Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 839518

Shown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Insomnia

Posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

Hi fellow babblers, I was wondering if I could get your suggestions on a problem. I've been a member of this forum for many years, but I don't often post.

I have depression and adult ADD. Medications prescribed: Lexapro 10mg (added recently, 1 mongh ago), Ritalin 20mg, and Ambien 10mg.

The problem: I've been experiencing insomnia, even with Ambien 10mg taken just before bedtime. It takes me many hours to fall asleep. Is there a different sleeping medication that my pdoc can prescribe which would help, or can he increase the dosage of Ambien? I won't take Seroquel because that's heavy duty stuff. I'm interested to hear about anyone's suggestions or advice. Thanks a lot.

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by X-ray on July 13, 2008, at 4:48:28

In reply to Insomnia, posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

Hi Johnny,

Why don't you switch Lexapro for Remeron?

Best regards,
X-ray

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by Quintal on July 13, 2008, at 7:11:36

In reply to Insomnia, posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

Lunesta and temazepam would be the best options. Sonata has too short a half-life to be useful to you with this kind of insomnia. Ambien is about the same - 2 hours, while Lunesta and temazepam are longer acting - 6hrs and 8hrs respectively. They're all about the same strength though, so you may end up needing a larger dose of these as well.

Q

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by blueboy on July 13, 2008, at 10:26:51

In reply to Insomnia, posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

> I have depression and adult ADD. Medications prescribed: Lexapro 10mg (added recently, 1 mongh ago), Ritalin 20mg, and Ambien 10mg.
>
> The problem: I've been experiencing insomnia, even with Ambien 10mg taken just before bedtime. It takes me many hours to fall asleep. Is there a different sleeping medication that my pdoc can prescribe which would help, or can he increase the dosage of Ambien?

I regularly take 25-30mg of Ambien to get to sleep. It makes pdocs nervous because that's not what the literature says.

But if 10mg isn't working, yes, IMHO try taking a bigger dose. Your pdoc will feel better about it if you don't take it every night.

My suggestion is to do what I did: run a test. When you have bad insomnia, take 10mg and wait 45 minutes. If you're still awake, take another 10. And so on.

I don't take it every night. I'll take it only if I get in bed and I'm still awake after an hour (you have to watch the clock a bit, sometimes, to tell if you've been awake the entire time. I've been fooled before, thinking I had been awake when actually I had slept some).

I'll also take it if I'm still awake at 1:00 am, even if I haven't been to bed.

And always remember, these message boards, even though they can be helpful and informative, mostly constitute anecdotal evidence. Any post could be outright wrong or dependent on a condition or personal chemistry very different from yours.

I should add, I am over 6 feet tall and weigh about 230 lbs. My primary diagnosis is bipolar II.

 

Re: Insomnia » blueboy

Posted by Phillipa on July 13, 2008, at 10:54:40

In reply to Re: Insomnia, posted by blueboy on July 13, 2008, at 10:26:51

Blueboy good advise. And as you say we are all different for me 10mg of valium is working and 5mg when wake-up but lunesta could also work. Wow you're a big boy!!!!Meant in a nice way. Love Phillipa

 

Re: Insomnia » JohnnyBLinux

Posted by raisinb on July 13, 2008, at 13:32:21

In reply to Insomnia, posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

I would give Lunesta a try. I have been through a lot of sleep meds. Ambien stopped working and I had to triple the dosage and take it with alcohol to get any effect (my dr was pretty horrified when I told her). But I have been on Lunesta for a year and it has worked steadily and well. I highly recommend it.

The only thing is, you *really* need eight or nine hours, and try not to go to bed without going to the bathroom. It is a struggle to get up in the middle of the night! I am a smaller person though (105 lb) so it might affect you differently.

Also, your insomnia might lift if it's simply a side effect--with many meds, it's a start-up effect and lessens over time.

 

Re: Insomnia » JohnnyBLinux

Posted by fayeroe on July 13, 2008, at 13:34:05

In reply to Insomnia, posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 2:43:42

My pdoc gives me trazadone, 25 mg. I take two about 30 minutes before bedtime. I also take lamictal, 200 mg. Not at bedtime,it is my "cocktail".

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 13, 2008, at 19:52:56

In reply to Re: Insomnia, posted by blueboy on July 13, 2008, at 10:26:51

> I regularly take 25-30mg of Ambien to get to sleep. It makes pdocs nervous because that's not what the literature says.
>
> But if 10mg isn't working, yes, IMHO try taking a bigger dose. Your pdoc will feel better about it if you don't take it every night.
>
> My suggestion is to do what I did: run a test. When you have bad insomnia, take 10mg and wait 45 minutes. If you're still awake, take another 10. And so on.


I've experimented with all of the above. Since 10mg has lost it's effectiveness, I try taking 20mg or 30mg on bad nights. Clearly, the downside to increasing the nightly dose like this is I have to be prepared to be without Ambien for a time until the next refill. I get some minor withdrawal symptoms and rebound insomnia when this happens. I'd like to have something on-board that I won't run out of prematurely.

> And always remember, these message boards, even though they can be helpful and informative, mostly constitute anecdotal evidence. Any post could be outright wrong or dependent on a condition or personal chemistry very different from yours.

Very true indeed. Thanks for the reminder. It's prudent to take what you read here with a grain of salt. I plan to bring this up later this week with my pdoc. I'll post an update if he changes anything.

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by blueboy on July 14, 2008, at 12:37:56

In reply to Re: Insomnia » blueboy, posted by Phillipa on July 13, 2008, at 10:54:40

> Blueboy good advise. And as you say we are all different for me 10mg of valium is working and 5mg when wake-up but lunesta could also work.

I forgot about Lunesta. It worked well for me, again at about 2.5 the suggested dosage, but it gives me a terrible taste in my mouth (a very common side effect) that lasts all day.

> Wow you're a big boy!

LOL. I wish I could be back to 185 or even 195. Maybe I will some day -- I've dropped 20-30 lbs since I stopped taking Nardil.

 

Re: Insomnia » blueboy

Posted by Phillipa on July 14, 2008, at 19:29:38

In reply to Re: Insomnia, posted by blueboy on July 14, 2008, at 12:37:56

Great about the weight loss what caused you to stop nardil? Phillipa

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by blueboy on July 15, 2008, at 10:35:36

In reply to Re: Insomnia » blueboy, posted by Phillipa on July 14, 2008, at 19:29:38

> Great about the weight loss what caused you to stop nardil? Phillipa

Rash

 

Re: Insomnia » blueboy

Posted by Phillipa on July 15, 2008, at 20:03:02

In reply to Re: Insomnia, posted by blueboy on July 15, 2008, at 10:35:36

Allergy to nardil? First to post that since I've been here. But we all can be allergic to meds. My youngest is to codeine and penacillin. Me levoquin. Phillipa

 

Re: Insomnia

Posted by NewHampshireGuy on July 16, 2008, at 18:05:13

In reply to Re: Insomnia » blueboy, posted by Phillipa on July 15, 2008, at 20:03:02

how about trying prescription benedryll like Visteril/hydroxinepam? OTC benadryll never worked for me and I was on Ambien and Ativan for years for insomnia. stopped those and had good luck with Visteril, but I seem to be building a tolerance

 

Re: Thanks for everyone's great responses! (nm)

Posted by JohnnyBLinux on July 17, 2008, at 2:38:40

In reply to Re: Insomnia, posted by NewHampshireGuy on July 16, 2008, at 18:05:13


This is the end of the thread.


Show another thread

URL of post in thread:


Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ


[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org

Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.