Posted by Terry on February 8, 1999, at 9:24:59
I am a consumer who is very knowledgable about psychopharmacology. I am bipolar type II, diagnosed 2/ 1/2 years ago. I take 1000 Depakote daily with 150 mg Serzone (for depression that occurs on Depakote alone) at night as well as Catapress 0.2 mg at night for sleep. I also often take Benadryl 25 mg at night to help me sleep. I recently was started on low-dose Ritalin for cognitive problems my psychiatrist and I believe may be due to ADHD. Or possibly from one of the many meds I'm on. At any rate, I have trouble paying attention at times and frequently lose things, forget things, etc. I've been well-controlled on these meds, although I'm a little hyper on the Ritalin, but have only started on it. My only concern with my current regimen is weight gain (22 pounds) since starting Depakote. I've had a few panic attacks in the past, which seemed to be caused by getting off SSRI antidepressants. Last night, I had what I think were night terrors. Every time I'd drift off to sleep, I'd wake up terrified for no reason and become disoriented. I felt as if I was dying. I didn't know where I was for a few minutes. I felt slightly dizzy too. When I finally did get to sleep, I had horribly disturbing nightmares. Has anyone been through this before? Any advice? I'm afraid to take any more drugs (like Klonopin) because I already feel like a walking drug store. I could ask my psychiatrist to up my Serzone from 150 mg, because it's supposed to help with panic disorders, but usually increasing an SSRI makes me hypomanic. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
poster:Terry
thread:2881
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990829/msgs/2881.html