Posted by Solstice on December 8, 2011, at 23:44:20
In reply to Re: Bipolar and insomnia, posted by ed_uk2010 on December 8, 2011, at 9:18:04
> Hi there,
>
> >Can anyone tell me whether Trazadone is likely to cause daytime sleepiness?
>
> Trazodone often causes daytime drowsiness, but in your daughter's case I expect there is more than one cause.Yeah.. it's the chicken/egg thing. My daughter thinks the trazadone makes her sleepy during the day (but if that's true - then why won't it make her sleepy at night??). But I think her insomnia is making her sleepy during the day. I just don't know enough about how trazadone works, though, to really know. It's so tough to figure out.
> >Is there anything else about her med schedule that might be exacerbating her insomnia?
>
> It could be the amphetamines (Vyvanse and Adderall). Amphetamines disturb sleep and cause insomnia very frequently. It's certainly worth looking into.
You've got a point on that one. She takes a booster dose of Adderall when she gets home from school. Problem is that she tends to get home late, and is taking a booster at 5pm or so. Maybe she needs a much shorter acting thing as a booster.
> >the psychiatrist said there wasn't much she could prescribe for her at her age
>
> Night sedatives such as temazepam can be used on a very short-term basis in young people, but in the long term I think her medication regimen needs to be reviewed. Trazodone causes too much 'hangover' and its long term effectiveness is probably not very good. In fact, most sleep meds are not that great for chronic insomnia. The most successful treatment is usually to eliminate aggravating factors (often other medication) and to improve sleep hygiene. I think you should discuss making changes to your daughter's regular daytime medication in order to improve sleep.It's all so frustrating. She really needs the booster to get through all the homework - but the booster might be causing her the biggest problem.
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:1004423
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111208/msgs/1004526.html