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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by paintmom on April 30, 2005, at 21:52:49
Hello all
I got diagnosed with BipolarII after being misdiagnosed as depressed for about 8 years.
It was hard at first but has turned out to be a liberating and wonderful thing. Topamax is the first drug they tried on me and has evened me out beautifully........the down side is that my chronic insomnia is worse than ever....I know this goes against common wisdom...but I am a little flukey and tend to go against the grain of things/have weird backwards reactions to drugs etc. I've tried many many things alternative and otherwise....I take Cal/Mag every nite...(my sleep is worse without it..)also a small dose of elavil which I have been weening off because it used to help but no longer does. So now my psych nurse practitioner....who is wonderful....finally gave in and gave me a restoril....which I don't even really want....but I am just so exhausted I can't accomplish anything and feel on the edge of mania.....So I wanted your wisdom on all this....cause I doesn't make sense to me from what I read....If the Bipolar is finally under control...shouldn't my sleep finally get somewhat normal??????
thanks all
paintmom
Posted by Cairo on May 1, 2005, at 7:47:11
In reply to Insomia worse since starting tomamax, posted by paintmom on April 30, 2005, at 21:52:49
Do you mean Topamax? I just started Topamax about 4 weeks ago. My doctor told me it can cause agitation in some people while extreme fatigue in others. I felt both when I first started. I felt like I could fall asleep standing up, but totally wired at the same time. She told me to tough it out and she was right. It got better after the first two weeks.
I also use Desyrel for sleep, and in the last day or two find that I need to increase the dose to 100mg from my usual 75mg. I don't know if that is because I just increased my Topamax dose from 75mg to 100mg, or because my stress level has just gone up due to some upsetting news.
Are you slowly increasing your Topamax? I started at 25mg for 2 weeks and am increasing by 25mg in weekly intervals only. My doctor said if fatigue or agitation is too much at the increase, keep at the previous dose for two weeks before increasing. I now find that dosage increases don't bother me quite as much. I split the dose AM and PM, but I think there are those who take it once a day. Do you take it in the AM?
Desyrel has worked well for me. Helps me sleep through the night without morning grogginess. Sometimes I need to adjust the dose upwards or downwards, but overall it has worked well without weight gain or cognitive dulling.
Good luck.
Cairo
> Hello all
>
> I got diagnosed with BipolarII after being misdiagnosed as depressed for about 8 years.
> It was hard at first but has turned out to be a liberating and wonderful thing. Topamax is the first drug they tried on me and has evened me out beautifully........the down side is that my chronic insomnia is worse than ever....I know this goes against common wisdom...but I am a little flukey and tend to go against the grain of things/have weird backwards reactions to drugs etc. I've tried many many things alternative and otherwise....I take Cal/Mag every nite...(my sleep is worse without it..)also a small dose of elavil which I have been weening off because it used to help but no longer does. So now my psych nurse practitioner....who is wonderful....finally gave in and gave me a restoril....which I don't even really want....but I am just so exhausted I can't accomplish anything and feel on the edge of mania.....So I wanted your wisdom on all this....cause I doesn't make sense to me from what I read....If the Bipolar is finally under control...shouldn't my sleep finally get somewhat normal??????
> thanks all
> paintmom
Posted by paintmom on May 1, 2005, at 9:08:26
In reply to Re: Insomia worse since starting tomamax, posted by Cairo on May 1, 2005, at 7:47:11
Thanks Cairo!
I increased very gradually on the topamax....I am at 75mg...which is what I think will be my permanent dose...I only take it in the morning because if I split the dose....I def can't sleep.
The restoril is working now....and if I take it early enough I don't have a hangover....I just hate to have to depend on something...esp if it is addictive....I have to look up the med you mentioned because I am not familiar with it.Thanks so much for answering my post
best
Paintmom
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