines (rather than mandatory for heart disease), many clinicians will trial a switch to a more metabolically neutral agent.

Study	Population (n)	Design/Duration	Propranolol Dose	Mean Weight Gain (vs. Control)	Key Notes
BHAT (1990)	Post-MI (3,837)	RCT retrospective/40 mo	180–240 mg/d	+1.1 kg (2.3 vs. 1.2 kg) at 1 yr; sustained	Large-scale; independent of activity/diuretics
Sharma Meta-Analysis (2001)	Hypertensive (>2,000)	8 RCTs/≥6 mo	Varied (incl. propranolol)	+1.2 kg median	Early plateau; class effect confirmed
Diener RCT (2004)	Migraine (783)	RCT/12 mo	160 mg/d	+2.3% body wt (~1.5–2 kg)	Greater than placebo/topiramate
Shapiro (2005)	Migraine (367)	Observational/6 mo	120–240 mg/d	~1–2 kg (8% incidence)	Lower risk at prophylactic doses
Martínez-Mir (1993)	Hypertensive (12)	Case series/12–24 mo	120–320 mg/d	+3.5 kg avg	Dose-dependent; reversible

on the topic of beta blockers, would atenolol be a better option to calm down a high RHR before bed (personally combining with trazodone) without risking these "weight gain" risks propranolol may offer?

 

[MoreShakesMoreCakes]

I have rx for Lunesta and Sonata. The Sonata is the one I have to use most often as my job is a weird on-call, no schedule, don't know when I'm working or when I get to sleep thing. The Sonata works fast and clears fast. Won't give me a full night sleep, but I can get a few hours and it won't interfere with me when I get called to work.

I also have concerns with dependence - the flip side to that is the Z's also build tolerance.

With that in mind, I have a stash of a bunch of other things so I don't rely on any single drug every night. Some work better than others, but a rotation seems to prevent both dependence and tolerance.

I use:
Sonata
Lunesta
Melatonin
Doxylamine
Trazadone
Hydroxyzine
Pregabalin

This is what I do. 40mg melatonin every night. A sleep powder every night with 5htp, gaba, l-theanine, magnesium 800mg, valerian root and other herbs. Rotate the meds. Only use if sleep starts trending worse.

Traz
Zopiclone
Clonidine. Used most often 3-4 nights.

Will be adding and trying those two new Z drugs I forget the name. I hear some people respond better to one than the other at times.

 

[xrayphoton13]

Update: buddy of mine says he combines XR melatonin and trazodone. Melatonin for sleep maintenance of staying asleep and trazodone for sleep onset. Would this be a good solution? I’m tempted to try it tonight but I don’t wanna build tolerance to melatonin. Seems safer than a harder hitting z drug though.

Tolerance to melatonin? It's a hormone, not a hardcore painkiller. It's great for sleep and it's a great antioxidant. I take 20mg quick release with 5mg slow release. Sometimes I forget but I still sleep fine. So rock on and don't worry about a tolerance build up

 

[syuri]

25mgs atenolol + 50mgs trazodone did the trick for my trensomnia. woke up midway through the night, should’ve used melatonin to stay asleep

atenolol lowered my RHR from 80~ to 60~. Good stuff

 

[Scob]

Hey OP I had similar issue when I was running Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin
I used to run both before bed, fasted. My sleep was completely wrecked by it. I’d wake up every day at 3-4am.
Next day I’d wake up fine and with energy but that lack of deep sleep was slowly taking a toll.
I stopped it and ordered some HGH. During my time without any GH boosting sleep came back to normal. I started the HGH. Tried 2 iu before bed, same effects. Started pinning earlier like 6pm, then 5pm. At 5pm I was sleeping better but would still not be 100%.
I slowly increased the dose to now 5ius.
Sleep was still not great.
I ended up just pinning in the morning and my sleep is fixed.

 

[adrenalytic]

If exogenous GH does not make you drowsy it's best taken in the AM. Melatonin at night will boost your natural pulses and assist in IGF-1 conversion. Win/Win.

P.S. OP you look like that kid from Stranger Things if he took steroids.

 

[DigD]

hey all,

been dealing with not being able to stay asleep, and more recently, falling asleep, albeit i don’t see it as much of an issue. i get 4-5 hours of poor sleep and feel mid throughout the day.

stats:
6ft, 185lbs (around 12% BF)

my stack:
300 test (started with 200, slept fine on it) still sleep fine since upping
2mg tesamorelin pre bed
3mg tirz weekly

adding soon
70mg tren ace weekly

adding tren has me worried for how my sleep quality may end up.

i haven’t been able to consistently stay asleep and always wake up around 2-4 am, with my bedtime being 9pm. i believe i might be having a cortisol spike in the morning but I’m unsure what could be causing it. i eat a TBSP of honey pre bed to steer away from any possible hypoglycemic wakings. i also wake several times throughout the night to pee, even with being conservative of fluid intake after 3pm.

additionally, i haven’t been able to get good deep sleep (according to my apple watch)

i’ve taken:
400-1.2g magnesium glys pre bed (not much effect)
400mg l-theanine
5-htp
2-3g GABA
1200mg ashwaghanda (lowered my cortisol under the ref. range!)

i have trazodone and gabapentin on hand but i don’t want to start relying on them to sleep. i want to see if there’s any other drugs, tips or supplements that could help this sleep issue.

other stats:
training 6x a week
no anxiety, i feel kickass
eating in a slight surplus~ maintenance
5-10k steps daily
always wake and sleep at same time

Aswaganda made me tired all day and took my motivation away. Once I stopped I was fine in few days. My sleep is fine till 100 tren Ace a week. You are like me. I'm at least 6 days in gym if not 7. I know it's too much but I do split and works for me even though I would grow more on lower volume but no need. I happy here.

 

[ThreeSix]

on some nights I really like some CBD drops, even when I wake up in the night, I easily go back to sleep, because I am so tired.

 

[syuri]

on some nights I really like some CBD drops, even when I wake up in the night, I easily go back to sleep, because I am so tired.

Ended up trying a cbd vape and its alright

 

[Inkniron87]

So high dose melatonin really helps? I have never went over 10mg and that didn’t do anything. My issue is also staying asleep.