Nighttime sadness...

I know that I am probably not the only person with bipolar disorder that experiences a mood shift towards the evening. Around 5pm my mood goes downhill and I become very sad and despondant (excuse my spelling). I take my night medication at around 8pm because I cannot wait to feel "normal" again. I feel like a drug addict. If I do stay out past 8pm I feel unstable and question what is the point in having a social life if I can't even manage to feel a sense of normalcy or balanced in my brain. My night medications make me feel sleepy so sometimes if I stay out past 8pm I don't take my medications until I arrive home.

Does anyone know of any better coping mechanisms other than waiting for 8pm to roll around?

I take my lamictal at about 8:30 to 8:45, but it doesn't seem to have any drowsy effects. Before I took myself off of Seroquel I would wait to take it until 9:30 or 10 because I didn't want to be conked out before then.

I also don't take my sleepy meds if I'm out and about until after I get home even though I know you're supposed to keep to a schedule.

Coming off of bad meds or coming onto new ones often make me feel like a drug addict, all shaking and sweating at night. Bleck! Anywho, I had a thought last week and it was: I exist for the meds. I have to take the pills because the bottles must be emptied. It was weird, but now I think that before I take each dose that it's some kind of a mission to eventually consume them all. Kind of like the same concept as (and I'm not a religious person, just a literature allusion here) when Jesus said "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man." I know I've got it backward, but I can't help thinking I'm here to eat pills. Hahaha! That's freakin' sad I know.

I use to try to stick with a schedule, did quite well, this was years ago, now I still within a three hour window of 6-9pm. I take Prozac and Trileptal both in evening time. It works well for me. I wish you the best dear friend!

Definitely!!!

Many years ago, someone taught me that every person has a natural body bio-rhythm. My body (without meds) naturally wants to rest/sleep every day between 3pm and 6pm. I have tested this for over 30 years. Then, when you add psychotropic meds, you have a real mess! I have had doctors swear to me that I needed to take a certain med in the morning because if I took it at night, it would keep me awake all night. Then, when I started taking it, I was dragging around all freakin' day! So, I started taking it at night and slept like a baby.

Everyone's different. Every body is different. Pay attention to how your medicine effects you. Adjust it to your personal rhythm.

If this seems to be impossible to manage or just simply is not working, talk to your pdoc or PCP. I actually take three additional medications that are not psychotropic meds that are prescribed for me to help counteract the symptoms of the psychotropic meds. They make life much easier for me.

Good luck!

I find that too...the whole afternoon/evening downswing. I wonder if it's related to the meds or to our natural rhythms...like our body wants a nap.

My downswing typically happens from 2-4pm. Sometimes I lift out of it after that, but sometimes it lasts until I can go to bed...and damn do I ever want to on bad days like that. I'm still on today's downswing at 6pm. I figure I'm just tired from working and invasive thoughts.

Hope you find what helps you. And I agree, take the meds when they feel best to you. Everyone's different. Lamictal doesn't make me drowsy at all. If anything, it's making me rapid cycle and be hyper at night. Not that I'm allowed to change the time I take it until I can see the new p-doc. Sigh. We'll make it through this process!

I am bipolar as well and have struggled with night time mood swings. I recently started getting my meds compounded at a pharmacy so that they are all time-released. I would really recommend talking to your doc about finding a good compounding pharmacy so you can have your meds slowly released throughout the day. That way, when your mood drops at night your body will get a fresh dose of whatever meds you're on. Just a thought...hope it helps.

Yeah, the sun goes down and so does my mood. I think that's one of the reasons it's worse for me in the winter.

It's difficult for me, but I find that if I can find something distracting and stimulating to do in the evening, my mood is much better. Just breaking the daily routine by making an excuse to go to a store or baking something for the next day -- anything but sitting and reading or watching TV. Sometimes I can get involved in some silliness on Facebook -- I don't mention my bipolar disorder there. Maybe we should start of list of things to do other than dwell .

I just take all my meds at bedtime, or maybe 15 minutes before. Once trazadone hits, I'm dizzy and nauseous if I'm still moving around. I haven't noticed that Lamictal affects my sleep one way or the other.

((((zen)))))))))))))))))) i have no advise..I just want you to know i care

And how! In my case I think it was part of the dysphoric manias: I would have the same pattern when I was "normal", just not as dramatic. Do you get a lot of anxiety, too? This was a standard part of my life until the docs here put me on a very low Efexor dose. Fantastic. But I agree with Suze, try to plan that time of night to do something engaging and fun, if maybe not energetic Hang in there, dark is tough

I am satisfied with the medications that I am on right now. The only down side to my medications are that they cause my metabolism to slow down dramatically and cause me to feel sleepy (sound sleepy when I talk). I think part of my problem is I tend to feel sad and lonely when I have PMS. I have had all my hormones tested and they all came back normal. Relaxing in the evening for me is dependant upon when my neighbours aren't loud (tv, stereo, and kids!!).