Posted by Lucia Francisca on December 18, 2005, at 12:52:55
In reply to Re: need to sleep one of these days, posted by tarabara on December 17, 2005, at 21:34:36
tarabara, I'm sorry you're still not sleeping well. I can only say that it seems like this may be a hypomanic episode you're going through, and it will pass in the cycle. But I know how painful it is going through it.
To be honest, I went through a period that sounds similar to what you went through about 2 months ago. That's when I started the Seroquel. I started taking it at 50 mg. I think, the first night, and then gradually increased the dose to 100 mg per night, taken 1 hour before going to bed. It was almost a miracle drug for me! I hadn't slept for maybe 3 nights and nothing was helping, and I took Seroquel the first night and slept really well. Seroquel has a sedating effect, so it helps you sleep. The only side effect is that the first week you take it or so you may feel drowsy in the morning; I did. I did feel pretty drowsy, but it was worth it to get a good night's sleep. And after maybe a couple of weeks, I didn't feel drowsy anymore. I do think you should ask your pdoc about Seroquel. It's an atypical antipsychotic/ mood stabilizer. It's used for schizophrenia, but now also in small doses for bipolar disorder.
I can relate to how you worry about not sleeping. Until Monday, are there any other sleeping meds you can take? I went to the emergency room to get some trazodone that hard weekend cuz my doctors' offices were all closed. It helped me sleep 1 night but not the next.
Good luck. Hang in there. Lucia
> i'm seeing the pdoc on monday and i thank you for all the suggestions. i have a lot to talk about. my brain feels absolutely fried. i have slept a bit more in the last few days but it has been out of pure exhaustion and it doesn't really feel like restful sleep. i seem to catch sleep in 3-4 hour spurts. the insomnia is now making me anxious about sleeping which doesn't seem to help matters. i fell asleep this afternoon for about 4 hours and now i have convinced myself that i will never get to sleep tonight. what a vicious cycle. the seroquel (sp?) sounds promising espeically because it is indicated for the bipolar II. do you just take it when you are in the hypomanic state or do you always take it? if you always take it is this a side effect that will wear off?
poster:Lucia Francisca
thread:589202
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051211/msgs/590041.html