Posted by King Vultan on November 30, 2004, at 17:53:05
In reply to respirdal taking care of insomnia, posted by shadowmon on November 29, 2004, at 23:19:50
> Hi,
>
> I just got given some trial samples of respirdal to help me sleep.
>
> I used to be on trazodone, which abruptly stopped working once I tried to change my AD from paxil to lexapro. Well, that didnt work, and now I am on paxil cr at 75mgs which seems to be fine for me. I have tried remeron (made me groggy and eat way too much) and ambien, which would put me to sleep after tossing and turning, purchasing things off the internet that I didnt remember for hours.
>
> I know that respirdal is an anti-psychotic medication, and I am wondering if I should be concerned with it's other pharmocological effects. I'm actually kinda wigged out that I am taking some heavy medication just to help me sleep.
>
> I'm not bi-polar either, just unipolar. Is anyone out there just taking this medication to help them sleep? How did it work for you? Is there anything other than tardic diskonesia that I should be worried about?
I haven't tried an AP, but this is the one I would probably inquire about if I wanted to try one. I would only be interested in trying it at a very low dosage, though, as Risperdal is apparently quite selective for the 5-HT2A receptor at low dosages, and I am not particularly interested in blockading my dopamine D2 receptors. I guess I have a somewhat different perspective than the other poster, as I actually have a more favorable view of Risperdal than Neurontin (the major reason being that a friend of mine developed depression and suicidal thoughts while on Neurontin). I used to have a strong prejudice against atypical antipsychotics being prescribed for non-schizophrenic or non-bipolar patients, but my views have changed somewhat. I now believe these drugs do have a valid place in other situations, including insomnia in some cases, but their side effects and cost need to be factored into the equation.Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:422139
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041128/msgs/422514.html