Does Bipolar-related insomnia and bad concentration ever improve?

[nightvisionuk]

I have Bipolar 2 and I lost my job because of the combined problem of insomnia and distractibility. I´m on anti-depressants - which work thank god - but I´ve reacted badly to anti-psychotics so am not on them anymore.
Is there a drug or medication I should be on to take care of the insomnia and concentration stuff? Or have I lost my mind forever? Please help with info/experience if you can, i really want to be able to work again.
Hi guys thanks for the responses so far. I was actually using weed for a while and it helped, but my pdocs are really against it so I stopped smoking to keep them happy - here they tend to treat you quite dismissively if you are a ´known drug user´. Another thing I´d like to add is that my highs are actually quite mild and few and far between which is why i think I reacted badly to the anti-psychotic (it made me more depressed) so I´ll have to be careful when dealing with the highs . Although I do get hypomanic when sleep deprived. I am now actually. Verbal diarrhoea time!

[Mickey Blue Eyes]

insomnia is a terrible thing. i've never been able to find a source for mine, but i do know i'm bipolar, and wonder if i might share the same condition as you. i do not have insurance, and am poor so i've not been able to take any medication for my problems, so i self-medicate. i often drink till i pass out, or smoke marijuana to help me relax. i realize this is not the "recommended" way to go about helping my insomnia, but when i dont do those things, i'm here answering questions at 3 in the morning, with no hope of ever going to sleep. i have not smoked weed for 2 months now and have returned to my irritable self, and feel im a bother to be around.

as for concentration, you just need to remind yourself that your there for a reason, and what you do at your job affects many other people.

[Dawn]

You don't mention being on a mood stabilizer. I use Lithium to keep the highs manageable. Actually, I think it does an overall mood stabilization.

It took me about 5 years to get my sleep patterns and my scatterbrain concentration back to something that was workable for me.

Its almost like my brain had to learn to function all over again after the nervous breakdown. I was fragile for a long time. It wouldn't take much stress or change to my life to wreck havoc with my recouperation.

But it did slowly get better. Stick to the basics. Don't overwhelm yourself with others problems. Your problems will be all you can handle for awhile.

With the sleep problems I quickly learned that I no longer have the freedom or option to go to bed at any hour of the night. I've had to strictly regulate my sleep cycles. At first I had to use sleeping pills to pass out. Then I finally started only needing an anti-anxiety pill to mellow out enough to conk out. Now, I rarely need either. But that literally took me years to go through that process.

The problem with concentration. I so hear you... About 3 years into my recovery I literally had to back away from buying a house because I could NOT do the paperwork involved. At around the 8 yr mark into recovery I was easily able to fill out the paperwork and buying my house was a breeze.

Its all a matter of time. Give yourself the time to recover. Don't be hard on yourself. It will not always be the way it is now... Do what you can to further your recovery. Take it slowly. Be kind to yourself... A large part of my recovery I felt like I was crawling...

Looking back it almost seemed like my brain was having to learn new paths to accomplish stuff. Like I fried the old pathways... Thats my take on it anyway...

Good luck on finding a job you can handle.

[combackkidxxx]

i hate to say this...but you know
if antidepressants work for you...then i highly DOUBT you're bipolar. it is VERY VERY known that antidepressants make mania WORSE. trust me. went through a mild psychosis episode when i was on Lexapro for two months.

take a mood stabilzer. try Lamictal. i promise you that if you truly do have BP...it's going to get worse soon. lamictal is a VERY good mood stabilizer. it doesn't make you sick. it doesn't make you gain weight. its for long term use. it does not make mania or depression worse. it really makes you feel like yourself again.

insomnia is because of mania. maybe look into adderall for your concentration problem...maybe even for your insomnia.

but seriously. i don't even know you and i'm already scared for you! get off of the antidepressants...it may be okay right now but it will get worse....antidepressants aren't recommended for treating BP.

[Shayla D]

Although you can find the right kind of drugs that help you sleep a bit better, being BP you will always have insomnia and poor concentration. Insomnisa is part of being manic and part of being depressed for me, i am on mediction that causes me to have less mood swings then i used to get so now i get a few more days of sleep in a month then i use too. Have you tried sleeping pills, or possibly lithium. Lithuim is naturaly drowsy, it helps with my manic episodes, but i can genrally fight it, and stay up still. But because of my inabiltiy to sleep and my bad concentration I was put on a permant disablilty because i can't work full time shifts or days, so i found a job that works best with my schedual if your lucky enough to find a helpful understanding employer. But I am from Canada too where alternative medicine is used, and I have found for me that is not too many other with BP, that smoking marijuana helps me fall asleep and helps keep my anxity down. I hope that you soon find the meds that work best for you and that you can soon live you life the best way you want too. :)

[laurarara]

It hasn't improved yet for me.

[Eagles Fly]

You haven't lost your mind at all. Have you discussed with your doctor about taking something that will help with your concentration/distractability and the fact that you can't sleep?

Your concentration and being distracted easily be brought on from lack of sleep. Lack of sleep can cause difficulties on the job, being sociable with others and of course lack of concentration.

There is an over the counter sleeping aid that you could be taking right now. It's called Melatonin. Ordinarily our bodies create melatonin. In your case, you're lacking in melatonin and that's the reason you can't sleep.

Both my grandchildren have Bipolar. The younger 9 year old takes melatonin. If she doesn't, she'll be up all night. She may fall asleep at 4:00-5:00 AM and then has to get up again to get ready for school. If her dose of melatonin is missed, you can almost count on it, that she with fall a sleep in class, or won't be able to concentrate as well or both. She also has ADHD, so she really needs to sleep.

I'm surprised your doctor hasn't recommended this to you. I realize that Bipolar can be kind of tricky and often times, hard to understand for those who aren't familiar with Bipolar, but that certainly doesn't include you doctor.

Ask your doctor if it's OK to take melatonin. Does your doctor know that you're having problems sleeping? Does your doctor know that you lost your job due to lack of concentration and/or lack of sleep?

I'm sure you already know, you need be open, honest and in close contact with your doctor. If your doctor doesn't know what's going on, how can he treat you?

I hope this has helped even a little bit. Take care of yourself and take all medications prescribed by your doctor and don't miss any days even if you're feeling like you're on top of world and don't need your medications. Take them anyway.

I hope you get your lack of sleep in order. Maybe other things will fall into place.

[Enigman]

A lot of us have this problem when we become too sick to work in the main stream. I suggest you don't stop working.........on something financially productive. Just because you can't handle 8-5 daily doesn't mean you can't make money. Use your head and think bright. You don't need to join the "work force." You've graduated. ;)

I graduated in 94' with an MD in schizophrenia and bipolar I. No lie. It's called schizoaffective (if you don't know). I take Seroquel SR 300, 2 mg Klonopin, 300 mg Trileptal, and 60 mg Cymbalta. It's hard to get up but once I've had my coffee it's all good.

[bitch27]

As im bipolar myself I would say yes as long as you have the strength and the willpower to focus on these things.But i also get rivitrol tabs(relaxer) and Texon (sleeper) and Solian which is a mood stabilizer which I dont take myself, Your doctor should give you sleepers for the insomnia and relaxers to bring you down from your high, because that is your problem, when you get insomnia you get it because of been on a high, so go back to your doctor and tell him you want your life back and if taking a relaxer in the day and a sleeper at night then you will do it to get your life back.