Jessica,

It is only in the last month or two that I have been able to sleep most nights without sleeping pills. My sleep has been a disaster for years. I notice too that when my moods are more intense, I have horrible insomnia.

Since my little excursion to the ha-ha house a few months ago for being actively suicidal, my pdoc refuses to give me Ativan anymore, which is the only thing that has ever helped me sleep. (Helped with the anxiety too.) But I seem to be managing it pretty much on my own now. I don't know what turned the corner.

I did learn one intriguing little tidbit from a psych nurse while I was in the hospital. She's done research on sleep, and told me that they've now discovered that caffeine has a rebound effect after 8 hours. So, if you drink a soda or a cup of coffee at 8 p.m., you're going to be wide awake at 4 a.m. I tested it out and darned if she wasn't right. Maybe stopping caffeine in the early afternoon would help some. I switched to decaf (a big deal for me -- I'm a serious caffeine addict!) in the afternoons and evenings, and now I sleep through the night.

Hope you find something that helps.

Candy

There used to be a real me, but I had it surgically removed. -- Peter Sellers