Hi,

I am bipolar along with N. I was dx'd bipolar many years ago. My N symptoms started getting worse about 11 years ago. I was just dx'd with N two years ago though.

When a person is bipolar they usually have distinct manic and depressive episodes. However the severity of them can be different in people that suffer from this disorder.

It could just be that the stims you are on for N are making you feel manic. That being said if you are bipolar the stims can make you spiral into a manic episode. It is VERY HARD to treat people that have both disorders because stims are like a death sentence to BP people. If they put us in a manic episode we are sure to crash hard into a depressive state at some point.

Did you notice any of the manic/depressive states before N? Even then it's hard to say because PWN have good days and can be wide awake, this can feel like you are manic but really aren't. Then too the N can and usually does at some point manifest itself into severe depressive episodes.

The key to finding out if you are both is to find one heck of a good psychiatrist that can ask the right questions to determine if you are in fact BP. I hope for your sake you are not because seriously the two together are horrendous to treat.

I hope this helped and that you can get some relief and find out for sure.

Take Care,
Kimmers

Oh the other thing I wanted to mention is being manic isn't just feeling awake and having energy. There are usually specific symptoms.

Some of those being, uncontrollable spending, feeling of euphoria, promiscuity, excessive loud talking, grandiose thoughts and actions, and very little need for sleep, I can go days without sleep. There are others but those I know because I experience all of them.

You might think it's weird to go days without sleep being N too. What happens though is I can be wide awake, racing thoughts, anxious, but the N prevents me from getting up and doing anything. I can have microsleeps several times a day while being manic but the mania prevents me from going into a full sleep.

Don't know if that makes sense. I would try hard to think about the last few years of your life and see if you can remember any of the above happening. If they have then tell your pdoc, but if they haven't that still doesn't mean you're not bp. Some people are bipolar II and only have hypomania. This is a much milder form of full fledged bipolar I. BP is a very HARD disorder to dx because it really is different in many people, just like N is.

About 6 years ago I was diagnosed as having Bi-Polar disorder, this was about 2 years before I would be diagnosed with Narcolepsy. The former diagnosis, that is Bi-Polar disorder, has been questioned by myself, my current doctor and my current therapist to the point that both recommend that I have the diagnosis officially taken off my medical record. It has been unofficially taken off my record in practice, I have not taken any medication for Bi-Polar disorder for over 4 years and my current doctor (If you were wondering he was not the one to diagnose the BP) only treats the Narcolepsy. I simply have not had the time or money to go through the process of getting the paperwork and such to have it officially taken off my record. Anyway to get to the point, a legitimate diagnosis of both Bi-Polar and Narcolepsy is very rare and I strongly suggest that you get a second and third opinion for the Bi-Polar diagnosis. I mention the Bi-Polar only because it is such a highly subjective diagnosis and the chance that a sleep test would yield a false positive is virtually zero. I do not suggest stopping or changing your medication until you have first seen another doctor and perhaps another about the Bi-Polar diagnosis. As I said before, a Bi-Polar diagnosis is very subjective and can be influenced by many factors that do not make for an accurate diagnosis, for example the therapist or doctor's predisposition toward any kind of perceived emotional imbalance on part of the patient and transient life circumstances that arouse any strong emotion such as depression or anger and on paper could make it seem like there is a problem but it either isnt there to begin with or is something else entirely. Keep in mind that the objective to having another opinion is not to go from doctor to doctor seeking a negative diagnosis, it is simply to gain a more accurate picture of what has been diagnosed and sometimes that means that the diagnosis remains the same, retracted, or changed to something else entirely. It is very possible that you are only dealing with Narcolepsy and not Bi-Polar disorder and the Narcolepsy. Having even one of these is pretty rare, having them both is possible but is very rare.

I know I have anxiety issues, but have never beed diagnosed with anything. The medication that I take has made me a lunatic with manic emotions and I flip out easy BUT it is a side effect of what I am taking and when it happens people tell me and I get myself in check or go by myself to a different room. It might just be that the meds your taking are making you feel this way?

I appreciate you asking this question, as I have been wondering if I might have narcolepsy. I was recently diagnosed as being bipolar. However, I have had years of needing to take naps during the day, just to make it through. I would take a nap at lunch and right after work, just to get through the day.

I had a sleep study conducted years ago that indicated slight sleep apnea. There wasn't a suggestion of narcolepsy, but the more I read up on it, I'm wondering if that's the case.

I'm taking lamictyl for the b.p., but this hasn't stopped my need to sleep during the day for brief naps. Also, when I do fall asleep at night, I only get 4 hours sleep max as a norm. Try as I might, I can't get more than 4 hours. It's maddening !!! :)

My psychologist prescribed a sleep medication, but I'm reluctant to take it, as the last thing I need is to feel sleepier during the day !!!

So thank you again for raising this question and for the responses by others... it's got me thinking... something to discuss with my doctor.