Non-sedating ADs

[Arlie]

My doc and I might look at putting me on a non (or less) sedating AD. I have a lot of daytime fatigue which is caused in part by sleep apnea, but the sleep doc said that Celexa can do that too.

Doc was thinking of Varenecline (sp?). I was on Wellbutrin once; another doc said I could go straight off Paxil and right onto Wellbutrin. I had a hellish time, and don't know whether it was just the Wellbutrin or the abrupt withdrawl from the Paxil.

Any thoughts? THANKS!

[mudpuppy]

Given that you're on a stimulant med, and still experiencing sedation, one would almost wonder whether the more stimulating ADs would actually be stimulating, to you.

Chantix has shown some apparent ability to treat depression:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19323966?dopt=Abstract

Some of the known side effects are difficulty sleeping, abnormal dreams and drowsiness.

[celestia]

Why don't you ask doc if you can try adding Wellbutrin to the Celexa? I'm on Lexapro (newer version of Celexa) and Wellbutrin and together they have been very effective for me.

[SashaSue]

Celexa was hideously sedating for me. Adderall didn't help, it was a seriously bad scene. If you think the issue is celexa sedation, I'd say get off the celexa ASAP, and give WB another shot.

[Arlie]

Thanks. I used to take the Celexa in the morning, but was doing a face-plant at my then desk job by 3 pm; my doc said I could take it at night. Then I was dx'd with ADHD Inattentive in 2007. After trying out Dex, I am on 20mg Ritalin SR in the morning. I like how it works.

40mg Celexa in the evg...doc and I will look at that when I have tried the CPAP machine for a while. Like you said, Mudpuppy, I wonder if more of a stimulus is the answer! The Celexa sedation carries over into the daytime even with the Ritalin.

Really appreciate the comments!

[ldo]

CPAP machine should be the first thing to try. Helped me a lot. You may need to be stubborn and patient as it can take a while to get used to the mask. However, for me, even though I found the mask a bit tricky to get used to, I felt better even on the first day after trying it.

I also found that taking, say, a quarter of my daytime dose of stimulant helped me to sleep better. Also, clonidine helped me sleep better. It's often prescribed, apparently, for people with ADD who have trouble with sleep.

I don't like to let my ADD medication wear off much during the day. If I let it wear off too much at night, I forget to go to bed.

Welbutrin is not an SSRI, so perhaps your problem was withdrawal, as you've guessed.

I think Prozac is supposed to be non-sedating, and certainly I found it so. Plus it reduced my anxiety so I slept better when I was taking it.

[~nestling~]

Yeah. Efexor/venlafaxine is non sedating. Did wonders for my chronic insomnia. Not!

[The Emperor]

Wow, I think the only AD's I've been on that ARE sedating are Effexor and Remeron. For me, the others were too activating and ramped up my anxiety to an unbearable level and caused major sleep disturbance, for me anyway.

You know, YMMV.

[Kodos]

I think your prior experience with Wellbutrin would be related to the sudden discontinuation of Paxil.

Wellbutrin is generally considered activating - so it's a good bet, I think - and as another suggested, you can add it to your cocktail instead of replacing Celexa. SSRIs are generally activating, except when they aren't (some people get drowsy with Paxil, for example). A different SSRI is another thing to try.

Daytime sleepiness can also be a symptom of the depression itself.

The Holy Grail of daytime awake meds, I think, would be Nuvigil.