that sounds like a complete nightmare. I hope your chat with boss goes well for you and you get to sort your hours out in a way that will suit you better. if not it looks like you will have to seek employment elsewhere. hugs to you.

I would talk to my pdoc about how to stop the mania. The only way I've ever stopped it is through medication, or crashing into depression.

My experience with mania is that with or without meds the crash into depression is inevitable. What worked for me was using anti-psychotics to control the mania, then starting lithium and I've used it as maintenance for many years. No more mania, because we have enough to deal with. In comparison with mania I've always considered depression as manageable.

Good luck talking with your boss today. I agree with the others. You should talk to your pdoc about the mania.

If you can stay, I say stay at that job until you can land another. The job market is so bleak. I say that because I have been without a job for 1.5 years and still looking.

I am sorry you are struggling. I would speak to your boss about the hours. I would not share that I was Bipolar. You really and truly are blesses that you have a job, I admire that. Big hugs!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. This whole situation has me really upset, especially because I was doing so well when it came to my bipolar.

Unfortunately, talking to a doctor, any doctor, isn't really an option at the moment. I haven't had a therapist in roughly five years, and while the doctor who prescribes me my lithium is a good and intelligent doctor, she doesn't seem to know much about bipolar disorder and has no mental health training.

I've been doing this on my own for some time now, mainly because I don't have insurance and can't afford to pay a shrink out of pocket. That is something I was hoping to fix now that I'm working again, but it's going to take time.

This mania, this situation, is something I have to figure out and soon. I was shocked at how quickly I've started to deteriorate. Frankly, I'm terrified. How bad is it going to get this time?

I'm also terrified about talking to my manager. How much should I tell her? When interviewing I made a point to stress why I need set hours, told her that I'm an insomniac (which is true) and all that. I didn't reveal that I'm bipolar, I've had that information burn me in the past BIG time, but at this point I'm wondering if it's a chance I should take. This isn't just a matter of being tired and my objections so far seem to fall on deaf ears...

Is Bumblefuck in the United States?

IF you tell your manager that you have Bipolar Disorder, also tell her that you're invoking the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act -- http://www.ada.gov/) and that you want reasonable accommodations to be made for you.

It will then be technically illegal for your company to fire you for that and they will also have to allow you the 'reasonable accommodations' that you need.
From the moment you tell them that, the clock starts ticking as to how long they can go before addressing the issue. (I forget the deadlines, but they're in the Act.)

As you say, though, you can get burned badly.

Once I did the above where I worked (and for exactly the same reason, incidentally), they did finally give me a set schedule, but they also found plenty of ways to make my life a living hell and ultimately got rid of me.

Can you get your doctor to write a note stating that you suffer from insomnia and that you require a set schedule in order to stay healthy?
If you can, I would do the above (ask for reasonable accommodations under the ADA) but only state insomnia as the reason.

By the way, by law, the company should have a poster about the ADA posted somewhere in an area open to employees.

Good luck. I hope you get a schedule that works for you and also that you can do it without being open about having Bipolar Disorder.
I'll be open about that everywhere EXCEPT in the workplace (so far.) I regret doing that.

I am concerned for the mania you are experiencing. If you don't have a pdoc prescribing than consulting with your prescribing doc would be recommended. It is most likely that your mania was triggered by your lack of sleep.

I would recommend that you go to your employer and talk to them about adjusting your hours because you are having a lot of difficulty sleeping and you don't want it to affect your performance at work.

ADA won't apply if you lose your job because of actions associated with the mania unless your employer is aware that you needed modification due to your illness prior to letting you go.

If you want to request modification under ADA be aware that your employer can modify your hours in compliance. Meaning that if you applied with the understanding of working third shift, they can adjust your hours to working ONLY those that are third shift. This could eliminate the extra hours you work second shift.

I think most important here is your health and what you see happening. I would not put off taking some action to help yourself any longer. It sounds like you could already be in trouble and in need of talking to your doc.

If you do invoke ADA, please seek help doing that and make sure you are aware of how it applies. There are a lot of things that could go wrong.

This link may be helpful.

http://www.ada.gov/q&aeng02.htm

Please make a call to your psychiatrist. Meds can change that.

I would quit. A regular schedule and sleeping on a regular schedule are so crucial to a Bi Polar Person.
If you want to "buy time" to consider, a note from your Doc -Not explaining what your illness is, will let you take a medical leave of absence, that's the law .
The sad truth is that whatever you do, there's the chance that you'll get fired -- not for the Bipolar, that would be illegal, but employees can always find another excuse.
The main thing is that such an odd schedule will screw up your circadian rhythm, and missing sleep is too dangerous, in my opinion of course.

I used to work shift work and my psychiatrist was adamant that I not work the night shift....He said he wouldn't support it at all due to beepers having such big troubles with sleep...

Nigh shift work might be something you should avoid perhaps??...xo

Yuck

You might end up having to get a letter from your Pdoc stating that you need your hours to be set and consistant .

I talked to my manager. I didn't tell her about my bipolar, just insisted that I can't keep bouncing between 2nd and 3rd shifts. She said ok, but for whatever reason (she didn't explain why) putting me solely on 3rd isn't going to happen any time soon. This means I'll be scheduled only for 2nd for awhile.

This is a good and bad thing. It's good because my hours will be a lot more consistent, but it's bad because I actually wanted 3rd shift. Ever since my bipolar kicked in 14 years ago its nearly impossible for me to sleep at night time. I'm usually wide awake when the sun comes up. 3rd is the ideal time for me to work because it matches my normal sleep pattern.

Oh well, I'll deal with 2nd for now and just keep mentioning that I eventually want the shift they promised.

My mania is doing a little better now. After I talked to my manager I came home and took a sleep aid. It helped a little, so I've gotten some sleep and my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode. If things get worse I'll deal with it then.

Thanks everyone! ((((hugs))))

Bree, good luck with transitioning to whatever shift you land on - not sleeping is bad for us beepers. It just seems to compound already raw symptoms and make you soooo tired and leave you feeling mentally unwound. I was going to mention a sleep aid, but it seems like you started that am for that I'm happy.

You need to switch to a doc that understand bipolar better, maybe then with the right meds you will feel better and it won't matter what shift you have. Good luck to you!