Posted by Sailboat77 on May 20, 2011, at 11:44:25
I had posted last time that I've been having great difficulty both falling asleep and staying asleep recently. I've always had sleep problems since starting Parnate months ago (60mg). The situation seems a bit worse now that I'm taking 20mg of Vyvanse and 15mg of Adderall in the morning along with my MAOI. This combination of Stimulants and MAOI's has been an outstanding success for my mood, but not my sleep...... which was already in poor condition before the stimulants.
So I've tried Ambien, Lunesta, some type of tricyclic, and Xanax, but none of them work or only work temporarily (although Xanax does calm me down a little but does not make me sleepy). The only thing that has ever truly worked is Seroquel 100mg- one dose to fall asleep and another when I wake up in the middle of the night
{Here's the update}
I went to my doctor (general practitioner) and told her that it's been hard for me to fall asleep and the quality has been awful. I also told her that I don't like taking Seroquel, an atypical antipsychotic, for sleep issues. I wanted a medication specifically meant for sleep. I gave her 4 recommendations you guys gave and she was open to trying something new:
-She didn't like Sonata because a) it's similar in chemical structure to the Ambien which didn't work for me and b) it's very expensive.
-Zanaflex (Tizandine) is not compatible with the MAOI I am taking because it lowers my already unstable blood pressure.
-Halcion (Triazolam) has problems with rebound insomnia, dependance, and tolerance.+What we decided on is Ativan. It's a muscle relaxant, amnesic, sedative, and hypnotic. This is now my new med. Keeping in mind that I have a long history of an overactive metabolism/liver that synthesizes medicines/chemicals quickly so I usually need larger doses than normal. I took a 1mg tablet of Ativan at 11:00 and then another 1mg at 11:35. I started to become sleepy, but since I had to get up early the next morning I took half a dose of my usual Seroquel. I fell asleep within 10 minutes and never woke up.
So far, I think this is a minor success considering it was only one night. What I want to do next is to see if I need the Seroquel at all. Also, I will be mindful of whether I am growing tolerant to any of its effects. Honestly, that scares me most, that I'll grow tolerant of the one sleep drug that helps. But it's too early to tell and for now I'm fully rested.
Just so I don't forget, I really have to thank all you guys for your support and suggestions. They were so helpful and very nice
----I'll provide another update in a few days----
*I hope this experience of mine can help others.
Feel free to ask questions or make suggestions
of your own ( I only got this far by taking some of your advice)
poster:Sailboat77
thread:985781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110515/msgs/985781.html