Posted by blueboy on May 28, 2008, at 9:36:10
In reply to Sleep meds, posted by ramji on May 25, 2008, at 8:17:40
> I've tried to find this info on the internet with no luck so far ...
>
> I'm currently on Wellbutrin 450mg, Abilify 10mg and Zoloft 50 mg. I'm having sleep issues ... I tend to sleep only 2 - 3 hours most days. My doc tried Seroquel, but I could not function the next day even on the smallest dose. Same with Trazadone.
> I'm 52 years old and diagnosed with Bipolar disorder .... my doc said type 2 with mixed and rapid episodes. The hospital says type one.
>
> Here's the question. When I was younger (20's and 30's) I was on Elavil for depression. It worked well until I was stupid enough to wean myself. I understand it has been used in small doses for sleep disorders and headaches (?) .... is this an option for me?
>
> I'm expecting to switch docs and wanted to ask here first.
>I don't know much. It seems like kind of strange drugs to be taking for bipolar, to me, but again . . .
I'm BP II and antidepressants keep me awake, too. I was on them for years and decades with no success. What I think they did to me was to induce more or less ongoing hypomania, which is NOT good even though it feels good. But prolonged lack of sleep has got to be bad for your health.
For me, Klonopin (2.5 to 3 mg, body weight 230 lbs) seems to have a great effect on manic-type episodes. Great sleep and it tends to stop the episode.
Ambien puts me to sleep just fine for 4 or 5 hours and works really fast. The problem is, if you are actually bipolar -- well, in my case, I will sleep but if the episode is bad enough, it's sometimes a very weird and unsatisfactory sleep. At other times, for simpler insomnia, I get good sleep from Ambien. Like if my mind is not spinning completely out of control.
poster:blueboy
thread:831018
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/831617.html