How to Attenuate Side Effects to Medications

Here is a useful method that anyone can use when experiencing side effects from a medication or treatment. It doesn't require any special equipment or expertise and won't cost you anything other than a few minutes of your time.
It doesn't require a prescription from a doctor, as it would generally be used for a medication that you've already been given or prescribed, and you're using the tiniest amount of it, anyway. It doesn't diminish the positive aspects of a medication, but can attenuate, or weaken the negative side effects.

This is a method I've used in my homeopathic practice many times, and have seen excellent results with it. Homeopaths have other remedies they employ to achieve the same thing, but this is often the first step I suggest, when the etiology from a medication is clear. I see people on this board repeatedly asking about lingering side effects. You might want to give this a try, and let us know if it helps or not. It would be good to have a data base of experience.

All the best in health,
April




HOW TO ATTENUATE SIDE EFFECTS OR ALLERGIC REACTION TO MEDICATIONS

What you need:
1 large plastic cup or glass (10 oz or more), that is disposable
(A super-sized, plastic drink cup from a fast food place or a Big Gulp cup from 7-11 is perfect.)
1 disposable, plastic or metal eating teaspoon
A tiny bit of the substance that you are reacting to (“tiny” being the operative word, here!)
• Pills or Tablets, scratch a few grains into the cup, or break in two and crush slightly
• Capsules, open and pour a few of the little grains into the cup
• Liquids, use 1 drop
• Powder, use a pinch
• Homeopathic remedy, use one granule or pill or one drop, if liquid
• A crumb or tiny piece of a food that you’ve reacted badly to
• A small piece of a caustic or poisonous plant, bruised or crushed (i.e. hot peppers, poison ivy, use the part of the plant that contains the poisonous or caustic substance, if possible))
• Spit into the cup if the aggravating substance is not known or if you can’t obtain it
(i.e., you are reacting to an infusion you received hours ago at the hospital. Or, you ate a big meal, and something made you ill, but you don’t know what.)


Step-By-Step Instructions:

1) Put the substance into the large cup

2) At the kitchen sink, cold water turned on FULL BLAST, fill the cup to the top.

3) Let the filled cup sit for a few minutes, so that the water may penetrate the substance.

4) Dump the entire contents out of the glass [And, yes, the substance will be dumped out, too. Scoop out any remaining solid matter, and throw into the trash. A few drops of the substance-infused water will cling to the side of the cup, and that’s all that is needed-really!.]

5) Refill the glass, again, water running FULL BLAST, then Dump it out

6) Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump…Refill and Dump, Refill and Dump, for a total of 12 times. [Water at FULL BLAST each time.]

7) After refilling it for the 13th time, let it set, then take I tsp or 1 sip of the water in the cup.
This sip or teaspoon = one dose. Water can also be sponged onto the skin or into the eyes with a clean cotton ball, if those areas are directly affected.

Hold and swish the water in your mouth for about 15 seconds, then swallow.

9) If you anticipate needing the ‘remedy’ further, cover the cup with plastic wrap or a lid.

10) Alternatively, you can fill an empty, disposable water bottle with the substance water
from the cup, leaving a 2” space at the top, to allow for movement of the water when shaking. Mark your bottle in some way to clearly identify it as your medicinal water. It is not designed to quench your thirst. It’s important that each time as you feel symptoms are coming back, shake the bottle vigorously, at least 1-10 times before taking 1 sip (equal to one dose). The shaking acts to slightly raise the potency of the remedy, and the body will respond better to the slightly changed potency each time.


When there is 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water remaining in the bottle, you’ll need to “plus” it, to raise the potency, so it keeps on working optimally. You do NOT need to add any further substance or pills—really! The remaining medicinal water will medicate the newly added water. To add the kinetic energy to the newly added water, you will need to succuss the bottle. This will ensure that your remedy keeps on working, and you will have progressive improvement. Here’s how:

HOW TO PLUS YOUR BOTTLE
1. When there is approximately 1 to 1 ½ inches of remedy water remaining, do this.
2. Refill with bottled water half way.
3. Succuss (pound the bottle into your opposite palm, an oven mitt , or a phone or leather-bound book) 40 times.
4. Pour off 90% of the bottle, leaving an inch or so of water.
5. Refill with water half way.
6. Succuss 40 times.
7. Repeat one more time. You will now have raised the potency by 3 degrees. It should now start working again.



How Often to Take It:
1) If you have already discontinued taking a medication, but feel you are still experiencing side effects from it, i.e. muscle pains, sleeplessness, hives, fatigue, etc., you will likely only need to take one dose. Most often, only one dose will be needed.
If symptoms do remain, dilute the substance further by continuing to dump and refill the cup or bottle, another 6 times. Then, try another dose. Further dilutions can be made as needed.
If symptoms are very acute or severe, you can do further dilutions within a short period of time.
If symptoms are simply annoying or uncomfortable, but you’ve been living with them for awhile, wait at least 12 hours before diluting further. It may not be needed if you’re patient.

2) If medication must be taken on an on-going basis, follow the directions in #10, above.
Then, some time AFTER taking your regular medication each day, (I suggest waiting 15-60 minutes), and…
Shake the remedy water bottle vigorously 5-10 times, then take 1 sip, swish, hold & swallow.
This will help to lessen or remove the side effects, while not interfering with the beneficial
aspects of the medication.




The Purpose Behind the Method:

You are essentially making a homeopathic remedy from the substance that is causing side effects or symptoms. It’s somewhat of a “rough” version, as in a real homeopathic laboratory everything would be more precisely measured and done.

Homeopathy is based on the principle that “Like cures Like”. In other words, what symptoms a substance can CAUSE in crude form, it can CURE, when given in tiny, highly diluted doses. To make a homeopathic remedy from any substance, you must first dilute it, and then add dynamic energy to it through “succussion” (to “succuss” means to shake vigorously with force).
So, to make a homeopathic remedy, the idea is to put a tiny amount of the substance into a large amount of water, with some kind of succussion. In this case, the repeated refilling of the glass, acts to dilute the substance, and the force of the water pouring into the glass, acts as the succussion.


Technically, this method is a branch of Homeopathy, known more precisely as Tautopathy.
While Homeopathy comes from the Greek, and literally means, “similar suffering”,
Tautopathy means “the same suffering”. It refers specifically to using a remedy that has been made from a drug or toxin that a person has ingested at some time previously, and is thought to be causing some complaint.

Where this technique is most helpful is when we can see a clear etiology of a complaint, that came on after ingesting or coming into contact with a certain drug or toxin.

If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Have a little hair of the dog that bit you”, this concept may seem more familiar. This is usually in reference to someone who’s had too much alcohol to drink the night before, and now they have a terrible hangover. The alcohol the night before is the dog that “bit” them, and is making them feel crummy. The “hair” is just a tiny bit of what they were drinking.

For the Etymologists out there:
Long ago it was believed that you needed some part of a thing that had injured you, to cure you. One dog bite remedy involved applying a poultice that included hair from the dog in question.
(Not sure who was responsible for collecting said hair!)

The theory is that drinking a little of what gave you a hangover the morning after will make you feel better. In most cases, people take too much alcohol the next day, so it doesn’t have the desired effect. If they just used a drop or two of alcohol, besides diluting it as described, they’d see much better results.

Of course, there are numerous homeopathic remedies that could quite quickly take away these same symptoms. In the example of a hangover from too much alcohol, a remedy often employed is the aptly named Nux vomica, made from the poisonous seed of a tree containing strychnine.
It covers all the typical symptoms of a bad hangover. It’s also a remedy frequently needed after any kind of narcotics, drugs, or toxins, whether prescription, recreational or from chemotherapy.


Here is one of my favorite pictorials of this concept in action, when one quick-thinking mother
made a remedy out of dish washing soap, when her baby daughter decided to “paint’ with it, and got it in her eye. The photos clearly show the good results. Seeing is believing!
homeopathyplus.com.au/dishwashing-liquid-youre-soaking-in-it/

Thanks, April! I so plan on doing this after I take these abx's for this stupid ear infection. I do like this method of getting rid of the long term effects and I know it was critical for platelet boy.

I have no wish to appear rude or anything as am sure it might do to some people...

but surely this is about mind over matter stuff. We occupy our mind with the rinsing out so much that we are focused on what we are doing rather than our symptom? For some people it will go one step further and really work. The act of rinsing out - rinses out whatever is causing us the difficulty - mind over matter. a practical mind over matter I will add but done with sincerty you will really believe it works. I hope it does work for whoever tries it. I really do:)

Rhiannon wrote: I have no wish to appear rude or anything as am sure it might do to some people...

but surely this is about mind over matter stuff. We occupy our mind with the rinsing out so much that we are focused on what we are doing rather than our symptom? For some people it will go one step further and really work. The act of rinsing out - rinses out whatever is causing us the difficulty - mind over matter. a practical mind over matter I will add but done with sincerty you will really believe it works. I hope it does work for whoever tries it. I really do:)

I think you do not understand how homeopathy works.

It's all about what works.... and we have good scientific based tests to see how effective it is. Instead of slamming things non-medical why not give it a try. The only thing it requires is some time and effort. Give it a go!

We don't have to each test every possible remedy ourselves - we are lucky to live in an age of communication where we can access the careful tests that others have done to assess effectiveness. It seems contradictory to say on the one hand we have good scientific based tests but on the other hand, you should try things for yourself - why not use the evidence from the science based tests to choose remedies that have been shown to be effective?
Erica

You know, over and over this past few weeks I'm seeing posts asking about side effects to different drugs people are taking. Someone comes along and offers help that can be done at home (assuming they're using pill or liquid form of a drug) and the naysayers come out. Since this is the natural forum, if you don't think it will work, why not just walk away and not respond? There are those of us that have used this method over and over successfully. If you don't want to try it, fine. But let's not have the course of this thread shredded by those of you who obviously do not care for anything natural. This was posted to be a help to people. Not to create controversy. If we went onto the treatment threads every time someone posted and stated all of the reasons we thought someone was crazy for using drugs we'd be kicked off/deleted/chastised. If that's your form of chosen treatment, then stick with it. But do leave those who desire to help and/or try something natural without having to listen to negative attitudes about it.

Wouldn't mind over matter be "natural"?

I think we all shouldn't take offense so quickly.

Yep, that's what I reckon too.
The scientific tests I was referring to was CBC / FBC's and other blood tests. Don't you think Erica we should be encouraging people to look into different options. It's not as though any current medical remedy has been shown to be effective for everyone. Maybe there are some people who would benefit from some natural therapies but are dissuaded because of negative attitudes they may have encountered here.
The more people who try different approaches the more our understanding of Itp should grow. It's happened with cancer. I don't see why it should be different with Itp.
And as we all know - we all respond differently - so the bigger the research population the better the evidence.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1gp3F5NhY

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

EVERYBODY SING!

Perfect choice Sandi. Stevie Wonder is incredible - gave me goose bumps. Thanks.

Indeed, an inspiring video, Sandi! And, I hope a gentle nudge to remind all of us that the purpose of this forum is to give each other moral support and offer an overview of our collective experiences with ITP, so that each of us affected by this FUN disorder can figure out what might work best for us. Sometimes I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a cat fight in here, lol—MEOWW! To repeat probably the most over-used phrase on this forum, “We are each different and what works for one won’t work for the other.” (well, something to that effect!). I welcome healthy skepticism and questions, but I really don’t care much for the cynical tone that often comes out.

I started this thread out of a desire to perhaps offer some help to the many posts I’ve seen in the last couple months, complaining about the lingering side effects of the various drugs used for ITP. I don’t think anyone on here would argue that this is not a problem.
All drugs have side effects. This we know. Each person, of course, will react in their individual way, according to their susceptibility, as well as the dosage, frequency and length of taking the drug. IDK, it seems to me that in the last few months, ther’ve been more and more of these posts. It seemed somehow wrong to me, to just let people to continue to suffer, when they might find some relief through this simple method, if they only knew about it.

It’s free, it’s safe, it’s simple—not to mention, a bit of a fun science experiment to do! If nothing more, it might serve as comic relief for some of you, or fodder for your next blog .

From what I’ve read of the responses to these posts, these side effects are common, and there seems little else, other than time, that has been offered as a solution. Why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose, but possibly your symptoms. Go into it with a scientific attitude: curious, open-minded and objective.

I’ve had good results with this, as well as have many homeopaths, so even though it might be unfamiliar to you, there’s actually quite a collective knowledge of those who’ve used it. In the U.S., homeopathic remedies made from drugs are no longer available to anyone but a licensed physician. (In fact, they won’t even sell homeopathic remedies made from OTC drugs, without a prescription, now, which seems rather absurd!). I’m not sure of the status in other countries. The remedies made in the labs, subject to exacting standards and uniform measurements certainly work the best. But, this method I’ve laid out seems to work in the majority of cases.

Of the cases I’ve seen that did not respond any or much, there were generally one or more of these reasons:
1) Directions were not followed exactly.
2) Not enough dilutions were done, stopped too soon. If symptoms are partially relieved, try a few more dilutions and dumpings before calling it quits.
3) The water pressure was not great enough to create sufficient succussion. (especially the case with water filters. This is a case to forgo the filtered water in favor of the strong-flowing water. Or, you can add to the successive power by swirling the glass briskly during the filling of it.)
4) The symptoms are not really caused by the drug in question, but are something different entirely.
5) Very intense symptoms, especially things like mental psychosis, will usually require a much higher potency that you could get only from a homeopathic pharmacy in a potency like 200C or 1M. Although, you never know--if nothing else is available, the lower potency may help to a degree,
6) Continued use of a drug that is giving you serious side effects is like shoveling the snow in the middle of a blizzard. It’s very difficult to dig yourself out.

Rhiannon suggested it might just be mind over matter. Or, in other words--the placebo effect--it only works if you believe it will work. (And, no, I did not take offense to that, Rhiannon. It’s a common and legitimate observation.) But, I see a few flaws to that line of reasoning.
First of all—if it IS due to the placebo factor, really—who cares!? If your goal is to get rid of your symptoms and this does the trick, what are you out, but a bit of your time and less water than you used in your morning shower??

But, how do you explain it working on infants or young children, on animals, the insane or the unconscious or comatose? How does one explain it working on someone who is absolutely hell-bent against the possibility that it could work? How do you explain drastic improvements in lab reports that haven’t budged until now?

If it was just a matter of believing, why is it necessary to try numerous remedies before finding THE ONE that does the job? You’d think that the most enthusiasm and ‘belief’ would be there for the first remedy tried. By remedy number 5 or 6, confidence that it might work is waning, not increasing. Yet, sometimes it might take that long (or longer) before narrowing down and refining the best possible remedy.

And, why, when there are so many who have full faith and trust in their doctor and his treatments, yet they don’t work—why wouldn’t the placebo factor be working in those cases as well? One would think it would.

If it’s just the act of rinsing out that distracts us from our symptoms for a bit, why are people finding that the symptoms they’ve had for 4 months are suddenly gone, and don’t return? Is it really that simple? Are people not distracted from their symptoms on a daily basis by something else? If it were that easy, I don’t think anyone on these boards would be posting about these annoying or painful symptoms!

Mind you, I DO think our attitude can affect us in profound ways. I’m sure we’ve all had our days where we woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and there was nothing that was going to please us, and we even relished being in a bad mood. (Heck, there’re some people who choose to go through their entire life like that! I am sure we all know at least one of those :lol: . But, just as easily, one can also make a conscious choice to see the good in the world, the good in others, and the value of keeping an open mind. Your world suddenly becomes one of infinite possibilities. I think Sally really exemplifies that, and I appreciate her positive nature.

Sandi you are priceless:)

What do you do when your water pressure is outrageously lame? When I see FULL BLAST I'm thinking gushing, fast moving, hard churning in the cup kind of water. Mine is really sad.. and some days will just drop to nothing right in the middle of it being fine. PLUS is ridiculously chlorinated... We use a water filter (pitcher). Honestly, drinking from the tap is the equivalent of my going outside and doing a face plant in the swimming pool. Bleck.

There are two ways you can counteract it:
The simplest way is by swirling (swishing, maybe?) your cup around briskly while filling it. May get a little messy, but you want the water to be churned up well. Best done to some music with a rhythmical beat. I know you can come up with something good

I know what you mean about the amount of chlorine in some taps--and now they've gone and added fluorine to our tap water...double bleck!

So, alternatively:
1) Get a disposable bottle of water--the "sports" size with the pop top would be perfect, a little larger than a normal size.
2) Pour off about 2"-3" of the water, and drop your chosen substance into it, and let dissolve.
3) Cap the bottle tightly.
4)Shake the bottle vigorously 10 times, so that the contents are really moving and churning. If you have a sturdy enough bottle, you can give it 10 firm 'thunks' on a hot pad, phone book or leather-bound book--something with some give. This is the succussion part.
5) Then, pour out the water (and substance).
6) Refill the bottle 1/2 full with water from your filter or from a large jug of bottled water.
7) Succuss the bottle 10 times again, then dump out again.
Repeat this sequence of filling 1/2 full, succussing 10 times and dumping water out for a total of 12 times.
9) After refilling the bottle the 13th time and succussing, take 1 tsp of the remedy water, hold, swish & swallow.
10) Recap the bottle, be sure and label it, and set aside (in the fridge works well), in case you may need to do any further dilutions down the road. It will keep for a good long time in the fridge, especially if you're careful to not drink directly from the bottle (backwash, you know?). Instead, pour it into a disposable spoon.

Let me know how that works for you.
April

Okay cool. I'll give that a whirl. I think I like this way better.. get more exercise! Heheheh

I actually was prepared to try this, before the suggestion was made to spit into my cup, cause it is from an infusion, but my mind says I just can't drink from a cup I have spat into no matter how many times I dump and put more water into it, I am really trying to be more understanding and am researching more things on natural treatments, but I just can't seem to make myself do that any more then a person couldn't drown themselves even if they tried. I'm not knocking natural treatments here so don't go and get on the defensive Patti cause I know u will, all I'm saying is I wouldn't be able to do that.

In saying that, is there any other natural treatments to treat insomnia? I'd be happy to give it a go as long as it doesn't involve mine or anyone else's spit or bodily fluids.

Thanks Angel I was trying to find the right way to say this without seeming to be negative, insomnia seems to be a common problem.

Milly, I thought your insomnia was caused by prednisone??? If so, you'd take a very small piece of the prednisone pill and dissolve it, then do the dump and refill thing. I may have misunderstood your posts on the other thread though.

Angel, I am not sure if you would have any other contraindications but you can mix a tincture of valerian root, california poppy, and hops together in equal parts and put it into capsules (unless you don't mind taking tinctures. I personally can't stand tinctures. Normally I recommend Sound Sleep by Gaia Herbs for sleeping issues (it's what I use when needed) BUT it has passionflower and skullcap which is contraindicated for low platelets. So when Luke's were low I made my own tincture with the above three things and it worked fine. I just bought individual tinctures of each herb and then put equal amounts into another empty tincture bottle and shook it really well. Then I used my capsule maker and filled each capsule about 1/2 full. For him (since he is a child) I gave him one capsule. And adult would take two.

The spit thing definitely is not high on my list of things I'd like to do, but after watching the IVIG come out of my boy this summer, I think the spit thing is preferable to that! But I understand everyone has their limits.

Angel85 wrote: I'm not knocking natural treatments here so don't go and get on the defensive Patti cause I know u will, all I'm saying is I wouldn't be able to do that.

You really don't know me that well. Just sayin'..... :whistle:

April,

Since the spit thing isn't an option necessarily here, I know there are homeopathics for sleep but the reason for the lack of sleep would dictate which one. So I know coffea won't work here (can't stop the mind from racing, etc). Are there other basics that will? Or would they not because this is drug induced and therefore requires removing the drug out of the system to induce sleep? Curious...........

patti

Patti I dont think its the effects of pred as I haven't had any pred for nearly five months, I think it is more a learned habit, waking every couple of hours, this is what I was like on pred, I think I more need to break the habit.
But I do thank you for your thoughts.

Milly,

In your other post, you said you had been on high doses of Pred for 10 months, and that your sleeping problems started during that time. (Trouble sleeping is a well-known side effect of Prednisone.). Do not be deluded that all the side effects of a drug will magically disappear, just because you're no longer taking it. Each person responds differently of course, but I've talked to many who absolutely connect their decline in health and feeling good, to taking a particular drug. All drugs have side effects, and some will last longer than others. With the information you've given, it sounds to me as if the Prednisone is a likely cause of your sleeplessness.

The method I've described here is quite simple, cannot cause harm and won't cost anything. Many people have used it with success (It's called Tautopathy). Just because you may not understand it, is no reason to dismiss it out of hand.
I wager you know very little about the inner workings of almost any drug or herb that you take, yet you likely still take it. The workings of anesthesia are not understood, either, but I bet few of us would refuse it on those grounds.
As I said before, it's a 'little bit o' the hair of the dog that bit you". It's the same principle behind why Ritalin, which is a stimulant, an amphetamine, to be exact, seems to calm down some hyperactive kids. Normally, we would expect an amphetamine to speed things up (another nickname, Speed!). This is the homeopathic effect of 'What symptoms a substance can CAUSE, it can CURE', when given in very small amounts. When I was a kid, we used to have a family in church whose boy was extremely hyperactive (and now, I would say he was definitely on the spectrum, as well). But, they used to give him very strong coffee, even though he was just a kid, because it really did calm him down. He was the only kid allowed to drink coffeee, because otherwise he was driving everyone crazy! Again, it's the homeopathic effect in action.

Two of the drugs commonly used today for cardiovascular problems--digitalis and nitroglycerin--were first used by homeopaths in the 1800s. They worked so well, they were adopted for use by allopathic doctors.

Why not give it a try? What do you have to lose? Or, perhaps I misunderstood your post, and you weren't really looking for a solution, but rather just wanted others to commiserate with you??

April I am not looking for commiseration I was however looking for advice.I thought this was the purpose of this forum. Thankyou.

Okay, so that clarifies. It seems the forum serves a two-fold purpose. Some on here are truly seeking advice, trying to find answers, from those who have been there, done that. Others seem to find comfort in commiserating with others that are going through the same things they are, because most other people without ITP won't understand, but they don't really feel much can be done about their situation.

I would suggest you give this method a try, as it has worked for quite a few others, and please note, almost all the time you will be making the remedy out of the medication that you've already been taking (Pred), and it would not involve spitting in a cup. That is only used when you cannot obtain the substance otherwise. It depends on your doctor or hospital's policy. Some will allow you to have your empty I.V. bag, so that you can squeeze out a couple of remaining drops of infusion. Others will not. In that case, that is when you can try the spit thing--or not--I agree it is unappealing to me, as well.

As far as other ways to change sleep patterns, a few simple suggestions:
1) Total darkness in your bedroom, not even light from a digital clock, computer, cell phone, nightlight,streetlight from outside, etc. I don't remember the specifics on this right now, but it had something to do with the stimulation of some of your glands from artificial light that would throw things off.

2) Don't eat after 8:00 p.m., and 6:00 would be even better. It has something to do with the way your liver works in response to food intake, affects your biorhythms.

3) Some find that hot, herbal tea (no caffeine) or warm milk help them drift off easier.

4) I would caution against taking melatonin. Here's one article about why, from a functional neruologist:
drclark.typepad.com/dr_david_clark/autism_aspergers_pdd/
Anyway, I found this article interesting, especially since so many people take melatonin on a regular basis for sleep. I didn't realize before how much that could impact your body, in negative way.

5) Exercise about 2 hours prior to going to bed, and preferably in the fresh air.

6) I find lavendar oil or lotions to be particularly calming. You can also make or buy a small pillow and fill it with lavendar

7) Soaking in a warm bubble bath or jacuzzi or hot tub often does the trick.

If it's a lifelong complaint, find a good homeopath and get treated constitutionally. There is not some magical one-size-fits-all sleep aid. It is patient specific as to what remedy would be right for YOU. In my Repertory, under Sleeplessness, there are nearly 600 remedies listed! Insomnia and frequent waking are extremely common complaints, among ITP and non-ITP patients both. The right homeopathic remedy can really help out in this area.







.

I just remembered I used to have warm milk and honey when I was younger and had trouble sleeping, and it used to work, not sure what the honey was meant for or if it was just cause I dont like milk on it's own. Maybe with the milk, that's why babies fall asleep so easily after having a bottle. I might have to try that again as well.

Angel85 wrote: I just remembered I used to have warm milk and honey when I was younger and had trouble sleeping, and it used to work, not sure what the honey was meant for or if it was just cause I dont like milk on it's own. Maybe with the milk, that's why babies fall asleep so easily after having a bottle. I might have to try that again as well.

I also used to use warm milk when I was younger. The warm milk produces tryptophan in the body which is what causes the sleepiness. It does work well! They sell tryptophan OTC but it's not good for you that way and can actually cause rebound effect. But warm milk is always good.

Angel85, maybe it was the calming effect of the ritual of warming the milk, sipping it, or did your parent do it and soothe you a bit - any kind of calming ritual is a great idea for when you can't sleep.

Erica

April, just to clarify a little further I have a open mind to most things, the reason for not using the prednisone in the remedy is that I never keep medication (when I am finished with it I throw it out, so no prednisone in the house).
I do thank you for your suggestions and will be trying these things.