Ive been diagnosed as bipolar with anxiety. Psychiatrist gave me propranolol but said take them in the morning. This isn't much help since I get anxious before bed. Ive read loads of stuff saying don't lay in bed, get up and do something til youre tired, but this just means I don't sleep at all that night. The issues im anxious about are that I had two seizures a few years ago and they said im epileptic. I don't agree with this but the neuro is useless but I cant afford to pay to see one. Even tho I don't take anti convulsants, and I don't have seizures anymore, they wont give up on this epilepsy idea. I feel theyre being lazy. It makes me mad cos I think if ever again I have a seizure, they'll say bam! its cos youre epileptic and don't take meds! so right now I cant change that diagnosis, and I cant do something else till im tired otherwise i'll only sleep about twice a week! What sensible practical stuff can you do for night anxiety?

[l8blmr]

Hi Cally. Not really enough information there for me to play amateur doctor. I can tell you that I've been using Trazodone for anxiety induced insomnia with some success. It's non-addictive with minor side effects.

Finding out where the anxiety is coming from seems like the next logical step.

[Cranky Old Hermit]

Cally, if you are getting anxious before bed you may have conditioned insomnia — you are anxious about getting to sleep, which of course keeps you awake. Sleep medication can help break the cycle, but you must also observe sleep hygiene, such as getting out of bed when you can't go to sleep. The longer you lie in bed feeling anxious, the harder it becomes to sleep there.

[Rose76]

That is a bear of a problem. I know firsthand. I think anxiety can be especially awful at night because you can feel so alone with it.

Like all drugs, anti-seizure meds have their downside. I wouldn't be eager to take them, if I hadn't had a seizure in 2 years. They are prescribed for conditions other than epilepsy. Supposedly, they can have a calming effect. (They are prescribed for bipolar disorder.) Maybe such a drug might help you, even if you don't really need the drug for seizure control.

I tried propranolol and carbemazipine and tegretol and neurontin. None of them did my anxiety any good.

It seems to me that doctors can be lazy about just looking for an easy diagnosis. Really, all doctors do now-a-days is prescribe drugs. I'm not convinced that there is a pharmaceutical answer to every psychological problem.

I think bipolars tend to have highly driven thought processes. (I'm tentatively diagnosed as "on the spectrum.") That seems to be part of what keeps me awake at night. I wish I knew what could be done to modify that tendency. Anxiety seems to rev it up. I think having trusted people in your life who provide emotional reassurance can help. Finding them can be tough. I think some of us grew up around anxiety and internalized it.