Women With ADHD ADD

For Women with ADHD ADD Who Want to Connect

Insomniacs with ADHD

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Insomniacs with ADHD

For women having ADHD who also suffer from any sort of chronic or reoccurring sleep problems.

Members: 52
Latest Activity: May 14

Relevant Articles/Information

The 4 Big Sleep Issues and ADHD:
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/757.html

How to manage when ADHD symptoms interfere with getting a good night's rest:
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/5254.html

Discussion Forum

Help!!!!!!! Career Choices/Options

Started by LD Sep 23, 2012. 0 Replies

I'm in this boat.....yet, melatonin, ambien, etc is not helping....ugh! Going to sleep specialist, but have been forced to quit my job of 4 yrs because of adhd, but mainly the diagnosed idiopathic…Continue

My 1st post - Wondering if mother has ADHD, Can anyone help?

Started by Here For Info. Last reply by Here For Info Apr 22, 2011. 2 Replies

I was diagnosed with a terminal cancer 2.5 years ago and my mother always said the worst thing she could ever think of is for a child to die before you.   Since my diagnosis,  I thought my mother has…Continue

Meds can help me sleep, but can be worse than the insomnia...

Started by jo elleman. Last reply by Avid Reader Jan 18, 2011. 3 Replies

I don't sleep well because of my lingering ever-present anxiety. When I finally fall asleep, it is very light. In other words I am half awake. I am vaquely aware of what is going on around me and…Continue

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Comment by artsyphartsie on April 13, 2012 at 10:26pm

I have always had occasional trouble getting to sleep (too many thoughts in my head) and always had TERRIBLE trouble waking up. I never had a problem with sleeping deeply or waking in the night (other than to pee) until I started Adderall. Now, I have real problems getting to sleep, I wake up most nights at least once and can't get back to sleep for hours, and this has made waking up even harder.

Has anyone tried binaural or isochronic tones to sleep? you have to use headphones for binaural, but for me they have actually helped! Then again, I'm also taking Niquil every night, but trying to ween myself off.

Isochronic tones in the Alpha or Theta range are supposed to be better for waking you up. I set those to switch on before my alarm instead of the binaural sleep tones, hoping for a miracle. So far it doesn't seem to help much.Then again, nothing seems to help much in the morning. Even a dose of Adderall doesn't wake me up.

Anyone use SAD lights? I just purchased one after a suggestion that my circadian rhythm might be off from my doctor. I never realized being a perpetual "night owl" was an ADHD thing until recently. Now I wonder if many of us don't have DSPD (delayed sleep phase syndrome). SAD lights are supposed to help with that.

 

I have also read suggestions that meditation can help ADHD'ers with insomnia and anxiety etc. I've never had much confidence I'll ever be able to relax or calm my mind enough to do that, though. There are devices called CES or "Mind Machines". They are basically supposed ot hypnotise you. Sounds crazy, but like I said . . . desperate.

It's so exhausting not being able to sleep, I'm willing to try almost anything short of getting myself addicted to benzos.

Comment by Creative Mind Different-Order on January 31, 2012 at 11:53pm

Sleep is my biggest challenge. I like to sleep when I want and be awake when inspired! I've had to make some concerted efforts to maintain a "normal" sleep schedule with my job hours, and it's been a challenge. I started a new blog for women with ADHD and my first series is all about health. I think I'll post my tips on sleep first! Check it out!

http://creativewomenadhd.blogspot.com/

Comment by Dana on September 11, 2011 at 11:39am
I never had sleep issues until maybe the last year or so. Sleeping was easy and I often enjoyed sleeping late. Naps were not a problem for me either. Now I wonder if that was the case because my depression succeeded at putting me into a sound sleep, now medicated for the adhd is causing the sleep disturbances that I did not notice previously. I can usually fall asleep, but often wake 1-3 times a night. Naps now, are a waste of time, because I can't relax enough to slip into a sound sleep. I have black out curtains, a sleep mask, a rainforest sound machine, and a fan going to keep the room cool, and little helps with an type of substance. Can anyone provide insight from their experiences? Thanks
Comment by KellyB on June 20, 2011 at 4:27pm
Hi My name is Kelly. I have sleep issues. some days i can be awake all ight for 3 days in a row. some days it takes hours to settle and my sleep is distrubed as i wake up at regular intervals. I hate it when i am so exhausted but my head just does not believe it is sleep time. I have ben offered melatonin to help. but refused. as i have always been the same since a child. recently diagnosed with depression a second time. so sleep is an issue at the moment.
Comment by Galadriel on April 13, 2011 at 12:52am

ROFLMAO!!!! I am not laughing at you, just the situation. My shrink nurse (that's what I call her) calls me Akathisia Girl. I have to take the Seroquel that I take at night to sleep. I was started on it after the trazodone gave one too many vivid dreams. But it causes what I call the "rock n moans". Intolerable. They don't treat it like they should on inpatient units because most people don't know what it is or how bad it feels. I actually had it first well before psych meds in the ER- they gave me compazine for migraine related nausea and I jitterbugged on the stretcher for hours. It's one of those things that you have to experience to really treat, otherwise it looks like no big deal. The phrase "I don't believe in akathisia" makes steam come out of my ears. Also, when someone points out that it never happens with the new generation meds. Uhhh, let's see. I take seroquel. When I take seroquel I have akathisia. Therefore, seroquel causes akathisia, at least in me! I recently read that abilify may be the worst offender, so it's a toss up and totally depends on your symptom relief from ther meds. Have you tried propranolol? I found a journal article about it when I worked at the VA. It is a gdmf miracle! My nurse didn't believe me that it was worth trying- clonidine hadn't helped. But I brought in the article and hounded her. She let me try it and the akathisia went away. Klonpin is also used, but usally together with propranolol. AND it's like $5 for a months supply, lower than my $10 copay. Strangest thing- I've forgotten to take it, or taken the seroquel and then realized that I thought I had another dose left, but it was just a klonopin in a different bottle. Waited for the tweaks to start and they didn't. I techinically do not have any acute akathisia now, I guess. I've been on it for about 2 yrs, every night. It can be twice daily, and has never dropped my BP, even though I run low. I never want to feel like that again, ever. Some of the shrinks out in AZ understand and treat it with exactly what I take. It's nice to be able to call and get an order for it at 2am when I pt hasn't stopped pacing and has been up for 3 nights straight b/c of it. They think I'm magic after I give it to them :) It's one of those things that I feel like everyone who deals with psych patients and their meds should have to experience. That and severe panic. They should require med students to have them each induced once somehow, for the sake of learning. It shouldn't matter, but I know that for me, it has influenced my practice, and it translates to the other side effects too.
Unless I have a solid reason to know that someone is faking for personal gain (and who really fakes for the meds they're gonna get) I believe them and however bad they say it is, I take it that seriously. Had a supervisor tell me someone was faking a dystonic throat reaction. That was while I was drawing up the IM cogentin without a MD order and just before I gave it against her order. Oops, the needle slipped, all the way into the vial, back out, down the hall and into his butt! It was really impossible for the pt to be having the severe reaction he did but he was choking. The reaction was to haldol, which he'd taken forever, and to a dose that was half that of what he'd gotten the night before. I was like, impossible, But it happened. Even the supervisor agreed eventually. The medical director backed me up, whcih pissed her off, and ultimately was one of the things that got me sacked a few months later. Advocacy can be a 4 letter word sometimes. At the time I was beyond upset about the job, but the facility is getting shut down in the next month or so because medicare won't reimburse them anymore.  Signed on with a staffing registry. I'm better at registry nursing. I don't get bored, or sucked into politics. I only go against policy if someone is going to die, or something seriously bad will happen. They are ok with that stuff after it's clear that I was protecting everyone's butts from a lawsuit. Doesn't happen often.  But, I am the evil wench who takes jobs away from new grads- it's more expensive long term but when you are short staffed you need ppl like me who are VERY good at appearing oriented, even when they don't know where the linens are. I'm so used to pretending I know what's going on around me that ppl think I do! NOT! I have basic core skills and and am flexible- I've been in trouble at so many jobs that I'm really good at being the newbie. And if I do run my mouth, which I do at times... they don't care as much b/c they have to deal with me on a day to day basis, not worry about tolerating me for years.

I think it ultimately saved my life- the ADD, if I look back. I suck at permanent FT work. Couldn't get a job- no nursing shortage in Boston. Started travel nursing just to work. My husband was abusive, and it was getting worse really quickly. Almost all psychological but that alone would've killed me- and it was getting physical. Came to AZ for 13 weeks and I'm still here a year later. So my inability to sit down and shut up set things up so that I got a do over with my life. With the advantage of being a nurse that has a decade in one specialty.

Anyhoo.... tangent... My family has no history that I know of, except a great aunt who pulled all the wires out of the walls (the gov't had tampered with them). And my grandmother had a severe depression in the 60's that sounds like she was getting psychotic too, but it was dealt with outpatient. I had panic attacks starting at 4y/o. 11 was first depression- right after I missed a month of school from the panic. It's happened 3 other times that way. If I have a panic attack I don't let it go- it's likely to snowball. If the panic can be interrupted with meds for long enough I don't get depressed. I have to be snowed though to bust through it. I have never had true mania, just what seems like a mixed episode. Although the new DSM may undiagnose it because they have a diagnosis called anxious depression. The kind where your thoughts tweak you out so bad that grabbing your head and screaming is a reasonable response. Agitated depression, dysphoric mania, whatever, just stop my brain, I wanted to get off! Signed myself inpatient because at the rate I was going I figured I'd be suicidal in a few days. Depakote worked well for me for a few yrs, until it didn't. Got toxic at normal levels and was walking into walls and puking. Went onto lithium- shakes went away. BUT I got toxic with normal levels after about 4 yrs. The dose I could tolerate was too low to affect a toddler, so my nurse just told me to stop taking it. Now she says I'm the same on or off. Either hypomanic 100% of the time, or my ADD is just the really hyper kind. I learned a lot of the finer points clinically about differentiating the 2 disorders from podcasts that are technically for MD's but are free and awesome for me- I have a 40 mile commute. If you have an MP3 player you can download them on iTunes- otherwise I think you have to listen to them on iTunes via computer, still free. Hmmmm, I checked my ipod, and the one I thought covered most bases is under Psychcast CME. Covers adult ADHD- from cause to presentation, comorbiditues, best practice, research, everything. It's long, about 12 parts, basically a conference call among all the major researchers and providers of ppl who have ADD and then one each that is expert in a specific disorder. These ppl are THE ones to learn it from. Cutting edge. The educational activity expired last October (the presentation is from 2008), but it is amazing! I have boatloads... Another good one is "Sages of Psychopharmacology".  I guess that would be my area of hyperfocus. Ppl have told me I shouldn't bring my work home. I don't though. I bring my fun to work!

When I was assessing at the VA clinic I contracted at it was clear that I had ADD. It pretty much discloses itself. The smarter shrinks wouldn't waste extra time differeintiating beween hyperactivity and hypomania because they knew they could have someone come see me for 5 min and watch us react to each other. If they had ADD it was like we both spoke martian, or, one MD said it was like watching twins separated at birth. Five topics in one conversation, hand gestures, laughing, and then we'd go smoke a few cigarettes while the MD wrote up the report. Some of the cooler docs would have me order meds under their name- for them to sign off, and then make me give a rationale for each choice- with peer reviewed evidence if they were really bored. Best job ever. Too bad it was a contract. Starting one similar tmw except with much lower functioning patients. Hopefully they are just labeled low functioning. BC I am stuck with them 32 hrs a week once I finish orientation.

As far as meds go I think I've been on every single class, and more than one of each. I will only take lamictal for depression and if I miss a dose or 2 the racing thoughts start. Miss seroquel and I don't sleep- never missed it for long enough to find out what would happen next and I don't plan on it. Propranolol for akathisia, with klonopin that was originally for anxiety, then also for akathisia, and now treats my new sleepwalking thing. Adderall XR 30mg BID, and another 30mg IR. I can mix and match the adderall doses, and never run out, so I guess they even out. Working weird hours and double shifts makes it too hard to stay on the same doses of ADD stuff. I also take periactin if the adderall is messing with my appetite, makes me eat like a teenage boy. One of the bigger issues I have right now is re: disclosure with potential friends and more than friends. Forced myself out on a date (via Match.com) a month ago and there has been a steady trickle of guys. It's nice to get out- and I guess by mid 30's everyone is mostly done with just hooking up, because there hasn't been any. However, there is this one guy I really really really like. He is taking his last final of his nursing school tmw, so we have met twice over about a month- he's tweaking about school and the impending test that his graduation depends on, and has not been too distractable. Hopefully when he gets his results tmw... But, to tell someone my psych history on top of the recent traumatizing marriage (I've just been making it clear I'm looking to get out, not married) is risky. He knows some of it- and has already worked in the ER for years- turbo brain in his head I think too, so hopefully I can figure out how to disclose as little as possible without lying, until he knows that what he sees is what's there, not a train wreck that's hiding. The whole thing is like a 7th grade crush, the whole eeeek!, OMG, he's so cuuute thing. Except that the second time we hung out I apologized in advance for the taco I will drop face down on the seat of the car, milk I will leave out if unattended at his house, and assured him that I make very good pancakes while asleep. That went over pretty well.

One alarming bit of family history is new. My dad has dementia with Lewy Bodies. They thought it was a variant of Alzheimers til a few yrs ago, but it's caused by the same tangles as Parkinsons, just not focused in the motor area til later. Its like Parkinsons backwards. He started having psychotoc episodes 7 yrs ago, delusions about the dept of homeland security with hallucinations of every type to back them up. Dementia settled in, but he hid it for years- it waxes and wanes. He could think ok a lot of the time. Then have these episodes, which were more like a medical delirium. The really scary thing is the studies coming out. 40% of patients with his dementia can be retrospectively diagnosed with ADHD. Out of all the ones who had been evaluated prior, like 15 yrs before- 100% had an REM sleep phase disorder- like sleepwalking. They are flat out unable to take most meds and gen'l anesthesia will make them incoherent for months, same with flying on planes and tons of other things that a nrmal person doesn't think twice about.

The scary part- I lost a month of my life to a delirium about 4 yrs ago- I had terminated a pregnancy but they screwed up, I lost tons of blood, and had to have the procedure done again under gen'l. I visited my sister in San Diego a week later, via plane. My lithium level was going up b/c of the blood loss..... I bought ultram in Tiuana that later turned out to have methadone in it.... probably other stuff contributed to it, but what it came down to was my boyfriend realizing I was not oriented even to what yr it was, kept packing for the trip I'd just been on, was talking to people that I saw and heard but were NOT there. Hadn't slept in weeks. Moments of lucidity, fading. I was in the ER for 3 days bc it was medically life threatening. All the drugs that you can't give to those dementia pts made me worse. When I cleared I was inpatient (sharing the room with one of MY former patients), and I have vague recollections of the month but mainly I was pretty out to lunch. Sometimes I'll see a pic from the San Diego trip and THEN remember doing whatever I was doing in the pic. So, my brain seems to be very similar to those ppl, and my dad and I were more like one person sharing a brain with our ADD before he forgot he had daughters. That is another disclosure issue, but I can be honest and not say a thing for now bc it's only probable that I will get it in another 20 yrs or so. 

The Harvard brain bank has dibs on my brain, as well as my dads and my sisters (she's the control), so I have to try to treat it well while it's still mine- because in the end I already donated it, ROFL. 

I still can't believe the akathisia thing.... 

You might appreciate a video I put up on this site- it's in the video section, called "come out come out" by Colony of losers- from you tube. Something I found in my search for blog material. I am a militant advocate, hard to know which issue to be most militant about, so stigma is my thing... Check it out.  I think the ppl who made it are brilliant!

Comment by Julie Holmes on April 12, 2011 at 11:51am

Haha, your comment about being glad we weren't born 100 years ago is so apt! I thank God for the same thing, too. In fact, bipolar disorder runs on my mother's side of the family (well, we assume bipolar, but at the very least MDD -- major depressive disorder). My great-grandmother attempted suicide by throwing herself down the farm's well when my grandmother was a young girl and was institutionalized for the rest of her life in the West Virginia State Hospital. That's what treatment was 100 years ago -- lock 'em up and throw away the key.

 

My professional background is also in mental health, although I am not a nurse (I've thought about becoming a nurse, though; right now I'm at a crossroads as to what I want to do with my life because I know it's not what I've been doing the past five years). I am constantly reading and learning about mental illness, particularly bipolar and AD/HD, which makes sense as I have both. I, too, would rather have a psych text for my birthday than a cake and other presents, LOL!

 

It's interesting to be both a mental health professional and a mental health consumer. While I was already in the field before my bipolar really manifested itself, I am so grateful to have had the professional background that I do, because I was able to recognize what I thought was bipolar disorder in myself and seek an assessment/ treatment accordingly. And I was right about the bipolar. I think you have to really understand mental illness to be able to pick up on the subtleties that govern each condition. Like you, I like hearing peoples' stories and it is a skill of mine -- getting a thorough patient/client history. I am also good at administering and interpreting certain standardized testing instruments, several which have sections for sussing out whether a person has or potentially has mental health issues.

 

The meds for bipolar are hardcore and each person reacts so differently to the meds. For me, lithium worked well, but gave me an intolerably itchy facial rash; it also made my hands shake uncontrollably. So I came off Lithium (and also off Zoloft, because SSRIs are contraindicated for bipolar) and went onto Wellbutrin (300 mgs), which seems to be a good anti-depressant for me. I take Lamictal as a mood stabilizer (300 mgs) and Abilify (30 mgs) for a mood stabilizer/anti-psychotic/somewhat of an anti-anxiiety. Unfortunately I do have visual disturbances with my bipolar, as well as some auditory disturbances, which the Abilify controls. I take the Abilify and the Lamictal together and one or the other makes me pretty sleepy, but if I power through it I eventually shake off the sleepiness, or I might catnap through the initial sleepiness and then be totally awake after an hour or so. The main side effect I have from Abilify is Akithisia (involuntary movement) where I rock my body back and forth compulsively. I catch myself doing it all the time, even sometimes in public. It's totally unconscious. But trying NOT to move is like torture. It's a crappy side effect to deal with. I still occasionally get shaky hands even though I'm off Lithium, and sometimes my face still itches and I get a rash, so the rash must be affected by another one of my meds. And of course I take Ritalin (40 mgs, 3x day -- I take this high of a dose because I've had gastric bypass surgery, and the secton of the intestine where medication absorption occurs has been bypassed, so with pill medications I have to take instant release several times per day, rather than sustained release once per day. That said, I know my Ritalin dose is on the high side) and I can take Klonopin, Ativan, or Xanax as needed for anxiety. My psychiatrist wants me to take the anti-anxieties regularly, but because they're addictive meds, I prefer to take them just PRN. This combo of meds works the best so far for me, although I'm having to wean off the Abilify and the Lamictal, because my husband is switching jobs and the new health insurance benefits don't kick in until July. Abilify (no generic available  yet) is $800/mo and Lamictal (generic lamotrigine) is $250, and right now I can't afford to drop $1000/mo for meds.  My psychiatrist has helped me out by giving me as many samples as he can, so I'm hoping that I won't have to be on the lower doses for longer than necessary.

 

I'm glad you've had such good continuity of care. My psychiatrist is good with meds, but I wish he was better at therapy and talking to me about my illness so I could better understand it. As it is, as I mentioned, I do a lot of self-education.  I keep meaning to check out the DBSA meetings here, but those type of new situations for me are difficult. I'm working toward that as a goal. I have a feeling they could be a valuable resource. That you have great continuity of care is a total blessing.  Mental health issues, I think, especially require consistent, reliable treatment. And finding a practitioner who you click with can be really challenging. I swear, some of the weirdest, most strange people go into psychiatry. I have met some truly bizarre shrinks and nurses in my years of working in mental health professionally and of being a consumer myself. Maybe what you said about wanting figure one's self out and going into psychiatry or psychiatric nursing really does apply, LOL!

 

I agree with you, also, that it's not always best to respond to each little blip on the radar with some kind of meds change; sometimes we're just going to have bad days, just like anybody else. We learn to get through them using other coping skills.

 

I don't recall if you're signed up for the Dual-Diagnosis AD/HD group, but, if not, we'd love to have you. You are clearly very knowledgeable and would bring a lot to the discussions there. Come on over if you haven't already (I apologize for not remembering right off the bat).

 

:) Julie

Comment by Galadriel on April 12, 2011 at 5:07am
I would never encourage anyone to do anything or make any decisions re: meds without getting fully evaluated, learning (personally, as much on their own as possible) about the conditions they are diagnosed with, as well as all of the things that could also cause the symptoms they have. They need to have an excellent practitioner assessing them and constantly changing (or carefully watching) any interventions for effectiveness, or ineffectiveness. I work as a psych nurse and have done more research about bipolar, ADD, the coexisting other disorders, risks/benefits of everything, than some people would say is normal. To the point where my mom said she would not give me a textbook for my b-day- so she gave me the money and I bought it.
That's not usual though. I went into psych nursing in a kind of lateral way.... I was diagnosed with ADD but hadn't done much except blame it. I had anxious times with panic attacks with depression after (cause/effect I don't know). But I didn't go into it because I wanted to figure myself out. (I hate when that's the only reason someone goes into psych). I was better at it than medical, because I have always been more interested in finding out someones story than changing their dressings (although lord knows I do that and more!).
As I was diagnosed bipolar I couldn't deal with being on all those hard core meds (that I needed and worked) and not knowing everything that I could about them. I have had side effects and reactions to a lot of meds, so I have always read about them, the similar ones, and pretty much suck up info as it comes my way.
But all that could be useless to me if I didn't have the observations of a psych nurse that has overseen my treatment for 5 yrs, and she took over the practice of the one who had seen me for the 5 yrs before that. I am so so so lucky to have had that continuity of care, and just recently have realized that at this time, I've done better without med changes than when I tweaked them everytime something made me upset. That's not to say we don't work with doses. I take more antidepressant for 7 days before my period. I sleepwalk- newest issue- so instead of taking klonopin only for anxiety I take one at night, since it stops it totally.
Even now I would describe myself at best a big question mark and more than likely I have some form of bipolar disorder and definitely ADD.
Doing assessments and observing pts for all these years, I've noticed that there are a couple of different presentations of bipolar disorder. Most fit into one treatment algorhythm and probably have a similar cause, as far as what goes on it their brain. There are also a couple of other things that cause each symptom alone, and bipolar has to be assumed in those disorders as well. The meds tend to work for them if they are carefully chosen for that persons symptoms.
I did a 2 yr contract doing full assessments at a VA crisis clinic (we followed up too, a lot). The MD who ran it always assumed bipolar unless historically and genetically he could be pretty sure it was something else. Even then he watched them like a hawk. And if there was no family history available, like with ppl who were adopted, they didn't get any meds that could trigger a manic episode.
My thing is mood charting. I had to do it yrs in order to understand what things aggravated which symptoms. I also never assume I'll have insight. That's gonna be the first thing to go if I get sick. The people close to me have a huge say, and my permission to contact my prescriber the second they feel like something isn't being addressed.
I think that bc my last year has been like a journey through hell (left abusive marriage and moved 2000 miles from home) I am finally understanding that for me the meds are best left unchanged- recently the symptoms I have are better explained by stress and PMS. But that's after 10 yrs of adjustments.
With ADD and bipolar I'm militant about the patient learning all they can, they are usually the expert on their bipolar, same with ADD. Especially since most people don't have the good fortune to see the same providers for so long. We've only recently discovered that I am the same off of lithium (got toxic, had to go off it totally) as on. Going off of it scared the heck out of me though, I thought I'd end up hospitalized. I still assume bipolar, I can't afford not to, when it comes to caution....
The ADD causes so much more impairment with my major mood swings being taken care of...
I'm ust glad I wasn't born 100 yrs ago- I'd be in some back ward likely. Not even having the privilege of trying to pass for normal at work.
Comment by Julie Holmes on April 12, 2011 at 4:26am
As for me, I'm not comfortable just taking meds without knowing exactly why they're being prescribed and for what symptom(s), and for me it's important to know which symptoms correspond to which condition -- bipolar or AD/HD, or both. Insomnia and depression alone are not diagnostic criteria for a bipolar diagnosis; it's a far more intricate condition than that and insomnia and depression by themselves would never be enough for a responsible practitioner to make a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Insomnia can be a symptom of either depression or bipolar. Some may not really care to differentiate between what is due to AD/HD and what is due to bipolar, but I definitely care about that, because I don't want to take meds without being completely informed as to why I'm taking them, and consenting to that course of treatment. Sure, some symptoms of AD/HD and bipolar overlap, but they're not the same and the medications for treatment are not the same. They are separate disorders and should be approached accordingly, IMO. As for insomnia, from what I've read and experienced, sleep disruption as a child is not uncommon for either AD/HD or bipolar, even if the acute symptoms don't manifest until the teen or early adult years (particularly for bipolar). It may seem that I'm being nitpicky, but for someone stumbling across this comment in the future, I just wanted to clarify that AD/HD and bipolar are not interchangeable. They are separate conditions. I think that's an important distinction. :)
Comment by Galadriel on April 12, 2011 at 3:50am

I was able to go back with my psych nurse practitioner and figure out the  insomnia wasn't a bipolar symptom because I've always had it- ever since I was a kid. In fact there are hardly any symptoms that don't have something to do with the ADD. We don't know technically what disorder is causing what symptoms.  I am somewhere on the mood disorder spectrum. I have to take an antidepressant and I take one that will not flip me into mania at my own request. The med I take for sleep is a new generation antipsychotic/ mood stabilizer. It's the only one I can tolerate, and it knocks me out. Who knows what my symptoms would be like if I didn't take the meds. But, for now I take it because I need to sleep, and the other because if I don't take it, I have looping negative thoughts- more than ADD rumination.

I don't name it anymore- just treat it.

Comment by Julie Holmes on April 12, 2011 at 3:17am
Hi everyone. I have insomnia due to bipolar disorder. I have bipolar and AD/HD. I've had insomnia for about two years. I've always not been a great sleeper, but it wasn't until about two years ago that I started having really significant sleep disruption. I sleep pretty much every other night, and average around 3-6 hours per night when I do sleep. Saturday to Sunday I didn't sleep at all. Last night I slept from about 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. (hey, that was a good eight hours!), and tonight I'm awake again. I've always been a night owl.
 

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