The cool insomnia club #2

My sleep has been disrupted a bit for a while. Numerous late night and early morning awakenings. And I am often waking up with an arm or two partially asleep. I must be sleeping in bad positions or tossing and turning a lot.

I got very suddenly tired at 3:30 yesterday. Not depressed tired but just straight up physically exhausted. So I fell asleep around 4 with no melatonin. I woke up at 7 to eat dinner then fell back asleep around 8:30. I just have these muscle aches especially on my left side.

In my life I don't think I will ever sleep for more than 3 hours at one time.

Nothing has been helping the past few nights.

i don't know if this should be posted under the `cool insomnia club' (maybe i'll duplicate and post there as well). my pandemic nightly anxiety and insomnia seem only to be managed by take 1/2 of .05mg klonopin, 15mg temazepam (used specifically for sleep, tho this is another benzo) and 100mg progesterone; most nights this combo works fine but the morning drug hangover lingers on for hours even tho i drink 2 cups of coffee and go to the gym 6 days a week hoping to metabolize these meds. i have a video appt. coming up in a few weeks with psych nurse but in the meantime i'd love your personal input. i've read that some of you combine zzzquill with a benzo; have lots of 25mg seroquel which i used to take by itself but it seems to have pooped out on me. anyone have some magical solutions to this darn insomnia?

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Originally Posted by TRNRMOM i don't know if this should be posted under the `cool insomnia club' (maybe i'll duplicate and post there as well). my pandemic nightly anxiety and insomnia seem only to be managed by take 1/2 of .05mg klonopin, 15mg temazepam (used specifically for sleep, tho this is another benzo) and 100mg progesterone; most nights this combo works fine but the morning drug hangover lingers on for hours even tho i drink 2 cups of coffee and go to the gym 6 days a week hoping to metabolize these meds. i have a video appt. coming up in a few weeks with psych nurse but in the meantime i'd love your personal input. i've read that some of you combine zzzquill with a benzo; have lots of 25mg seroquel which i used to take by itself but it seems to have pooped out on me. anyone have some magical solutions to this darn insomnia?

Hi TRNRMOM, I replied to you on your thread.

I took cough syrup 6 hours ago worked good. Now I’m up. I’m in a rut not sure what to do. Maybe being off next week from therapy and traveling to see my sister is what I need to help clear my head.

Do people with BP usually have sleep issues? Even when not manic? I remember my very first sleep issue. I was 13 and in a treatment center and the staff who was kind of my 1 on 1 and was a lot like my current T and stayed past her shift until I fell asleep. I didn’t fall asleep until like 1AM.

So I read that some of you got your sleep back!! I really hope that happens for me too. I’ve been struggling with sleep since July when I went into my depression. I get anywhere from 1-5 hours, average about 3-4. At first I was purely exhausted the next day, now I’ve sorta gotten used to it. In the beginning my psych prescribed syraquil, but it made me feel like crap the next day. I tried it for awhile... then they added doxipine..... then trazadone instead of those two. Trazadone helped me get up to 5 hours on 25mg... but over time I had to keep increasing it till I got up to 200mg. Some nights I only got 1 or 2 hours of sleep and started feeling horrible again the next day... so then she prescribed Lunesta and that only worked for 4 hours one night then 3 the next time. So I decided sleep pills do nothing for me. I tried sleeping without them and instead using essential oils and a YouTube meditation video that someone mentioned on this forum. So far I’m 5 days in and have slept on average 4 hours. I think about 5 hours one night!! So I’m keeping my fingers crossed and praying that I can at least continue to get 4.... maybe one day I’ll be back to 7. Insomnia is not fun.... I’ve read that most people with bipolar only have it during mania... but I’ve had it for both. I didn’t notice when I went through the mania, but now it’s all I think about... i just don’t understand why our brains don’t get tired enough to shut down... I’ve always been able to stay up for a few days and then play catch up at the end of the week... but not now. Do any of you get these strange burning sensation types of pain around your skull? It’s hard to describe. It’s not like a regular headache and I don’t know if it’s considered a tension headache, but I’ve only started getting them since I don’t get sleep so I think it’s related.

Mine got worse after the time change too! It was not ideal but way worse when the time changed. Trazadone used to work for me but barely works now. I’m sorry you are going through this. I know exactly how you feel. What sorta worked for me for the last 5 nights is essential oils and listening to a sleep meditation video. It helps put me to sleep... but I still wake up too soon, I get about 4 hours of sleep. I just know that’s better than what the sleep pills did for me. I also didn’t want to get addicted to them, especially after my doc prescribed Lunesta. That’s a hard core one and it knocked me out super fast but only kept me asleep 4 hours one night and 3 the next time. It is supposed to keep you asleep for 7 hours.... haha, that did not happen so I don’t want to take it anymore. I hope your sleep returns!!

I got about 10 hours of sleep without the help of anything for once. I guess it makes it easier since everything is out of the house.

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Originally Posted by Mountaindewed I got about 10 hours of sleep without the help of anything for once. I guess it makes it easier since everything is out of the house.

Can't sleep, and ended up binge eating

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Originally Posted by Blue_Bird Can't sleep, and ended up binge eating

I find that when I'm tired, but cannot sleep I get hungry. Especially for sweet stuff.

I fell asleep last night with my 17 pound and 8 pound blanket. I guess 25 pounds is too much. I woke up at 3 drenched in sweat. I fell asleep at about 12:30.

I have this stomach ache I almost want to go to the ER for. But they’d probably just tell me I ate too much turkey.

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Originally Posted by Mountaindewed ... I have this stomach ache I almost want to go to the ER for. But they’d probably just tell me I ate too much turkey.

I was sleeping like a rock with the 25mg Seroquel. Problem is, it always works fro a few nights then craps out. So I guess tonight I'll try the 12.5mg Seroquel/ZzzQuil combo.

No I don’t think it’s with everyone. Between episodes my mom with BP1 can always sleep good. Just not when manic or depressed. I also have a cousin with bp1 and he doesn’t have issues with sleep when depressed only manic... I’ve never had issues with sleep until my first manic episode this year, then when I was more in hypomania, I started sleeping fine.... but then when the depression hit it’s been crap ever since!! Anywhere from 1 hour to 5 hours, but it’s always broken sleep.

Oh man!! If only these meds were consistent! I wish zzquil worked for me. I was wide awake when I tried it!

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Originally Posted by NaoSky Oh man!! If only these meds were consistent! I wish zzquil worked for me. I was wide awake when I tried it!

Ugh, the inconsistency is giving me a big problem. I took 25mg Seroquel again last night and didn't sleep well.

I'll really try the 12.5 Seroquel and ZzzQuil tonight. The ZzzQuil had stopped working for me, too, so I switched to the 25 Seroquel.

I guess I've just been on too many sleep meds over the years. They used to work well and they maintained. Now, no.

well, i guess i'm now also an official member of this insomnia club but love reading what all of you take for sleep, and sharing what i take for sleep. no doubt this pandemic has been a big factor for insomnia.

i switch up my meds so they don't poop out on me and i document every am how well they worked or didn't work. i take: 1/2 .05mg klonopin, 15mg. temazepam and progesterone nightly...or take 25mg seroquel, 7.5. temezepam and progesterone; both combos usually work; i have excellent sleep preparation but noticed over the past few days when it cooled down here in az. that adding an extra blanket helped with sleep (sorta like a weighted blanket i guess); i conferred w/my psych nurse and she said if the klonopin/temezepam/progesterone don't work, also take a 1/2 of seroquel and it has added benefits of working on the anxiety part of my bipolar; i notice that when i'm taking the seroquel for sleep that i don't have my usual, predictable anxiety around 2pm every day...she also said there are several new sleep meds on the market but they still would not address the bipolar disorder i've lived with for 40+ yrs. am i groggy in the am? hell yes, but it's worth it to have somewhat decent 8 hrs. of sleep, even if med-induced...but that's my personal opinion of course. we're all on a different sleep journey!

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Originally Posted by TRNRMOM well, i guess i'm now also an official member of this insomnia club but love reading what all of you take for sleep, and sharing what i take for sleep. no doubt this pandemic has been a big factor for insomnia. i switch up my meds so they don't poop out on me and i document every am how well they worked or didn't work. i take: 1/2 .05mg klonopin, 15mg. temazepam and progesterone nightly...or take 25mg seroquel, 7.5. temezepam and progesterone; both combos usually work; i have excellent sleep preparation but noticed over the past few days when it cooled down here in az. that adding an extra blanket helped with sleep (sorta like a weighted blanket i guess); i conferred w/my psych nurse and she said if the klonopin/temezepam/progesterone don't work, also take a 1/2 of seroquel and it has added benefits of working on the anxiety part of my bipolar; i notice that when i'm taking the seroquel for sleep that i don't have my usual, predictable anxiety around 2pm every day...she also said there are several new sleep meds on the market but they still would not address the bipolar disorder i've lived with for 40+ yrs. am i groggy in the am? hell yes, but it's worth it to have somewhat decent 8 hrs. of sleep, even if med-induced...but that's my personal opinion of course. we're all on a different sleep journey!

Heavier blankets do seem to induce a better quality of sleep. I so want to get a weighted blanket, but I read that they're filled with glass beads. I'm worried that one of my cats will scratch open the blanket and eat a glass bead.

Interesting about the Seroquel helping your anxiety. I'll pay more attention to that.