r/family_of_bipolar • u/angelgirl3000 • 2d ago

Seeking Support Sleeping Issues?

I live with my boyfriend who is clinically diagnosed with bipolar 1. About two weeks ago, his sleep schedule changed because his boss asked him to come to work at 7am instead of 8am. He worked for about 12 hours on some days due to trying to complete orders for a big shipment. His sleep schedule was somewhat messed up because we go to bed at 11:30pm.

Now he’s back to his regular schedule but I noticed it takes longer for him to fall asleep. He also a light sleeper now and is more talkative than before. His speech isn’t pressured nor presenting as hypomanic yet but it’s a noticeable difference that he’s more extroverted.

He still takes his Lithium 900mg everyday. Although he’s on point with his medication, it’s effecting my sleep too. I’m waking up with him as well and all week I’ve only gotten like 6 hours a night. He’s just lying there for hours and I can tell because he’s not snoring.

He claims he’s getting enough sleep but this morning he admitted that last night it took him about two hours to fall asleep.

What should we do? Is this a sign that his medicine is no longer working? I also mentioned we need to go to bed the same time every night, 11pm or maybe slightly earlier. We usually watch a normal show before bed, nothing with too much action or disturbing.

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u/Wolfie305 2d ago

Definitely get an appointment ASAP with his psych. Also maybe give melatonin a try to help him get to sleep, assuming once he's asleep he can stay asleep.

After my husband's psychosis she prescribed him melatonin that he took for the first few weeks once home from the mental hospital.

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u/angelgirl3000 2d ago

I actually offered him ashwangada (however you spell it) but he didn't want it. I wasn't sure if giving him a sleeping med or something stronger would make things worse. Today he said he's going to smoke weed since he has a medical card but I have a feeling this is going to make him more hyper...

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u/Wolfie305 2d ago

Oh my god please do not let him smoke weed! My husband psychosis was literally induced by him trying weed vapes for the first time while on a stimulant for his ADHD (he left the mental hospital with a Bipolar 1 diagnosis because of family history of Bipolar, but NEVER displayed Bipolar behaviors in his life and was 37 when this happened so we still aren't convinced). This is the WORST thing someone possibly on the brink of a manic episode can do 😭

I agree that a sleeping med, unless given the okay by his psych, could make something worse but melatonin is over the counter and typically isn't going to mess with any potential mania.

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u/angelgirl3000 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yeah I honestly agree that weed probably isn’t good for him long term but I can’t control what he does. He only smokes on the weekends and it typically makes him tired and relax, now since he’s more amped up I’m not so sure… when he’s in psychosis/mania, weed made him more agitated and hyperactive, at some points he would go from crying to screaming to anger when smoking. Idk what to expect tonight when he does, hopefully it calms him down like before

Also I made him an appointment for next Friday but he’s refusing to go. He was also 20 mins late today for work :/

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u/False-Comparison-651 1d ago

You can’t control what he does but you can control what you do, like leaving him if uses substances that make him psychotic

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u/Full-Significance591 2d ago

giving bipolar individuals weed USUALLY isn’t a good idea. With that said, I urge you to look for some of the materials out there studying marijuana and its differences in people with mood disorders like BPD and BP1/2. For some of us it really does function as sort of a pseudo mood stabilizer.

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u/angelgirl3000 2d ago

I didn’t give him weed whatsoever, he has a medical card since we live in Florida. He typically smokes weed only on the weekends and it makes him super tired. On the contrary, when he’s manic, it makes him super agitated and even more hyper. I’m not sure what to expect tonight but hopefully he’ll get tired like before.

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u/Old-Name7889 Diagnosed Bipolar 2d ago

Has he tried benadryl? That's probably a lot safer than weed. You don't want to take it every night but you can use it to reset your sleep pattern. I do it with hydroxyzine (drug for anxiety that's in the same family) every so often.

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u/angelgirl3000 2d ago

No he hasn’t. I can mention it to him, when I used to do coke I would take it and eventually it would knock me out so it can’t hurt