Posted by Simcha on October 4, 2001, at 14:35:11
In reply to simcha ..., posted by nathan on October 4, 2001, at 12:42:27
Nathan,
I've been in therapy for the past 10 years or so. I've dealt with many of my abuse issues. Much of the reason I could not sleep was that every time I fell asleep I would have nightmares.
I'm now on 20mg of Celexa/day. Celexa tends to make me drowsy. I am also on 200mg of Wellbutrin SR. This is activating. It seems that now that the depression is under control I don't have insomnia. I sleep like a baby.
I really think that the depression and anxiety were the reasons for my insomnia.
I hope that helps. Keep going on your journey. I hope you stumble on the answer. I seem to have found an answer for now. I just hope it keeps working..
Take Care,
Simcha> What are you taking now? Sleep deprivation is also a problem for me. How did you overcome it?
>
>
>
> > Geez NO!
> >
> > For me sleep deprivation (alla insomnia) was part of my depression. It did not help me. It made things much worse. If I don't get my 7-8 hours, I'm a mess.
> >
> > I also didn't eat when I was down in the dumps. It's strange how we all have different symptoms for the same illness...
> >
> >
> > > > I don't understand the mechanism behind it but it certainly works. I admit to choosing to stay up past the point of tiredness a few nights in a row sometimes to deliberately induce a mild sort of hypomania. Probably NOT a good idea.
> > > > I, too, would be interested in knowing the biochemistry behind it.
> > > > Dinah
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi.
> > >
> > > One strategy used to make the most of sleep deprivation is to go to bed at your normal time and wake up at 2:00am - 3:00am. The key is to force a phase *advance* in the circadian rhythm. Retarding the rhythm (going to bed late and over-sleeping) can actually make depression worse. There are some reports that using sleep deprivation can accelerate the response to antidepressants. I haven't researched it enough to know how to go about using sleep deprivation on a regular basis, but I imagine it involves periodic rather than continuous application.
> > >
> > > I believe the current thought is that the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation involve dopaminergic function. A number of years ago, researchers at the NIMH tried to establish an association between a patient's response to a single night's total sleep deprivation and the drugs that they respond to. I wish I could remember for sure what they found, but I don't. I think non-response to SD prognosticated for reduced rates of response to Wellbutrin and MAOIs. Not sure.
> > >
> > >
> > > - Scott
poster:Simcha
thread:80236
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010927/msgs/80271.html