Posted by King Vultan on June 10, 2004, at 17:22:59
In reply to Prozac and insomnia and agitation....tried Benadry, posted by SuzieWong on June 10, 2004, at 14:07:03
I don't understand why the doctor would say that you can't take Nytol or Benadryl with your Prozac and Buspar, as I'm not aware of any interactions that would contraindicate this. Benadryl is a simple antihistamine that is safe to take even with an MAO inhibitor, and MAOIs have loads of restrictions on what drugs can be combined with them.
I also am appalled that they won't prescribe any sleeping meds for you. Just because you are on Prozac doesn't mean that you aren't entitled to a good night's sleep. I had horrible insomnia and agitation while I was on that stuff, too, and since I had a hangup about sleeping pills, I started using alcohol to get to sleep. Unfortunately, this developed into a case of alcoholism, which wasn't cured until I dropped the med some months later.
I don't know how your health insurance/system works, but I would suggest perhaps finding another doctor. Your chemist sounds like he has more common sense than your MD; although, you must realize that the Benadryl/Nytol is an imperfect solution for chronic insomnia. I take 50 mg every other night and a sedating benzodiazepine (Halcion) the nights in between. My doctor would let me take Ambien every night, but it is too expensive ($50/month copay) for my tastes. Other drugs worth considering are the sedating ADs trazodone and Remeron, which have the advantage of having no abuse or tolerance potential. The Remeron might also help with your agitation.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:355458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/355516.html