Make a connection, ask a question, share a concern, give advice or just chat. Our message boards connect you with a community of people who understand where you’re coming from and what you’re going through.
My wife has been diagnosed as bipolar when she was about 13-14. She has been taking her medication for a long time and is still on them. She is going through a recent med change and it has not been completed yet.
For the first couple years of a our relationship and first year of our marriage, her bipolar was managed pretty well, but some unfortunate problems with a couple co-workers has caused her to have two med changes and she now has insomnia and occasional depression and more constant mania.
She has always been more of a night owl than me, but now she can't go to sleep until 2:00 to 4:00 am and I wake up at 5:30.
I miss falling asleep with her, holding hands and you can imagine what else. Her not being able to sleep gives me insomnia sometimes, I can't sleep and when that happens, I get cranky and say stupid things.
Because I was having such a difficult time falling asleep (nothing like she has had) I started taking Ambien, this helps me sleep. I don't know why her not sleeping next to me bothers me so much.
I was divorced for like 7 years and lived by myself and I slept by myself most of the time. I got used to it.
Being a man, I really want to fix things, but I have found out by talking with others that there isn't much I can do. Is this something, that I will have to get used to?
I don't seem to say the right thing at times. I ask her what I can do and she can't tell me or won't. I feel so helpless. My most recent strategy to deal with her manic episodes is to try and ignore them and just go to sleep when I need to and sleep without her, but I hate that.
She has started a new job, that she thought would be less stressful and at first look it seems that way, but I am afraid that this job will do the opposite after while and it will exasperate things.
She has felt guilty that we have money problems because she hasn't worked very much in the last year (can't seem to keep a job), so that doesn't help either.
Does anyone have any advice for this type of situation? Thanks
Posts: 1 | Location: Creswell, OR | Registered: 10-06-2008
I don't have any advice unfortunately, because I am new here. I did want to say however that I will keep you in my prayers friend. I've recently fallen in love with a woman who is bipolar and it's the most trying thing I've done. I have so much respect for you trying to make this work.
Bipolar Community 
