Posted by Ritch on December 10, 2002, at 22:36:46
In reply to Re: Sleeping problems, BP1, please help...... » Ritch, posted by Mr Cushing on December 10, 2002, at 17:32:00
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> I don't just suffer from the Depression though, I'm kind of "mixed". I'll have depression at the same time that I have some manic symptoms. Now and then it will drift to one extreme or the other and stay there for quite some time, but it's not "just" the depression.
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> I actually talked to my PDoc and my MD about Neurotonin a few times and neither one of them said that it would be strong enough to hold me stable. I definitely notice an improvement in the 375mg of Depakote that I've been taking so far, and it definitely doesn't make me sleep during the day. I'm actually lucky if I sleep period...
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> The only real problem now though is that I have a hard time "falling asleep". I don't wake up constantly and I don't wake right up prematurely, like at 5am or something.
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> The insomnia I can trace back further than most of my BP symptoms. It's really getting frustrating trying to get this all right. My PDoc said that I should try keeping more Clonazepam in my blood than I was currently using and to take .25mg twice during the day and up to 1mg to sleep at night. I'm going to try switching my Celexa from taking it at night to taking it in the morning. I also increased my Depakote to 500mg today. I've been kind of sluggish, but definitely not falling asleep here... Actually, my head still seems to be pretty clear.
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>Depakote is generally very good for "mixed" symptoms (in my case dysphoric hypomania). If you aren't having trouble with daytime sleepiness from it, then an increase of it would probably make the most sense. I'm glad that you aren't having daytime sleepiness probs. with it, I was on psychostimulant trials off and on over the last several months to try and offset it. I am not sure whether I was better off with more Depakote and a stim or just less Depakote (this IS frustrating). Clonazepam really is quite effective for controlling mania (I think it is underrated). I can't take any SSRI at bedtime, recently I had a sleepwalking episode with Effexor...
poster:Ritch
thread:131190
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/131292.html