![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sheilac on January 8, 2013, at 8:27:43
Right now the only med I am taking is Trileptal.
150mg Trileptal in morning and 300mg Trileptal at dinner.
I feel more alert during the day and the lesser dose of morning Trileptal is helping me not be so depressed. (Higher doses of Trileptal give me depression).
The problem is I have terrible insomnia. I'm not sure what to do.
I slept great when I used to take Lithium at night with Trileptal, but I was afraid the Lithium (even at 150- 300mg a day) was causing nodules on my thyroid to grow, so I stopped the Trileptal.
I'm not getting much sleep, and when I wake up I feel groggy and my muscles twitch. I hate it, I feel shaky and twitchy. Then I start the cycle of drinking coffee to wake up.
I'm not having depression, but am having anxiety.
I'm wondering if just adding back nightime Lithium would help.
I need sleep.
Posted by Phillipa on January 8, 2013, at 10:00:02
In reply to Less meds, insomnia, etc., posted by sheilac on January 8, 2013, at 8:27:43
Sheila you have stopped a lot of meds haven't you? Could the coffee be contributing to the lace of sleep. I also would be concerned with thyroid nodules as they can change to ca over time. What's your doc say? Phillipa
Posted by herpills on January 8, 2013, at 16:43:57
In reply to Less meds, insomnia, etc., posted by sheilac on January 8, 2013, at 8:27:43
Sorry you are not getting good sleep! I have bipolar myself and I have learned that getting PERFECT sleep is one of the most important parts of my treatment. I have found things like diphenhydramine and melatonin work just as well as anything I'm going to get from the doctor. In fact Ambien keeps me awake which is so strange!
Is the Trileptal working well enough for your mood symptoms? I tried Trileptal once but it made my depression worse. herpills
Posted by sheilac on January 9, 2013, at 14:28:33
In reply to Re: Less meds, insomnia, etc. » sheilac, posted by herpills on January 8, 2013, at 16:43:57
Phillipa - yes, I have stopped a lot of meds! I think my doc wanted me to just try Trileptal and Lamictal.
Lamictal was making me way too hyper. It is a great antidepressant, but the hypomania it gave me was a little too much to deal with.
Trileptal is great. If I go to 600mg or more I get terribly depressed. It is awful how badly depressed it makes me. Sometimes 600mg is ok, but I feel like a zombie with no motivation and focus. So I've dropped back to 450mg a day and it works great. I can think more clearly during my day and I don't experience depression.
BUT, she also had me stop Klonopin, which I think was a mistake. I still have anxiety and the Klonopin really addressed that.
I did love low dose Lithium, but even my endocrinologist wasn't crazy about me being on it, especially since in just over a 6 month period I had a nodule grow in size and had to have a biopsy. But is wasn't cancerous. But I really think the Lithium is what made the nodule grow bigger.
I see my Pdoc tomorrow and I think by just adding back in some Klonopin it might help with anxiety and with sleep. I have a terrible time relaxing enough to fall asleep. Once I get to sleep I'm great. So, I think I just have some anxiety which if addressed could help me fall asleep.
Another thing that contributes to my anxiety is my inhaler for my asthma. But, the problem is, I can't switch to a lesser inhaler because my asthma gets too bad, so I think the steroid in my inhaler revs me up and brings on more anxiety.
I have tried Melatonin and benedryl and they do help, but I have to take them about an hour or more before bed in order to feel sleepy enough to actually fall asleep. I also have to take my Trileptal early (around 5 or 6 at night) because it makes to pee a lot, so if I take it late I'm up all night going to the bathroom!
We'll see what she says tomorrow!
Posted by Phillipa on January 9, 2013, at 21:15:27
In reply to Herpills + Phillipa..., posted by sheilac on January 9, 2013, at 14:28:33
Sheila definitely the asthma inhaler will do this. Sorry you can't not use it. Yes something to sleep will help. Also have you tried a heating pad under your back and reading a bit in bed. I do this nightly and it does relax me. Phillipa
Posted by sheilac on January 10, 2013, at 8:07:20
In reply to Re: Herpills + Phillipa... » sheilac, posted by Phillipa on January 9, 2013, at 21:15:27
Phillipa, you're right. Reading in bed does help. I haven't done this in a long time, I should try it again.
Posted by Phillipa on January 10, 2013, at 18:45:10
In reply to Re: Phillipa..., posted by sheilac on January 10, 2013, at 8:07:20
Did you try and did it work? Hoping so. Phillipa
Posted by Sheilac on January 11, 2013, at 12:39:46
In reply to Re: Phillipa... » sheilac, posted by Phillipa on January 10, 2013, at 18:45:10
My doc added back klonopin and it worked like a charm. I finally got a good nights sleep.
I did incorporate some better sleep habits, such as putting away all electronics after dinner (no cell phone, texting or tablet).
Since I'm a slow metabolizer of some meds, I have to take both Trileptal and klonopin at dinner in order for them to work for me at night.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.