diff --git a/src/DB.php b/src/DB.php
index c8d5f4b97..947efc0dc 100644
--- a/src/DB.php
+++ b/src/DB.php
@@ -1079,7 +1079,7 @@ public static function getTelegramRequestCount($chat_id = null, $inline_message_
             $date = self::getTimestamp(time());
             $date_minute = self::getTimestamp(strtotime('-1 minute'));
 
-            $sth->bindParam(':chat_id', $chat_id, \PDO::PARAM_INT);
+            $sth->bindParam(':chat_id', $chat_id, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':inline_message_id', $inline_message_id, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':date', $date, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':date_minute', $date_minute, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
@@ -1095,8 +1095,8 @@ public static function getTelegramRequestCount($chat_id = null, $inline_message_
     /**
      * Insert Telegram API request in db
      *
-     * @param string  $method
-     * @param array   $data
+     * @param string $method
+     * @param array  $data
      *
      * @return bool If the insert was successful
      * @throws \Longman\TelegramBot\Exception\TelegramException
@@ -1107,7 +1107,7 @@ public static function insertTelegramRequest($method, $data)
             return false;
         }
 
-        $chat_id = ((isset($data['chat_id']) && $data['chat_id'] != 0) ? $data['chat_id'] : null);
+        $chat_id = ((isset($data['chat_id'])) ? $data['chat_id'] : null);
         $inline_message_id = (isset($data['inline_message_id']) ? $data['inline_message_id'] : null);
 
         try {
@@ -1122,7 +1122,7 @@ public static function insertTelegramRequest($method, $data)
 
             $created_at = self::getTimestamp();
 
-            $sth->bindParam(':chat_id', $chat_id, \PDO::PARAM_INT);
+            $sth->bindParam(':chat_id', $chat_id, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':inline_message_id', $inline_message_id, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':method', $method, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
             $sth->bindParam(':date', $created_at, \PDO::PARAM_STR);
diff --git a/src/Request.php b/src/Request.php
index a405c1fc5..2bce8e13a 100644
--- a/src/Request.php
+++ b/src/Request.php
@@ -1027,11 +1027,7 @@ private static function limitTelegramRequests($action, array $data = [])
 
             if ((isset($data['chat_id']) || isset($data['inline_message_id'])) && in_array($action, $limited_methods)) {
                 $timeout = 60;
-                $tick = 500000; //msec
-
-                if (!is_numeric($data['chat_id'])) {
-                    $data['chat_id'] = 0;
-                }
+                $retry   = false;
 
                 while (true) {
                     $requests = DB::getTelegramRequestCount((isset($data['chat_id']) ? $data['chat_id'] : null), (isset($data['inline_message_id']) ? $data['inline_message_id'] : null));
@@ -1040,12 +1036,18 @@ private static function limitTelegramRequests($action, array $data = [])
                         break;
                     }
 
-                    usleep($tick);
-                    $timeout = $timeout - ($tick / 1000000);
+                    sleep(1);
+                    $timeout = $timeout - 1;
 
                     if ($timeout <= 0) {
-                        TelegramLog::debug('Timed out while waiting for a request slot, retrying with 10 seconds delay!' . PHP_EOL . 'Request data:' . PHP_EOL . print_r($data, true) . PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL);
-                        $timeout = 10;
+                        if ($retry) {
+                            throw new TelegramException('Timed out while waiting for a request slot after 2 tries!');
+                        } else {
+                            $timeout = 60;
+                            $retry   = true;
+
+                            TelegramLog::debug('Timed out while waiting for a request slot, retrying! Request data:' . PHP_EOL . print_r($data, true) . PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL);
+                        }
                     }
                 }
 
diff --git a/structure.sql b/structure.sql
index 9f405dba3..8cfd539e2 100644
--- a/structure.sql
+++ b/structure.sql
@@ -214,12 +214,10 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `botan_shortener` (
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `request_limiter` (
   `id` bigint UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT COMMENT 'Unique identifier for this entry',
-  `chat_id` bigint NULL DEFAULT NULL COMMENT 'Unique chat identifier',
+  `chat_id` char(255) NULL DEFAULT NULL COMMENT 'Unique chat identifier',
   `inline_message_id` char(255) NULL DEFAULT NULL COMMENT 'Identifier of the sent inline message',
   `method` char(255) DEFAULT NULL COMMENT 'Request method',
   `created_at` timestamp NULL DEFAULT NULL COMMENT 'Entry date creation',
 
-  PRIMARY KEY (`id`),
-  
-  FOREIGN KEY (`chat_id`) REFERENCES `chat` (`id`)
+  PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
 ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT charSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci;