Posted by Jeff81 on June 5, 2007, at 20:07:05
In reply to Emsam and sleep, posted by Seeking Peace on June 5, 2007, at 19:35:42
> 1) i see a lot of people taking other stuff for anxiety/sleep etc... anyone not have to take stuff as they feel it was a symptom of depression and it got better?
-I have insomnia and sleep apnea. I have been on some type of sleep meds for a while. My sleep doc thinks that 90% of my insomnia and tiredness is due to depression. He said people with anxiety can't fall asleep and people with depression can't stay asleep. He thinks my sleep will be better when my depression gets better.
> 2) anyone with experience with ambien? how long before sleeping do you take it? do you wake up refreshed? (over counter has never really worked for me...i don't sleep the night, next day I'm sleeping all day). It says to take it on empty stomach..hey what about dinner? how long after could one take it?- I am currently on Ambien CR. In my opinion it is very overrated. It was a better then Lunesta for me though. It did help my sleep but I usually still wake up 5-10 times a night. I take the pill 30-45 min before bed. In general I am the same as you. Up all night and can sleep all day. When you take it on a full stomach it takes about 2 hours to kick in and in my opinion it just doesn't work as well on a full stomach (which hasn't stopped me from eating to much before bed.. go figure).
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> 3) I wonder if I should somehow stay away from sleep med and see if the depression/insomnia symptom get better? What if the insomnia is not just a depression symptom but some anxiety/stress induced thing too. I tend to have a lot on my mind which doesn't help. I think the zyprexa used to address that.-I do think that when my depression lifts I do sleep better. I have been on Emsam for 3 months and am just starting to sleep a lot better. I haven't figured out if my depression is getting better or my body is just getting used to the Emsam.
> 4) how long before do people see a real change in mood etc with the emsam? I have to travel (long long trip) in about 2-3 wks and I just don't have time for new med adjustment etc.
-I have been disappointed with Emsam so far. I went up to 12mg about 4 weeks ago and did notice a little improvement after that. I am seeing my pdoc on Thursday and will discuss switching to Lexapro. I don’t trust my view on how I am doing because I constantly think I should be feeling better. My biggest hesitation is the med adjustment period. I have to be off Emsam 2-3 weeks before I can even start another med. How long have you been on Emsam? In general I like to give meds 3 months before giving up on them. I don't always follow this though. My old pdoc told me I should give 2-3 months on a dosage increase not the original start time but that usually pushes my patience. I hope this email helps you. Please feel free to ask me any questions.
Good Luck,
Jeff
poster:Jeff81
thread:761406
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070604/msgs/761415.html