Posted by jonathanupr on July 3, 2006, at 1:03:08
In reply to Medication woes...anyone tried Xyrem?, posted by lymom3 on June 27, 2006, at 14:42:53
I can share similarities with the ADHD diagnosis... My issue pretty much rests in a few areas. Once I got on a stim (Adderall) my OCD went rampant and I couldn't sleep for more than 3 hours without waking up. So, as the stim helped out greatly with concentration, drive, and creativity, I had to deal with the latter 2 issues of OCD and insomnia. Though, I don't know if I can say my sleep issue is really insomnia, as there are narcoleptic symptoms as well..... That's also why I love the stim, because it keeps me awake throughout the day...prior to that I was sleeping in or trying to work a job which flopped in the end because I just couldn't do more than a 4 to 5 hour shift. With a stim I can do a good 7 to 8 hour shift, and at times I stick around beyond such hours.
I am in the move right now to try out Xyrem because of its low cognitive side effect profile. In the studies on Xyrem that I have read up upon, individuals have still kept using an amphetamine based stim that they were using prior to taking the Xyrem. So you shouldn't necesarily have to stop taking a stim because you are taking Xyrem.
As of right now Xyrem is approved only for narcolepsy so the insurance companies aren't going to cover much beyond that (tight a$$es with an agenda to not pay-out)...and Xyrem is running around $500.00 a month for a good dose....which is a rip off, GHB in the past sold very cheaply at GNC until it was taken off the shelf. My point is that Xyrem is very good for insomnia as well, and due to some bureacratical issues it is being held back a bit. Pretty much the gov't doesn't want you to be having this stuff, which is odd. Xyrem could very well be produced generically and already is produced very cheaply, it isn't a hard make.
But anyways, my thought on taking Xyrem was in regards to having hope of waking up in the morning with freshness and not feeling exhausted all the time (regardless of sleeping 6 to 8 hours straight now that I'm taking sleep meds), and then being able to use the Adderall to treat my ADHD issues and not my fatigue/energy issues. Would be a good fit I think. Plus, Xyrem relieves anxiety from what I've read, which would further help with my OCD.
Hope all goes well, it's worth a try if you have a chance at taking it. The function of it is pretty much to keep the individual in stages 3 and 4 sleep (deep sleep) where a lot of our recuperation and energy stores are built back up. It raises dopamine and GABA while lowering glutamate (this is at the ideal dose). I haven't heard of it working to help REM stage 5 out at all, but more or less that it inhibits this stage....... there's a mixed line out there in thought, some docs feel that neurotransmitters are re-produced and re-plenished during REM and others see the brain as being overworked in over-excessive REM sleep.
poster:jonathanupr
thread:661871
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060701/msgs/663726.html