Hi, I sleep without prescribed med specifically for sleep. But all my meds are downers and so I do have help there.. Otherwise I take Melantonin over the counter. Have you tried progressive relation and self - hypnotism? I can induce a hypnotic state for myself and even if I don't sleep, I just feel gradually more and more relaxed that eventually I will fall from the trance into sleep. I hope you can sleep well tonight.

Nope I've been taking sleep meds for over 15 years. Trazadone and the Latuda make me sleepy. Just had to up my dose of Trazadone b/c I wake up at 4 a.m. everyday, but I make up the sleep by napping between 5 and 8. I'm bored and I just have nothing to do to occupy myself then, plus I'm sleepy from being up at 4.

I tried to go without my sleep meds. & fall asleep naturally. I did some yoga/meditation techniques for a long time, but they didn't seem to work. I was getting two hours sleep most nights & not even feeling tired. It sent me hypomanic. So I figured that sleep meds. were the only solution for me.

usually I don't need sleep meds.

I don't take sleep meds, but I take prazosin for nightmares. My sleep cycle is completely out of whack. I also have a bladder condition that wakes me up every hour to use the bathroom. I don't know if a sleep med is for me. In the past, I took ambien, Benedryl, PM OTC meds and vistaril. I end up getting enough sleep if I can fall asleep early enough.

I just take Xanax 2mgs also 3 mgs melontin..I agree what's it like just to go to bed med free

Well until recently I have been a very poor sleeper since college (almost 20 years, yikes). I've been on everything, seroquel was my favorite but we've done all the benzoes and trazodone and Geodon, ambien, lunesta, rozerem... you name it, I've been on it for sleep. This winter I wanted to go off trazodone (the latest fix) because we were trying to conceive and I started out taking just benadryl. And it worked! My pdoc's theory is that I'm sleeping because my mood is stable, and I'd have to agree. I was told years ago that if you are on a good mood stabilizer you wouldn't need sleep meds. I've always thought that was a giant crock of bull but it seems to be true. Now that I'm pregnant I'm trying to cut back on even the benadryl, so I don't take any at bedtime unless my brain is going crazy, or I take one in the middle of the night if I wake up. I'm weaning off my psych meds now though so I have no idea what's going to happen with all that. NOT SLEEPING SUCKS.

Oh my friend how I wish I could fall asleep without meds. It's absolutely impossible for me. As a matter of fact I know people outside of DS and they don't take even half of what I take for BP! But of course they don't suffer from anxiety like I either. Best Wishes

Hand raised :)
I can't sleep without meds. Not sleeping is what triggers episodes so damned if I do and damned if I don't ...

I take a small amount of kronor in and Seroquel to sleep and it's been doing the job...

I'm grateful for that esp at this time of year with a time change thrown in!

I haven't slept well since 1990 after my hysterectomy. Insomnia started back then. Bipolar was triggered not long after that.. so double whammy. I take risperidone for the bp and it also seems to somewhat help for sleep. It makes me sleepy all day long too though so it's not such a great trade-off.

I sleeop without meds but I dod use a sleep apnea machine and that helps me sleep.

I would LOVE to know how it feels to sleep naturally. I have to take something or I will not get any sleep at all. I started having sleep issues after a hysterectomy. It was before bp Dx and I went to see a pdoc that my insurance covered and he had me all screwed up on different kinds of meds. He put me on one that made me sleep from Friday night until Monday morning! I had to stop that med bc I was working then and I did want to sleep but not forever!! It was called remeron.It was like being dead kind of sleep!

My mother has never taking a sleeping pill in her life! I just would like to know how that FEELS!

I've been on sleep meds forever and could never sleep naturally....I wish I could as well...x

I have to take sleep meds also, trazodone,atavan,prazosin and clonodine. It takes them about 30 minutes to an hour to work, then I'm tired all day.