Problems with sleeping. . .

Hi, this is my first post here.

I have created this account recently because of my continuous problems sleeping.
I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago. Afterwards, I began one test study that provided the medication for free. I eventually discontinued the study because seroquel made me twitch violently and I was unable to sleep on it. (After that I was unable to afford proper medication/doctor visits)

I have not been on medication for about 3 years.
I do have consistent short lived outbursts, but I am able to control them if not perpetuated further. My husband helps with this a lot.

Anyway, what really has consistently bothered me is my inability to sleep. I sleep on average 4 hours a night, usually ranging from 5am-9am. This has been going on for a year now and has perpetually gotten worse. These past 4 nights have ranged from 2 hours of sleep to none (last night). My husband has taken notice of me never sleeping next to him and it has started to worry him.

Since I will never be able to afford medication, I usually am just able to drink myself to sleep, but it has become too expensive and we are quitting alcohol. I am drinking the last of all of our back up alcohol now.

I am worried I will become a complete insomniac once we quit drinking, and would like to know if there are any natural, cheap ways to induce sleep.

Also, in theory if I could ever afford it, what medication would you recommend?

Hey there -

The only natural things I know that tend to calm someone down is chamomile tea & lavender scent, maybe. I'm sure others will know more natural things to help you sleep.

I would advise going to your GP & asking about any cheap medications that can help with sleep. Of course there are the insomnia medications like Lunesta, I'm not sure if it would work if the insomnia is related to your Bipolar, however. Other than that, I cannot say which medications would work. Personally, if I'm in an episode & can't sleep, I end up taking a Xanax. I can't say that you should get that, I'm not a doctor.

Wish I could be of more help, I just think consulting with your doctor about cheap sleeping meds would be the best route to take.

- EGD.

To the OP, I'm curious has you energy level during the day still fine? I've started this not sleeping 'thing' for a couple weeks or so averaging 3 to 4 hours of sleep and feel no different had I had 8 hours of sleep.

Hi

I struggle with sleep too and it is horrible. One thing to say about the alcohol is that whilst it can send you off to sleep it then has a stimulant effect so it maybe it is actually doing more harm than good. Natural things that can help are things like lavendar and camomile tea. Having good sleep hygiene is important. And really having it - not saying you do but you dont really because it is boring to do

There are other meds that can help you sleep but try the above first as it may help you

Cracked

I would try melatonin. You can buy it at any drug store. Start with 3mgs and if that doesn't work talk to the pharmacist about what a more appropriate dose would be for you

Just so you know, there are lots of financial assistance programs that pharmaceutical companies are willing to offer. It might be worth looking into... if you qualify your life would likely improve immensely.

Crankkt wrote:I would try melatonin. You can buy it at any drug store. Start with 3mgs and if that doesn't work talk to the pharmacist about what a more appropriate dose would be for you

Ditto on melatonin! Though I'm not sure about the dosing, so can't comment there. I used to take it and it really worked well (unfortunately it made me very depressed the day after, which is apparently a possible side effect, but not a common one, I don't think).

I'm not sure how well these things would work on their own, since I also take 1 mg of Klonipin before bed, but a couple of things I do that really help:

- About 1-1.5 hours before I want to fall asleep, I drink two or three cups of "Nighttime" or "Calming" tea (there are various brands that use different names related to sleep or relaxing). I use several different brands, but the ingredients they all seem to have in common are chamomile flowers, hibiscus flowers, lemongrass, and spearmint leaves, so I would check for those in the ingredients.

- About an hour before I want to go to bed, I take a hot bath using an aromatic foam bath. The one I use is by Ombra Spa and is a blend of Hops and Bergamot (but I am sure there are a number of brands with that blend), and it's by far the best one I've tried (the Hops and Bergamot blend, not the brand). The chamomile based ones I've tried do nothing for me, though of course everyone's different.

I'm sorry you're struggling with this; insomnia is awful. I hope you find something that works for you and that you're able to sleep more soon!

I'd also recommend Melatonin - until I started my recent meds, Melatonin was the best/cheapest way for me to get a good night's sleep. And my naturopath at the time told me it's not habit-forming like other sleeping aids.