bipolar disorder and sleep

[Guest guest]

Hi. I wanted to chime in on the sleep issue. I've got three boys

with bipolar disorder (two with comorbid OCD) and all three have

different sleep issues.

(13) tends to be manic. He has never slept well. He gave up

morning naps at nine months and naps altogether by 18 months. He

probably sleeps on average about five hours a night. That's normal

for him.

(11) tends to be depressed. He sleeps about 12 hours a night

and will still take a nap - sometimes two hours or more. When he

starts having trouble falling asleep and I start seeing him before

8:00am, we know mania is rearing it's " happy head " . (His term for

it - not mine!)

Austin (11) is an ultra-rapid cycler. He may sleep 12 hours one

night and six the next. Two naps in one day is not unheard of for

him. He's learned that when his body says " sleep " he sleeps. I've

tried keeping him up but he ends up being like a two-year-old without

a nap that's coming down with something. I'm hoping that this is

something that will straighten itself out as he gets older.

Hope this helps. In case anyone's interested, here are their current

daily meds:

: (bipolar disorder, ocd, add, Asperger's) Abilify 10mg, Lexapro

20mg, Risperdal .5mg, Strattera 60mg

:(bipolar disorder) Depakote 1000mg, Abilify 10mg, Zoloft 100mg

Austin:(bipolar disorder, ocd, adhd, Asperger's) Lamictal 100mg,

Strattera 60mg, Prozac 40mg, Zyprexa 5mg, Invega 6mg

in MO