Hey All!

I am so tired throughtout the day. But it never fails as soon as I lay down to sleep-I CANT!!! I toss and turn or sleep for an hour and wake up. I havent been wanting to get on another medicine because I heard they are so habit forming. But I cant do this anymore. I am so dragging every day and believe this causes me to be so moody!!! What do you all do? meds? I am on Topomax 400 mg, Lithium 450 mg and Celexa 60 mg. HELP!

you are so right not to take more meds. you are just out of sync, you need to wear yourself out a few days in a row maybe walks or swimming and go to bed at the same time every night whether you are sleepy or not and use a lamp if you want to read for a while(that helps me) dont use the computer in the evening and get up at the same time its hard work at 1st because you wake in the morning sleepy and want to stay there!oh and dont watch tv in bed. good luck it worked for me x

Hi Libra,

I've suffered from chronic insomnia for as long as I can remember. I used to take Melatonin, a natural, over-the-counter pill; however, it stopped working as I got older. Then I tried Tylenol PM, but when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was prescribed lithium, I had a really bad reaction with the Benadryl in it and had to stop. Finally, my doctor prescribed Seroquel to sleep and it works GREAT! I am now on Lamictal and the combination of the two allows me to get a great night's sleep in addition to stability.

Like you, I didn't want anything habit forming. I refused all the other meds, like Ambien, etc. Now I just take a little, tiny crumb, usually half of a 25mg pill, of the Seroquel at night and it knocks me out all night. I've been taking that for about 5 months and it hasn't lost it's effect at all. We're all different of course, but this is what's worked for me. I hear of others taking Seroquel regularly and it blows my mind how they can even function on this stuff when only a crumb knocks me out like a ton of bricks. So, it may not work for you like it does for me, but it's worth looking into.

Good luck. I know how frustrating and debilitating it can be when you're not able to get sleep. I wish you well, girl! :wave:

maybe you can try valerian..its natural and sold in drug stores..it does work!

Hi Libra,

I've suffered from chronic insomnia for as long as I can remember. I used to take Melatonin, a natural, over-the-counter pill; however, it stopped working as I got older. Then I tried Tylenol PM, but when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was prescribed lithium, I had a really bad reaction with the Benadryl in it and had to stop. Finally, my doctor prescribed Seroquel to sleep and it works GREAT! I am now on Lamictal and the combination of the two allows me to get a great night's sleep in addition to stability.

Like you, I didn't want anything habit forming. I refused all the other meds, like Ambien, etc. Now I just take a little, tiny crumb, usually half of a 25mg pill, of the Seroquel at night and it knocks me out all night. I've been taking that for about 5 months and it hasn't lost it's effect at all. We're all different of course, but this is what's worked for me. I hear of others taking Seroquel regularly and it blows my mind how they can even function on this stuff when only a crumb knocks me out like a ton of bricks. So, it may not work for you like it does for me, but it's worth looking into.

Good luck. I know how frustrating and debilitating it can be when you're not able to get sleep. I wish you well, girl! :wave:

Im on seroquel, I had to go up from 25mg to 300 morning and night to hold the physcosis, but i have to say it doesnt feel much different from the 25 to the 300, I think your body adapts pretty quickly.
I remember when i had to take largactil, the first time I took 2 tablets and fell over, but if you build up slowly your body deals ok with most stuff. I think its really scary when you first get put on meds, if they dose you wrong, i didnt think id ever function properly again which was no good when you have two kids to get to school every morning ! but like i say, your body does get used to it and everything becomes normal again.