Hypomania and Insomnia

[mooddisorderedmind]

I am so not tired even after taking my Ambien at 8pm. I am not sure what is bringing this hypomania on, but the decreased need for sleep is not helping. I have made a few videos and called a few people - they were sleeping, of course, lol. See, I'm silly like that. I did leave messages though. I did not want to be rude. Anyway, I am doing laundry, and writing, and searching the web, and writing on here.

Are others like this? What are your experiences?

[Kensho]

ambien was totally useless for me... my doctor even prescribed me a high dose of trazadone to take before bedtime and that didn't help...  your biplor cycle is what's bringing on your hypomania, it's that simple... you post videos on Utube? what's your channel name, i'd love to subscribe to your channel!

i would bet the ranch that everyone here is like this... it's the nature of the illness... when i upcycled it wouldn't be unusual for me to go 4-5 days without any sleep at all sometimes and when i was finally able to sleep it was only for a few hours a day at best and this would go on for weeks...

it wasn't until i made MAJOR changes in my diet, started to do aerobic exercise everyday and began using some vitamins/minerals/herbs that i was finally able to get a good nights rest... today i sleep between 6-8 hours each night without waking up in the middle of the night...

if you're not using ssri anti-depressants i would recommend you try using 5-HTP (100-200mg) one hour before bedtime...  an excellent herb to use would be valerian root taken one hour before bed... you could also compliment that with one or two cups of valerian tea during the evening hours while you're watching TV or working at your computer... it will relax you and give you a sense of peaCe...

PeaCe2U

Kensho 

[Phyllis]

I have been on a slew of sleep medications. Ambien never did work for me. The others I have been on did work for awhile and then stopped. I have not had a decent nights sleep in I don't know how long. Saturday night, I took a "nap" and then I was up until 5:30 a.m.  After 7 years of this song and dance, my pdoc decided that there is nothing else she can do for my sleep and told me that I am a "2nd Shift"  type person. I am not totally awake until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Then I am fine. Well, until it is time to go to bed, then I can't sleep. I am usually up til 2 or 3 in the morning and I have to get up with the kids for school. Thank God my son is a responsible 12 year old and can get himself up in the a.m. so I just have to make sure I am up by 7 to get my 9 year old to school.

Anyhow, the only thing I have yet to try at this point is light therapy. You know, like they use for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder.... because my only recourse at this point is that my clock needs to be reset.

I hope you find some relief.... I know how bad it sucks. :/

[Kensho]

After 7 years of this song and dance, my pdoc decided that there is nothing else she can do for my sleep and told me that I am a "2nd Shift"  type person. .

is that her official diagnosis? is "2nd Shift"  type person part of the DSM? i tell ya'... psychiatrists say the stupidest things sometimes... did you know that the american psychiatric association wants to include "shyness" as a form of mental illness in the upcoming DSM? i'm very serious, they want to include it in the next DSM... look it up... thank god there are psychiatrists who posses reason and mental health advocacy groups fighting them tooth and nail over this issue... the APA and modern psychiatry are TOTALLY out of control! they always have been...

Anyhow, the only thing I have yet to try at this point is light therapy. You know, like they use for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder.... because my only recourse at this point is that my clock needs to be reset.

this might be a good idea... although its use to treat seasonal depression is well known it's now being used to help treat bipolar depression which might aid in better sleep...  but as a bipolar it has its risks... many bipolars used it for too long a period of time and it brought on severe mania so start off slow and gradually work your way up... good luck with that...

Kensho 

[Phyllis]

official diagnosis? no. i think that was just her conclusion of sorts of trying to explain how after 7 years my sleep was still fucked up and how no matter what we tried nothing worked for very long. 

[graham198660]

i have had what docs called severe mania where i didnt sleep for days, spent crazy amounts of money, and was calling or messaging people i hadnt seen or heard from in years. ive had a bunch of manic times where my energy was through the roof. only thing that helped was meds...i take a new age anti psychotic called Geodon at night. i take tegradol (sp?) morning and night. its a mood stabilizer. im good now. i highly recommend new age antipsychotics geodon or zyprexa. hardly any sideaffects.

i used to write a lot. i mean, i wrote two books worth...in a few months all on memories ive had in my life. i quit smoking pot and man did i not sleep. pot would knock me out at the end of the day. couldnt keep doing it though...really made me paranoid.

[Phyllis]

pot doesn't even put me to sleep. :/ I'm FUBAR'd LOL

[Kensho]

official diagnosis? no. i think that was just her conclusion of sorts of trying to explain how after 7 years my sleep was still fucked up and how no matter what we tried nothing worked for very long. 

i was trying to be a smart ass!   

Kensho 

[Phyllis]

oh.... 

[LadyAshley]

ambien was totally useless for me... my doctor even prescribed me a high dose of trazadone to take before bedtime and that didn't help... 

Trazedone did nothing for my either.

[Dreamline]

Normally I need 9/10 hours of sleep.  Missing just 2 hours once can trigger a manic episode for me.

When I'm hypo I sleep about 7 hours, when I get manic I sleep like 5 or less, sometimes even none.  Even when I "sleep" my mind is racing like I am awake and I can't stay still.  Sometimes instead of sleeping I just lay there and do something awake...its like all I need to do is rest my body, my brain can stay awake!

When I get depressed I sleep a lot...12-16 hours and I'm dead tired all the time.  Quite the contrary.

I find my circadian rhythm responds very strongly to light input and darkness.  The blue light on my stereo bothers me at night, a dim red night light doesn't. 

[mooddisorderedmind]

you post videos on Utube? what's your channel name, i'd love to subscribe to your channel!

I do actually, look for mooddisorderedmind.

[mooddisorderedmind]

I spoke with the psychiatrist and he want's me to come off of the Ambien and he put me on Seroquel. What are other's experiences, positve or negative?

[Paz]

  Sleep meds did nothing for me...maybe my mind is just too strong? 

  I usually sleep 7-8hrs a night. When I am Manic or Euphoric I usually only sleep for 3 hrs.per night. That can go on for about 5 days before I really flip and get all angry and impatient......the trick is to try and stop it before that happens. and like Dreamline said my mind still races, but my body rests. It's really annoying!

 When depressed I still have problems sleeping, but I find that I will nap when depressed. I never nap otherwise. 

  As far as light goes, I know that when it's sunny and warm I am able to get out of bed easier, and on sunny days I am rarely down or tired. My sleep schedule has been the same for a few years now......In Costa Rica we all learned to get up with the sun, and to go to bed a couple of hours after sunset. It seemed a very natural way to be, and we have all kept up the habit.

 I hate changing the clocks in spring & fall, it kind of screws with my sleep, but luckily I seem to be able to get back on track.

 Sleep problems are a problem for all people with Mental Illness, it really sucks.