Posted by Ted on January 9, 2001, at 11:04:17
In reply to sleep for bipolars, posted by super on January 9, 2001, at 8:46:24
Poor sleep control for about 4-5 years is what pushed me over the edge and led to my hospitalization for bipolar disorder. Here is what I do:
1. no caffeine. period.
2. no alcohol. period.
3. no stimulating drugs, like pseudoephedrine (decongestant), etc.
4. Keep a regular sleep schedule. I try to be in bed between 9:20 and 9:45 pm every night.
5. I sleep with earplugs many nights (maybe 75% of the time). They do a lot to keep "sharp" noises from waking me up. However good they are, I can still hear the smoke alarm well (tried it). They help me sleep when my son wakes up and starts banging around in the mornings.
6. I take ambien nightly, 4-10 mg depending on just how "wired" I am.
7. If I am *really* wired, I will add 0.25 - 0.5 mg lorazepam (ativan) to the ambien. This mix will quickly put me out for 10 hours.
8. One last benefit I have is that my job allows "flex hours" -- I can arrive at any time I want as long as I make it to all scheduled meetings. I take advantage of this to sleep in some mornings to catch up on missed sleep.Even with all of this I still occasionally have sleep difficulties.
Good luck,
Ted
> I am interested in how other people with bipolar disorder try to keep their sleep under control.
poster:Ted
thread:3805
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010105/msgs/3807.html