Posted by catmint on February 9, 2005, at 0:48:54
In reply to Re: Trileptal: Great sleep, no hypomania » catmint, posted by Ron Hill on February 8, 2005, at 23:47:37
> > Hey Ron!
I have decided to go on 250 mg. of Depakote. I started 4 days ago. I am sleeping so well. My pdoc thinks I might only need it for a month or so to get me out of this mixed state. I'm not sure what her rationale is; I will stay on it as long as I am benefitting from it. Maybe she is afraid I will get depressed on it, as I did in the past.
> >
> You know that melatonin can cause depression, right? The usual dosage of off-the-shelf melatonin is much too high. When I used to take melatonin, I took about 1 mg/night of the Source Natural's sublingual product. But even at this dose level, I could only take it ocassionally or else it would cause depression. Amy, if you decide to take melatonin, please talk to Larry Hoover. The topic best fits on the PB-ALT board, so you could flag him down over there.> I talked to her about that and she said most people with insomnia need something stronger.
> The interaction of Depakote with Lamictal is detailed in the document. Also, the interaction of many of the other AED's with Lamictal are also discussed:
>
> http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_lamictal.pdf>Thank you
> I can't overstate how much Trileptal benefits my sleep. I go to sleep quickly (i.e.; within minutes), I sleep soundly, and I wake up feeling refreshed (unless I've cycled into a depressive phase, in which case, I don't want to get up).> That's wonderful. I'm happy for you.
> The other thing that greatly helps my sleep is magnesium. Have you ever tried it? I take 600 mg (measured as elemental magnesium) at bedtime. There are many good chelates to choose from. I usually take magnesium malate, but that's just me. If you take too much magnesium, it will cause diarrhea. Magnesium and Trileptal are the key elements in my magic sleep potion.
I do take a Magnesium supplement at night. I have the Source Naturals one, malate I think.
>> >
> Amy, have you every tried a low dose of an antipsychotic? If so, what were your results? I'm not necessarily advocating an AP, just curious if you've ever tried one.I have tried Zyprexa and felt like a truck hit me.
>
> At my current Trileptal dosage (see below) in conjunction with my other mood stabilizers, my anger and irritability have virtually disappeared. My wife is particularly happy about this and she hopes that it lasts.
>That's so good to hear. I hope my relationships with my boyfriend and my son will improve once my anger and irritabiliy are resolved.
> As I mentioned previously, if I could only figure out a solution to my periodic bouts of atypical depression, I'd be good to go. Currently, I'm able to chase away the depression demons (when they show up once every week-and-a-half or so) with a very low one-day dose (5 or 10 mg) of Adderall XR. However, I have a hunch that this pstim approach will stop working at some point. So I'm thinking about Selegiline or Parnate, but time will tell.By atypical do you mean increased appetite, and fatigue?
>
It's nice to have all of you here who understand that my anger and irritablity are part of my illness and not a character defect.
Ron, I am happy to hear that you are doing so well, despite the bouts of atypical depression. Get back to me on your symptoms. I'm sure there is something that will help whether pharmaceutical of alternative.See ya,
Amy
poster:catmint
thread:449685
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050207/msgs/455275.html