Sleeping issues and bipolar?

I was diagnosed bipolar, but it seems strange that i've never really had the loss of sleep aspect mania usually brings(from what i hear). I mean when i was using drugs heavy sure i had lots of sleep problems, but sober i tend to sleep 6-8 hours all the time. I can function off less sleep if i have to get up, but i don't willingly. I have always had strange sleep patterns, i could easily stay up till 5-6am every night even with little sleep the night before, but once i'm asleep i get a healthy amount. Lately i've been going to sleep around 1-2am which is good for me. I also have more nightmares and uncomfortable dreams than i think the average person has, but it doesn't bother me much. They used to be a lot worse probably because of drug addiction. Is all this normal? On a side note my moods seem more dependent upon what's going on. If i'm bored and lonely i get depressed and irritable, if i am anticipating something fun, have plans, or am with people i like i am hyper and usually goofy joking around a lot. I guess now that i'm off opiates i can pay more attention to my moods though and try to recognize patterns. I am definitely more miserable when the weather is bad.

Anyway thanks for reading

Yes sleep problems are quite common for BP. I was diagnosed with insomnia before anything else when I was 16. And yea, I would purposely get black out drunk for a good 8hrs! But now that I quit drinking, I can't even begin to explain the amount of meds it takes me to sleep. My pdoc is very surprised that my 95lb a$^ is still walking at night lol. And even when I do sleep, I'm up every two hours. It's quite annoying to say the very least! I'm also a night owl. I'm not working right now so i often like to sleep in so I'm not up and dealing with the whole day from sun up. Lol now I just sound like a wet blanket. I'm on 20mgs of saphris a night, for now lol

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Yeah, I have sleeping isses. Right now it's 3:43 am and I'm wide awake. Been up since 2.

I go to bed at 9pm (because Latuda knocks me out). So, I got 5 hrs of sleep.

I always try to go back to sleep, but it usually takes a few hours before I can actually sleep. My sleep gets disrupted every night!

I don't have sleep issues either. My problems are with mood instability not energy fluctuations unless I've had lots of sugar and caffeine. My bp friend stays up 3-4 days with no sleep and then can't wake up for three days. It's horrible for him.

If you recognize you have a serious problem, get help.
Lack of sleep is the worst enemy of a person with bipolar.
Only don't make the mistake I did. I went for benzos.
In fact, I was prescribed benzos to sleep. And I took 'em because the shrink said I needed
to sleep.
Very bad move on my part. It was my duty not to take anybody's word at face value.
Now I'm the one with the dependency. He sleeps without them.
I sleep well too. But wake up in terror, and stay in bed awake for more than an hour,
thinking about everything that torments me.
Please, don't take benzos.

Sleep issues are common also as a BP prodrome: many/some people have sleep issues long before any depression or mania.

No trouble sleeping might mean that your mood changes often during the day and is more related than for some others, to some biorhythmic changes. That may mean you get depressed during the night and in the mornings, for example, and then more manic during the rest of the day.

It is unlikely there is one thing causing the BP syndrome. As far as symptoms are concerned, you might not have all of them, for it to be called BP.

Wow, it is nice to know I am not alone. I take lithium, Ambien CR, Trazodone, Lamictal and clonazepam to sleep and still can wake up at 2 am and feel tired but can't get back to sleep. I never sleep later then 5 am. I take Bupropion HCL XL and Fluoxetine in the morning. Does anyone else take so many meds?

I am DX with Bipolar I, mixed states and rapid cycling.

I have had sleep issues since I was a teenager.
I am bipolar and the sleep issues do seem to go
along with it in most cases.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

What i was saying is i don't have sleep problems other than strange patterns which i seem to be able to fix if i try. I thought a big symptom of bipolar was not being able to sleep during manic episodes. Once i'm asleep i get a healthy 6-8 hours without any drugs. Someone above nailed it though, i tend to be depressed and irritable right when i wake up and later at night while having pretty high energy if there's something to do during the day. No depression too extreme though some days are slower than others, but i tend to snap out of it. I do notice once every month or so i'll have depression for a few days where i just hate myself, but it's not unbearable, i figured it was me getting used to being sober still, but does sound like a bp depressive episode as well. I'm wondering if maybe i'm not bipolar, i mean i've been off and on street drugs for 6-7 years, how could they know if that hasn't been causing my issues. I did have mood swings/depression as a kid though and i definitely have something going on, it just seems like it'd be hard to judge at this moment until i have a longer period of clean time.

That all sounds wise.

However, you might immediately get help treating the symptoms: they don't have to diagnose it as BP (yet), because it would be hard to tell if it "really" is, indeed, but they can diagnose you with a substance-induced mood disorder if it is clear that your changes in mood are severe and pharmacotreatment is advised.

It could also be "just" a personality thing, made worse by using drugs. For example, borderline personality traits might've "caused" you to do drugs to simulate some BP-like instability. There might then be other problems that you "replace" by substance-induced instability. Best thing in that case would be to find better ways to deal with your problems. Possibly by having a bit more "respect" for the needs you have developed your personality for to deal with: analyse those needs and fulfil them in a more healthy, constructive way.