Shift work

Any tips on coping with shift work & night duties with bipolar? I work well when working morning shifts but not on afternoon/evenings & defiantly not on nights.

I worked rotating shifts for 15 years. I feel it was a huge mistake.
The lack of sleep only got worse and worse until I was hospitalized.
I know we have to do what we have to do but its a bad situation for
people with bipolar.

Yeh I think I really need to get out of shift work. I'm more important than my job & I've heard no good stories concerning shift work & bipolar.

I agree with fishin fool. There are others on here that do shift work. I hope they can post to help you. I do know this people with BP need sleep hygiene. It's ideal to sleep the same time each night. I do during the weekdays early bedtime. On the weekends I stay up later but I sleep at the same time both days. Be sure your trying to eat healthy and take your meds daily. I missed one day and I was a wreck. My BP1 is bad. I've always worked in an office so we had one shift 9-5. I'm not working now but I plan to and it'll be another one shift job.

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I did great on the graveyard shift hours ok on evenings and horrible on the regular shift. I agree with the others shift work is horrible for anyone but disastrous for those of us with bipolar.

I feel like everyone (at work) is sitting there saying it's just an excuse because they all have to do it but I'm trying to get out of them. Like if they have to suffer then so do I but they dont realise what it does to me. Also I feel like ppl can't always tell I'm not feeling right & I'm dx BP2 so maybe they don't think it's that bad & I don't deserve any concessions.

So few people seem to understand MH issues.
They still think we can just snap out of it.
From experience I would say worry about your health
and not those other people. I know it can be easier said
than done but there really is no choice in the matter.

If you feel up to it you can ask that they not give you shift work due to medical reasons. If they don't consider it then you can call Disability Rights and ask for legal help in getting your work place to implicate the ADA - (Americans with disabilities act.) Bipolar II is still bipolar. The difference is mostly an academic.

I worked the night shift for 3 years. I survived it however it did seem to really cause me to cycle faster. The best advice I have from this time is sleep, make sure you are getting at least 10 hours of sleep as this will be the biggest piece to mess with bipolar. I believe my faster cycling was due to lack of real sleep. By the end of three years the episodes were getting to be to bad and I was almost hospitalized so I decided it was time to come back to normal hours and since then things have been much calmer and routine.

I worked the NOC (overnight shift) as a caregiver in a nursing home for a few months. Shift started at 10PM and ended at 6AM. I lost my bloody mind.

I've worked 7pm/7am and 11 pm/7am for about 14 years. It has wrecked me, however its absolutely the only shift I can work. For success you must be rigorous with practicing sleep hygiene. The slightest diversion can cause big problems. I'm not always successful, but just being aware of what to do and doing it quickly can help.

When I worked 3rd shift consistently, which I did for 5 years, I was ok because I could keep my med routine adjusted for those hours and the same sleep schedule all week to work with it. However, at this new job, they flip you back and forth between all the shifts during the week, and it is playing havoc on my system, cycling faster, problems with insomnia and hypomania, and getting my meds regulated.

A doctor's note alone did not get me out of it. However, it might be sufficient with some employers. I have had to petition for ADA accommodations (which they are dragging their feet on, but which offers the most protection) and FMLA (which I do not think applies but they are pressuring me to file for) to help excuse me from 3rd shift. It is an ongoing issue for me right now.

I wish you well in finding the right balance and what works best for you.

I would advise getting outside as much as you can, even if only for a spell every day and perhaps a sun lamp when you wake up

I do a lot of shift work when I drive my car. It's a standard.