@Soupe du jour: Yes, I definitely see what you mean. However, I wouldn't say I've had insomnia most of my life. I was never a great sleeper, but it used to at least be "good enough" (except for the sleep paralysis now and then) and I never considered it a major issue until the last few years. The interesting thing (to me) is that the worsening of my bipolar disorder and my inter-episode insomnia seemed to go hand in hand. So I don't know, but it still feels to me like there may be some sort of connection.

@Gabyunbound: I'm sorry to hear about your OD experiences. Unfortunately I had some incidents of my own during my most recent episode, when I was so far gone that it's hard to believe it when I think back about it now. In my case there was no alcohol involved, but mainly benzos. They remain tempting for sleep, but I try to minimize using them and so far I've fortunately managed to avoid addiction. But what I mean is, I think I can relate to your experiences, at least somewhat.

Lack of sleep is a major trigger for my episodes as well, which is part of why it scares me so much and why I'm so desperate to improve my sleep. I know from experience that Seroquel XR 50mg works well for me, too, in terms of sleep. I also know from experience that it has a mood-stabilizing effect for me, even at relatively low dosages (it seems like I'm very sensitive to Seroquel for some reason). If nothing else works, I guess it's good to have that as a backup option, and I hope the side effects won't be too bad at 50mg. When I was last on it, it was mainly drowsiness, but I don't know what it did to my cholesterol and so on. What are your experiences in that regard?