bipolar insomnia

I have had this problem now for the past several months it started suddenly. Every few weeks I will get insomnia that lasts for a week or two, I cant fall asleep or stay asleep even when I take sleeping pills and im exhausted then suddenly it'll go away for three weeks or so then come back. Its been doing that for months now. Im desperate for help but I dont understand whats causing it as it seems to just come on suddenly like clockwork. May it be caused by bipolar disorder because I know during the mania phase people have trouble sleeping but ive never been diagnosed yet mental illness runs in my family so I dont know..has anyone ever experienced this.. Any help or advice is welcome
Thank you

I'm actually having this problem right now, though I'm in a depressive state. Obviously when mania occurs many sufferers of Bipolar do not find the need for sleep, because I certainly know that I don't find I need sleep when I'm having a manic episode. Depressive states are typically known to be when one oversleeps, but I suffer from insomnia when I am depressive. But this differs from mania, as when I am manic I don't want to sleep and find no means to do so, but when I'm depressive I want more than anything to sleep but am up for four to five days at a time.

Every person is different and I can't say for sure, but perhaps you should go see what's going on? Maybe check with a doctor or something to see what it is you're experiencing. It sounds like it really sucks and I hope you feel better and can soon be able to find you can get some sleep. Not being able to really is the worst!

Best of luck to you, sorry if I wasn't a big help. You aren't alone, xoxo.

Thank you for replying regive,
Its nice to know im not alone, like you said I may be in the depressive state of mind because now that you mention it I realize the difference. I desperately want sleep im exhausted but im unable to where as mania you have no need to. I will definately look for these patterns in my life.
thank you

I'm bipolar and I've had insomnia since middle school, regardless of what state I'm in (manic or depressive). It's taken me years to find a mix of medications that work. During my manic states, the insomnia is more severe and I tend to abuse my sleeping medication in hopes of falling asleep, to no avail.

Insomnia is dreadful... I hope that you've had some luck getting to sleep since. Proper sleep hygiene hasn't worked for me in the past, although it's often recommended. My suggestion is just to sleep when you can, no matter the time of day.

I've been diagnosed bipolar since 1995 (though I've had it for most of my life, I think) and have had many bouts of insomnia, whether in a manic or depressed state. After a couple of weeks of good (maybe too much) sleep I was up all night last night and am still kind of high (manic?). My geodon was increased to 140mg on Friday and maybe that's got something to do with it. I don't use caffeine, alcohol or street drugs. I'm also on 1000mg depakote. I briefly used trazodone for sleep a long time ago but haven't used a sleeping aid for a long time, though I think I took an ativan during a hospital stay a few years ago.

So that's my experience with sleep issues. Hope you feel better.

Barnett