Reta & sleep

Glycine and taurine before bed made a big difference for me on reta and also helped my wife through perimenopause get better rest.

Make sure dinner is filling enough to keep cortisol from rising at 3 am. That rings a bell. Starting with a smaller amount might also be worth considering.

Lower dose crossed my mind but after no luck with other meds I went with the 2 mg trial starting point. Staying there until it stops working. Will check out the glycine and taurine since I already have them.

The 3 am waking stuck around for a couple months then faded for me. A CBD gummy and magnesium glycinate at bedtime worked.

Had to drop caffeine almost completely since I metabolize it poorly. Early on the sleep issues were stronger, but by week 3 eating a couple low-fat cheese sticks before bed helped most. They are low calorie and higher in protein that digests slowly, similar to what some lifters use at night. Looking into getting some of that protein.

Makes sense to think it could be a cortisol response when blood glucose drops around 1-2 am. The body reacts by releasing cortisol to raise glucose again, which can wake you. Tried a CGM after starting reta and again after a quick dose increase; glucose stayed flat both times so no dip or likely cortisol spike. Eating Greek yogurt or similar bars before bed can steady glucose if that is the cause. In my case it turned out the dose increase, mainly from glucagon activity, was driving sympathetic nervous system activity and that disrupted sleep. Backing off to a dose that avoids the issue worked for me.

Opposite for me. First month and a half felt like narcolepsy, especially afternoons. Never napped before but could not stay awake. Worse when appetite suppression was strongest. Now it has eased and I am back to usual insomnia.

Interesting, should read more about it. Thanks. Already take lots of different magnesium forms which helped a lot, but sometimes still need a tiny bit of THC or melatonin and would rather avoid relying on those. Does DSIP work alone or needs the full three? Also wondering about the different CJC versions with or without DAC and how dosing works.

my sleep has been terrible

Had the same issue early on, probably blood sugar or cortisol. Eating some protein plus carbs before bed solved it after some trial and error.

Started on wegovy years ago then zepbound before this. 2 mg reta did nothing, 4 mg was noticeable but still limited effect so moved to 5 mg after three weeks. Now getting full effects and lost 10 lb in a week. Around then had an unrelated infection treated with antibiotics every six hours. Finished those five days ago but still wake after six hours of sleep and cannot get back. Used to sleep eight to ten hours without trouble.

From what I looked into myself short term sleep trouble can show up with Reta. That matched what I went through right after beginning. The problem stuck around for roughly thirty days before it faded.

Had the same issues. Not sure it lasted a full month but woke randomly and had trouble staying asleep. Returned to normal later and started taking magnesium too.

Taking 480 mg magnesium glycinate, 4 mg taurine and 5-7 mg glycine each night for sleep. Magnesium levels were fine on labs last month. Sleep was improving before I raised the dose so expect it will settle again as I adjust.

Started trying NAD subq shots. Only two nights so far but sleeping through consistently instead of waking at 2, 3 or 4 am.

New to peptides and started reta recently. Sleep was already good but now it is a bit better. The noticeable upside is waking up feels easy and I am alert right away, which is new. During the day I feel somewhat sleepy more often but not enough to nap or crash. When it is time for the gym I can focus and get full energy once there. Overall strange but mostly positive so far.

Sleep fine but wake way too early and feel wide awake so just get up. Only started after six weeks at 6 mg, mainly the last two weeks.

Sleep unaffected but I am naturally nocturnal and only get four to six hours anyway. Main change when starting reta was needing to get up to pee more often.

Already take sleep pills but bathroom trips are what wake me. Reta also made me feel narcoleptic the first few months.

Keep epitalon stocked because I will run it four times a year forever. Not a lifelong insomniac but after a couple close losses in recent years sleep became hard until the first epitalon cycle.

My body seems to do the opposite of most. Reta left sleep unchanged. Protein used to knock me out so I avoided it daytime. After starting CJC plus Ipamorelin began waking at 3 am. Stopped it and sleep normalized. Same thing happened with tesamorelin. Glycine, magnesium glycinate and ashwagandha did nothing. Protein at night no longer works. After a week away without tesamorelin slept through the night; back home and on it again woke at 3 am. Morning blood sugar always around 100. Just got DSIP to try next.

Reta has made already poor sleep even worse. Week two at 1 mg. CJC/IPA did not help. Watching the thread for ideas.

First month to six weeks sleep felt different but mostly settled now. Even when data showed it was off I still woke feeling fresh.

Hard time sleeping when first started but returned to normal after a while along with skin sensitivity.

Always had trouble staying asleep and reta does not improve it. From experience: DSIP is hit or miss, mostly miss for me though others say it helped. Glycine at 5 g works; taurine did not. Ashwagandha, especially KSM-66, helped some including me but does not fix everything. Magnesium bisglycinate or L-threonate helps falling asleep but not always staying asleep. Apigenin before bed works well for me and may have longevity benefits too. Good luck.

Sleep was rough week one but improved since. Expect issues again when dose goes up. A 2.5 mg gummy helped last night though heart rate felt a bit higher. Gummies are not a long-term option because of brain fog after a few nights and dry mouth.

Tried half of one of my wife's gummies before bed after a rough previous night. Went to bed at 7, up at 10:30 to pee, took the other half, slept till 3:30, up again then till 5 wide awake but felt good.

Switching pin time to mornings, or adding unisom or melatonin, can help some. It takes time but the body adapts. Things ease after the first 48 hours post pin too.

I bought some glycine lately and now plan to check how things turn out.

Another good night, 8 pm to 5 am with three wake ups. Low heart rate during sleep and solid score overall.

Dropping caffeine completely improved sleep a lot, falling asleep in under ten minutes and waking energized. Making the body tired through hard weight training or other activity that forces rest helps even more. Rest days are when falling asleep is hardest.

Reta sleep? Sleep at all? What is sleep?

Useful thread, thanks for starting it. The cortisol idea seems plausible.

Cortisol came back low last month, oddly enough. Back in normal range on Monday.

Found this thread after another sleepless night. Struggling since starting, though shift work already disrupts rest. On day shifts normally up at 6 but now cannot fall asleep before 2 or 2:30. Building serious sleep debt, feeling irritable and low energy. Hoping it is temporary. Already have magnesium and valerian at home but magnesium did not do much before. Trying the ideas here.