Posted by bob on April 22, 2000, at 2:37:15
In reply to Re: most sedating a-d's, posted by KarenB on April 22, 2000, at 0:56:38
Hi Paul,
All the time I've been on nortriptyline, it hasn't been so sedating that it's put me to sleep ... well, only when I jumped from 75mg (augmenting zoloft) to 150mg (dumped zoloft and made it my main AD). I'd fall asleep if I stood still for 30 seconds, right there on my feet. That only lasted a week or so. I've never had much in terms of side-effects (thank goodness!) from nortrip at all. As always, your mileage may vary. Given your aversion to SSRIs (zoloft and paxil), a TCA like nortrip might work better for you anyway. Disturbed sleep can be a symptom of depression (as opposed to wanting to sleep all the time), so if you find a med that's a better match for you that may take care of the problem as much as hoping for a desired side effect.
There are other meds you can take to address the sleeplessness itself, too. I'm sure others will chime in once they realize sedation is what you WANT, not what you want to avoid. For me, the one med that knocked me out consistently was perphenazine, an antipsychotic med I was taking tiny amounts of to help with side effects from wellbutrin. Neuroleptic meds like that are not necessarily things you want to take long term. While rare at the level I was on, they can have some nasty permanent side effects (Tardive Dyskinesia, to be precise).
cheers,
bob[then again, seeing as its 3:30 AM, maybe I'm not the one to be offering advice on getting to sleep!]
poster:bob
thread:30915
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/30929.html