[extremebipolar1]

Any insomniacs out there? I struggle every night with this and eventually I'm so exhausted sleeping meds finally work and ill sleep a total of about 6 hrs. Exhausting....any suggestions?

[Travelinglady]

I took ambien until it didn't seem to do diddly and now I've been on Trazodone for awhile and I can't guarantee it will always work. Sometimes I just stay up until exhaustion and then I usually nod off pretty quickly.

Lots of suggestions not involving meds are available, and I use them sometimes--such as melatonin. I don't take pills, but drink a glass of milk. Also, begin to wind down activities a hour or so at least before bedtime. I discovered that playing a game called Word Linker on the computer could keep me awake, because it's timed and very intensive--so I avoid that. I might read a bit before bed. Of course, no vigorous exercise close to bedtime either.

What else can people think of?

(Raises hand.) Me for sure.
My klonopin helps me sleep...but it also keeps my nasty dreams away. And my anxiety can beat the klonopin if it wants to and I stay up anyway.
I tried Trazodone too and got nothing from that, but not saying its not worth trying...I have terrible luck with medication.
I have heard of trying melatonin, too.
I refuse to try things like Ambien because I would be one of those people who drove to places w/out knowing it because my unconscious is always thinking about certain people and places I miss...and that's a scary thought.
Reading can knock me out sometimes (plus the klonopin) if I am trying to relax before sleeping, sometimes I just give up.
TV and computer right before trying to sleep do NOT help. I also need all darkness.
My pdoc said morning exercise should help me sleep better...but I tend to fall asleep in the morning and sleep during the day, MUCH better than night (someone forgot to warn me I was becoming a vampire).

[extremebipolar1]

Originally Posted by tractionbeam0610

(Raises hand.) Me for sure.
My klonopin helps me sleep...but it also keeps my nasty dreams away. And my anxiety can beat the klonopin if it wants to and I stay up anyway.
I tried Trazodone too and got nothing from that, but not saying its not worth trying...I have terrible luck with medication.
I have heard of trying melatonin, too.
I refuse to try things like Ambien because I would be one of those people who drove to places w/out knowing it because my unconscious is always thinking about certain people and places I miss...and that's a scary thought.
Reading can knock me out sometimes (plus the klonopin) if I am trying to relax before sleeping, sometimes I just give up.
TV and computer right before trying to sleep do NOT help. I also need all darkness.
My pdoc said morning exercise should help me sleep better...but I tend to fall asleep in the morning and sleep during the day, MUCH better than night (someone forgot to warn me I was becoming a vampire).

I also am on klonipin and often doesn't help. I have tried trazadone with no luck as well and ambien...scary. we have a lot in common...would love to chat more.

[Irrelevant221]

I am currently on Trazodone, and I've noticed that while I do still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, there have been nights where I fall asleep somewhat more easily than usual and am able to sleep through the night. So while it seems to be hit and miss for me, I'm hoping that the fact that it occasionally seems to be effective means that I'll respond to it better on a higher dose.

I agree with other posters on here in that attempting to relax a good while before heading for bed tends to make a difference. I've found that having something calming playing in the background before I go to sleep (an audiobook, low music, white noise machine, etc.) sometimes helps.

[Hellion]

I suppose so, since I have trazodone for insomnia...but yeah I usually have trouble sleeping every night and rarely go to bed before 12 am but usually I end up staying up later...then eventually I might take the trazodone, or I might try valarian mixed with other relaxing herbs(any of them alone don't really work but a mixture of valarian, chamomille, passion flower and catnip as tea or at least a couple of those usually helps some. Right now it's almost 2 in the morning and I want to go outside, even though it's cold and there's nothing to do...I doubt walking around alone outside at this time would be a good idea though. If I could go for a walk it would probably help. I also wake up after falling asleep a lot of times, have difficulties getting back to sleep and a lot of times when I do sleep I have a lot of dreams I'd rather not have.

After my experience with klonopin I had for anxiety I am kind of afraid to rely too much on the trazodone or take it every night so I don't take it very regularly.

[t43t43tr5h5]

I took advil pm for a few months to get my sleeping (or lack thereof) in check. super vivid dreams (good and bad) no other side affects from the advil though just thought id share my 2 cents.

[TRNRMOM]

Originally Posted by extremebipolar1

Any insomniacs out there? I struggle every night with this and eventually I'm so exhausted sleeping meds finally work and ill sleep a total of about 6 hrs. Exhausting....any suggestions?

never had sleep issues w/my bp1 til about a yr. ago. ambien is like eating m&m to me and the pharmacist said that it will not stop the racing thoughts which i have every nite. 1/2 of .25mg. seroquel does the trick and recently a new dr. prescribed 5mg. of valium, an older drug. have tried .5mg. klonopin which does work and sometimes will combine klonopin and seroquel when i'm really stimulated/stressed...but so far i have found 1 night a piece of seroquel the following night a valium and i sleep well w/no racing thoughts. also started taking .5mg melatonin an hr. before bedtime and i'm finding it does make me sleepy...before taking either the valium or seroquel an hr. later.

[extremebipolar1]

Originally Posted by Hellion

I suppose so, since I have trazodone for insomnia...but yeah I usually have trouble sleeping every night and rarely go to bed before 12 am but usually I end up staying up later...then eventually I might take the trazodone, or I might try valarian mixed with other relaxing herbs(any of them alone don't really work but a mixture of valarian, chamomille, passion flower and catnip as tea or at least a couple of those usually helps some. Right now it's almost 2 in the morning and I want to go outside, even though it's cold and there's nothing to do...I doubt walking around alone outside at this time would be a good idea though. If I could go for a walk it would probably help. I also wake up after falling asleep a lot of times, have difficulties getting back to sleep and a lot of times when I do sleep I have a lot of dreams I'd rather not have.

After my experience with klonopin I had for anxiety I am kind of afraid to rely too much on the trazodone or take it every night so I don't take it very regularly.

This is exactly what I do...cant sleep until at least 1 am and my bf's alarm goes off for work at 3:30 am and my alarm at 5:45 to prepare for the day. Not to mention the waking up constantly(about every hour)and having very vivid dreams....mostly bad and often repeated. I often wake up in a panic and struggle getting back to sleep. Thank u for being you and understanding.

[extremebipolar1]

Originally Posted by Irrelevant221

I am currently on Trazodone, and I've noticed that while I do still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, there have been nights where I fall asleep somewhat more easily than usual and am able to sleep through the night. So while it seems to be hit and miss for me, I'm hoping that the fact that it occasionally seems to be effective means that I'll respond to it better on a higher dose.

I agree with other posters on here in that attempting to relax a good while before heading for bed tends to make a difference. I've found that having something calming playing in the background before I go to sleep (an audiobook, low music, white noise machine, etc.) sometimes helps.

I have tried everything under the sun and cant seem to find the key quite yet. I had to drop out of high school due to my insomnia, anxiety, and bipolar. Thankfully I finally got my diploma on my own later and when I could function, not when I was expected to. thanks for the advice. I read and I lay down by 8 pm every night and to no avail does the calming work. but I still continue to try.

[hamster-bamster]

see my signature. that, or very low doses of medicinal cannabis.

Cannabis: no dreams, higher cost
Amitriptyline: dreams present, lower cost

[extremebipolar1]

frustrated...my klonipin worked and I got a couple of hours but to no avail, my wonderful dog woke me up and decided she had to go potty. REALLY? Figured out why...full moon. I swear she is part vampire.

yep... count me in!

i've tried everything under the sun, with nothing really helping

Originally Posted by extremebipolar1

frustrated...my klonipin worked and I got a couple of hours but to no avail, my wonderful dog woke me up and decided she had to go potty. REALLY? Figured out why...full moon. I swear she is part vampire.

Oh yes, my wonderful cat has been SO helpful in the morning when he wants to be fed, not. It's really annoying, isn't it? Even when you love them, it's like, can you just wait please???

[extremebipolar1]

Originally Posted by tractionbeam0610

Oh yes, my wonderful cat has been SO helpful in the morning when he wants to be fed, not. It's really annoying, isn't it? Even when you love them, it's like, can you just wait please???

Definitely know that feeling. It is either the cat or the dogs. just plain tired.

[Travelinglady]

My therapist told me about tapes for relaxation before bed and even a tape where in the background of the music something is going on with brain waves associated with sleep. I bought it but now I can't find it! And I didn't even get to try it.

Also, although we don't want to hear it, it's best not to have pets in the bedroom while trying to sleep. On some level I think I worry I'm going to roll over and flatten the cat out. Plus animals sometimes make noises while they sleep. Our dog can definitely saw some logs.

[extremebipolar1]

Originally Posted by PAYNE1

My therapist told me about tapes for relaxation before bed and even a tape where in the background of the music something is going on with brain waves associated with sleep. I bought it but now I can't find it! And I didn't even get to try it.

Also, although we don't want to hear it, it's best not to have pets in the bedroom while trying to sleep. On some level I think I worry I'm going to roll over and flatten the cat out. Plus animals sometimes make noises while they sleep. Our dog can definitely saw some logs.

Wish I could sleep without my dogs but I would probably have an anxiety attack from worry. both of them have separation anxiety horrible. They would be freaking out. Its comforting for both them and me. I have really bad anxiety and that's what keeps my mind from shutting down most nights. But thank you for the advice...always willing to try new things.

[kittycat97]

I slept only for 3h everyday and by Friday, i was too tired to go to school. I went to my GP and he gave me promethazine 5 mg but it didn't work. This week i am oversleeping instead. @_@

[random334]

Have you ever tried Unisom? I prefer Unisom sleep gels.

[Alter Ego]

I've had trouble sleeping since high school. I rarely go to sleep before 3-4 am unless i'm dead tired. And it takes some to tire me. When i worked at one point it got so unendurable that i did double shifts a couple of times, my shift ending in 23:00 or midnight and then again in 05:00 untill 13:00. My regular shift from 15 or 16 depending on the day.

Had some of my colleagues a bit worried for me but it did the trick though, nothing makes you sleep like a baby like being up for 36 hours twice in a week.

I'll say that cannabis did put me to sleep although i did remember my dreams the day after and it took a hell of a punch to get there, however it varies from person to person and would best be left untouched as a self medicating substance when you have readily available adequate expert medical aid.

[belledisastre]

I had severe insomnia for 3 years where it would take me well over three hours of laying in bed at night to fall asleep. Once, I laid in bed at 8pm and didn't fall asleep until 2am. It was absolutely hopeless even trying to go to bed early. I tried all of the non-medication ways to go to sleep faster but nothing worked.
Valerian Root supplements worked pretty well for me. I also downloaded this thing for my computer that changes the color tint to an orangey/sunset color at night (it's really not noticeable at all, you notice it when it first changes but then get used to it). It's supposed to help because the "blue light" that normally comes from the computer at night tends to wake up your brain more (it reminds you of the sky during the day).
Also be sure to keep your bedroom completely dark at night.
These worked well to have me fall asleep within 30 minutes. Then I got put on Seroquel for my Bipolar II Disorder and I take it about an hour before I want to go to sleep. I'm pretty much knocked out as soon as I lay in bed and pray. I don't take the Valerian Root with it of course, I did on my first night (I didn't realize Seroquel was almost like a sleeping pill) and then it took me 20 minutes to wake up the next morning and I felt like a zombie all day. Of course it could've just been the startup effects of the Seroquel though.
I noticed your username; since you have Bipolar Disorder, have you ever tried Seroquel? Don't take it just by my advice though, definitely talk to your psychiatrist or doctor first. Seroquel tends to turn you into an exhausted zombie for the first couple weeks, and I noticed a lot more daytime tiredness when I was on XR then regular. Now that I'm stabilized on regular Seroquel, though, it pretty much just acts as a sleep aid and doesn't really detract from my energy throughout the day.
Good luck with everything!

[vickieh69]

Through past experience I found that I had to take trazadone and ambien. The trazadone to help me fall asleep and the ambien to keep me sleeping. This was all monitored by my doctor.

Any type of activity that stimulates your brain will potentially make it harder to fall asleep.
Maybe try a warm shower and then an imagery CD to relax.

Great advice vickieh69, imagery cd sounds good. And trazodone does work for some. Has anyone noticed the mention of Amitriptyline? It was my first antidepressant and it knocked me out for 13 hours!

[thickntired]

Hi all,

I quit pot & alcohol about 40 days ago and now I wake up after 3-4 hours. I've tried ambien, Valium, muscle relaxers when my back hurts, stopped or cut aderall in half, and all natural solutions. I'm going to my
Pdoc to see about trazodone. It's gotten so bad that I'm clenching my jaw and the dentist wants me to get a mouth guard. I've got visible damage to my teeth. I read that ssri's, anxiety & insomnia can cause jaw clenching or teeth grinding. I used to have bad restless leg syndrome and talk a lot in my sleep. I feel like a total zombie.

Note: yes pot will make you sleep BUT do not try if you have an addictive personality. It almost killed me getting off the smoke.

Peace,

TnT