Posted by zeugma on September 10, 2004, at 19:48:53
In reply to Re: Trouble sleeping - please help » King Vultan, posted by KaraS on September 10, 2004, at 17:21:55
hi kara,
i appreciated the help you gave me from the earler thread, so i will write this although i'm in the evening fog :) I think noradrenergic meds are the way to go for long-term reregulation of the sleep cycle. Many report they have less need of sleep, without a concomitant increase in fatigue, on an NE reuptake inhibitor other than the notorious Strattera. Both the noradrenergic locus coeruleus and the serotnergetic raphe are intimately involved in the sleep/wake cycle; however, while both serotonergetic and noradrenergic AD's promote waking, noradrenergic meds seem to do so in a way that takes less of a toll on sleep itself. I remember that I never slept better than when I was on nortriptyline and Strattera at the same time. OTOH MAOI's cause intense insomnia regardless of how 'stimulating' or 'sedating' the med is considered to be; hence Nardil causes intractable insomnia as often as Parnate, so I think these terms are somewhat misleading when considered in terms of their effect on sleep. Maprotiline, if it worked for you, is definitely better long-term than a benzo (sorry for the categorical tone of that, I'm tired enough to be less careful than usual with my phrasing :))
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:388936
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040909/msgs/389379.html