Sleep and Bipolar

LadyShadow · Dec 19, 2016, 06:24 PM

Hey everyone!

I was just wondering, how is everyone's sleep? I know some of us take meds to help us sleep (me included), but what is your sleep like? What I mean is do you sleep at the same time every night, do you get enough sleep or not enough?

I have entered into a horrible pattern where I am up all night and day and then sleep one night, then up all day and night, sleep one night, then rinse and repeat. It's ridiculous! I know it's not healthy, but I don't want to start messing with meds. I have been zombified before and Ambien knocked the crap outta me. Oh and I have tried Melatonin too, but it just made me really groggy and I found it hard to wake up.

So what is your sleeping like?

Nammu · Dec 19, 2016, 06:30 PM

It took years to find a combo that worked to put me to sleep. 2 10mg ambien, 1 10mg melatonin, 2 Benadryl, going to bed at the same time every night (midnight) but still often waking up at 5-7 am. Then my ambien got messed with and now I'm back to sleeping 2-3 hours a night. But so far I've not spun out yet.

franz kafka · Dec 19, 2016, 06:33 PM

My meds cause me to oversleep. Pdoc has me trying out a stimulant. I sleep usually 9-10 hours with it, but without it is more like 12+.

Wander · Dec 19, 2016, 07:28 PM

After 6 weeks of mania and little sleep my body has naturally started to sleep again. First it was 3-4 hours, then 5 hours and the last three nights 7-8 hours which is great. Funny though, I feel much more tired now I am sleeping. Probably getting over the manic episode. The only med i take that may help me sleep is Clonazepam.

Moose72 · Dec 19, 2016, 08:01 PM

Since going on wellbutrin, I'll occasionally have a night of insomnia. Pdoc didn't seem to care. If it happens again before I see her (1/4/17) I may bring up ambien.

CarriB · Dec 19, 2016, 08:10 PM

I get 10 hours of sleep a night which I think is too much. I'll have bouts of insomnia but they don't seem to last long. I spend more time in depression than I do in mania and sleeping meds just make me a zombie.

JustJace2u · Dec 19, 2016, 08:14 PM

My sleep is very sporadic. Some nights I can sleep 10-12 hours and other I sleep maybe 5-6, if that. I saw my therapist today and we both agreed that I'm rapid cycling so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

Dec 19, 2016, 08:31 PM

Thanks to my very sedating meds I sleep a solid 12 hours every night. Unfortunately due to nightmares it's not always uninterrupted though.

Shazerac · Dec 19, 2016, 08:38 PM

I go to bed at nine, sleep around 10pm. Usually up around 8 am. I function much better when I stick to a sleep schedule.

emgreen · Dec 19, 2016, 08:46 PM

Sleep has been so friggin' frustrating for me lately...It's kind of a sore spot right now. I'm only getting 3-5 hours per night & am getting pretty anxious & irritated. I hate getting up at 3-4 in the morning & waiting things out until dawn. The days are long...

Dec 19, 2016, 08:46 PM

I take 3 meds for sleep. I sleep about 9 hours a night. I don't have a set schedule. But it's better than it was. For awhile I was staying up til about 7am and sleeping until 3-4pm. Now I've been going to bed around midnight. But sometimes I wake up and can't get back to sleep for like an hour.

I've been struggling with insomnia since I had my son, 21 years ago.

VerMOZZica · Dec 19, 2016, 10:10 PM

I sleep mostly every night now.That`s with meds though.I went through a few years where I would only sleep every other night. That`s when I would get stuff done the nights I was up.It`s weird but I kind of miss it sometimes.Other times I wonder how I used to do it.Now I hate it when it starts to get dark that`s when I feel my depression gets worse.

Misssy2 · Dec 19, 2016, 10:40 PM

I sleep now with 1 gabapentin, 5mg of Melatonin and 2 OLLY gummy bears (with L-Theanine, Melatonin and Chamomile.

I wasn't sleeping prior to this...I was up every hour...I love my sleep routine.
1030 take meds...1050 eat yogurt...11 (chew gummys) lay down..remember nothing.

Theresa1991 · Dec 20, 2016, 01:44 AM

Right now I sleep about five to seven hours a night. Usually I would need 7 to 8 but I can't go to bed in the evening and use to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. In summer I slept 3 - 5 so it got better and I don't keep waking up so much.

BipolaRNurse · Dec 20, 2016, 03:45 AM

I'm on several meds for sleep and I sleep at least 9-10 hours/night. Sometimes I feel it's a little too much, but I can't help it. I've always been a night owl, so I go to bed around 1 AM and get up about 10. It may not be the world's best schedule, but I don't have a job and it works for me just fine.

Ocean Swimmer · Dec 20, 2016, 06:25 AM

I'm sleeping lousy. A few hours. Then bad dreams wake me up.
I fall back asleep after awhile. Sometimes the same dream starts up where it left off.
Usually up at 3:30 am. Can't take the anxiety of sleep

LadyShadow · Dec 20, 2016, 07:53 AM

Well just so you all know, I managed to sleep last night. I think I will use this thread as a sleep "check-in" for me. I am really glad to hear your insights and stories regarding your sleep. I think its a very difficult thing, being bipolar and trying to rest well.

Hopefully, I can keep up this pattern of going to bed at a reasonable time, and getting up early.

Coconutzo · Dec 20, 2016, 01:58 PM

Current pattern: 3 days of 5-6 hours of sleep 2 days 3-4 hours of sleep 1 day with 3- hours of sleep and one miraculous night of 8 hrs

LadyShadow · Dec 20, 2016, 09:40 PM

Getting really tired now and it's only 9:30pm. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night so I am forcing myself to stay up and its really hard. There is nothing on tv and literally no stimulus anywhere. Even this site is completely filled with my posts.

I wish I wasn't so darn tired

duckrabbit · Dec 21, 2016, 06:26 PM

My sleep is always messed up. I can go for days with no sleep, or very little. And then I have times where I can sleep 15+ hours. And I wake up at least 5 times a night (I just started taking melatonin and that has been helping with waking). Sometimes I wake up every 20 minutes for hours, and it's the most tormenting sleep. Nightmares, hypnagogic hallucinations (which I've learned to control and usually enjoy--I call them "visions" bc people speak to me). Right now I'm going on 1 hour and feel so energized. I guess I've been on the higher side though, so it makes sense.

Moose72 · Dec 21, 2016, 06:36 PM

I sometimes am up all night with no sleep and then sometimes I'm up a lot to pee and other nights I sleep a solid 8 hours. I am taking melatonin since September in the hospital and I think it's helping. I'm tired right now after some hot chocolate but it's only 630 and my daughter needs picked up.

LadyShadow · Dec 22, 2016, 02:47 AM

It's another night of broken sleep. Went to bed around 9pm, woke up at 10:30pm and now its 2:47am and I am up. I wish I could sleep a full night sometimes, sigh. I am probably going to go back to sleep in a bit.

usehername · Dec 22, 2016, 02:56 AM

I currently take 1500mg Depakote & 3mg xanax and have .5 triazolam for nights I really can't sleep, but no matter what, it's either ~5 for a couple weeks, or ~10 for a couple weeks. Unless I attempt day shift *shudder*. Then it's 3 if I'm lucky and non-stop nightmares.

scatterbrained04 · Dec 22, 2016, 01:19 PM

My sleep has been awesome most of the time since Latuda got added to my meds. Like normally 7-9 hours. Unless my anxiety is super bad. Before that I struggled with sleep all the time. I found gabapentin helps too.

Unrigged64072835 · Dec 22, 2016, 06:33 PM

I take Luniest for sleep. It seems to work out well. I only wake up when my husband gets out of bed--he only tends to sleep 5-6 hours.

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