looking for hope

[crystallight_25_00642]

yes   i  have   bipolar   type 1     with  major   depressive  disorder  and     pmdd          i    been  on     bipolar  medicine  for  3  weeks  now   and    still    cant  get  to    sleep .

[Tgill_1]

They can't figure out what I have, tossed between pmdd and bi polar...or both. I haven't been able to sleep without lots of meds since I was 25 years old and that was almost 10 years ago. Alls they have me on is an anti depressant and contraceptive. I am ready to lose my mind. I would love to fall alseep like a normal person and not have my menstral cycle at all. The contraceptive is suppose to help but I have been taking it without a break for 7 months and have bled each and every day since. I take valerian root when I feel like my brain is going to explode, it literally feels like it is touching my skull and makes me super antsy. Can any help out there, caust this isn't working!

[looloo141]

Hi, I just wanted to add to grannymusiclover's advice, which was spot on..
Sleep is imperative to everyone, but I strongly believe that sleep is the key to stability.
It is very hard when you have just been diagnosed, so confusing and lots of questions!
It is annoying waiting for the meds to kick in..when I start on a new med or I'm having trouble sleeping I ask my doctor for a short term ( 1-2 weeks ) prescription of sleeping tablets just until the other meds start working. Most doctors don't have a problem with it as they know how important sleep is to recovery..maybe you could ask your doctor?
This is a great place for support and advice, keep posting!

[grannymusiclover]

I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder for 16 years now.  It took most of that time to finally find the correct medication.  Depending on which med you are taking, the wait time for it to begin to be effective (if it's going to), varies widely from drug to drug.  I am on a mood stabilizer called, "Lamictal".  My psychiatrist warned me at the start, that Lamictal commonly takes between 4 to 6 MONTHS to show any benefits!  I about died on the spot when I heard this.  Thankfully, most others work much quicker.  I am the last person who should ever say this, but--be patient, even when you can feel nothing. Or when the pain is so great, you doubt you'll make it through till morning.  Or when you're so manic, you're literally climbing the walls, ready to jump out of windows, talk so fast that no one else can follow the words which pour from your mouth and mind, and when everyone around you stares and wonders what's wrong.  I can promise that the answers you need can be found.  Sometimes, it's just a slow process.  As far as sleep is concerned, I'm still working on that.  I've been referred for a sleep study, because my problems with it are so severe.  If you continue to have difficulties with being unable to sleep, seek help from a doctor whom you trust.  Don't let anyone tell you that this problem is normal or unimportant.  Sleep is vital, not only for daily living activities, but for the essential growth and support of each and every cell in your brain.  Sleep is not optional.  Keep kickin'.  It's entirely possible that you haven't found the right med as of yet.  Just never give up!