Hypomania Questions

Hi everyone, I am new here and looking for answers to a couple questions about bipolar hypomania from people who have experienced it. I was diagnosed with Bipolar II or Bipolar NOS (my records got lost so I would have to check with my psych), but I'm not sure I agree with it because although I absolutely, without question fit the depression part, the hypomania part is not as clear. I'm not asking anyone to diagnose me, or trying to do that myself, but I wanted insight so I can decide if it might be worth it to get re-evaluated.

Basically I have periods of higher energy than normal, lasting a few days. I get wound up and talk faster and louder, "my words are the most important thing in the world" (I know it's totally rude but I usually realize this after it's too late). Many times I get flooded with ideas and the urge to implement them like when I'm doing something I need to be doing (school, work, errands), I feel like dropping everything and starting a new project. It's like the sun is shining just right and I am amazing and la la la everything is wonderful, etc. Often though I get really irritable when someone "interrupts" me (usually just trying to redirect me), if I'm doing an art project or organizing something and whoops, four hours have just gone by. I get very excited and energized at night especially and have trouble making myself go to bed because there is this split between my "mind" and my "brain" (in other words the difference between the mental and physical), with my mind dominating--I know I have to get rest but there are too many things to do. It's like the only thing stopping me at from cleaning the house and rearranging the furniture at 3am is the threat of waking the neighbors and having them call the landlord on me. This gets worse when I am really anxious, such as if I have a lot of homework or a deadline. So that all sounds like hypomania, yes?

But, here is the thing, I get tired. From what I understand, hypomania and mania involve a decreased need for sleep, as in staying up all night or getting like 2-3 hours of sleep, waking up early, etc. and still feeling totally energized the next day. That's not me at all. I'm tired normally after 8 hours, or even 10 sometimes, and this doesn't change during these phases. I have a health problem that causes me to be constantly fatigued about 90% of the time, so maybe that's why, but I thought the sleep thing was kind of a hallmark of bipolar. The other is that when I get like this, it's not every minute of every day. It's there, but in different amounts throughout the day, sometimes depending on if/what I've eaten, how much stimuli I'm receiving (positive=more hyper, negative=irritable or anxious) or my stress level, and sometimes I can't really point to anything because it's random. I get periods of calm though too, sometimes almost hypnotic, and I'm not on any medication that would induce this, and this sometimes goes hand in hand with exhaustion, but after a bit I usually "wake up" again to hyperactive/agitated levels.

Sorry for the long post, (I'm in one of these phases now if it's not already obvious), but I'll boil it down to two questions:
1. Is it possible for hypomania to be present without any change in sleep needs?
2. Does the feeling of hypomania last every minute of every day during the phase, or can it fluctuate, maybe even with "breaks" of a couple hours or so?

Thanks!

There are no two people who experience hypo or mania in exactly the same way.
Lots of similarities, bits and pieces will be the same but people always seem to
have some things that others do not experience.
I am bipolar 2 and I don't believe I have ever experienced full blown mania.
My hypo shows itself as agitation, fearlessness as in crazy driving and lack of
patience where normally I am a pretty patient guy and bad decision making.
Without meds I don't sleep much at all and still seem to function, though I will
not make good decisions at that point and my perception of reality becomes
a bit off or a bit twisted.
Also my doc. changes his mind about my diagnosis between bipolar 1 and 2
though I believe I am surely a 2. with rapid cycling.
Your first question I believe is unique to the individual IMHO. ( I am not a doc.)
Your second question, I do believe it can fluctuate. Maybe some form of rapid cycling
or a mixed state, which I think I experience at times.
Please remember I am not a doctor and I don't claim to know everything about bipolar
I can only speak from my own experience.
Best of luck to you, I hope you get it all figured out.

You again?. Hugs again.

Oops...I had this typed out and I edited to give more info then I think I posted both! Like I said, I'm new

I'm bipolar 2 and I have never missed a night's sleep due to hypomania. It is possible to still sleep normally and be hypomanic. My hypomania usually comes and goes in brief spurts. But even times when it lasted longer, I *still* slept. I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep, so usually when that happens, I'll take a Xanax or listen to a guided meditation or both.

People usually say to think of bipolar as being on a spectrum. It sounds like your hypomanias are very mild. I get sleep disturbance but that doesn't mean every bipolar does. When i'm going up and coming down i get a variety of moods each day. It's hard to manage these times.

If your mood changes that often, it might just be that you get depressed after having slept some hours (so it starts in the early morning; more severe depression in the mornings is common) and therefore you sleep longer.

But I don't have much experience of (relatively stable) hypomania. I had it for 2 years before my first mania, which is my default now (what leads up to it is somewhat similar, but erratic). Even then, when mixed with depression and changing rapidly (a "mixed state"), I might sleep some hours (still less than normal), but any sleep routine is hopeless.

But if you are fatigued because of other reasons, in hypomania, it can completely offset any lack of (enough) sleep.