stankydrawz Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I've been through a number of different meds the latest one remeron. It seemed to stabilize my mood pretty good and made me a little more productive, but it also made me want to sleep all the time so I decided to quit taking it especially since it's now dark at like 4:50pm. I'm currently just taking 2mg xanax per day. Anyways my question is would a low dose of a stimulant like adderall or ritalin be good for waking up in the morning? I've always been a night person... If I get to bed at 6am which is pretty usual for me I can still usually get up around 1:30pm or so which was fine in the summer. But now the problem is by the time I'm done doing things indoors it's already dark out so I feel like I'm missing the whole day. I'm going to see what my dr thinks, but what I think might be good would be to set my alarm clock for like 1hr 1/2 before I want to get up and then take something. That way it would give it a chance to kick in and I would be up at the time I wanted to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 You might have more luck with Provigil. It has indications more in keeping with your issue. nf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Did you quit taking the Remeron without telling your pdoc? Or did you indicate that the sleepiness was a severe issue? I've heard that sometimes, if you give it time, the sedation effect wears off, for what it's worth. I've never been on Remeron, so others may want to chime in here if that was the case for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Mirtazipine (remeron) is more sedating at lower doses, so the higher you go, the less you're going to feel sedated. I think the highest dose is 60mg. For people I know who've taken it and felt the sedative effect (I didn't, but thus far I haven't found anything that sedates me), they say that it wears off when you titrate up to 45mg. As for what the OP is asking... I doubt the Xanax is helping you feel less sleepy. Also, I hope you came off the Remeron with your doctor's permission, in which case, what's your next choice of AD? There are a bunch that are more activating, such as Prozac (though of course this varies from person to person. Prozac was very activating for me), which you could try. Personally, I doubt your Pdoc is going to agree to prescribe you Ritalin or Adderall just so you can wake up. That may be me speaking from a British perspective, though, and I think they're a bit more conservative about what they prescribe for who here. To be honest, and this may sound harsh, I think your problem isn't the meds, or isn't completely the meds. Before you go asking for more meds, perhaps you could consider trying to have proper sleep hygeine. I don't imagine that sleeping during the day, not getting enough light, and disrupting your sleep are doing you any good. Just a few things to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Yes, I do hope you've talked to the doc about the remeron problem. Provigil is indicated for sleep wake disorders, which you may have. It would work probably better than or just as well as a low dose of stimulant. With less (possibly) habituation. I'd think about that first. And also raising the remeron so you're not so sedated, and maybe look at cutting back on the xanex or moving to klonopin perhaps? Just some things to think about. Also, sleep hygiene IS going to play a role here, like it or not. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankydrawz Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Mirtazipine (remeron) is more sedating at lower doses, so the higher you go, the less you're going to feel sedated. I think the highest dose is 60mg. For people I know who've taken it and felt the sedative effect (I didn't, but thus far I haven't found anything that sedates me), they say that it wears off when you titrate up to 45mg. As for what the OP is asking... I doubt the Xanax is helping you feel less sleepy. Also, I hope you came off the Remeron with your doctor's permission, in which case, what's your next choice of AD? There are a bunch that are more activating, such as Prozac (though of course this varies from person to person. Prozac was very activating for me), which you could try. Personally, I doubt your Pdoc is going to agree to prescribe you Ritalin or Adderall just so you can wake up. That may be me speaking from a British perspective, though, and I think they're a bit more conservative about what they prescribe for who here. To be honest, and this may sound harsh, I think your problem isn't the meds, or isn't completely the meds. Before you go asking for more meds, perhaps you could consider trying to have proper sleep hygeine. I don't imagine that sleeping during the day, not getting enough light, and disrupting your sleep are doing you any good. Just a few things to think about. I don't really care to go back on remeron again because I'm not really depressed right now, and it also gave me nightmares and what you would probably consider sleep paralysis a few times. I had the same thing happen on wellbutrin which is weird because I don't think they're anything alike chemically... But my xanax doesn't really make me tired unless I'm already sleep deprived, and doesn't give me bad dreams. I tried prozac too and honestly that one was what worked best for my depression and social anxiety, but unfortunately it also gave me sexual side effects which I would rather not have in my late 20's. Maybe if I was 60 or something I wouldn't care. But anyways I just thought beings that I was diagnosed with ADD that ritalin or adderall might be a viable option and also help me feel less like just sleeping all day (which I've had problems with before ever starting xanax). I don't really want to go on another antidepressant right because I've had such shitty success with all the ones I've tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Well, it's your right to ask for what you need. I still think provigil (which is INDICATED for sleep/wake issues) would be a better drug to start with. I really really do. It may also affect your mood positively, due to dopamine changes. You won't get sexual side effects from it. You may be less at risk for habituation. Really, just bring it up to pdoc and she what he/she says. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankydrawz Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Ok, thx for the suggestions. I'm not too familiar with that one but I will do some more research and run that past him on my next visit. Is it available generic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowedink Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Mirtazipine (remeron) is more sedating at lower doses, so the higher you go, the less you're going to feel sedated. I think the highest dose is 60mg. For people I know who've taken it and felt the sedative effect (I didn't, but thus far I haven't found anything that sedates me), they say that it wears off when you titrate up to 45mg. As for what the OP is asking... I doubt the Xanax is helping you feel less sleepy. Also, I hope you came off the Remeron with your doctor's permission, in which case, what's your next choice of AD? There are a bunch that are more activating, such as Prozac (though of course this varies from person to person. Prozac was very activating for me), which you could try. Personally, I doubt your Pdoc is going to agree to prescribe you Ritalin or Adderall just so you can wake up. That may be me speaking from a British perspective, though, and I think they're a bit more conservative about what they prescribe for who here. To be honest, and this may sound harsh, I think your problem isn't the meds, or isn't completely the meds. Before you go asking for more meds, perhaps you could consider trying to have proper sleep hygeine. I don't imagine that sleeping during the day, not getting enough light, and disrupting your sleep are doing you any good. Just a few things to think about. I don't really care to go back on remeron again because I'm not really depressed right now, and it also gave me nightmares and what you would probably consider sleep paralysis a few times. I had the same thing happen on wellbutrin which is weird because I don't think they're anything alike chemically... But my xanax doesn't really make me tired unless I'm already sleep deprived, and doesn't give me bad dreams. I tried prozac too and honestly that one was what worked best for my depression and social anxiety, but unfortunately it also gave me sexual side effects which I would rather not have in my late 20's. Maybe if I was 60 or something I wouldn't care. But anyways I just thought beings that I was diagnosed with ADD that ritalin or adderall might be a viable option and also help me feel less like just sleeping all day (which I've had problems with before ever starting xanax). I don't really want to go on another antidepressant right because I've had such shitty success with all the ones I've tried. I'd rather have sexual side effects and not be depressed, to be honest. However, what meds you go on is your business. If you had sleep problems before your meds, then it's not the meds causing it. Therefore, you either have a sleep disorder, or you have bad sleep hygiene which is affecting your sleeping pattern. I'd put my money on the latter. Provigil to me would be a better bet than Ritalin or Adderall anyway, seeing as, like Anna says, it's indicated for exactly your problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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