Help

Hello everyone. I don't usually come in here because I don't have the dx of bipolar. I know, not cool, but yet so strange. Anyways...you're probably wondering why I'm here, right?

Let me explain. In my life I have been diagnosed as having everything from schizophrenia to your basic depression. I've been prone to mood swings and also have had a few manic episodes.

I haven't been able to sleep at all the past week or so. The shocking thing is that I'm not even all that tired. Since the quality and quantity of my sleep seems to be dwindling and my productivity is increasing, I thought I'd dabble around with DocJohn's little quizzes.

I know they are not a diagnosis tool or anything like that, but I scored pretty high on both the Mania Quiz and the Bipolar Quiz.

The last week I haven't been able to sleep before 4 am. Last night (or should I say this morning) I couldn't get to sleep until 6:30 am. I got a total of 3 hours sleep in the past 24+ hours. This kinda worries me a bit.

For both quizzes I took, I scored moderate to severe. I can't remember the exact amounts, but that's the range it was in. I'm very preoccupied all the time, too. So I'm forgetting a lot of stuff that I should be doing. Forgetfulness should be my new middle name.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Once I went 3 days ZERO sleep and I do not have a dx of BP but if you are its ok

Hugs I am off to bed...sounds like you just cannot sleep well from stress and all

Sounds like kind of a "chicken or the egg" situation. Is bipolar causing sleep problems, or are you dealing with some mood swings due to a sleep problem? When my sleep schedule is knocked out of whack, my moods run all over the place. When you say you "couldn't get to sleep" do you mean that you were really tired but just couldn't fall asleep, or do you mean that you didn't feel tired?

Hi Lexicon...

It sounds like a possible manic or hypomanic episode. The huge lack of sleep sounds more manic, but you also need to count the days...DSM-IV says at least four for hypomania and at least 7 for mania. I would definitely consult your pdoc ASAP---you may also want to begin keeping a mood chart or journal---these thigs can be very helpful when things start changing.

I pray for the best for you!

DJ

I feel your pain. I have bipolar (rapid cycling) but I suffer more from the mania than the depression. Even though my meds have made be felt 95% better, I still am absolutely incapable of falling asleep. If I stay out late, i don't fall asleep until 4pm. Are you trying to maintain a consistant sleep schedule? Have you tried going to bed before midnight? For me the later it is, the harder it is to fall asleep. Have you thought about going to a doctor to see if you needs medication? I know not everyone believes in taking sleeping meds but in my opinion, the damage it does to you not sleeping outweighs taking the pills. Hang in there! your not alone.

This all started about a month ago...it started out that I couldn't sleep before midnight. Then about a week or so ago it's been getting harder and harder to fall asleep.

I'm not getting tired at all, either. I'm not tired during the day and rarely, it seems, at night.

If I try to sleep when I'm not tired, I can only sleep for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. That's how it's been lately.