Posted by jkshrews on July 29, 2006, at 22:53:23
In reply to Emsam (insomnia), posted by t2green01 on July 29, 2006, at 14:00:23
Well, I didn't go to sleep until 6 AM last night. It was a real killer, esp since I needed to work today. And since I started Emsam, I have been taking a lot more Klonopin than I used to.
I suspect there are two factors at work:
1) Bipolars are subject to disturbance of Circadian rhythm, much more so than are other people. I have a friend at work who says I "go nocturnal" when I start sleeping days and staying up nights. A lot of people taking Emsam are probably bipolar (whether they know it or not) and are more easily goofed up by the drug because of the fragility of their Circadian sleep/wake cycle.
2) Lots of MAOIs are chemically related to amphetamines and are therefore stimulants. In the case of Selegeline (Emsam), I have read it breaks down into d-amphetamine and methamphetamine. I was hoping for some good things due to this, as these compounds are strong antidepressants in their own rights, apart from the MAO inhibition. Also, I was hoping for some appetite suppression and weight loss, but it hasn't happened. However the negative upshot of amphetamines is, they disturb your sleep--much worse caffeine does--and that definitely has happened to me with Emsam.
Tomorrow I move up to the the *big patch* -- 12 mg. I think I will start taking 1 mg clonazapam (Klonapin) every night, like a preemptive strike!
Another thing I am going to try is putting on the patch as early as possible in the morning. I know nothing about how the thing works, but I strongly suspect more of the the drug comes out at the beginning.
Another thing I might try is using the big patch, but if it causes too much trouble, take it off sometime in the evening. Maybe I can still get as much of the drug into me as with the 6 or 9mg patch, but w/o having it percolating into my body while I'm trying to sleep.
Who knows what might work? There are lots of things to try.
> did anybody else have extreme insomnia with emsam and did it improve or did you have to medicate the insomnia. im so tired but i dont want to take more pills.
poster:jkshrews
thread:661128
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060724/msgs/671895.html