Best med for sleep...desperate

i'm 66 and have lived with bp2 for more than 35 yrs. never had issues w/sleep but it seems this past yr. i cannot sleep or stay asleep. p/doc hasn't given me any answers. stress is a big trigger for insomnia for me. i keep my bedtime schedule regular. ambien is like eating an m&m and pharmacist tells me it won't stop the racing thoughts which i have also. sometimes low doses (12-25mg) of seroquel helps and now i'm trying valium. started taking 5mg of melatonin w/whatever med i choose at bedtime. please tell me what gets you to sleep and keeps you asleep. i'm totally wrecked w/o sleep.

I don't 'really' recommend it but I use three things
Ativan for the sleeping part,
Prazosin to stop from dreaming and
Baclofen for relaxing.

Prazosin is a blood pressure medicine and I already have very low blood pressure so when I take it I cant really get out of bed or I pass out so I have to stay horizontal.

Baclofen is a muscle relaxer which is great for not tensing up while sleeping.

I take all three of these at bedtime and then again at 3 am.

I have had a sleep disorder for 20 years so my regimen might be a little more than what most people need but I DO sleep that is for sure!

C and Oliver (my Service Dog)

I take 100mgs of doxepin and 2mgs of lorazapam.

I wake a couple times and do have vivid dreams but I'm usually able to go back to sleep.

Hope that helps.

My doctor put me on ativan I take that twice at night and they got me on 400 mg of seriquel, see if they can up the dose of your seriquel and ask about ativan.

I've tried ambien-it works but can make you irritable. Sero quel works well for me now but it's obviously for more than sleep.

4 things:

1. an antihistamine called Zyxal (a concentrated form of Zyprea, an over-the-counter antihistamine) prescribed by a doctor. (high histamine levels can build in a bipolar person.)

2. I recommend you have a sleep apnea test done. You're at the age (and any age person might have it, but it's logical to assume that a 66-year old might be needing it). That will determine if you are missing during the night the very important REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep that actually charges our "battery". If you feel you need naps in the afternoon or do not have a restful night of sleep, those are clues that you may need to see a lung specialist and undergo sleep apnea testing. (It's covered by Medicare, as well as the equipment for use at night.)

3. Sometimes insomnia at our age (and you're a good bit younger than I) can
be caused by acid buildup in the tissues and fluids. Squeezing 2 lemons into 8 oz of water and drinking it can relax you and enable you to fall asleep and rest soundly. Too, it's natural for the pineal gland that manufactures melatonin to calcify as one ages, so you may not be getting sufficient melatonin production for bedtime, especially if you sit and watch tv (bright lights reduce melatonin production) right up until bedtime. You may wish to cut off tv a couple of hours before going to bed.

If you read when you get in bed, do so with a soft light, please, to reduce glare.

4. Clonazepam (or Klonopin) is helpful, .5 mg or greater is enough to induce sleep at our ages, but be careful; Clonazepam can be addictive, so you want to limit the number of times you rely on that in any given week. (Must be prescribed by physician.)

Sleep well!

i always thought i had insomnia, major problems getting to sleep. lunesta didnt work. bad experience with ambien. OTC product generic sleep aid did work however, not the benedryl based but the doxylamine succinate tablets.

turned out it wasnt the insominia all those years, rahter a sensitivity to caffiene. any amount of caffiene or energy boosting products, the b vitamins, ginsing, after 2 in the afternoon and i would have a rapidly thinking mind till 4 am. cut out these products, im in bed by 1...ive always been a night person. i dont get up till 10 so i get plenty of sleep.

now i am on geodon for the bipolar and it makes me very tired. im usually falling asleep within 3 hours of taking it. cant stay awake for nothing. crash city.

good luck....

Oh, yes, Kaliope, and since you have a sensitivity to it, you should remove it from your diet permanently, especially since you're a bipolar patient. (It makes bipolar illness worse, according to my psychiatrist.)

Please see http://www.DoctorYourself.com/caffeineallergy to learn the full effects of damage to the brain caused by those sensitive to caffeine.

I have such a sensitivity and, honestly, chocolate is worse than coffee for me. (It's the theobromine in chocolate, a close cousin to caffeine that is the problem.)

The "lemon thing" will take care of it, though, if you just once in a while "must have" a little taste of chocolate. Do you know the "lemon thing"?

Squeeze 2 fresh lemons into an 8 oz of water; drink it. If you aren't much better in 4 hours, repeat the process. It usually works for some of us. You will be amazed at how calm it makes you feel. I use it on occasion when I've had something I shouldn't be eating.

(The lemon tastes very acid, and it is a citrus fruit, but in digestion it undergoes transformation and becomes one of the most alkaline foods we can ingest. That's its benefit: it corrects an over acidity and brings about a slightly alkaline state to the fluids and tissues, a very welcome appreciation for the body. It isn't the same as the ph of the system; that is regulated by the brain and varies only a minuscule degree in ph.)

I'm using ZZZQuil. It's a NyQuil product just for sleep, basically a high dose of Benedryl.

You said the low dose Seroquel helped a little. I am taking 300mg of Seroquel at bedtime. I am sleeping very well. This is unusual for me, I usually have a hard time sleeping.

Maybe upping the Seroquel at night may help. I also take Trazadone 50 mg and nuerontin 600mg at bedtime, both of these are sedating. Nuerontin is also a mood stabilizer.