What are some good ways to knock off mania... or at least lessen the intensity of its symptoms? I've been irritable and hallucinating, so it's no fun for me.

For anyone who's curious--

I just had an appointment with my pdoc. We spent the entire time talking about how I've been manic for the past 5 days (sleep issues, psychosis, etc). Apparently I'm delusional (but how would I know???)

He insists that my mania will go away if I sleep well for a couple of days. Is there any truth to this? Sometimes I feel like he's talking straight out of his @ss, so it's hard for me to judge whether this statement is true or false.

He did prescribe me Seroquel PRN for sleep, and I'm definitely going to take that, but I'm honestly skeptical because I've never heard of using sleepy meds to get rid of mania.

[bizi]

hi blue, seroquel is an antipsychotic and very effective to sleep. 300mg is the usual dose. Please take this...it should be every night not just prn.
In my unprofessional opinion.
bizi

[vjdragonfly]

Honestly, I have never heard that sleep will bring you out of a mania. I sleep when I'm in mania, although it is a LOT less but I sleep. I really don't know of anything that would help other then just being aware you are manic and try talking yourself through it. Best of luck to you, hopefully the Seroquel does the trick. Gotta love those med changes .

Originally Posted by bizi

hi blue, seroquel is an antipsychotic and very effective to sleep. 300mg is the usual dose. Please take this...it should be every night not just prn.
In my unprofessional opinion.
bizi

He only prescribed me 28 of the 25mg pills!

He says to try 25 tonight. If after 45 mins it doesn't work, then take another 25. Keep doing this until you've reached 3 pills (75 mg).

So yeah, unfortunately it's PRN

Originally Posted by vjdragonfly

Honestly, I have never heard that sleep will bring you out of a mania. I sleep when I'm in mania, although it is a LOT less but I sleep. I really don't know of anything that would help other then just being aware you are manic and try talking yourself through it. Best of luck to you, hopefully the Seroquel does the trick. Gotta love those med changes .

I glad that I'm not the only one who thinks my pdoc's statement is odd.

Btw, he also isn't going to give me a med change yet. He says he wants to see what happens with Seroquel.

[bizi]

You can always call him for increases, good luck tonight.
I hope it helps you.
bizi
When I went full blown manic on prozac, I was sleeping....just saying....

[chailatte16]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

He only prescribed me 28 of the 25mg pills!

He says to try 25 tonight. If after 45 mins it doesn't work, then take another 25. Keep doing this until you've reached 3 pills (75 mg).

So yeah, unfortunately it's PRN


I glad that I'm not the only one who thinks my pdoc's statement is odd.

Btw, he also isn't going to give me a med change yet. He says he wants to see what happens with Seroquel.

When I first started taking Seroquel it knocked me out at 25 mg. It seemed like a really low dose, but it actually worked. I don't take Seroquel for sleep anymore. I take 800 mg split between am and pm. I have become so used to the medicine that taking the 400 in the evening doesn't make me sleepy at all. I have heard that it is more effective for sleep at lower doses. Good luck with that.

[Victoria'smom]

Sleep always helps me end a mania. Knock me out for two days and I come down. I was on a low dose of seroquil for a prn for sleep.

[JustJace2u]

I already told you that your pdoc was a little odd

[mindwrench]

I don't know if it is coincidence or not, but early this morning I self prescribed plenty of sedatives as I had been stuck in mixed manic way too long without sleeping more than 1-2 hours a day. I turned off my phone, and when I woke up I'm guessing 6 hours later I was dizzy, light headed and had no jitters or nervousness. I've had two energy drinks and half a pot of coffee today and still no jitters, just a awake and alert, a telltale sign for me that I am not manic right now. I went to the store and stood in line without fear, another sign. Sooo I don't know how long this will hold, but the mania is over for right now. I forgot what it was like to take a deep breath, and sit still.

[jacky8807]

I have had docs tell me sleep will knock down mania. I don't think him saying that is out of the ordinary but I think the real help is the ap

[99fairies]

Olanzipine worked for me to stop the mania quickly.

[chailatte16]

Sleep worked for me when I had a major manic episode. My doctor tried to stop it by adding mood stabilizers and a second antipsychotic, but those didn't slow me down at all. I kept on going while building up a real sleep deficit from sleeping very little. I got so mad about my pdoc wanting me in the hospital that I ingested an entire package of free Risperdal samples from my pdoc. My parents called my pdoc concerned about me consuming all that Risperdal. She told them to let me do that, because it might finally put me to sleep. I awoke 14 hours later in a miserable depression. The mania disappeared completely.

[Coconutzo]

My doc also says sleep is the cure.
I'm not sure either way

[alincdytyourmeds]

Sleep helps me with both the ups and downs. The first thing I notice when I am up is how I don't "need sleep" and when I am down I don't want to go to sleep, (bad dreams obsessive thought cycles" I take 1-3 trazadones at night and if I really want to slow a cycle I take some ativan with the trazadone. I hope you can come down without too much crash.

[Wild Coyote]

Sleep is a well-known "target" for regulating mania and other mood swings.

Before anti-psychotics were available/widely used, sedatives and limited light exposure were used to decrease mania. At least 12 hours of darkness, often more, per 24 hours.

Blue, your pdoc is targeting sleep correctly.

He is also cautiously using Seroquel, which is the way to use it unless you prove otherwise. He's not just assuming you will need higher doses. You may need higher doses, yet if so, then you both will know this quickly.

I feel he's trying to balance treatment with keeping you as functional as possible, as you do have job responsibilities, etc.

I feel he's looking out for your interests, trying to help you find a balance where you can function optimally.

He could just hammer you with high doses and doing so might create other problems for you.

I think he's likely a very thoughtful pdoc and has your best interests in mind.
Stay in touch with him, giving him feedback so he knows if/when you need further med adjustments.


WC