Need help with Manic episodes... Please

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i have asperger's and bipolar. i just started with manic episodes a couple of days ago and having a very hard time sleeping. takes forever to fall asleep and keep waking up once i do. doctor just recently put me on depakote but there is way too many bad side-effects. can someone please tell me what medicine you take that helps you with the manic part.
also anything else that might help relax in manic mode. i've heard chamomile tea could help but i havent tried any yet.
and is coffee a huge no-no.
so please, any help with info on medication and/or do's and dont's during manic episodes. i would appreciate it very much.

Schizo affective bipolar disorder here... and I've finally found something which works for me: quetiapine XL (that's extended release) and lamotrigine. The lamotrigine has evened out the mood swings without making me numb, and the quetiapine has stopped the paraonoia, and levelled out the manias.

I don't know if this would work for you.

Last time I had a massively manic episode without the right meds, the only thing which got me to sleep was getting drunk. That's horrible, and I don't advise it, because you feel suicidal the next day. But something that stopped me getting so manic in the first place was cutting out sugar and caffeine. And when I was manic but not completely out of my tree, I did find that listening to classical music helped... Even if I couldn't get to sleep, the fact of listening to music lessened my anxiety. I don't think it matters what music, so long as you enjoy it and it's not too energetic... put it on repeat, put the headphones on, and just let it ease your mind.

Let us know how you're doing... and keep badgering your doctor for help. How long have you been on your current meds? As you probably know it can take a few weeks for them to work.

Well sleep is definitely important. Coffee not recommended and chamomile/sleepytime tea or warm milk might help for falling asleep.
Benadryl or valerian might help or you could get a prescription for ambien for harder time falling asleep. Of course staying asleep is another story. Controlled-release melatonin might help with that and is available over the counter.
Not sure if you have access to therapist who can help with relaxation/mindfulness exercises.
Hopefully you can work with your doctor if you need to change your medication. Depends for everyone--there are so many drugs out there. There's a really good chart at: http://www.psycheducation.org/depressio ... lizers.htm to compare the different options.
Good luck and hope you get better soon.

Seroquel (quetiapine), invega, and lithium work for me. Sometimes I take 2 excedrin PM if I need to give my night meds a little extra kick, but don't do this regularly or you will gain tolerance to it on top of it becoming addictive, and thus making your sleep problems worse. Depakote is not fast enough acting to kill a mania in a hurry and has horrible side effects (grapefruit will make them dangerously worse) and antipsychotics are the best first line med for the job. Consider getting a second opinion, or if you can't, call and tell the doc you have about the side effects and ask about an antipsychotic class med.

So that's two votes for quetiapine/seroquel.

Thanks to all of you for your're recommendations. I've already started doing some research on the medications you've suggested, and am going to talk to my doctor for a new presciption when i see him in 3 weeks. Also I have cut back on the sugar in my diet and quit the caffiene. That in it self has seemed to help out alot.
So again, thanks for responding when I really needed the help.