Hypo vs. Just doing alright?

Hey all,

So I'm in an interesting place. I've been sleeping about 5-6 hours a night (down from 8-9), have felt super creative drives going on, reading, writing, painting and drawing. Often in the middle of the night when I wake up after 3 hours of sleep (I nap later in the morning). All of this energy and creativity is SO welcome in my life. I feel like I've spent the last 3 years without it.

So...

Am I hypo? Or just not depressed anymore? Or both?

My T says 5-6 hours is enough. My Pdoc is completely freaked out that my sleep is interrupted at night. I'm caught in the middle.

How can I tell if I'm getting manic or I'm just back to my old self? Can you tell when you're in this place?

Note: I have been on brand name Lamictal again for a month which is FAR more effective for me than generic.

Sounds in the hypo-to-at-least-slightly-manic range. Generally (even if it's a welcome situation) with bipolar it's best to be as consistent as you can. Sleep tends to be pretty important, so I can understand why your Pdoc wigged out on ya.

I guess talk to them about if the interrupted schedule and sudden burst of creativity could be a precursor to mania. See if they think it could lead to unwanted behavior, and take it from there whether you need to take a different dose. I haven't been on Lamictal, so maybe others can chime in there, though that'll vary quite a bit person to person of course.

I'd try to sleep through the night and get at least 8 hours. Go to bed and wake at the same time every day and see how you feel and adjust accordingly. Having a regular hour job makes this a necessity.

Thanks for the replies. Dr's orders were to start my sleep aid again and get at least 6 hours of interrupted sleep. So far I'm still waking but going to bed after an hour instead of after 5. I got 8 last night

I just really really don't wanna lose my drive, focus, and creativity. I spent so long without it that losing it again would make me incredibly sad and frustrated.

Well, this would vary from person to person. What you should look at here is, is this how you are when you're stable? It could just be normal for you. There are people w/o mental illness who are like this. Example: my bf only sleeps for 6 hours a night. When I am stable, I am very creative. I consider myself an artist; I draw and paint. I'm also a decent photographer and edit my photos in photo shop.

You have mentioned in other threads that you are an artist, so this is a good thing that your creativity has come back. When one is depressed, they tend to stop doing things they enjoy. So since your depression has lifted, this could just be your "normal" self coming back. But you should still keep an eye on your mood. We all know that less sleep = mania. But creativity is not indicative of mania. And I would assume there would be other hallmark signs of mania like pressured speech and such. So I would say, just keep an eye on it.

Thanks JB! Yeah what you wrote is def the heart of the matter for me... its so frustrating not knowing what is up with me and constantly second guessing myself. I think it's possible this is just my norm for sleeping and being creative... the switch to brand Lamictal could very well have triggered all of this (in the best way). Or I could be going high. It's so hard to tell!

So Like I said, and like you suggested, Im just trying to watch my sleep. I don't seem to have other symptoms that I know of. My thoughts are def not racing, I'm not spending money needlessly, I'm having zero physical contact with other men instead of hyper sexuality (by choice... I'm done with casual sex at least for now), and I'm not exactly connecting all kinds of wild ideas.

I am however *beginning* to hallucinate a tiny bit. Hearing my name called in other's convos, shadows in the corner of my sight, and flashing lights. I know that last one isn't so typical of psychosis but for me it *always* comes with other hallucinations. My Dr has mentioned shizoaffective for me because these things happen when I"m not in a mood episodes

Oh and I'm full of typos when texting or typing, which was hardcore bad when I was recently manic. One other sign I suppose. It feels like pressured speech but it's in text lol. Wonder if anyone else gets this. Funny, my BP survival guide mentions more phone calls when manic... this could be updated to more texting that usual for the updates in tech. More social posting too!

So some indicators but not many. Watching this

I find my indicators change depending what drugs I'm on. I won't get any psychosis at all on one drug, but most of my other indicators for mania. On another drug i'll get the psychosis, but I'll be able to sleep, even though I'm going manic. What you are taking about sounds to me like a one-way ticket on a helium balloon...but you know yourself better than I do.

One thing I have done when I'm not sure what is going on, is talk to my doc about options. Example: Keep going with the meds as they are now, but if I become sure I'm going manic, up my dose to X and see the doc X days later.

JulieB wrote:I find my indicators change depending what drugs I'm on. I won't get any psychosis at all on one drug, but most of my other indicators for mania. On another drug i'll get the psychosis, but I'll be able to sleep, even though I'm going manic. What you are taking about sounds to me like a one-way ticket on a helium balloon...but you know yourself better than I do.

One thing I have done when I'm not sure what is going on, is talk to my doc about options. Example: Keep going with the meds as they are now, but if I become sure I'm going manic, up my dose to X and see the doc X days later.

Yeah Im still unsure that Im going high. I still feel creative, but I'm sleeping a little better. Got 9 hours last night. I did however shave and keep my mustache, which is usually a sign of mania for me. Though I swear I never sleep 0 hours when Im manic... I still get 3-6 every night. So still in the wait and see period I guess.. I can call my Pdoc if things gel into mania, but I'm on the highest dose of both meds. So would have to be a meds overhaul if anything, which dose not sound fun at all!

UPDAte. I did Become mania last Friday. Was prescribed klonopin. Something bizarre happened and I must have been sleepnwalking and took a bunch of pills overnight. In the morning I woke up with a few signs of overdose. So to the hospital I want. I hate that place. I never wanna got back. My Dr and I agreed this is the end of klonopin for me. I was so disoriented. When asked what year it was I answered “1917.” Of course they suspected I had tried to hurt myself. No such thing. Just infuriating to have to explain my story to so many people. My pdoc actually saved the day. She visited me and the head Dr and explained I was not a danger to myself or others. So I was able to leave in 24 hours.

So yeah. Really didn’t wanna think I was getting manic. But apparently I was. Now I feel fine with no symptoms.

support would be nice... i know I may seem like a new face but I've been contributing for years.