Bipolar Disorder Sleep Problems and Sleep Medications

I havn’t been able to sleep on my own for about two years- and no, I am not talking about a relationship! I mean that I can’t sleep without sleep meds.  This is a concern as my body is eating up the dose I’m on now and I’ve had to increase my amount.

When I say I can’t sleep, I mean that my eyes simply won’t close. It’s not insomnia. I’m not rolling around in bed getting upset that I can’t sleep, instead I just lie there and have the thoughts, “I’m not going to sleep tonight am I? It’s very worrisome, so I take the meds.

I know that there are many things I can change to help myself get to sleep naturally:

1. Stop ALL caffeine – and that means all: tea, chocolate, cola, etc etc. I rarely have regular coffee, so that is not a problem, but I sure do drink tea [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder and Sleep: Mania vs. Insomnia

(This is one of the most popular blog posts from last year so I wanted to share it again. Mania can sneak up on you during the holidays.) Manic sleeping problems are different from insomnia in many ways- with insomnia you’re tired, you want to sleep, you toss and turn, you worry about how tired you will be in the morning, you want medication relief. With mania! Whew! you want to stay up, you’re wide awake and doing something, you have unlimited energy, a racing mind, lots of creative thoughts (whether they are truly creative or not, they feel creative.) You have no desire to get in bed and sleeping feels like a real waste of time. It takes more meds to knock you out and there is a chance you will be even more manic the next day. Here are some of the things you may think when you’re manic at night: – Sleep [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder and Sleep: Mania vs. Insomnia

Manic sleeping problems are different from insomnia in many ways- with insomnia you’re tired, you want to sleep, you toss and turn, you worry about how tired you will be in the morning, you want medication relief.

With mania! Whew! you want to stay up, you’re wide awake and doing something, you have unlimited energy, a racing mind, lots of creative thoughts (whether they are truly creative or not, they feel creative.) You have no desire to get in bed and sleeping feels like a real waste of time. It takes more meds to knock you out and there is a chance you will be even more manic the next day.

Here are some of the things you may think when you’re manic at night:

Sleep is SUCH a waste of time. It’s only 1:00 AM. I could go to the grocery store right now! The tile really needs to come [ Read More ]





Posted on July 23rd, 2009 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Mania

Midnight Mood Swing.. weird

The other night I went to be ok. I woke up at midnight in a downswing. It’s ridiculous. What on earth is going on with my brain! This illness is hard.

I talked myself out of it. “It’s an illness Julie. This isn’t real Julie. Life isn’t that bad. It’s depression.”

And I woke up ok.

Julie





Posted on June 30th, 2008 | Tags: | Category: Bipolar Symptoms