[kauaiartist]

I joined this forum mostly to help find solutions to my older brother’s chronic insomnia . He has a long history of insomnia. He has suffered from PTSD, OCD and bipolar disorder. He is not under any treatment plans or medications at this time and I don’t know that I would ever be able to get him to go back to therapy and or on any type of medications for any of these disorders and/or To have him assessed for a diagnosis of where he’s at right now.. It has been a long time since he was under treatment but I do know that he suffers from anxiety. I am just helping him recover from a total nephrectomy for kidney cancer which thankfully was stage one and has not spread. He does have some other health issues that are not as critical but I will be helping him through those as well. He does use medical cannabis in tincture form or edibles- He is able to sleep a little longer with cannabis- but it’s hit or miss- never consistent. He will try to nap in the day. If he sleeps 4 hours a night-that’s a great sleep for him. He has gone for days with one or two hours only. He has CHF from blood pressure that was untreated for years but in the last few months we have been able to control that with medications and low sodium diet. His blood pressure medicines have already been cut in half and we’re hopeful that they can be reduced even more in the future. He’s also on a cholesterol medication which was also recently cut in half. I don’t know if anyone has any suggestions. I do try to encourage him to listen to meditation apps, do relaxation deep breathing. I’m Going to try to get him on melatonin and Gabba in the future. His doctors really don’t want to give him any type of sleeping pill and he doesn’t want to take one either. I am wondering about an anti-anxiety medication and if there is something that might help to “quiet his mind” enough so he could sleep better. Thankyou.

[gsdmom]

Wow, your brother is so fortunate to have you as a sister, advocating for his health and wellness. If you are close to him and have access to his medications, I would go through each one and see if there is a possibility of it causing insomnia. I’ve taken 2 different medications that gave me terrible insomnia. One was Celexa many years ago and the other which put on this forum now is terbinafine. I am probably the 2% of population that is affected, so I’d try and rule this out.

You said he is napping, normally that is not good if trying to get over insomnia unless it is only for 20-30minutes early afternoon. If he’s taking cannabis then I would think most anti-anxiety meds or sleeping pills would not be advised. The anti-anxiety pills can be addictive and you can build up a tolerance. They are extremely difficult to get off of once you become dependent. You can ask his doctor about gabapentin, its a seizure med, but used off label for sleep. But eventually he would build up a tolerance to that too.

I’d continue with the mindfulness meditation apps. Many of us here are trying ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) for sleep as recommended in the Sleep Book by Guy Meadows. Martin, who operates this website can offer support too and he has suggestions under “Resources” at the header of this website. Lastly, what about a dog/service dog to help with PTSD and anxiety?

[Martin Reed]

I don’t want to offer specific recommendations in your brother’s case since he does have a medical history that includes PTSD, OCD, and bipolar disorder.

I usually suggest implementing cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques as the first step for people with chronic insomnia — but with your brother’s history, I would urge you to seek medical advice before going this route.

If nothing else, a doctor or therapist familiar with your brother’s history should be able to tell you whether or not CBT-I might be a suitable intervention.

I hope this helps.

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