[xdunlapx]

Hello everyone. My search to get to sleep regularly has led me here. I tend to sleep during the day, not sure why but I just can't get to sleep at night and usually I fall asleep between 6 and 10am. I don't know if it's insomnia or a circadian problem or too much caffeine. I'm highly addicted to caffeine, I drink sometimes 2 12-pks of diet coke a day. I've always drank a lot of diet soda (for years) but only the past few years have had sleeping problems. I'm going to start buying caffeine free along with regular caffienated diet coke and only drink caffeine free in the evening and at night to see if that helps. It's going to be scary for me as I'm so addicted to the caffeine… But I can do it, I've got to do it to see if it fixes my 'insomnia'. I'm at the desperate for change mark. I want to sleep at night. I really really do. It's frustrating as hell not to be able to.

In 2006 I was finally diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with generalized anxiety disorder. I've been on medications for it since March that year. When I started on Seroquel for BP I was able to sleep at night but the problem was I was eating 5 times a night (IN my sleep!) all full bowls of cereal each time. I gained nearly 100 pounds. So I switched back to Risperdal and started having sleeping problems since I wasn't on a heavy sedative. Yes the first treatment for it was Lithium but that made me a complete zombie. It was pure hell. And I gained a lot of weight on it, too. Already being obese it didn't help matters. I'm now doing well on Risperdal and Lexapro (though double the recommended high dose of lexapro) for the anxiety I get. Also my anxiety started getting so bad recently that the psychiatrist prescribed Neurontin (which is off-label for anxiety) and it works fine for me.

So that's me in a nut-shell. I'm not usually sleep deprived but I do sleep at very strange hours and sometimes all day, rarely all night. So my goal is to find something, anything that works for me to help me sleep **at night**.

I was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes and was put on Metformin. For years and years I've been complaining to GP about extreme tiredness. Sleeping all day because of it (again, not at night)… The day after I started taking Metformin I was awake! I was no longer constantly extremely tired, i mean the kind of tired that lingers in your head that you feel like you are 100 pounds heavier because of it. Oddly enough this hasn't helped get me on a regular sleep schedule. But my blood sugar is doing much better.

I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 360 pounds. I haven't been to the doctor in over 2 months and that was the last time I was weighed. I think I was 365 lbs at that point in time. I have tried diet after diet after diet and nothing works for me to lose any amount of weight, other than maybe 5 pounds… I always gaine it back and then some. Sorry for the extremely long post but I'm needing sleep and feel like chatting. Yeah it's one sided but that's ok. It gets it off of my chest. 🙂 I've noticed that I'm losing a bit of weight (not sure how though, i haven't changed my diet in the 2 months). My belly looks smaller when I look down towards my feet and my face isn't so obscenely fat, yeah its still bad fat but not grossly so. So I'm hoping when I go to the doctor in 2 weeks for my 3 month check up I'll have lost some weight. I hope to see 20 pounds off but I doubt that.

Ok enough chatting to myself. Bye bye.

[cherrychapstik]

Hi! Welcome! That sounds rough. My sister has bipolar disorder and the ups and downs can be a scary thing. She was on risperdal for a while, but it was too strong for her. She's a little thing- like 5 feet. Do you take medication to help you sleep at the right time? Did I miss that? I too have been diagnosed with GAD and am currently on Cymbalta, which has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Anxiety is shitty. Can I just say that? Shitty. I hope that you get stuff figured out, and that you are able to reduce your anxiety! Good luck!

[Martin Reed]

Good to se you made the jump from the blog to the forums!

Welcome to Insomnia Land. You'll find plenty of support here, and people that have a good idea what you're going through. Please don't apologize for writing long posts – we love them; they're also a good way of getting things off your chest.

Keep in touch, get involved in the conversations and have fun.

I look forward to getting to know you better.

—

If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Mike Hooker]

xdunlapx,

Welcome!

[aimee]

Welcome!

It sounds like you are concerned about your weight. I used to work in a weight loss clinic, so if you want to chat about ideas for losing the weight let me know!

'xdunlapx' wrote on '07:

Hello everyone. My search to get to sleep regularly has led me here. I tend to sleep during the day, not sure why but I just can't get to sleep at night and usually I fall asleep between 6 and 10am. I don't know if it's insomnia or a circadian problem or too much caffeine. I'm highly addicted to caffeine, I drink sometimes 2 12-pks of diet coke a day. I've always drank a lot of diet soda (for years) but only the past few years have had sleeping problems. I'm going to start buying caffeine free along with regular caffienated diet coke and only drink caffeine free in the evening and at night to see if that helps. It's going to be scary for me as I'm so addicted to the caffeine… But I can do it, I've got to do it to see if it fixes my 'insomnia'. I'm at the desperate for change mark. I want to sleep at night. I really really do. It's frustrating as hell not to be able to.

In 2006 I was finally diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with generalized anxiety disorder. I've been on medications for it since March that year. When I started on Seroquel for BP I was able to sleep at night but the problem was I was eating 5 times a night (IN my sleep!) all full bowls of cereal each time. I gained nearly 100 pounds. So I switched back to Risperdal and started having sleeping problems since I wasn't on a heavy sedative. Yes the first treatment for it was Lithium but that made me a complete zombie. It was pure hell. And I gained a lot of weight on it, too. Already being obese it didn't help matters. I'm now doing well on Risperdal and Lexapro (though double the recommended high dose of lexapro) for the anxiety I get. Also my anxiety started getting so bad recently that the psychiatrist prescribed Neurontin (which is off-label for anxiety) and it works fine for me.

So that's me in a nut-shell. I'm not usually sleep deprived but I do sleep at very strange hours and sometimes all day, rarely all night. So my goal is to find something, anything that works for me to help me sleep **at night**.

I was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes and was put on Metformin. For years and years I've been complaining to GP about extreme tiredness. Sleeping all day because of it (again, not at night)… The day after I started taking Metformin I was awake! I was no longer constantly extremely tired, i mean the kind of tired that lingers in your head that you feel like you are 100 pounds heavier because of it. Oddly enough this hasn't helped get me on a regular sleep schedule. But my blood sugar is doing much better.

I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 360 pounds. I haven't been to the doctor in over 2 months and that was the last time I was weighed. I think I was 365 lbs at that point in time. I have tried diet after diet after diet and nothing works for me to lose any amount of weight, other than maybe 5 pounds… I always gaine it back and then some. Sorry for the extremely long post but I'm needing sleep and feel like chatting. Yeah it's one sided but that's ok. It gets it off of my chest. 🙂 I've noticed that I'm losing a bit of weight (not sure how though, i haven't changed my diet in the 2 months). My belly looks smaller when I look down towards my feet and my face isn't so obscenely fat, yeah its still bad fat but not grossly so. So I'm hoping when I go to the doctor in 2 weeks for my 3 month check up I'll have lost some weight. I hope to see 20 pounds off but I doubt that.

Ok enough chatting to myself. Bye bye.

[Dozydame]

Hi xdunlapx,

Welcome and thanks for sharing with us. I don't think I'm qualified to offer much in the way of advice or help, except to say that I find caffeine has a very noticeable negative effect on my sleeping patterns, so I try to avoid it as much as I can. I'm sure cutting down on caffeine would have to improve your chances of sleeping and maybe it might help with the anxiety as well. I too know how horrible anxiety is to deal with and that's going to make sleep much more difficult as well.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you're doing.

[fishyherring10]

Hi xdunlapx,

I have a friend with Bipolar disorder who finds it very hard to cope with his shifting mood swings. Like you he can exhaust himself very easily – sometimes just by having a conversation that goes on for too long. I wish I had great wisdom to share with you that could help your life, unfortunately, I have nothing to offer, except I hope that by taking to people on this site you may find some comfort in discussing issues with others who suffer and therefore understand what you are going through. Nigel

[sleepy lies]

Hi xdunlapx,

I'm struggling with one of the problems you have. I'm also obese and I have a hard time loosing weight.

I've started on a program which actually helped really good.

It's a group thing. We have 3 sessions a week.

2 of them is just working out in the gym at the center. But you are under constant guidance of a psychiotherapist.

In the other session we learn about healthy food with the dietist and about coping with the cravings and temptations out there.

So far I've lost 12 kilo (26.4 lbs) but since I'm on sick leave I've gained back 2 kilos (4.4 lbs).

So I really need to get it together and restart again.

But it's difficult. I'm very tired and drowsy all the time.

I just haven't got the energy to go to the gym or to watch what I eat.

Then there's the guilt. Do you sometimes have the feeling you're not taking care of your body like you should? I sometimes wonder if wasn't overweight and could sleep just fine, maybe things would be alright.

[sleepy lies]

Oh, and by the way.

I almost forgot!

Welcome!

[MarinaFournier]

'xdunlapx' wrote on '07:

Quote:

In 2006 I was finally diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with generalized anxiety disorder. I've been on medications for it since March that year.

March 2001, for me, but it's somewhere between cyclothymia and Bipolar NOS or II. I'd only been dx'd with depression, because I couldn't recognize any hypomanias. Not sure–15-20 yrs?–before the correct dx was made. At least my son got a quicker dx.

I get very deep, long, and intense depressions, and damned little by way of hypomania–I might get a couple of hours, since once I discover I'm likely in one, it goes away. Thus I am motivated to take my meds.

Quote:

When I started on Seroquel for BP I was able to sleep at night but the problem was I was eating 5 times a night (IN my sleep!) all full bowls of cereal each time.

My son liked Seroquel for its sedating qualities. For the two years I was on topomax, I slept pretty well: best sleep in over two decades. However, while he didn't sleep-eat, he did gain a lot of weight from the carb+fat combos he ate for comfort AND from a lack of portion control. He'd been taken off that for Abilify, but that's damned expensive on our current insurance plan, so I asked for him to be switched to lamictal, which we can get in a generic and cheaper form. He's found that melatonin isn't working very well for him any more, so we may try benadryl, since he, along with the rest of our household, has seasonal allergies. He IS at that teenage sleep stage of late night to sleep and sleep late in the morning. He's on topomax for migraine prevention, but he has had none of the side effects I had.

Quote:

Yes the first treatment for it was Lithium but that made me a complete zombie. It was pure hell. And I gained a lot of weight on it, too.

He was on depakote and lithium when he started, at seven. Outstripped the ability to bring the depakote level up, and was on just lithium for a few years. When i had to sign a release/informed consent form a couple of years ago, I found that in addition to negatively affecting the thyroid (an issue in my birth family), he wasn't supposed to be taking NSAIDs for his migraines. I asked for a switch, and he went on to Seroquel.

Every so often my pdoc suggests lithium, and I've said I want to save that for if/when nothing else works.

Do NOT let yr pdoc prescribe Zyprexa for you–it WILL add weight, and it will screw up your lipids: it is responsible for a number of not-otherwise-at-risk bipolars and others suddenly developing diabetes.

Quote:

Also my anxiety started getting so bad recently that the psychiatrist prescribed Neurontin (which is off-label for anxiety) and it works fine for me.

The Neurontin can also act as a mood stabilizer, as well as for seizure disorders such as epilepsy. Given how well so many anti-seizure meds work for bipolars and some migraine sufferers, there is curiosity in medical research for a possible link in sources for each of them.

Quote:

I was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes and was put on Metformin. For years and years I've been complaining to GP about extreme tiredness. Sleeping all day because of it (again, not at night)… The day after I started taking Metformin I was awake! I was no longer constantly extremely tired, i mean the kind of tired that lingers in your head that you feel like you are 100 pounds heavier because of it. Oddly enough this hasn't helped get me on a regular sleep schedule. But my blood sugar is doing much better.

I get extreme dehydration with metformin, so I have had to stop taking it, and nothing else seems to work as well for me. Everyone else in the household takes it withf little in the way of side effects, although my son can only take 1gm a day, instead of the usual 2, before he has the same reaction as me. He is doing better with his blood sugar since the metformin and his better portion control, esp. for carbs.

Byetta, an injection, didn't seem to do anything for me, either.

Quote:

I have tried diet after diet after diet and nothing works for me to lose any amount of weight, other than maybe 5 pounds… I always gain it back and then some.

Same here. Becomes learned hopelessness.

Quote:

Sorry for the extremely long post but I'm needing sleep and feel like chatting. Yeah it's one sided but that's ok.

I can be verbose at any time of day! Some of us are like that.

Quote:

I've noticed that I'm losing a bit of weight (not sure how though, i haven't changed my diet in the 2 months). My belly looks smaller when I look down towards my feet and my face isn't so obscenely fat, yeah its still bad fat but not grossly so. So I'm hoping when I go to the doctor in 2 weeks for my 3 month check up I'll have lost some weight.

Perhaps merely being off the Seroquel accounts for it.

Glad you're here–quite a few bipolars here.

Marina

[seenafterscene]

xdunlapx–

Welcome. We have some similar diagnoses. I am also bipolar, and have multiple anxiety disorder diaorders. I also had weight gain on many of the meds, though nothing as drastic as yours, but I can understand what you're going through–or at least relate. It's also kind of funny I've finally gotten to the stage where I am drinking caffeine free soda, after being a coffee-and-soda-a-holic for most of my life. We'll see if it helps, but I'm also doing it for other reasons. Sometimes I tend to disappear on this site for a while, but I will always be an Insomnia Land memeber and look forward to seeing more of your posts.

[Author]

Posts