I've struggled with sleep since I had my son 19 yrs ago. I've been on some kind of sleep med. 4 yrs ago I went into a a psychosis. Didn't sleep or eat for 5 days and was in a really bad trauma related psychosis. Completely lost touch with reality.

Took a whole bunch of tests in the hospital and it came out bp I w/psychosis and PTSD. Since then I haven't been the same.

Last time I was in the hospital they think part of my sleep problem is related to sleep apnea. So long story short I finally got my cpap machine. Wearing the mask is really uncomfortable. I tried 2 nights and just couldn't take it anymore and last night slept without it. Finally got some good sleep.

I also take 3 meds for sleep and if I don't get good sleep on those I'm just exhausted.

So how many of you struggle with sleep? Do you find without it your symptoms get worse? I feel so much better today...breath of fresh air...

[Row Jimmy]

I find my anger and paranoia get worse with lack of sleep. I struggle with sleep because my hypomania (I think) doesn't allow me to slow down. My mind races and I just stay productive until I realize it's well past when I should be asleep. In the long run, the lack of sleep is hurting me. It is on my radar screen to get into a more predictable routine because the constant changes in sleep pattern aren't good for me. I stayed up until 3 AM the other night to watch a hockey game. Duh.

But I slept like a log last night and feel positive about today.....I just need to REMEMBER to stay in the same cycle. Sometimes, it really comes down to me sort of forgetting.

Originally Posted by Row Jimmy

I find my anger and paranoia get worse with lack of sleep. I struggle with sleep because my hypomania (I think) doesn't allow me to slow down. My mind races and I just stay productive until I realize it's well past when I should be asleep. In the long run, the lack of sleep is hurting me. It is on my radar screen to get into a more predictable routine because the constant changes in sleep pattern aren't good for me. I stayed up until 3 AM the other night to watch a hockey game. Duh.

But I slept like a log last night and feel positive about today.....I just need to REMEMBER to stay in the same cycle. Sometimes, it really comes down to me sort of forgetting.

Yeah it's really hard to want to sleep when hypo. But my hypos turn on me now. I end up mixed or manic but a bad mania.

Good luck with trying to stay on schedule...

[Nammu]

I've had problems sleeping since I was a child. As I got older my ability to physically handle the lack of sleep has become much worse. But allways the lack of sleep impacted my stability. I take three meds at night to sleep, still I sometimes get less than 4 hours, then I'm over sensitive to sounds and colors.

At this point getting enough sleep is my number one priority.

[UpDownMiddleGround]

I have never really slept well, but it really has not had a negative effect until recent years. I used to have very productive nights and could manage many tasks because I had 20 hour days. Now I panic every night that I might not sleep because I am so sensitive. In the last few months. I have had some really bad manic episodes that would have likely landed me in the hospital if an adult had witnessed them. I am on sleep meds that work well with the antipsychotic to manage me. I am STILL adjusting to this idea that I have to operate with fewer hours in my day and that I actually feel tired at night when I am consistent with my meds. Full-blown mania is not what I want so, I comply.

Originally Posted by sidestepper

I've had problems sleeping since I was a child. As I got older my ability to physically handle the lack of sleep has become much worse. But allways the lack of sleep impacted my stability. I take three meds at night to sleep, still I sometimes get less than 4 hours, then I'm over sensitive to sounds and colors.

At this point getting enough sleep is my number one priority.

Oh lack of sleep is the worst. Have you done a sleep study? That could be it. Sleep apnea...

I hope you get some good restful sleep soon.

[UpDownMiddleGround]

Originally Posted by Row Jimmy

I find my anger and paranoia get worse with lack of sleep. I struggle with sleep because my hypomania (I think) doesn't allow me to slow down. My mind races and I just stay productive until I realize it's well past when I should be asleep. In the long run, the lack of sleep is hurting me. It is on my radar screen to get into a more predictable routine because the constant changes in sleep pattern aren't good for me. I stayed up until 3 AM the other night to watch a hockey game. Duh.

But I slept like a log last night and feel positive about today.....I just need to REMEMBER to stay in the same cycle. Sometimes, it really comes down to me sort of forgetting.

Every time I'm busy and I forget to take my meds on time, I panic and start counting hours that are left before I have to get up and go to work. The paranoia that comes with mania sucks. I slept for 8 hours last night -- unheard of, but nice.

[Nammu]

Originally Posted by Stargazer_1110

Oh lack of sleep is the worst. Have you done a sleep study? That could be it. Sleep apnea...

I hope you get some good restful sleep soon.

Yup, done a few sleep studies, they all showed an increase of brain waves but no apnea. in a nutshell my brain is idling too fast. But the good news was that sleeping on my side was the best position to sleep in. Yay, I was doing something right.

I've gotten to the point I can fall asleep quickly it's the constant waking up that's the problem.

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by sidestepper

I've gotten to the point I can fall asleep quickly it's the constant waking up that's the problem.

same here, no problem getting to sleep it's the staying asleep,,

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I had a sleep study done for possible apnea a few years ago. The results were hilarious because my bipolar screws with my sleep so much. I had something like 20% of normal REM sleep, woke constantly, didn't fall asleep on anyone's time schedule (granted she turned the lights off an hour early which meant my meds weren't timed right), my brain waves were all screwy, etc. The dr just laughed and said I only have mild apnea but no wonder I am tired all the time.

I never slept right. The first 8 months of my life I slept only if my mom was holding me, usually while she sat up. She used to put up signs telling people to not knock or make any noise. And even then I never slept like a baby or a normal child or adult. It gets worse the older I get.
Sleeping pills do not work at all and so I just keep hoping that something comes along that works well as APs used to.

At least I assumed the dr

Well I took my sleep meds. I'm using the mask tonight. I hope I don't wake up with a dried out throat like I did last time. I couldn't fall back asleep after that. Took like 20 mins to stop coughing and undry my throat, lol.

I so hope this mask doesn't leak again, the man that I got it from said that's what dries out your throat.

Oh I so hope I sleep...

I'm obsessed with sleep bc that's what landed me in the psychosis. Started off hypo but got worse over time and then....psychosis. never want to go through that ever again.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Do you have the prongs or the nasal pillows? When I was tested my pulmonologist was pretty sure it was going to come back positive (long story but I'm allergic to tetanus shots and while they tried giving them in half doses I did not get immunity to pertussis. There was an outbreak when I worked in home health and even though work took precautions to protect me I caught it anyway from someone who I knew later was misdiagnosed (I'd never heard the cough before nor had most people I worked with so while she had a terrible cough it just was assumed to be her way of coughing). So I had full-blown pertussis at 35 years old. I wound up with asthma and chemical sensitivities so that anything can trigger asthma attacks although now that I'm not working in poorly cared for homes it is much better. But my pulmonologist was hoping that some of my sx added up to apnea due to the lung damage and he thought it would help the bipolar as well.

I was really concerned about the Cpap and didn't want to do the study because I knew I wouldn't sleep with it but he showed me this alternative to the things up your nose called pillows that rest on your lip and just touch your nose. He said they'd be much more comfortable/gentler and that it would improve my sleep so much that I wouldn't mind them. They didn't feel like much that was bad so I agreed to the study. I have mild apnea that doesn't qualify for Cpap but I did remember the pillows vs. prongs for the future.

Originally Posted by JustMeJen5294

Do you have the prongs or the nasal pillows? When I was tested my pulmonologist was pretty sure it was going to come back positive (long story but I'm allergic to tetanus shots and while they tried giving them in half doses I did not get immunity to pertussis. There was an outbreak when I worked in home health and even though work took precautions to protect me I caught it anyway from someone who I knew later was misdiagnosed (I'd never heard the cough before nor had most people I worked with so while she had a terrible cough it just was assumed to be her way of coughing). So I had full-blown pertussis at 35 years old. I wound up with asthma and chemical sensitivities so that anything can trigger asthma attacks although now that I'm not working in poorly cared for homes it is much better. But my pulmonologist was hoping that some of my sx added up to apnea due to the lung damage and he thought it would help the bipolar as well.

I was really concerned about the Cpap and didn't want to do the study because I knew I wouldn't sleep with it but he showed me this alternative to the things up your nose called pillows that rest on your lip and just touch your nose. He said they'd be much more comfortable/gentler and that it would improve my sleep so much that I wouldn't mind them. They didn't feel like much that was bad so I agreed to the study. I have mild apnea that doesn't qualify for Cpap but I did remember the pillows vs. prongs for the future.

I have a whole mask that covers my nose and mouth. My sleep study came out severe sleep apnea...so it's the air that's being pushed through that's drying out my throat. Hard to explain...Lol.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Ugh. That sounds awful. I hate having my face covered even partially. I hope it goes better tonight.

Originally Posted by JustMeJen5294

Ugh. That sounds awful. I hate having my face covered even partially. I hope it goes better tonight.

Thanks. It's really uncomfortable, but I stop breathing 120 times an hour. And that's hard on your heart and causes other problems. I really hope it works out tonight. Drinking chamomile tea too...

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I've had patients tell me that once you are used to it it's hard to sleep without it. Hope that happens for you

I'm still up...Ugh.

[RisuNeko]

I've had sleep problems since I was a baby. My mom said I didn't sleep when I was a baby, and I remember early childhood memories of staying awake with my mind racing through nap time at home and at the babysitter's, then I remember watching the clock go round and round 3am 4am 5am etc. at age 8 or so, and it's been consistently bad into adulthood. During college I got probably 1-3 hours of sleep a night consistently, and that's still pretty standard for me in a depressive episode, during mania or hypomania I don't sleep at all for about a week and then I go into a coma for a day and start over or crash into depression. Right now I think I might be at baseline and I get a decent amount of sleep probably 4/7 days a week because of 160 mg geodon, 3 mg clonopin, and 10 mg ambien, but even with that nightly cocktail I still go sleepless about 3 nights a week. I cope with it fine though. I've always been able to get by on no sleep no problem. I'm not tired the next day at all, I just rev right up.

Originally Posted by RisuNeko

I've had sleep problems since I was a baby. My mom said I didn't sleep when I was a baby, and I remember early childhood memories of staying awake with my mind racing through nap time at home and at the babysitter's, then I remember watching the clock go round and round 3am 4am 5am etc. at age 8 or so, and it's been consistently bad into adulthood. During college I got probably 1-3 hours of sleep a night consistently, and that's still pretty standard for me in a depressive episode, during mania or hypomania I don't sleep at all for about a week and then I go into a coma for a day and start over or crash into depression. Right now I think I might be at baseline and I get a decent amount of sleep probably 4/7 days a week because of 160 mg geodon, 3 mg clonopin, and 10 mg ambien, but even with that nightly cocktail I still go sleepless about 3 nights a week. I cope with it fine though. I've always been able to get by on no sleep no problem. I'm not tired the next day at all, I just rev right up.

Wow! Not me, I feel like total crap without sleep. One day without much I'm ok, but longer than that and I can't sleep, I feel horrible. Before the psychosis I wasn't like this...