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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Guy on December 23, 2006, at 21:35:09
After weeks of extreme anxiety and suicidal feelings, I finally decided to go back on Zyprexa at 10 mg. After only two days I'm back in the saddle and planning on going skiing with my family in the Rockies. It all comes down to sleep...insomnia just slays me. I know the Zyprexa side effects will make me feel crappy over the long haul, and probably drive me to some other med soon, but for now I'm happy to have stepped back from the grave. Life on meds sure ain't easy! Wishing everyone peace and happiness during the holiday season and hopefully beyond.
Guy
Posted by notfred on December 23, 2006, at 23:02:30
In reply to Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by Guy on December 23, 2006, at 21:35:09
What other treatments/medications have you tried for sleep ?
Posted by ronaldo on December 24, 2006, at 4:47:12
In reply to Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by Guy on December 23, 2006, at 21:35:09
Hello Guy
I'm glad that Zyprexa has come to the rescue.
I have a couple of questions from a previous thread that you might be able to answer for me, please.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20061010/msgs/712670.html
If you can see your way clear to answer this for me I will be very grateful.
Enjoy your skiing.
ronaldo
> After weeks of extreme anxiety and suicidal feelings, I finally decided to go back on Zyprexa at 10 mg. After only two days I'm back in the saddle and planning on going skiing with my family in the Rockies. It all comes down to sleep...insomnia just slays me. I know the Zyprexa side effects will make me feel crappy over the long haul, and probably drive me to some other med soon, but for now I'm happy to have stepped back from the grave. Life on meds sure ain't easy! Wishing everyone peace and happiness during the holiday season and hopefully beyond.
>
> Guy
Posted by shasling on December 24, 2006, at 6:45:01
In reply to Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by Guy on December 23, 2006, at 21:35:09
Guy,
Thats great, im so glad the zyprexa is helping again and that you have opted to go skiing after all. I hope you have a great time and that the good effects of the zyprexa manage to outweigh the bad for some time.
Suzie
Posted by Guy on December 24, 2006, at 11:00:58
In reply to Re: Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by notfred on December 23, 2006, at 23:02:30
Doxepin, remeron, and clonazepam all help me sleep, but not as well as Zyprexa.
Posted by Guy on December 24, 2006, at 11:15:46
In reply to Re: Saved by Zyprexa...again » Guy, posted by ronaldo on December 24, 2006, at 4:47:12
Ronaldo, I thought I answered this previously, but here goes again. In the past I have been able to switch directly from 10 mg Zyprexa to 100 mg doxepin. I would feel terrible for a couple of days, but then things would straighten out. The main thing is that I would still be able to sleep. Unfortunately, doxepin does not help me with panic so eventually I end up taking clonazepam to address that problem and that in turn tends to disrupt my sleep. Now, for me, it is very hard to quit doxepin due to the rebound insomnia, so in the past I have switched from the doxepin to 30 mg remeron and then weaned off of that. Yes, lots of nights with very little sleep and also the usual panic...but I have on a couple of occasions been totally med free. But then the panic returns full force and I am basically forced back on meds. So to conclude, if I didn't have this panic problem, I would be able to stop Zyprexa by switching first to the doxepin, then to Remeron, and then right off all meds. Hope this helps.
Guy
Posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 13:20:17
In reply to To Ronaldo, posted by Guy on December 24, 2006, at 11:15:46
Ask your doctor about trazedone. Doxapin and remeron will help sleep, but maybe the noradrenergic side effects are causing panic.
Linkadge
Posted by ronaldo on December 24, 2006, at 14:53:20
In reply to Re: To Ronaldo, posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 13:20:17
Hi Linkadge
As luck would have it I have some trazodone 100 mg capsules in my medicine cabinet. How much do I take and what time? I normally fall asleep about 11 pm/11.30 pm. I have previously tried them for sleep but they did not work for me; made me wake up at 4 am but I managed to go back to sleep again. Tried if for 2 nights and decided I was better off without it. Maybe I was not taking enough? I took 50 mg for a couple of nights which didn't exactly work out and then I took 100 mg for a couple of nights. Then I abandoned the experiment. Can you suggest a different way of going about it?
My other meds are 900 mg Lithium and 3.75 mg Zyprexa taken at 9.30 pm. I don't suffer from panic at present.
Thanks
ronaldo
> Ask your doctor about trazedone. Doxapin and remeron will help sleep, but maybe the noradrenergic side effects are causing panic.
>
> Linkadge
Posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 15:10:11
In reply to Re: To Ronaldo » linkadge, posted by ronaldo on December 24, 2006, at 14:53:20
Its possable that trazodone was not working because of the lithium.
Lithium affects serotonin. If I take too many serotonergic meds I can't sleep.
If it is going to work for sleep, generally it does so in the range of 25-100mg.
For some people it works great for sleep, but for others it doesn't work so well.
Not sure exactly.
Linkadge
Posted by blueberry1 on December 24, 2006, at 15:27:47
In reply to Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by Guy on December 23, 2006, at 21:35:09
Yeah, I've tried going without zyprexa twice and I ended up going back to it. No appetite, poor sleep, fear, severe anxiety. It was worse than lousy. I feel like zyprexa has me kind of trapped. I have managed to wean down to 1.25mg though.
Trazadone was mentioned. That sounds like a good idea.
Posted by ronaldo on December 24, 2006, at 15:48:01
In reply to Re: To Ronaldo, posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 15:10:11
Posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 16:07:10
In reply to Re: Saved by Zyprexa...again, posted by blueberry1 on December 24, 2006, at 15:27:47
Have you ever tried trazodone blueberry?
Linkadge
Posted by blueberry1 on December 24, 2006, at 17:36:36
In reply to Re: Saved by Zyprexa...again » blueberry1, posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 16:07:10
Nope. Never tried traz. The closest thing to traz that I've tried is serzone and remeron.
Posted by linkadge on December 24, 2006, at 19:36:45
In reply to Re: Saved by Zyprexa...again » linkadge, posted by blueberry1 on December 24, 2006, at 17:36:36
How did you find serzone?
Trazedone is a different beast. I found trazodone a much more positive experience then remeron.
Rem made me irritable and the sedation didn't leave till the afternoon.
Trazodone was good for sleep but was out of my system earlier.
I'd put it on your list of things to try. If it worked for sleep it'd likely be much more tollerable than zyprexa.
Linkadge
This is the end of the thread.
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