[jesusplay]

my body got use to 200mg of seroquel...the doc upped it to 400mg worked for a while now it does nothing.

I add a klonopin and I'm immune to them also.

I don't have the ability to get "sleepy", I'm tired but my brain and body disagree?

[glok]

Hello, jesusplay. Please talk to your doctor. Adjustments may need to be made.

I wish you well.

[jesusplay]

3 am....I'm so annoyed with being conscious

[Blue Swan]

I agree, this can't be life! I'm a veteran insomniac too. My pdoc put me on Ativan in April to stop my rapid cycling and help me sleep, and it worked at first but now I think I'm immune to it. Sometimes I add an herbal sleep aid with it and that seems to help. Any L-Tryptophan mixed with other herbs like valerian etc. It needs to be a mix to be the most effective. Try a health store, the employees will know a lot, or can buy on line. best.

[jesusplay]

I use to fool around with that stuff, but stopped when I started seeing a doctor. Thanks for the advice though. melatonin, v-6, some other stuff, valerian never did much for me and boy does it stink. I wander back to the herbal side if my doctor can't give me a work poison. I think my liver can't process the seroquel and benzo and it's going straight to my piss....but I'm no doctor..still awake with such energy but I'm not up i'm down....

[elevatedsoul]

i know the feeling... sleep evades us...

im not sure what to do about it, it seems everything i try doesnt work and drinking alcohol to pass out is a bad idea

i hope you get some rest soon

[jesusplay]

2 hours and 40 minutes of sleep....I feel like I drank last night when I didn't

[Beepee]

Seroquel worked the first night for me, then nothing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TRNRMOM]

Originally Posted by jesusplay

2 hours and 40 minutes of sleep....I feel like I drank last night when I didn't

i too don't sleep and the only med that puts me to sleep, keeps me asleep, and stops the racing thoughts is either 1/2 of a 25mg seroquel or the entire 25mg seroquel; wake up feeling hung over but the sleep is always there every night; maybe a lower dose of the seroquel might be the answer.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Seroquel is pretty much maxed out in most people for the sleeping effect at h1 at 300mg...exceptions might be if you smoke that basically cuts your med dose in half for APs. The lower 50mg dose still has like 95% occupancy of h1 but for a shorter time so increasing the dose just keeps you sleepy longer it won't make you more sleepy unfortunately. That drug did zero for me but getting my illness under control with another AP allowed me to sleep again....

Once out of crisis mode my pdoc before he would do anything med wise wanted me to try progressive muscle relaxation....you can buy a script for that on iTunes for like 99 cents....a voice will tell you which muscles to contract and then relax etc. It didn't work for me but I found it refreshing and it does work for some people. He also suggested melatonin never got to that point. For some reason just talking to him about the possibility of meds and the issues I was having got me to sleep within a week. In my case my sleep is very much tied to anxiety whether I was aware of it at the time or not....resolving the actual issue is helpful. There are in fact cbt techniques to deal with this. Before you go to bed open a journal and on one page write anything you might be worried about or thinking about....on the opposing side you can put a potential solution for each problem. The solution can even be I will think about this tomorrow at 10:46 am on my coffee break instead of tonight...your brain often listens to this kind of thing which is nice.

It helps to go to bed at the same time each night to have good sleep hygiene...ie don't sit in bed with your tablet....if you can't sleep just get up and do something until you feel sleepy. Reading a book or some other quiet routine before bed also helps...stay away from murder mysteries....maybe pick up something a little more boring...

The final thing and this is especially true with bipolar is blocking blue light. A lot of people use tablets computers e-readers etc with a light source...your brain thinks it's nice sunny daylight so the longer you use a screen and artificial lights the longer you'll be awake. One easy way to deal with this is to get a pair of blue blocker sunglasses...you can still see and use any device you want but the blue light will be blocked which makes your body think it's time to sleep...I believe the recommended time is 4 hours before you want to go to bed...alternatively is you use a computer there are programs which will adjust the screen colors to block out the blue light for you...

I know not sleeping is huge...for me I have to really watch it because it triggers psychosis but so far using these techniques I've been able to do it without meds....which is cool because the med I did try seroquel had no impact and I'm not sure any of the others would have worked either...

[Dix888]

Melatonin is not good for people in manias. It does the opposite. I had a psychiatric RN (retired MD who studied to become an expert on medications/RN level) who told me that. I had taken melatonin to sleep on the plane to Germany (from the US) I was wide awake for 3 days. I've taken seroquel for 10 years & it works for me but I'm on 100 mg. But when manic time (spring/early summer) hits, I often get insomnia.
The meds aren't perfect. But 2 hours is not enough sleep. There has to be something else. Relaxation tapes help me feel more peaceful but I've never fallen asleep to one.
Cutting out caffeine can help. I only drink one cup of coffee in the a.m. now
There has to be some good combo of meds for you. I wish you well

[TheatreKid]

Originally Posted by Dix888

Melatonin is not good for people in manias. It does the opposite.

That explains why my pdoc looked so concerned when I told her I was taking melatonin last year.

Music helps me sleep. The Solitudes series by Dan Gibson are albums of ambient noise paired with piano or simple music. "Sleep Deeply" and "Piano Cascades" are the ones I listen to in order to sleep.