[gubernova]

What have people on this board who have bipolar I used for sleep aids? Sorry if I ramble my mind is awake but should be asleep from the constant insomnia. About a year ago my sleep cycles just went totally haywire. I've tried almost everything and Seroquel just knocks me out horribly. I crush the tablet and weigh out 5 mg and I sleep for 15 hours. It is the most toxic sleep aid for me yet it works beautifully for almost everyone. Any experiences and suggestions?

[Yoda]

I see you are already taking gabapentin. That helps me sleep a lot. Plus clozapine but mostly if I run out of the gabapentin I can't sleep. I also take xanax but I have been wanting to wean myself off it and have gotten down from 3 mg at night to 1 mg.

[gubernova]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I see you are already taking gabapentin. That helps me sleep a lot. Plus clozapine but mostly if I run out of the gabapentin I can't sleep. I also take xanax but I have been wanting to wean myself off it and have gotten down from 3 mg at night to 1 mg.

Yeah the benzos have always been a slippery slope for me. I start with 1 mg and it helps for a while, but my body gets used to it pretty fast. I've cycled through most of the benzos: valium, xanax, klonopin, etc.

[Crazy Hitch]

Sorry I can't help. Seroquel is the only thing that makes me sleep but hell yeah I still have the hangover effect of wanting to sleeeeep allllllllll day sometimes. I still work but by 2pm I'm zonked. Tried saphris. That was worse.

[lacerta]

I take Ativan, but not on daily basis, just when the insomnia comes.

[newworldoutthere]

Trazadone! I love it, it is an anti-depressant that works for sleep too. Not as strong as Seroquel or benzos, and left me able to function the next day. I am also a person who gets knocked out for 12-16 hours with half a 25 mg tablet of Seroquel.

[gubernova]

Trazadone started great for me then eventually pooped out at the sleep doses. At higher doses it lost it's efficacy as a sleep aid. I stuck with it while it worked even though I had felt like I got hit with a hammer in the mornings.

[vans1974]

Originally Posted by gubernova

What have people on this board who have bipolar I used for sleep aids? Sorry if I ramble my mind is awake but should be asleep from the constant insomnia. About a year ago my sleep cycles just went totally haywire. I've tried almost everything and Seroquel just knocks me out horribly. I crush the tablet and weigh out 5 mg and I sleep for 15 hours. It is the most toxic sleep aid for me yet it works beautifully for almost everyone. Any experiences and suggestions?

Sorry to hear...you might try the muscle relaxor, Flexerall, or Seroquel again, then when you wake you up, take a Provigil/Nuvigil or any other psycho-stimulant. Best of luck!

[BlackSheep79]

I've went round and round with meds and I ended up back on seroquel, it seems to be the only one that works for me.

[NoIdeaWhatToDo]

Flexerall has been wonderful for me. I took it for specific muscle issues that were waking me all night long, but once I started it, I slept like a baby all night. I only take it as necessary, and a half pill to one pill per night. I might take it a few nights in a row, then not for months.

If you do supplements at all, Valerian really helped me, also - it smells AWFUL (I keep the closed bottle sealed in a plastic baggie), but it works for me.

Oh, and neither the Valerian nor the Flexerall have any after effects for me the next day. I can't take the Flexerall too late, though, since it feels like it's working in my system for a good 8-9 hours.

[gubernova]

Just been given an increase of oxcarbazepine to help my sleep. As soon as the doc said it was okay to take more I knew I had more insomnia to look forward to.
What the heck happened to me? It seems like I just lost the ability to sleep and nothing is gonna bring it back. Maybe some cognitive sleep therapy. I tried that and it almost killed me not being able to go near my bed during the day from pure exhaustion.

[loophole]

Seroquel. ... I personally wouldn't recommend it... I'm coming off klonopins... (would not recommend them in the slightest.. I have never abused them) basically doing a detox while I'm in outpatient not having to work... no way on earth could I come off them while working.... i'd not recommend seroquel either just because of the lethargic side of it that seems to last into the next day.. it's unfortunate that I can't sleep without something but its an impossibility right now...

[venusss]

Valerian, catnip, lemon balm... even salvia. That combined with some visualisation and I sleep... well, in like two hours.

[loophole]

Tried Salvia and valerian... no luck.. however if the valerian especially would have worked at all I would of stayed put there.. unfortunately not much touches me.... sux

[CozyMellie]

I take 15-30mgs of Restoril. I get 7-8hrs but recently I've been waking up/staying awake after 4 hours which can be annoying if I don't have to be awake until another 2-3 hours. I always wake up at 5:30, I try to go back to sleep, then wake up again at 6:30. this continues to happen until 8:30 and by then I am completely exhausted from all the interruptions.

[BipolaRNurse]

My pdoc won't put me on sleeping pills because of my history of alcoholism and addictive personality. He's okay with Klonopin at a very low dose, and of course the Geodon and Zyprexa help with sleep too. Otherwise I'd probably never sleep more than 3-4 hours a night and be manic as hell. I used to be a champion sleeper, but no more.....as I've aged, sleep has become more and more problematic. I guess it comes along with the territory, but it sure messes with my head when I don't sleep well.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I see you are already taking gabapentin. That helps me sleep a lot. Plus clozapine but mostly if I run out of the gabapentin I can't sleep. I also take xanax but I have been wanting to wean myself off it and have gotten down from 3 mg at night to 1 mg.

I also take gabapentin to help sleep. 600mg of it and klonopin prn if I still cant sleep.