BP2 and sleep cycles - Roll the dice... I might wake up naughty or nice!

[crtclms]

Melissaw, we have the ceiling fan, the air purifier, and a white noise machine on at the same time. You can not hear *anything* outside the room, which is good, because I get up before DH. We used to use a super loud box fan, but this is better.

[melissaw72]

13 hours ago, crtclms said:

Melissaw, we have the ceiling fan, the air purifier, and a white noise machine on at the same time. You can not hear *anything* outside the room, which is good, because I get up before DH. We used to use a super loud box fan, but this is better.

Thank for the ideas!  I started using a boxed fan again.  It does help with part of the noise, but not all the running and thumping sounds on the floor.  When the people (whatever they are doing) make the bathroom fan and hanging light fixture vibrate ... I haven't tried a white noise machine, but so far nothing will get those loud sounds gone.

Do you have any suggestions as to a good white noise machine works?  I'm thinking of it for a Christmas present for myself.

Edited November 14, 2016 by melissaw72

[heygrain]

This is what I have... costs a bit but I've had mine 10 to 15 yrs already.   My parents probably had one for 20 to 25 years before it gave up.  http://www.target.com/p/dohm-by-marpac-natural-white-noise-sound-machine/-/A-15287681?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Health+Beauty+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Health+Beauty_Top Performers&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9007372&gclid=CjwKEAiA3qXBBRD4_b_V7ZLFsX4SJAB0AtEVc0fxQJTQJDQksKRaPS2BdrnaS-wfpp4EJKU8M2QFUhoCFwjw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[melissaw72]

6 hours ago, heygrain said:

This is what I have... costs a bit but I've had mine 10 to 15 yrs already.   My parents probably had one for 20 to 25 years before it gave up.  http://www.target.com/p/dohm-by-marpac-natural-white-noise-sound-machine/-/A-15287681?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Health+Beauty+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Health+Beauty_Top Performers&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9007372&gclid=CjwKEAiA3qXBBRD4_b_V7ZLFsX4SJAB0AtEVc0fxQJTQJDQksKRaPS2BdrnaS-wfpp4EJKU8M2QFUhoCFwjw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks!  I'm definitely putting it on a Christmas wish list for myself.

[heygrain]

All, just an update... going up to 100mg of Lamictal seems to have stabilized my moods a good bit when waking up.  In other words, I am having WAY more good mornings than bad ones lately, whereas before I seemed literally have a 50/50 chance of feeling like crap, no matter what.  

Still the one thing that has the BIGGEST impact on how I feel when I wake up:  1.5hr sleep cycles.  If I ever wake up and it's been 6hrs and I don't think I'll make it to 7.5hrs (kids getting up, work schedule, etc) I go ahead and get up.  I'm tired but I'm not crazy... whereas if I'm in the middle of that sleep cycle and wake up the extra time in the bed actually worked against me and I feel terrible all day (only thing to cure it is a nap).  

Hope this helps somebody else... I'll keep you updated when I titrate  up again (should be soon), and how it affects the sleep cycles.

[melissaw72]

3 hours ago, heygrain said:

If I ever wake up and it's been 6hrs and I don't think I'll make it to 7.5hrs (kids getting up, work schedule, etc) I go ahead and get up.

Maybe the extra could be used to your benefit ... getting up an hour before others might give you a chance to just think in silence, run through what your day might be like, do little things here and there.  Idk if you have a family with kids, but I have known others to wake up an hour early on purpose so they can have the time to themselves.

 

[heygrain]

Yep agreed melissaw72... it's just hard to get out from under those covers when the alarm goes off!  However, lately I've been dragging myself out of the bed if I wake up tired but not feeling bad... I can get over tired... the "bad" feeling will stay with me all day if I wake up on the "wrong side of the bed".

[heygrain]

Well I'm up to 175mg of Lamictal and I can finally say that I'm waking up on the "right" side of the bed 90% of the time.  I am also able to hit the snooze and go back to sleep for a while and wake up and still feel pretty good.  I have a feeling that if I continue going up on Lamictal that I'll even out altogether (at least I hope).  For now it's a VAST improvement, although it hasn't come without other side effects (more forgetful, more depressed, more anxious, etc).  Hoping everything evens out soon, but I wanted to share this in case others are going through the same thing.  Apparently the wonky sleep cycles and sleep disorders are just part of BP2, and I never knew it.

[melissaw72]

5 hours ago, heygrain said:

Well I'm up to 175mg of Lamictal and I can finally say that I'm waking up on the "right" side of the bed 90% of the time.  I am also able to hit the snooze and go back to sleep for a while and wake up and still feel pretty good.  I have a feeling that if I continue going up on Lamictal that I'll even out altogether (at least I hope).  For now it's a VAST improvement, although it hasn't come without other side effects (more forgetful, more depressed, more anxious, etc).  Hoping everything evens out soon, but I wanted to share this in case others are going through the same thing.  Apparently the wonky sleep cycles and sleep disorders are just part of BP2, and I never knew it.

Thanks for the update!  I'm glad you are waking up feeling better most of the time now ... it is very hard when you don't know how you will wake up (wrong side of the bed or right)!

Edited May 23, 2017 by melissaw72

[Gearhead]

Oh, yeah. Sleep is a Thing for bipolar people.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321357/