Missed half my Seroquel, then struggled to sleep

Last night I accidently only drank only half my dosage of Seroquel. Then I didn't get proper sleep last night.

The seroquel (50mg) was specifically prescribed to help calm me down to sleep. Now if I go out at night, I take my usual meds with only half the Seroquel. Otherwise it's risky to drive and I come off as kinda high. Then when I get home I take the other half, and I sleep fine.

But last night I forgaot to take the other half and I really struggled to get proper sleep. I kinda woke up frequently.
What I'm wondering now is, am I ever gonna get proper sleep again without drugs? Perhaps last night was just coincidental that I didn't sleep properly, since I have been feeling stressed in general this last week. It is a little worrying. Luckily I am seeing my psychiatrist today, so I can ask her opinion.

Has anybody had similar experiences? How do you guys deal with sleep?

I really struggle with sleep, esp as I am nearly off all my benzos now. It is difficult to say that you need meds to sleep but imo I think it is better to take them than not sleep. Have you looked into sleep hygeine stuff too?

Cracked

Never,
I have had the same experience with other meds (benzos, risperidol, otc sleep aids, ambien). My body seems to go through a rather quick tolerance-building effect with any consiousness-altering med (alcohol included). I am pretty sure it has to do with the normal dopamine and seratonin receptors' involvement in the body's chemical tolerance building phenomenon... mine just seems to happen at a much higher rate of speed (or over a shorter period of time). So, being aware of this, I have learned to not only take sleep-inducing meds when REALLY needed, but also be judicious about saying "oh, well, I'll just take one more of them." Gosh darned brain chemicals!

Am currently only on seroquel on as-needed basis. My normal dose of that is 100mg. The other night I noticed that 100mg gave me only moderate, not deep sleep, so last night I took 150mg (pdoc told me to adjust dosages as needed and that safe dosing is, I believe, up to 1200mg with that).

Sleep meds are a tricky thing. Agree with Cracked- if it's a choice of not taking them and feeling tired and lethargic due to not being well rested, and taking them... I take them. I guess, at least in my case knowing my body's rapid tolerance-building capability, I take into consideration whether or not I am in a stable period. If I am relatively stable, I'll see if I can do without; but if I'm in a bad period, the doc gave them to me for a reason, so I should take them... as sleep greatly impacts my moods and if in a bad period I need to keep mood-impacting factors to a minimum.

Understand your dilemma, Never... it's an ongoing battle to take what we need, but keep it at the minimum levels we need to handle the problems without causing other probs on top of the ones we've already got.

Hugs to you,
Koshka

One thing that I should try, which I haven't yet, is exercise. I know it does help with sleep.

Yeah exercise is good for sleep - I find that helps.

Cracked

I'm on 50mg Seroquel and it knocks me for a 6.... (ask Cracked how wonky my pms get 5 mins after I take it lol)... but I'd like to think that I'm a little bit littler than you Never, so 50mg is a tincy wincy dose, esp for a bloke. I wouldn't get too worried about sleep coz you have a lot of room to move with the seroquel... and like you say, you missed a half dose - and I imagine that would cause your Sero levels to dip and they would prolly come back into normal range within a few days or so?? (When I cut back from 100mg to 50mg a few weeks ago I was in a bad way for a week... it doesn't seem to be a kind drug to miss doses or lower doses with. Exercise is fantastic for sleep and best done in the morning - to help you get over any Sero hangover and also so your body isn't still charged up just before bed. A warm cup of milk has a sleep enhancing effect at night. Also that going to bed early and getting up early - yeah that stuff that makes us socially dead! . Don't worry, it's an hour past my bed time . Sometimes using sleepers for a few nights along with good sleep hygiene can get us back into routine. I don't think there is a bipolar who doesn't know the debilitating effects of insomnia - it comes with the territory unfortunately.