Posted by leslieg on March 18, 2012, at 22:35:27
Hi!
I have narcolepsy (w/o cataplexy) and Vyvanse / Dextroamphetamines are the only drug we've found that really help. W/o them I almost literally cannot wake up (I keep falling back into a dream state). I take 60 mg Vyvanse in the morning and usually 7.5 mg Dexi 7 hours later and sometimes 5 mg Dexi near 5 pm (never later than 5). Both drugs take about an hour to start working.
I also have soft bipolar and am on Lamictal. I take 175 mg in the morning (a few hours after the Vyvanse). It was too stimulating to take any at bedtime.
I have two problems.
1. I can get very sleepy at night, barely able to keep my head up, but once I'm in the "get ready for bed" routine (brush teeth, etc.) I start to get anxious, can't focus on completing the tasks, sometimes I roll my head around and flap my hands. It can take me an hour and I don't do anything like remove make-up etc. I have valium and/or ambien I can take; I choose depending on how anxious I get. Once in bed I read until I cannot keep my eyes open and often, if I haven't chosen Ambien, and sometimes if I have, I WAKE UP IN A PANIC, crying, saying "no", shaking my head. I use a CPAP machine so the panic is not a result of apnea. I've also had pretty thorough psych exams that show no likely history of hidden sexual trauma. Mostly I think it is that the part of my brain that really hates my life can finally have its say... I've talked to my pdoc and my therapist about this, they've no ideas.
2. My second problem I haven't spoken to anyone about. I've developed a sex addiction. Actually, I try to hint at it when I tell my doc that it is like I am a teenager again and I can't make myself do anything I am supposed to do. I attribute the addiction to 1) increased muscle tension from the amphetamines and 2) decreased inhibitory control because of the Lamictal. But I can't blame it completely on Lamictal -- I'd been taking Tegretol before I switched to Lamictal and I had the same problem then. But I did not have the problem when I was not taking any sort of anti-seizure med. (Now, of course my husband doesn't mind, but he doesn't know the extent. I am an "at home" mom; I am completely faithful to him and so far I'm not having to hide credit card charges from him...) I just find it quite ironic that after years of using all sorts of drugs (illegal when I was younger, legal for maybe 20 years) this is the only thing I've ever been able to see as an addiction (it hurts others, etc.)
I've started taking valium earlier in the evening to see if that helps with the bedtime anxiety. It doesn't. Valium might help with the muscle-tension part of the addiction, but it wouldn't improve anything on the "Why work today? I'm not going to do stuff just because others need me to" attitude I've got! My pdoc DID ask me if I'd taken any med I thought might help me become more motivated, but I couldn't think of any.
Thanks for listening.
poster:leslieg
thread:1013428
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120316/msgs/1013428.html