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I'll get to the coinciding physical symptoms eventually. I have always had trouble sleeping through most of the night like the majority of people do with ease and very naturally sleep through the majority of the day when most people are awake. I honestly have always preferred not to see the morning (I find it utterly depressing) except I am obligated to get places like doctor's appointments, stores, and restaurants before they close for the day and I would like the be awake and ready to leave my home by the early afternoon on a consistent basis. Since I was 12 years old, my addiction to being nocturnal and having an abnormal or irregular circadian rhythm has gotten progressively worse. So much to the point where I will fall asleep as the sun is rising and wake up when it's setting or it will be dark again by the time I wake up! I am being deprived of too many things, missing doctor's appointments, or not being able to get my car to the auto mechanic before he / she closes for an oil change. I eventually want to get a part-time job (currently living on SSI) and i imagine that my job would take place in the late afternoon or the evening shift but how could I even hold down a job that was a full-blown a graveyard shift under these circumstances!? My insomnia which can be attributed to the fact that I was formerly diagnosed with bipolar 1 with psychotic features and am now diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, ocd, and add (possibly adhd). Sometimes if I stay awake later than I really want to (preferably between 1 and 3am to be able to wake up by the early afternoon) then I will just remain awake into the next day in order to guarantee that I will make the appointment or obligation and get to it in a state of sheer exhaustion barely able to follow the doctor or specialist as they're explaining things to me. Sometimes I have gone two or even three nights in a row without getting any shuteye because the appearance of it being nighttime awakens me. The only time that my insomnia (but not the sleep apnea or chronic migraines) was under better control was when I was on court ordered injections which were anti-psychotics and along with outright despising the process of getting those injections, I had a plethora of other side effects like akathisia (inability to sit still), lethargy, fatigue, sedation, and severe weight gain at the same time. I've been on Latuda 20mg for a couple of years now with little to no side effects and I plan to stay on it and never be subjected to having to take anti-psychotic injections ever again after my experiences with them when I had to involuntarily take them by court order. Now I also have some other issues going on in addition to the insomnia and nocturnal sleep cycle. I have ehlers-danlos syndrome type 3. I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea after a sleep study ordered by my pulmonologist in the beginning of 2018 shortly after I got off of the anti-psychotic injections and I was 308 pounds (my heaviest ever weight, my height is 5'8). As of December 2019, my weight is 281 and I've been at a weight set-point since the end of 2018 where my weight is no longer fluctuating anymore (cannot easily lose or gain weight). I hated the mask / cpap machine or was cpap intolerant and sent it back to the surgical supply company within a couple of weeks. My ENT is not recommending the oral surgery or UPPP procedure because of how severe the sleep apnea is and I don't want a tracheotomy. He said that I'm too obese to use Inspire. I can't find an oral surgeon who does maxillomandibular advancement surgery. The obstructive sleep apnea and tmj syndrome which I've suffered from for over a decade combined are giving me chronic migraines and still sometimes when I take my prescription strength pain relievers from my rheumatologist. I wake up feeling like I was hit by an 18-wheeler stumbling to the bathroom sink with my eyelids glued together (look up the medical term blepharitis, I get that in my sleep too). Sometimes the migraines are so bad that I will force myself to eat and drink a small amount and take something like Excedrin PM or other types of nighttime pain relievers and fall back asleep and wake up again slightly less messed up because I had more rest even later in the day. Another major problem is that even if I somehow get a better nights sleep one night, the next night I will be so energized once it gets dark that I will do another all-nighter until the sun is coming up and the cycle or revolving door starts all over again. I used to be prescribed sedatives like Trazadone and Clonazepam but my new psychiatrist (been seeing her for a little over a year) insisted that I come off of them until the sleep apnea was successfully treated because me taking them before going to sleep with that medical condition was too dangerous. I recently found a dental sleep specialist hours away from where I live which designs oral appliances specifically for treating sleep apnea and tmj syndrome and I've been trying to set up an evaluation but they are forcing me to do another sleep study at home because the last one I did at the sleep lab was in March 2018. I recently went to my local CVS and picked up generic Benadryl or diphenhydramine 50mg and I found something recently at 7-Eleven called doxylamine succinate which is labeled as a strong sleep aid. I am sleeping with a wedge pillow and I eventually want to invest in a bed with an adjustable mattress to keep myself on an incline. If anyone else has any input that you think could be helpful on how I could fend off the insomnia and be less nocturnal on a consistent basis, it would be appreciated.

Weird, like reading here and other forums, they say it is almost like a magic pill, that they put into sleep instantly, some others say it has the potential of distorted perspective like on DXM but in a relaxing way. I just started last week and i barely see benefits from it. The first night with one 10 mg, a little excited for how would be the effects on me, but 20 minutes later and nothing, then half an hour nothing, soy i eat another 10 mg, so a total of 20, i just felt very mild effects like i've taken valerian or some other herb but i slept, not immediatly but i did. This night i abused, i have to confess i was desperate but never again, so i took one and snorted another one at the same time and again like sugar pill, then ate another one and the 4th one sublingual, so a total of 40 mg, it's a strong dose, and here i am...6:33 in the morning and zero sleep, i had to take 2 mg of clonazepam but i decided better not to sleep, that clona really helps me always, but i prefered not to sleep and start my day, i dont wanna mess with my schedule and drink my coffee, going later to walk, clean the house or read something. Btw today i have the appointment with my psychiatrist and tell him my situation, either prescribe me something else like amitriptyline or stay with my quetiapine and clonazepam, just wanted to augment that combo, but let's see....

I've had sleep troubles while on zyprexa, is that because it isn't indicated for people with concomitant insomnia?? I wouldn't sleep on it, or i would sleep for like 10-12 hours. Because of that and because my current regimen isn't working as much is there any way to take it PRN low dose if i talk to the doctor about it? Because I can take it like once or twice and it doesn't affect my sleep.

Hi everyone. I’ve been bouncing from one trial of medication to another for the past 4 1/2 years with adverse reactions. Nothing has helped. I just saw a new psychiatrist on Monday. An older gentleman who actually seemed to listen. He was also a longtime professor our local university. My symptoms are treatment resistant insomnia, chronic, severe anxiety, chronic derealization, ocd (pure o) racing, intrusive thoughts (often presenting as songs looping in my head, but a switch can also go off in my head where I obsessively think about something to the point of it driving me crazy) brain fog, depression. My body and brown simply will not turn off. I’m stuck in constant fight/flight. I believe the lack of sleep is the catalyst for most of this (all of this started after sudden onset of insomnia) Maybe it wouldn’t go away with sleep, but I know it would get better. My main goal is sleep, but seems unattainable after 4 1/2 years. I have tried every medication under the sun (well, mostly) The doctor decided to prescribe provigil (modafinil) which seems counterintuitive to me. He was clear that it could go either way. Possible that it could calm me down, possible that it could let me up and make my symptoms worse. Luckily for me, since I am highly sensitive to medication, he is quite conservative and said to only start with roughly 1/16 of a pill to see how I do. Wondering what your thoughts are on this given my symptoms? Seems counterintuitive...but maybe it will help. So confused.

Hi everyone. I’ve been dealing with unbearable symptoms for over 4 years. Insomnia, racing thoughts (OCD), derealization, irritability, brain fog and depression. I have tried so many medications, but none help. My insomnia and anxiety are through the roof and I have 24/7 derealization. Years ago, 2007, when I was struggling with depression, my psych talked about starting an MAOI, but we instead we added geodon to Zoloft and it worked (for awhile) Long story short, I developed sudden onset ruminating thoughts (in form of OCD), insomnia and Anxiety in 2009. After many trials of meds (I’m adverse and paradoxical to most) I finally was put on remeron which got me sleeping again and in turn helped my other symptoms. From 2010-October 2014 I did relatively well, that is until remeron stopped working and all my symptoms came back. Since I have been inpatient several times trying every sleeping med , bipolar med, SSRI etc with no relief. Mom wondering if an MAOI could help me? Can MAOI’s treat anxiety? Racy brain? I’ve read they can make insomnia worse, which I don’t need. Symptoms: severe insomnia, lucid dreams/nightmares, 24/7 derealization, severe anxiety and panic, major depression, brain fog, dizziness, migraines. I believe, like in 2009-2010, many of my symptoms are from sleep deprivation. I am very desperate to get control over my anxiety and sleep. I’m at the end of my rope. Could an MAOI help me as a last ditch effort to get some kind of quality of life back? Current meds: weaning off Zoloft, weaning off remeron, geodon 20 mg X2, Ativan 5 mg per day (please don’t jump down my throat about this, it will give me a panic attack. I know it’s a high dose and I need to taper this too), prazosin 2 mg. TIA

Hi all. I saw my (worthless psychiatrist today- I’m seeing a new one in March) I suffer from severe anxiety and panic, OCD (ruminating thoughts, racing thoughts, intrusive thoughts), derealization, severe insomnia, agitation and depression. I have tried many many medications. Nothing has helped. I specifically went to talk about trying Nardil today. She’s willing to let me try this, but will have to go off Zoloft and remeron for 2 weeks which scares me. Then if Nardil doesn’t help/work, I’d have to wait another 2 weeks to get back on something else. She offhandedly asked if I had ever tried rixulti and I told her no. So she pulled out a sample pack for me. I’ve been reading reviews of drugs.com, and it seems that it helps many people with depression, but makes OCD, anxiety, agitation and insomnia worse. Doesn’t sound like a good medication for me. Was hoping for some thoughts on this. TIA

Latuda is off the table for now due to the weird reaction. We were considering Depakote, but psych doc just called and nixed that idea due to my NAFLD and chronic hyperammonia issues. So, he wants me to start back on Zyprexa tonight and to call him tomorrow to see how I am doing. He has been calling me daily over the past two weeks. Several neighbors are suggesting assisted living, but my psych doc is saying no way, I'm not at that stage yet. However, my mother started dementia at my age, but his position in this is that when on Zyprexa, it cures the confusion and other debilitating symptoms at least for awhile. He says that if I had early dementia, I would not respond to the Zyprexa as well as I do. My neighbors are now concerned due to my inability to think straight and confusion which they are picking up on. I have known this for sometime and have expressed my concern many times over my brain feeling like it is falling apart and unable to function in the real world. Finally my psych doc is taking me seriously. Dissociation is with me all day long, extreme anxiety and fear/panic/dread all day long, confusion is there all day long, just feeling unwell with these chronic migraines is keeping me in bed 3 days out of 5 days. This is not a functioning life for me. I am afraid to leave my apartment, I am afraid to hear from my neighbors that I am confused and not functioning well. These daily reports are just overwhelming me. I now turn off my phone, close my blinds and live in a shroud of secrecy. I will be seeing my headache/neurologist/seizure doc this week and will bring this up to him as well. I hope I can make the appointment. Just sitting here after taking .5 mg of Klonopin to take the edge off. Will start the Zyprexa this evening or sooner. Just a few points about my environment. Two neighbor threatened my life here (verbally), neighbors that I get close to pass away suddenly (one right in front of me) (I live in an independent living facility and I am the youngest here - most have varying degrees of psychosis/dementia - hard to live with). I went to a party last week and I sat alone at my table while others crowded around with each other excluding me. I left and came home very depressed. I am an easy target where I live, bullies come after me. I have no trust with anyone who lives here anymore. Have been here a year and can't connect with anyone, very depressing, so I stay alone in my apartment. I do not drive and with my agoraphobia, leaving my home and venturing out alone is very very scary to me. Just not a life that I want to keep living. I have to get on something to help calm down my brain so I can function in the world. I have been on most medications now and nothing works or the side effects are too harsh. It's just becoming too hard now to function in this world. Well, thanks for reading *smiles*

My psych doc has called two times to see if I started on the Latuda. I haven't. I originally wanted to wait until the Seroquel and Pamelor left my system before I started anything new. That was 3 weeks ago. Now experiencing inking in of paranoia, insomnia, fear, anxiety, depression, more migraine and it's preventing me from starting Latuda. I have some key appointments I have to keep between now and the end of the month that I absolutely cannot cancel. I don't want to start Latuda and experience overwhelming side effects that will scare me from leaving my home to make these appointments. However, living in agony with these symptoms is horrible and I know I need to start on the Latuda. After todays appointment, I will have 10 business days until my next appointment, I could take a small sample and see how I react for a few days. I'm also still spending like crazy, have maxed out all my credit cards, applied for more. I know I am doing this to comfort myself. However, I am now sending back more than half what I am buying, but I am in trouble with one credit card. I called my bank and asked for help and they agreed to suspend my credit card until I get it under the credit limit. All this spending started after I watched my neighbor pass away and since then I have not been doing my daily walk because the only path I can use with my rollator is right where she passed away. I just haven't been able to get myself beyond this. I tried starting with a trauma therapist but that ended badly, she wanted me to discuss my past traumas in detail during the first and second meeting and half way thru the second meeting I flew out of her room having a panic attack. I kept warning her I needed to work on grounding and she wouldn't, so won't go back. She hasn't called to see why I haven't been back, so will let that one go. I'm a basket case right now.

I have been titrating lamictal, was at 25 for 2 weeks, and just started 50 today. I have been having increasingly worse sleep, and the past few nights couldn't sleep without taking klonipin, and still woke in the middle of the night. My question is could this be a temporary side effect that goes away once I am on a therapeutic dose for awhile? I have called my pdoc to see if they can subscribe something to help me sleep. I also take zyprexa (which usually helps sleep but not anymore) and gabapentin. Very stressed out bc I really want lamictal to work for my bipolar depression, and so far no other side effects. I feel like my mood is already better and things are going well except for the sleep issue. Thanks for any input!

This is what I go thru every day from the moment I wake up: anxiety throughout the day, uncontrollable anxiety and panic only when I leave my home, dissociation in times of high stress and high anxiety and panic, insomnia every night, daily depression, scary cycling mood swings. My psych doc called me on a Saturday afternoon (now this doc is semi-retired and only works 3 days a week now). I was shocked when I saw his name come up on caller ID. He was calling to suggest I go into the hospital until I become stabilized. Stabilized in one week, no way I say. It's gonna take time for that to happen. He said with the dissociation and everything else I am going thru on a daily basis he is worried I might self harm. I assured him I am not at that point and he knows that I call him when I need to go back in, plus I have a new kitten and don't want anyone in my home anyway. I think I can manage all this at home. I will be seeing him on Tuesday. That was soo out of character for him to call me like that, kinda got my attention and am I worse off then I realize. I have known him for 30+ years and he knows me well, so I have to trust his direction. His concern is that I am in the middle of a perfect storm and anything can happen and he worries that if anything triggers me I might not be able to control what happens to me. Then several neighbors stopped by to see if I was okay as they have not seen me last week, curtains have remained closed, not answering phones nor texts. I know I have been avoiding alot of neighbors now as I am selectively avoiding those that trigger me and those that knocked on my door I call them "the axis of terror" for what they have been known to do to other people here. So, I had their phones on block. I have been protecting myself while I work on medication and mood and it's nobody's business. Had a game of RummyKub set up for this evening and really looked forward to this all week, and everyone just canceled, really bummed about that. I have had no interest in bath, washing my hair, eating. I can't focus on TV, can't read, nor listen to my book tapes. No interest in anything, I am soo flooded with anxiety/panic. My HMO has restricted how many benzos I take, I have been on Klonopin for 30 years and that takes the edge off, but have to stock pile them due to the restrictions and delays in getting the medication to me, so had to cut back and that makes my anxiety worse. So, back to my psych doc. The plan is to keep me on Seroquel (1/2 of a 25 mg) at night for sleep and for mood control for now during the day until I see him next week. It just sedates me too much if I take more than 1/2 of 25 mg in a 24 hour period. But the Seroquel puts the breaks on mood cycling, I just can't tolerate the side effects, they never go away, just increase. So, I am going to suggest to him for sleep (I want to get off Seroquel due to over sedation and muscle rigidity), Ambien or Trazodone. I read up that Trazodone helps with insomnia, panic, migraine. Then I need a mood stabilizer/seizure medication so may go back on Depakote and Xanax for rescue from intense anxiety/panic. I don't want to go back on Lithium. Goal for the day, making my bed and taking a bath, maybe washing my hair.

Anyone here have any recommendations for a soft soothing "pink noise" machine? someone mentioned this the other day, and i wasn't sure the difference between pink vs white noise (maybe just marketing ploy). I need something to block out very subtle electrical-type noises (noises that seem loud at night - like the whirring of a refrigerator, or a neighbors appliance, for example. But some white noise machines (like at therapist offices) are too loud. Ear plugs are not comfortable for me, or they fall out of my ears when sleeping.

I want to try Nortriptyline again, but my psych doc is hesitant. He prescribed me Seroquel and Abilify but my pharmacist refused to fill them, advising not to take them together at my age (67). I used to take Pamelor for 30 years and where it did nothing for depression, it controlled anxiety, panic disorders and managed migraine. Waiting to hear back from my psych doc today if he will approve Nortriptyline. I need to sleep. I need something to help with agoraphobia, terrible anxiety and panic. Everything I take activates anxiety and panic. Leaving my home is a battle with fear. Thank you.

Just got a phone call from my pharmacist. She will not fill the Seroquel and Abilify together due to the black box warning about prolonged QT interval causing sudden death. Any of these class of medications, she is urging that I have an EEG to see how my heart is doing before starting any of them. I am 67. I need to be able to sleep and insomnia is a big player in my life. Seroquel helps me sleep, but pharmacist does not want me to mix Seroquel with anything else in any category. So, will stop the Seroquel tonight, only have been on this for 3 days, so I shouldn't have any adverse effects. I do have GAD and panic disorder with insomnia. She did fill Abilify for me, but that is activating (prior experience). I need something to counterbalance the anxiety it provokes and the insomnia. I asked her to check Pamelor, a trycyclic antidepressant and it is not recommended for anyone over 65, only due to sedation issues. I was on Pamelor for 30 years about 10 years ago and went off of it due to having interactions with other medications. I tried to go back on it this year while on Zonegran but it interacted with that medication. I am now off of Zonegran due to a kidney stone. I do feel that Pamelor is the best for my GAD and does aid with sleep. Now that I am a senior trying to take medication I am finding all these obstacles. Reaching out to this community to see if anyone has any suggestions or had experience combining Seroquel an d Abilify. Thanks

Does anyone else find that the days you take your stimulant, you sleep like baby at night and wake up refreshed? I do! I'm so happy that I am finally getting restful and conistent sleep with the help of Adderall. I take 10mg IR once in the morning and sometimes I take a second dose around lunch or dinner. I was reading good article abut it. Let me get the link. It's from Tuck.com. If it's accurate information, it seems very informative. https://www.tuck.com/stimulants-and-sleep/

Hello again friends. It has been a few years. I was HaloGirl66. Or IndyMode. I can't remember. But I re-registered because I couldn't recover my old user info. I've had severe insomnia, ADHD, GAD & Migraines for years and am now going through a bipolar diagnosis. So hello again. -Mandy

So I have been on xanax 1mg two to three times daily for about 1-1.5 years now; Paxil is great and I don't need xanax when on paxil but it makes me manic as hell so that isn't really an option. Been thinking whether Zoloft would be any different.... Anyway, still on xanax same dosage, but just doubled my valium from 10mg at night to 20mg at night because I was waking up from sleep with difficulty breathing and panic symptoms. I asked to try ativan, eliminate the antipsychotic i use for sleep mainly since ativan 2mg really helps with insomnia, and get rid of the valium. Well she said lets try increasing the valium first then we will go from there. Valium honestly does nothing for me. At 10mg I legit feel nothing. It takes at least 40-60mg for minimal anxiety relief. I respect its long half-life but if it's not benefiting much for sleep, or other anxiety problems in the morning I feel like why should I continue it. Switching to ativan 2mg at bedtime could get me off valium and saphris for sleep (would love to not be on an antipsychotic mainly for sleep anyway). Ativan very little to no next day drowsiness, cognitive impairment, lethargy, flat mood. Refreshing sleep is what ativan gives me. Any ideas why the dr might be pushing for valium instead even after I explained it doesn't help for sleep, for anxiety, only thing it is good for is if i dont take my xanax for 1-2 weeks and I wont have a seizure, but my neurologist said lamital should cover that since it's an anticonvulsant. I don't know whether to stay on 2 benzos as the same time, whether it's xanax and valium or xanax and ativan, or to ask for an increase in xanax to maybe 5-6mg/day in divided doses, maybe 2mg twice per day and 1mg once per day, or 2mg 3x a day. My neurologist said if you need to be on these types of medications than it is warranted and pretty much OK in my case. Klonopin sucks, not as much as valium, but it does barely anything for anxiety, esp. panic, or sleep. Makes me have a depressed mood actually, while xanax uplifts my mood and helps me enjoy life without having anxious mood and panic attack symptoms. Ativan just makes me drowsy so I prefer that for sleep. My main question is regarding how i could proceed. Adding ativan, stopping valium maybe saphris, or upping xanax dose and being on only one benzodiazepine. I do have a tolerance so higher doses than 1mg sometimes are needed to stop anticipatory anxiety, avoidance anxiety, and esp. panic attacks. Restoril doesn't help with sleep surprisingly. Never tried triazolam but would love to due to its short half-life and potency/efficacy for insomnia, but my dr thinks it wouldn't be a good idea. Dr says stims may be increasing my anxiety but don't think that is the case. Really want an effective benzo combo or pick to be on xanax only, just at a higher dose. My parents think its crazy to take 3 xanax a day but it's what helps and lets me live life. Somtimes i take more than prescribed because 1mg will not help my symptoms. I just want to be on a stable dose, whether its xanax 3mg xr 1x daily with 1mg 3x daily or 2mg 3x daily. Something has got to give, and the hardest part is even bringing up increasing my xanax dose with my dr because of its bad reputation since everyone seems to abuse it nowadays. I'm ready to take a trip to mexico and take a visit to their pharmacies...

I am 22 y/o and have filed for SSI twice. The first time I got denied I didn't appeal within 60 days so I had to apply all over again. Now I am going through to extensive appeal process and no lawyer seems to want to help me. They claim since I am young, I almost need to have schizophrenia or an autistic/spectrum disorder to be able to actually be approved and get benefits otherwise it is going to be very hard to get SSI. Now here are some of the facts of my case. I was fired from my job last November due to "no call, no show" because I was in a bipolar depressive episode where I literally didn't leave my room but maybe 5x to make a microwave meal and shower once. This episode lasted a little bit shy of 2 weeks. So for my 3 no call, no shows I was terminated from my job at University. I asked if they would accept a physician's note explaining my circumstances but the manager actually refused documentation, saying "No it's not necessary, I don't need that". She also said that I should have called and at least have told her what was going on so she knew I couldn't come in, but let's be real guys, doing that during a severe bipolar depressive episode is like writing a PhD dissertation in less than a day. So I applied for unemployment and get a denial letter saying I am denied benefits of $50/week because they contacted my former employer and was told I was terminated for misconduct. So that was the end of that. I had applied for SSI last year around August I would say and was denied 1st time. Re-applied December and got denial letter again, this time on Feb. 8th stating "your conditions are not severe enough for you not to work. You are capable of substantial gainful activity". Yet on my listed disabilities I listed epilepsy (reoccurring grand-mal seizures), bipolar disorder NOS, insomnia NOS, ADHD, generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, manic episodes, social anxiety disorder, delayed sleep phase syndrome, and listed all the medications I was on and how some of them has side effects that were impairing themselves. Has anyone here who is young actually gotten approved for SSI benefits? If so, how many times did it take for you to finally get approved and did you use a lawyer to help you through the process? Also, if you don't mind, what conditions/disabilities did you report to them that you believed qualified you for SSI or SSDI? I can't apply for SSDI because I don't have enough work credits so I can only apply for SSI. This whole process kinda sucks and is difficult especially for people with disabilities. So frustrating.

I realize that I have been having a bad physical reaction to remeron since I started taking it near the end of November. I am currently taking 7.5 mg, cutting down from 15 mg two weeks ago. I was wondering if anyone had stopped taking remeron after being on a 7.5 mg dose or do you need to break that in half? I was also wondering if anyone had gone from remeron to seroquel? I am already having a hard time sleeping and was thinking about going back to my old 50 mg seroquel dose at night instead of the remeron. I will see nurse practitioner on Monday but wanted to hear experiences from other people.

Hi all. I hope you can help me or give me some advice. I quit klonopin and gabapentin (first tapered one and then the other) and since then nothing but constant panic attacks anxiety and no appetite. The reason I stopped these was because I could not eat anything and I wasn't sure which med was the culprit. I recently read that gabapentin can cause loss of appetite and figure this med is the problem. I tapered from 1500mg/day to 600mg. I took 600mg last night and my doc told me I could go ahead and take 300mg tonight and be done with it. He told me that I should take each lowered dose for 3 days until I was down to 600mg. I have one day left and then within 40 hours it should be out of my system. I've been on gabapentin a few months starting with 600mg and going up slowly but ever since starting I have had trouble eating. I thought it was my anxiety but now I'm not sure. My current meds are only Effexor and ativan prn. I've tapered everything that wasn't having any significant effect. I know for sure that Effexor works for my depression. I've been on it for probably 15 years and I doubt it's causing my appetite issues. Thank you.

My girlfriend has gone as much as 8 days without sleep. The hospital she stayed at finally had to give her propofol to put her down. Is this normal?

So I am in quite a nasty situation. Over 3 months ago I was able to kick my addiction to heroin with therapy and Suboxone. Also, I successfully got my bipolar II under control with Lithium ER 900mg and Seroquel XR 300mg. For the last 6 weeks I am having fragmented sleep. I am able to fall asleep relatively easily only to wakeup after 2hrs. I then go back to sleep and from then on I wake up roughly 5 times a night. I've eliminated all caffeine from diet, I don't smoke cigarettes within 2hrs of bed and I don't watch TV or use any other screen before retiring. My addiction specialist has tried me on trazadone 150mg--did nothing Doxepin 75-150mg--only makes me sleeoy Ambien CR (w/ doxepin)--barely any change. I think it slightly improves the quality of sleep in between waking up. Does anyone have any recommendations for a sleep maintenance medication? I prone to rapid weight gain from AP's and dont want to double up as I am taking quetiapine already. For what it's worth....my sleep hygiene is very good. I've started exercising in the morning before work. I work as a credit analyst and sit in front of a computer from 9 to 5. HOWEVER...my insomnia is causing me to nod off at my desk which is unacceptable. Any tips/ideas/recommendatins are welcome. Mikl_pls I'm looking your way as you are the resident amateur psychopharmacologist. ;-)

I'm having a hell of a hard time and experiencing rather weird symptoms. Whether they've anything to do with Mirtazapine (Remeron) is something that I strongly feel but can't quite convince any doctor of. I was put on 15 mg of it in spring 2015 for depression and a severe insomnia - I hadn't slept an hour like since 25 nights back then! The benefits showed immediately within a day and surprised myself and my family. I would sleep well and be in a very happy and cheerful mood. Then however, from summer 2016 I developed some strange food intolerances; caffeine, sugar, fruits containing high amounts of fructose, yoghurt, butter and so on. Eating anything of that would cause me jitteriness and insomnia. I steered clear of those foods. From autumn last year though, a lot of those food intolerances have relented and it changed into intolerance towards medicines and supplements that I was on; the thyroid medicine for hypothyroidism, Vitamin D, Calcium, Vitamin E and could never again tolerate any new medicine or supplement. Symptoms resulting from these are, again, jitters, insomnia and a strange kind of feeling of being struck on the head, like I can't hear anything and the thinking becomes very unclear and blurred. Coupled with this is a weird sensation that if a medicine has any potential side-effect (even physical, such as urine retention), I get it at all costs. So I'm steering clear of the culprits here too. However, avoiding the culprits doesn't end my misery, it just helps in avoiding a whole new set of symptoms, because since autumn 2016 I'm under constant brainfog anyway, have heart palpitations immediately after every meal (but worst after breakfast), have concentration and focus issues, lead a life without any hobbies, wishes or desires. Nothing excites me, nothing interests me and nothing catches my attention. Leave tasks pending for months (the most unlike me habbit), have badly lost my sense of humour. My sense of humour was something that I literally used to pride on, and friends from around the world would call me to fresh up if they were having a dull day. My mind feels numb, although it isn´t as if it´s the sedating effect of the Mirtazapine because 90% percent of the nights I don´t sleep well, and on a lot of nights I feel as if I´m asleep with an awake mind! Amidst all this, although initially not effected for the first 17 months, but the libido is not non-existent. If I get them at all, my erections are very tiny and hardly last a minute. The GP who put me on it considered it to be just the effects of anxiety and depression and recommended the doubling of the dose to 30 mg. When I contested that, given that I´ve my doubts of a lot of these issues being brought upon by Mirtazapine itself, she referred me to a psychiatrist. He too strongly denies of Mirtazapine having any hand to play on it and instead thinks it´ll be best to combine it with another antidepressant for day-time. He put me on Paroxetine, boom, a flood of side-effects! Then changed to Fluoxetine (Prozac) - third day on it and having weird feelings. The heart poundings are one and is in fact making me very depressed and hopeless!

I had gone back on cipralex because I was still having mood swings and anxiety on Remeron. I feel less depressed but I can't sleep. Took 2mg ativan to help me to sleep. Still awake.

Hi there, although I'm a new member I've been lurking the forum for years . Long story short , I've had a psychotic break/near death experience that lasted for about a year , that occured in 2013 . Although I'm over 90-95% of it, I'm still suffering a backlash in terms of constant to variable anxiety throughout the week . I've also haven't slept naturally since the event occured in 2013 . So basically my body's used to feeling anxious for so long that its the new normal and ditto for the insomnia . I have a psychiatrist that I see 1x to 2x a month and am seeing a good experienced therapist twice a week (both work in the same office). I want to sleep naturally again . Anyways after trying multiple (sedating) anti psychotics , anti depressants, anti convulsants , 6 different benzodiazepines, z-drugs , antihistamines and belsomra , my psychiatrist decided to put me on Xyrem . I'm on the max dose of 4.5 grams twice nightly .The first two months were heaven, it truly was the holy grail . Absolutely zero side effects and completely unoffensive like a hypnotic benzodiazpine . The major payoff was that I was sleeping 8-10hrs a day and feeling so incredibly rested (like natural sleep since it only improves sleep architecture and induces natural sleep)I didn't need to take medicines like nuvigil and adderall to stay awake/function during the day and totally went off of the stimulants . My physical and mental abilities were 100% again . Workouts were great with all the new energy and school went from difficult to moderately easy now that my brain was finally recovering at night . Problem is that due to increasing situational anxiety due to school/(I guess how the near death experience makes me act to stressors ?) The 9g a night barely keeps me asleep for more than 3-4 hrs . The Xyrem pharmacist said insomnia people like me can use higher doses , as he's seen up to 13g a night . Problem is that the doctor said he will aboslutely not go past 9g a night . He will not Rx me any controlled CNS depressants with the xyrem (benzos, z-drugs , belsomra even friggin Lyrica is off the table) He's given me zyprexa since it has helped my anxiety and insomnia in the past however that antipsychotic leaves me with carry over sedation in to the day and dumbs me down (in an engineering science major) . The zyprexa does keep me alseep with the 9g of xyrem but I need a whopping 10mg to 7.5mg depending on my anxiety and stress level . Fast forward to today , as I lost my insurance with the xyrem prescribing psychiatrist and xyrem medication . I saw one sleep doctor at a sleep clinic and he said my insomnia was out of the scope of his practice, despite asking for xyrem and showing him my med records showing him I was Rx'ed it for months with little issue . I have an appt. with another specialist at a sleep clinic in NJ who Rx's Xyrem june 7th . And in case that lady is a spineless waste of money , I have two other sleep doctors lined up with appointments in late july who also prescribe xyrem in late July. Any tips on how to get this med back to helping me ?? I'm officially on 4mg Klonopin, 40mg paxil, 200mg Lamictal, 1mg Halcion (useless now) seeing different therapist and psychiatrist for insurance reasons

Hi there, I'm new on Crazyboards but have benefited as a visitor from many a post. I have a rather unusual request/question. I have sleep anxiety like nobody's business. What I mean by this is that I worry/obsess that I won't get enough sleep AND if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep I get out-of-control anxiety and then, of course, can't fall back to sleep. I sweat, get heart palpitations, GI issues, you name it. And the horrible thing is, these symptoms go into the next day and then usually continue into the next night. The thing is, before all this happened I was always a naturally great sleeper. I could sleep anytime and I loved my sleep. This all started years ago when my first child was born. I went on Paxil and it worked great except for bad side effects. I have since gone off Paxil and had quite a few "sleep anxiety-free years" (always had GAD though). But this has started to rear its ugly head again, off and on for the past couple years. I have started Trintellix and have worked up to 10mg. I have also taken .5mg Klonopin for years. When I started the Trintellix my pdoc bumped me up to 1mg Klonopin but it's not working (!) and this COMPLETELY freaks me out. I have basically been going to sleep at 11:00, waking up at 3:00, and MIGHT get an additional fitful hour in there by about 5 or 6. I have started CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). I'm doing it on my own for now, using a workbook called The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne. I understand basically that I need to change my thinking about this problem if I am to make any progress. But this is extremely hard for me to imagine doing. What I am asking for is for feedback from people who have gotten only 4 or so hours of sleep a night for a period of time AND IT HASN'T RUINED THEIR LIFE. I need to be able to tell myself that this isn't the end of the world to only get 4 hours of sleep for a while (and this will be indefinitely until, hopefully, the CBT starts helping). I'm not working on an insomnia plan because I don't have sleep problems per se; I have major, unbearable ANXIETY problems that make it impossible to sleep. You might be wondering why I started the Trintellix: it is for the sleep anxiety but also for pretty intense GAD. However, I am really, really hopeful that I can manage this with CBT after some time. I may need to stay on the Trintellix, but the sleep anxiety is so horrible (it continues all the next day) that I feel I need to at least try something besides meds. I thank you immensely for your reassurances