butterfly430 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Hello, It's been a while since I've been on this board. I've suffered from depression and anxiety for my entire adult life. I'm on a stable regimen of Cymbalta + amitriptyline and a very small amount of ambien for sleep. I think the insomnia was initially brought on by an SSRI and never went away. Anyway, my doctor convinced me to try Deplin (15 mg), a special formulation of folic acid that is supposed to be used to boost the effects of an antidepressant. Within 10-14 days, I was feeling amazing: energy, enthusiasm, optimism, and my memory was improved. The problem is that I was not sleeping. The sleep continued to get worse. I tried lowering my dose of Deplin by pouring some powder out of the capsule, but I was still not sleeping. I really wanted to stick with it, but the insomnia was making me miserable. I'm a bit heartbroken at having this brief "taste of happiness" disappear. Does anyone have any experiences with Deplin?Did you have insomnia and did it go away? I know the stock answer is to talk to your doctor, but she only has a few patients on Deplin and I'm hoping to get some real life experiences with it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 What time of day are you taking the Deplin? I took it in the morning. So glad you are having success with it (despite the insomnia). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterfly430 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 Hi Malachite, I was taking it first thing in the morning. Unfortunately I had to stop because of the sleep. How was your experience with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 It really did nothing for my depression, unfortunately. I am so glad it is helping you with yours. Personally, if I found something that worked well for me, I wouldn't want to give it up. Do you have room to go up on your Ambien (you said you are taking a low dose.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormBeforeCalm Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Deplin has been very helpful to me. I take 15 mg first thing in the morning, and it hasn't affected my sleep at all, thank god. I'm surprised to hear that it's bothered you. My pdoc was pretty adamant that it doesn't cause side effects, although it can cause other drugs to work more effectively. So maybe the Deplin is causing one of your other medications to keep you from sleeping? Do you take your other medicines in the morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterfly430 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 I thought about going up on the Ambien, however I have been trying for YEARS to totally get off the Ambien (amitriptyline is also for sleep so I was hoping to only take that) so I'm afraid to go up again on the dose. If I knew the insomnia would eventually calm down I would temporarily go up. Sometimes I can't stand all the chemicals in my body, but I know from first-hand experience the hell life is without them. Sorry the Deplin didn't work for you. Do you feel like you're in a good place now with what you're taking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterfly430 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 Deplin has been very helpful to me. I take 15 mg first thing in the morning, and it hasn't affected my sleep at all, thank god. I'm surprised to hear that it's bothered you. My pdoc was pretty adamant that it doesn't cause side effects, although it can cause other drugs to work more effectively. So maybe the Deplin is causing one of your other medications to keep you from sleeping? Do you take your other medicines in the morning? Hi Storm, I was thinking that the Deplin was amplifying the Cymbalta so I lowered my dose (was taking 90, lowered to 60). Didn't really help. Right after I took my sleep meds, I would almost feel wired and have restless legs. The tricyclic I take for sleep is tricky because if you take too much, you can get agitated since it affects serotonin. I really wish I had a great psychopharmacologist to figure all this out and balance all the meds. I like my psychiatrist but I don't think she knows the chemistry the way a psychopharm might.... sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I am in a good place with what I am taking, thanks for asking I have very treatment-resistant depression, however, and my cocktails usually only prove effective for a few months. I am doing a lot of other things, like limiting sugar, having weekly, excellent one-on-one therapy, weekly acupuncture, and a weekly anxiety group. I plan to pursue all avenues open to me. Including daily mindfulness practice. For me, drugs have only proven to pull me out of the worst of the mire, have had a lot of side effects and I need to use all the tools I have to fight this illness. I think it is quite possible your insomnia will resolve itself eventually. I do have to take Ambien myself, or I don't get to sleep until 6 in the morning. Ugh. Maybe a temporary increase in your Ambien? I guess what I am really getting at here is that I wouldn't stop the Deplin because of insomnia since it's proving to be effective for your mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterfly430 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 Yes, you're making me think I shouldn't give up on Deplin. I don't see my doctor for 2 months. I should probably give her a call and get her opinion. Thanks - I appreciate the feedback. I'm glad you're in a good place. Funny that you mention mindfulness. My therapist (who I don't see regularly anymore, but occasionally) told me about mindfulness meditation. I respect her opinion a lot and have half-heartedly tried mindfulness a few times. I'm having a hard time dedicating myself to it. I do find that yoga relaxes me and helps my mood. As to the Ambien, at one point I was taking 10 mg but it really affected my mood. Even worse with Lunesta. Do you notice anything? Have you tried going down to 5 mg of ambien? I was able to do that and still sleep, as long as I took it with the tricyclic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I so wish 5mg. of Ambien worked for me. That's the most my doc will prescribe, though he told me I could continue taking 10mg. He's trying to prescribe me Ambien CR right now, but my insurance company is putting up a fight. I have not found that it negatively affects my mood, but I am sure that is possible. Mindfulness is something I have had to work on slowly. It's hard to be mindful when you are very anxious. So, I started at 5 minutes a day and have been working up from there. I focus on my breathing, and try to breathe into my belly rather than my chest. I often do visualization simultaneously. I recently bought a yoga mat, but haven't started yet, heh. I used to do it and found it quite helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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