question??

[nateboy]

I am on the bipolar spectrum...have severe anxiety that seems to cause me to be hypomanic at times but I never reach severe mania or depression.

I am just curious? Do some of you really go days without sleep...days? I am an insomniac but have NEVER been able to go without at least four hours of sleep a night. Some of it isn't fruitful sleep, but it seems like sleep nevertheless. How many days can you go without sleep? When you are manic, does it really feel like you can do anything....anything??? I am just curious. I am not at the severe end of the spectrum but want to understand what some of you go through.

I am SAD, GAD, ADHD, etc.... I do cycle but it's with the weather. The doctors are starting to think those dx can be summed up into bipolar...we never really know.

 

[Jeshu]

When I go manic I sleep very little usually between 2-4 hours a day this goes on for months (9 months is my longest stretch.) Then at the end when psychosis is lurking I stop sleeping altogether until they put me down in the hospital but usually the duration is no longer than 2-4 nights without sleep.
When I'm psychotic all things are possible. I travel between heaven and hell in 30 minute cycles. Overal it is no fun I telll you.

Have a blessed Christmas.


Gerry

 

[angelkiss]

When I get manic, I get no sleep for days. I have been up as long as 72 hours at a time. My therapist told me that I haven't lost hours or days of sleep, I've lost YEARS of sleep and sleep is a very important thing in my treatment.
As far as feeling like I can do anything..........I feel that I can do ablsolutely ANYTHING! I also bounce around and can't be still, I talk in a rapid pace, my mind spins out of control (that usually happens even when I'm not manic) and I drive more often. One day I made three trips into town just to be doing it. On my way back home, I went up a couple of back-roads just to be doing it..................I am capable of doing some very crazy and life-threatening things while manic. There have been times that I have been this way for months and then when crashed, I realized I'd gotten myself in a pickle that sometimes took up to a year to get out of. Very dangerous situations I've placed myself in.
My main fight with this illness is I am up and down constantly. I can be up one minute, down the next........Up in the morning, down by the evening.........Up for a day or two, down for a day or two.......etc. I never know from one minute to the next what mood I'm going to be in or if it's gonna last just a minute or two or all day, etc.
I also have PTSD along with bipolar I and they always trigger one another. It makes life not only chaotic, but extremely complicated for me. (and those around me)

 

[nateboy]

I praise God for both of you! You have the most amazing testimonies! I am sure a lot of people on here do. I believe the more you have to experience in life, the more God's grace is sufficient. When I feel down and am tempted to ask God why, I just look at how Paul pleaded for the thorn to be taken from his side and God said, "My grace is sufficient for thee." I believe that if we didn't have the thorn in our side, we would forget him or not give him the glory as much. So, we actually are rich even through the moments, hours, days in hell. There are so many people I have been running into that suffer from bipolar. My case is not that severe but I am still thankful I can be there or at least try to understand other people who also experience it , although I may not fully understand as the severity could be different.

I work with someone who has it and I figured it out immediately. After we had a disagreement (she was "in a mood"), a few staff told me that she was bipolar and probably forgot her pill. They then told me that she had been hospitalized for bipolar. I was very mad FOR her! I can't believe that people actually told me this; some are her friends. Her "mood" could have been just a mood and not bipolar as we all have them. Anyways, it goes to show you that we need to be careful about showing the world our anger (so hard at times!!). Also, if the world knew I was bipolar, would they blame everything I do on bipolar.?? Probably. I am a very moody person at times. That is so irritating....sorry, that was a major side note!

Thanks for replying. I do have a family member (undx) that I feel is bipolar as well. She also has PTSD...not a good combo. She usually sleeps three hours a night. She will come over and not go to bed until I hear the birds sing!

 

[angelkiss]

I praise God for both of you! You have the most amazing testimonies! I am sure a lot of people on here do. I believe the more you have to experience in life, the more God's grace is sufficient. When I feel down and am tempted to ask God why, I just look at how Paul pleaded for the thorn to be taken from his side and God said, "My grace is sufficient for thee." I believe that if we didn't have the thorn in our side, we would forget him or not give him the glory as much. So, we actually are rich even through the moments, hours, days in hell. There are so many people I have been running into that suffer from bipolar. My case is not that severe but I am still thankful I can be there or at least try to understand other people who also experience it , although I may not fully understand as the severity could be different.

I work with someone who has it and I figured it out immediately. After we had a disagreement (she was "in a mood"), a few staff told me that she was bipolar and probably forgot her pill. They then told me that she had been hospitalized for bipolar. I was very mad FOR her! I can't believe that people actually told me this; some are her friends. Her "mood" could have been just a mood and not bipolar as we all have them. Anyways, it goes to show you that we need to be careful about showing the world our anger (so hard at times!!). Also, if the world knew I was bipolar, would they blame everything I do on bipolar.?? Probably. I am a very moody person at times. That is so irritating....sorry, that was a major side note!

Thanks for replying. I do have a family member (undx) that I feel is bipolar as well. She also has PTSD...not a good combo. She usually sleeps three hours a night. She will come over and not go to bed until I hear the birds sing!

There are actually different forms of bipolar. I am bipolar I and have constant ups and downs.......Some are bipolar II and are either one way or the other for a longer period of time. Neither one is a piece of cake. And no, bipolar and PTSD is not a good combo..........bipolar is not your "ordinary" mood swings. They are usually more to the extreme. Such as, if I seem to feel "crowded" and don't get my space when needed, I can very easily wig-out and next thing I know, I look around the room and I have broken things all over the place. It's a loss of control that runs me over without warning.
Some people experience other disorders along with the bipolar as well and the bipolar alone is hard to deal with, let alone something else to go with it.
As for me, if something triggers my PTSD, it can send me into a very big LOW. With this low, my mind will spin a thousand thoughts per second, but my body feels as though it weighs a ton. It's a chore just to move. This LOW is a bipolar episode.
Sometimes, the bipolar can trigger my PTSD, and it will send me BOO-RADILY (as I call it) I feel overwhelmed with a lot of emotions at one time.
I have been hospitalized 8 times. The last being the beginning of this year. (5 of the 8 were due to going off meds)
It's not only a very hard illness to live with, it's also not an easy one to understand.
Although I have so many ups and downs, am extremely mis-understood, and have those times that seem I can't go on.........I fight every day of my life. I refuse to let this illness consume me and when it gets me down, I get right back up and keep pushing.
Some people ask, well why don't you ask for healing. Well, I have and if it's God's will that I have this illness, then so be it. Thing is, I have found that not only this illness, but many things in my life can be a blessing. Some may ask: How can I consider something bad a blessing? The answer for me, is very simple: It gives me the first-hand experience to help others and understand where they are coming from and let them know that there is hope.
God Bless!!

 

[lemonflavor]

and have those times that seem I can't go on.........I fight every day of my life. I refuse to let this illness consume me and when it gets me down, I get right back up and keep pushing.
Some people ask, well why don't you ask for healing. Well, I have and if it's God's will that I have this illness, then so be it. Thing is, I have found that not only this illness, but many things in my life can be a blessing. Some may ask: How can I consider something bad a blessing? The answer for me, is very simple: It gives me the first-hand experience to help others and understand where they are coming from and let them know that there is hope.
God Bless!!

Possible trigger. Stop here if you're really down and vulnerable.

I have to confess I don't seem to have the energy to fight the illness itself. Although I'm doing everything I can to grow spiritually. Maybe even trying too hard. I guess it's that I don't have a lot of hope that I will get better as far as depression/bipolar goes.

I also don't want to be alive. Which is different from being suicidal. I haven't had the desire to be alive for many many years. I don't know what it feels like. I would much rather be in heaven. I've noticed you posted you're glad to be alive in the thanks thread and I can't imagine that. I do want to do God's will and part of that is that He wants me to be alive, so be it.

But one infinitely important thing about this illness, especially since I've gotten so much worse in the last year is it has caused me to seek God, spend more time contemplating and learning about Him. That's so important it probably makes it worth it. I wish there was another way to accomplish this but pain will do that. It's also extremely humbling. I judge others so much less and think so much less of myself now. Not that I don't have a lot of room for improvement in those areas.

 

[rushingwind62]

I am on the bipolar spectrum...have severe anxiety that seems to cause me to be hypomanic at times but I never reach severe mania or depression.

I am just curious? Do some of you really go days without sleep...days? I am an insomniac but have NEVER been able to go without at least four hours of sleep a night. Some of it isn't fruitful sleep, but it seems like sleep nevertheless. How many days can you go without sleep? When you are manic, does it really feel like you can do anything....anything??? I am just curious. I am not at the severe end of the spectrum but want to understand what some of you go through.

I am SAD, GAD, ADHD, etc.... I do cycle but it's with the weather. The doctors are starting to think those dx can be summed up into bipolar...we never really know.

When I am on the anxiety side and manic I don't sleep at all. USually a couple of days. The first time this happened to me I Went several days in a row and that sent me into a brief psychotic episode that lasted about 10 days. It is nothing I do and usually my mind is relativly quiet. I simply can't sleep eventhough I am dead tired. My Dr says that it is a part of the chemical imbalance. ONE of the chemicals involved is seratonin, which affects your sleep. They gave me a sleep aid (trazadone) and I don't have too much problem anymore. Trazadone is also used to control anxiety and depression.

 

[451ffan]

Yes...I can attest that we can go days without sleep when manic. However, be careful to get enough sleep each night...if you can, for this can, in and of itself, trigger a hypomanic/manic episode.

I'm on Seroquel, it's very sedating, so it's great for helping me avoid the insomnia. Perhaps you could change medications?? Just a suggestion....Sleep is very important!

As for the anxiety, we share that as well...I don't have much of it anymore, however, thanks to therapy.

Good luck with everything...I know it is a lot to deal with. Ask me/us if you have more questions.