Hi all,
I just got diagnosed with bipolar II. Pushing 50 with some major life stressors that probably helped tip me into a hypomanic - maybe really manic or on the verge - episode. I've been working with a therapist since the spring. I thought I had anxiety and an anger management problem, and getting older was just making it harder for me to control it!

While waiting a month for a psychiatry apt to confirm diagnosis, my therapist suggested I try an OTC lithium supplement which really helped a lot. Before I started it I was in an irritable manic situation where the energy coursing through me felt like it was going to set my fingertips sparking. I wasn't delusional, I knew that wasn't going to happen, but the energy was so strong it almost felt like it might.

Anyway I finally saw the psych last week and he put me on lamictal 25mg to start and it has helped a ton already, but I was still waking up at 3am and unable to sleep more so with his permission I moved the dose from am to pm (still on the low dose otc lithium till we see what lamictal does) to see if it would help since I was sleepy during the day. Now I toss and turn for about 3 hours at night, then when I finally sleep I can sleep all night. I think the influence of the lamictal is wearing off by afternoon and then I'm getting amped up. Does this make sense to you guys? I'm reluctant to switch it back to am's because I was so sleepy during the day. But I'm not really sure if that's what's causing this problem or if it's just me being me. Any thoughts?