Supplement and Natural Alternatives to Treat CFS & Fibromyalgia Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders are a major part of having illnesses like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. For people with this illness, the lack of sleep is a catch-22 situation. Patients need to sleep in order to keep the symptoms at bay and to rejuvenate the body, but the illnesses themselves do not allow the body to sleep naturally.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia patients will go through what seems like a never-ending cycle of insomnia, unrestful sleep followed by debilitating fatigue. The doctors I have seen who specialize in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia make it their first goal to get the patient sleeping solid for 8 - 9 hours a night. Even with all of the other symptoms: debilitating fatigue, post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunctions, hormonal imbalances, and widespread pain, the doctors know that without proper sleep none of these issues will get better.

Prescription medications are commonly prescribed to treat the sleep disorders seen in these illnesses such as Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta. These prescription medications work for a lot of CFS and Fibromyalgia patients, but the side effects can be scary. Some risk factors that can occur by taking these medications include dependency, hallucinations, driving while sleeping, confusion, next day drowsiness, and allergic reactions. If you don't have insurance, and even with some insurance plans, these medications can be very expensive.

For those patients who do not want to take prescription sleep aids, there are natural alternatives available that do not require a prescription and have few side effects. Never try any of these without first talking to your physician.

Companies that make supplement and alternative sleep aids can't make any claims that their products really work because they are not FDA approved. This is something that has always bothered me because many of these supplements and alternative methods work, but because the FDA isn't making any money off of them, the manufacturers can't make those claims.

Melatonin