Posted by froggyanna on June 7, 2003, at 12:08:54
In reply to Re: Q A to Froggyanna: CPAP and sleep apnea?, posted by gouda on June 5, 2003, at 12:39:45
> Sorry for the delay in reply, Strattera @ the new dosage of 25 mg (originally on 18 mg) is just knocking me out! I sleep well since I take 25 mg 2-3 hours b4 bedtime. In the morning, I feel more motivated, getting things done, and thinking up more to-do things for my to-do list. However, I have to take another 5 hour nap in the afternoon! This totally sucks! So I am currently on my "awake" window, so I thought I'd better reply to you before I conk out again.
LOL... Wow, it's doing a lot to you, even at "such a small" dose. I'm at 40mg, and aside from the queasiness and dizzyness that I experienced at first, I can't say that it has had any appreciable effect on me at all. I DID have one good burst of motivation one morning very early on. But this is a drug that is supposed to take a while to work on you. So I wonder why it's working the opposite way on me?
So you don't take it right at bedtime but 2-3 hours before.... I think that I am doing a little of both. Some nights I take it right when I'm ready to fall asleep, but other nights it turns out that I *think* I'm going to bed and then I don't. Something catches my attention and then I'm not ready to sleep any more. Then I can stay up for another 2-3 hours! Being unemployed allows that to happen, but I have to say: Even when I was (trying to) work a regular job, my sleep schedule was all over the map. I know that's not good, but I have *always* been like that!
MomofBoys said that she was considering adding Ritalin in the afternoons to keep her from feeling sleepy. Have you thought of that?
> > Anyone else have any insight into this [skin picking and other ugly stuff]?
>
> I have no insight, but I can totally relate to your tendencies! <snip> I have been diagnosed with "obsessive compulsive traits", and my pdoc wants to increase my SSRI (Celexa) from 20 mg - 40 mg "to counteract my OCD". So maybe you might wanna check that out for yourself and take a OCD "Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Test". Don't worry, you're norm for an OCD person ... hehe.Yeah, THANKS! :-) I have never thought of myself as OCD, but I suppose it's possible. I'm in the process of adding WellbutrinSR to my recipe and eliminating Zoloft. "W" is supposed to help with this kind of thing, and it also goes by the name Zyban to help people stop smoking. Same stuff. My doctor gave me a paper to read that says it helps with other nasty little habits as well....
I'm not familiar with Celexa. Do you take it for depression?
> > Also, right now my knee is bouncing up and down like crazy, and I really wish this agitation would go away.
>
> I've got a different tick, when I am awaken during sleep, I will kick my leg in frustration, even though I am still partially sleeply. Weird! I don't have the jittery knee though like you.Lucky. I'm still doing it. I can stop it, but I have to consciously force myself. I become aware that I'm doing it long after it has started.
> Personally, I think my ADD is caused by (a) sleep disorder (b) genetics (c) head injuries as a toddler who was very accident prone.Yes, genetics has a LOT to do with it, they say! I don't know if either of my parents or any of my brothers has it. No one was ever diagnosed. I suspect that some of them do, but we just never thought about it. We somehow just muddled through, for better or worse. In my Dad's case, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 60s, when he was in his 40s. That was like the Dark Ages of mental illness care. My parents got divorced and he went away. As a young adult, I reconnected with him, and he had a fairly successful life, happily remarried, and not suffering financially. So it was impossible to think of him as mentally ill. But there is SO MUCH detail about all that that I have no knowledge of. These were the days when you didn't talk to your kids about these kinds of things. And I have just never been able to talk in depth with either of my parents about it all. We've skirted around the issues, but never really hashed it all out. So my parents are kind of a mystery.....
> > [long discussion of sleep study]
>
> Wow, I think I would like to consider this ... I just mentioned earlier that I've been doing the leg whapping thing at night. Hmm, what is the cost of taking part in a sleep disorder treatment? I would need to budget for this.Well..... I am praying that my insurance will cover most of it, because I don't have this much spare change!! For me, it was $2,135. That's just the study. CPAP machines can cost anywhere from $200-$600 (I'm guessing) but you can also rent them. Once you do the study and your doctor gets the results, you usually have to go to a third-party medical device supplier with a prescription for your air pressure. Those companies have people who are trained to set the machine correctly, train you how to use it, and get whatever headgear you're using fitted properly for you.
> CPAP! Dang, that was funny! Wow, it sounds so complicated!Well, some people never get used to it. I've gotten used to it, and after awhile it's second nature....
> [Wellbutrin] Yes, I started on 100 mg 1x/day for about a month, then increased to 150 mg 1x/day for another month ... I never got to 200 mg, b/c I really disliked the experience (but this should not dissuade you; most people have good experiences with Wellbutrin). Yes, you should be patient with Wellbutrin, I didn't have any benefits until 3 weeks.Please remind me: Did you say you are not taking it any more?
> Extreme calm meaning I kinda felt unnerved about how calm I was when tackling whatever I was doing. It was almost like I had no emotional component whatsoever. "A Just Do It" w/o the kick-butt attitude. Very weird!I'm still learning about what Wellbutrin is supposed to do, so I don't know if it's an SSRI or not. But the SSRIs are known, I think, for putting people into that "detached" state. For me, that has been a blessing. I took Prozac for years, and now Zoloft. Not being at the MERCY of my emotions has been liberating. And in a spiritual sense, detachment is something you strive for! It doesn't mean that you are a zombie. You have your feelings. But they don't rule you. I like feeling like that.
> > > Fifth, Strattera at night: ... I've been taking it 2-3 hours before my bedtime, and it's been great to help me "fall asleep"
>
> > Maybe I'll try that.I did try that, and it seems to be working well for me. I have much less trouble with sleepiness in the day now.
> > > Sixth, Strattera and irritability: Same problem as you, if not worse.
> >
> > Rats. OK, that's two of us then who are hoping that this will wear off. Anyone else got some encouraging reports? Did any of you have irritability initially but it eventually went away? ADDled minds want to know!! :-)When I wrote that, I thought it was the Straterra. But now I think it might be the buspirone I'm taking. I just reduced the dosage from 60mg to 45, and the irritability is GONE!
> Glad to hear from you! Yes, I'm just trying to deal with meds too without a job, so I think our discussions are the best form of therapy. Look forward to hearing from you again, and hang in there!You hang in there, too, gouda! Are you currently LOOKING for a job, or are you in a holding pattern, like me?
Cheers,
froggyanna
poster:froggyanna
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/232161.html