Bipolar Beat

Losing Sleep Trying to Get Sleep Medication

By Joe Kraynak
May 27, 2009

Over the past couple weeks, my wife, who happens to have bipolar, has not been sleeping well, which is always a bad sign. For two weeks, she’s been trying to get something to help her sleep - to get her through the often manic days that seem to reach full bloom about the time school lets out. You can read the whole account, “Tragedy of Errors” on our Bipolar Blog.

What really got to me this time around is just how messed up the system is for dealing with bipolar (and probably other mental illnesses). We knew what was going on. My wife knew what helped her sleep in the past - temazepam, and still she’s teetering on the edge of full blown mania because the system is so irresponsive. The doctor refuses to prescribe temazepam because he’s afraid she’ll develop a dependency. The insurance company denies coverage for Ambien CR, because it’s too expensive. The doctor prescribes Lunesta, instead, which helps my wife sleep 4-5 hours but has her waking up WIRED. And all the time, the bipolar is raging out of control.

My wife calls it frustrating. I call it stupid and irresponsible. It would be like firefighters showing up at your house to put out a small kitchen fire and then arguing about how to proceed as the house burns down.


Related Posts

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Comments to
“Losing Sleep Trying to Get Sleep Medication”

This might be helpful for getting more sleep while you’re working on the other things you’re trying. It’s science, new stuff, some anecdotal, but the biology behind it is good. It’s about sleep, but with a tie-in to bipolar in the first discussion:

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/LightDark.htm

If that’s interesting, some how-to and links for finding the lights or filters to block blue light to make sleep come easier are here:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/03/12/light-and-dark/

That is truly ridiculous. Who the heck is in charge of your wife’s mental health? The insurance company or the doctor you trust? When my ins. co. denied Provigil 12 yrs. ago (FDA approved for narcolepsy, but my meds provider had literature showing it was effective in bipolar & I had such extreme daytime sleepiness on ALL MEDS–to the point of falling asleep while driving) so I needed the Provigil desperately if I was going to continue on meds for bipolar & have at least a chance at life–I mean then I would be awake emough to participatein life.

Sorry for typos–after midnight–my bedtime!!

Ask a Question or Post a Comment:

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word.
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam word

 


Candida Fink, M.D. and Joe Kraynak are authors of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. Pick up the book today!
Best of the Web - Blog 2008

Recent Comments
  • Anonymous: I am a 53 year old woman who has tried many of the anti-depressants menioned here for my depression....
  • Becky: I have bipolar with sleep issues. I have been seesawing back and forth between Ambien CR and Lunesta, mostly...
  • N/A: My mom is bipolar and refuses to get treatment. In her manic state she has rage fits that last several hours of...
  • BipolarII?: I have the exact same symptoms that your husband has. I am 27 years old have only recently discovered...
  • Anna: Oh, one more thing - I encourage those who have a loved one with a mental illness to find a support group,...
Article Tools
Bookmark
Print
Email Friend


Stumble It!


Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter


Users Online: 1555
Join Us Now!