Posted by Melanie on January 19, 2000, at 14:54:41
I started taking Trazodone (Desyrel) about a month ago for depression with sleep disorder. For years I've had trouble sleeping- I sleep very shallow and wake up at the slightest provocation, then have trouble falling back asleep. I've been chronically tired mentally and physically and have aches and pains all over my body. I have been struggling with depression and anxiety all my life it seems, with occasional panic attacks from PTSD.
I tried all kinds of "natural" medicine but nothing really helped. A friend suggested I try Zoloft.
I went to my doctor and asked him for a trial of Zoloft but he suggested that I first try Trazodone. It has been a Godsend!
It helps me to sleep deeply and I'm sleeping 9-10 hours a night, like my body's catching up on years of missed sleep. I read that it increases the time the body spends in slow wave Delta sleep.
Well, here's the kicker:
I just did some reading about Human Growth Hormone and it's possible connection to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It seems that HGH is manufactured in the body during slow wave Delta sleep. Lack of Delta sleep causes a lack of HGH. A deficiency in HGH has the same symptoms as FM and CFS: fatigue, depression, irritability, mental confusion, poor immunity, sensitivity to cold, body aches, sleeplessness, etc...
I am not a doctor and I don't know if this stuff about HGH and sleep is true or not, or if Trazodone would help other people with the same combination of problems, but it sure is intriguing to me.
Since i've been on the Trazodone I'm waking up feeling clear-headed, incredibly refreshed, and not in pain!
It didn't help much with the anxiety/PTSD and Zoloft seems to be helping me a lot with that. Maybe I've found a combination that works.
CFS and FM are such confounding diseases and so often cause depression and anxiety. I just thought someone else might be able to benefit from this.
Any feedback, anyone?
Melanie
poster:Melanie
thread:19221
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/19221.html