r/DSPD • u/ktfarrier • 6d ago

Preparing for the morning?

I've had dspd all of my life. My mom tells me when I was a baby, I'd never sleep at night - only in the day. Well, I'm almost 40 now and despite trying to be 'normal', if left unchecked, I revert back to my bed by 5-6am, wake up noon-2pm. That's my sweet spot. Obviously it doesn't work if I want to be a functioning member of society.

I have a dentist appointment in a few days at 10am. What are some of your methods to 'reset'? Pull an all lighter the night before? Prepare a few days prior? What I find I revert to is nap the day before from 8pm to 12-1am, and then stay up until my appointment, come home and sleep. It messes me up even more. I was just wondering if anyone had any insight?

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u/Hatecookie 5d ago

I don’t schedule things in the morning if it can possibly be avoided. I have a class once a week at 9:30am and the night before I take every downer I can get my hands on, beta blocker, melatonin, Hydroxyzine, and Benadryl around 9pm so I can be really sleepy by midnight. I basically have to stop my entire life for that evening and make going to bed at midnight like a life-or-death priority. No getting out of bed for any reason except bathroom, even if I lay there awake with my eyes closed for 6 hours.

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u/allegedlypizza 4d ago

Beta blockers inhibit melatonin. When I went to sleep medicine for DSPS treatment they changed the timing of my beta blockers and had me try a different anxiolytic at night for the same calming effect. Just something to think about when you're throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. The effect of beta blockers on melatonin can vary though, depending on what kind of beta blocker you're on.

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u/Hatecookie 4d ago

I didn't know that! I'm taking propanolololol (I forget how many lols)

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u/allegedlypizza 7h ago

I take propranolol too! As far as I know because it's a non-selective beta blocker it's one of the worst for melatonin. I still have to take it for migraine aura. I used to take three a day, 6 hours apart. But now I just take the first two doses. Sucks because it's less effective for migraine but my sleep improved a bit.