Posted by Emme on March 22, 2002, at 12:01:47
In reply to Lamictal problems already -- any advice?, posted by Bekka H. on March 21, 2002, at 20:58:06
Hello Bekka,
I take 75 mg lamictal and it interferes with sleep. I tend to either not fall asleep easily or wake up early and am not always rested enough. It hasn't gone away with time, but I didn't find the problem increasing as I increased my dose (very slowly). Now on the upside, it gives me a better shot of getting to work at a reasonable time. Not a bad thing for a night person. :) And on the weekends I can often fall back asleep after the early wakening. If you like Lamictal, you have options for helping the sleep situation. For me, 12.5 mg of seroquel have helped me sleep through the night a little longer and more soundly and the situation is quite livable.
I know there's a lot of opinions floating around on the board about the use of antipsychotics for sleep and anxiety. I can't say it doesn't worry me some. But I tolerate Seroquel okay and it does seem to add a boost my response to my other drugs as well as helping me sleep better. That is why my doctor suggested it in the first place - she thought it would help in several ways. So I'm using this small dose for the time being.
What about Ambien? I don't know anything about long term use of it, but I know many people who like it. 15 mg of Remeron? If you want to try an SSRI, how about a dash of Paxil at night - more sedating than Celexa. Maybe a bit of klonopin? Don't worry about "getting into" a particular kind of drug. Especially benzos - they have a safe profile compared to many drugs and one of them may help you. Just keep trying to find whatever solution helps you feel as good as you can and live your life well. Good luck.
Emme
> Hi. I'd like to hear from anyone who has had insomnia on Lamictal. I just started it last week, and I've been getting what I would call insomnia, but it's not really insomnia. I'm in bed, my eyes are closed, and I guess I'm sleeping, but when I wake up, I feel as if I haven't slept or rested at all. It's more like very unsatisfying dozing. The only other time I had a problem like this (i.e., sleeping, but apparently not a restful, restorative sleep) was on Wellbutrin. I'm on such a teensy, tiny dose of Lamictal that I dread what will happen to my sleep on a higher dose. I really don't want to "get into" taking all kinds of benzodiazapines and sleeping pills. By the way, I'm also on a very low dose of Dexedrine, but I do not take either med late in the day. Also, I tried going without the dexedrine for a couple of days to see whether that was the culprit, but I still had this semi-sleep. Then I tried adding a tiny bit of Celexa at night, but the combo made me very nauseated and dizzy. I'm feeling very discouraged. I had high hopes for Lamictal because I've heard so many good things about it.
>
> Does anyone out there (Hattree or anyone else) have any ideas about this?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Bekka
poster:Emme
thread:99337
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/99474.html