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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by galkeepinon on August 13, 2003, at 3:41:51
I just posted above obviously....... but I am having EXTREME insomnia from this med. I bought UNISOM tongiht in hopes it may help on top of my already prescribed 2mg Klonopin, 50mg Topamax, 25mg Lamictal. I'm not sure what to do here about this. It has been going on like this for the last few nights. I have been only sleeping like 2 hours if at all. I guess I am bipolar? But a few weeks ago I was having suicidal thoughts again and very depressed. What is going on???
Please, please help.
Thank you
Posted by fallsfall on August 13, 2003, at 9:06:31
In reply to Lexapro..................., posted by galkeepinon on August 13, 2003, at 3:41:51
You should call your pdoc about not being able to sleep. He should also be aware of how lousy you are feeling. The lack of sleep could be contributing to how lousy you feel.
Maybe it is a mixed episode where you are manic and depressed at the same time (I think this is right...)
I'd call your pdoc. It sounds like you could use some help.
Let us know how it goes?
Posted by jlo820 on August 13, 2003, at 10:32:27
In reply to Lexapro..................., posted by galkeepinon on August 13, 2003, at 3:41:51
Gal -
I seriously doubt you are bi-polar. I think all your problems are medication-induced.
I also have insomnia that started when I was taking 400 mg Wellbutrin and never went away.
Read the post I sent to Guy above:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/250520.htmlThis has some ways to deal with insomnia that might be helpful.
I am not sure about your other meds, but insomnia is one of the side effects of Lexapro that should go away with continued use. I assume you are taking it in the morning...this is good.
Also, with respect to your other post about depression, I was never really big on going to therapy. I always felt I could do it myself. "Feeling Good, by Burns" (Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by Dr. David Burns) was a book that really helped me a lot. I would highly recommend it if you haven't already read it.
Let us know how things are going for you.
Posted by galkeepinon on August 14, 2003, at 0:35:22
In reply to Re: Lexapro................... » galkeepinon, posted by jlo820 on August 13, 2003, at 10:32:27
Thanks again jlo, I was taking the Lexapro in the afternoon for a few days then took it last night. I took the Lexapro this morning and slept ALL day! I feel a little better tonight. My pdoc is out of town until next week when I see him next Monday. I may call my PCP and ask her for Ambien-which helps me sleep really well. I tried Unisom last night and it did nothing. What do you think about those OTC sleep aids?? I hope the Lexapro doesn't fail me, I'm almost done with week 2. I also feel I can do it myself when it comes to going through therapy, but maybe I do need to find a therapist, I did call one today-haven't heard back yet. I would like to buy that book by David Burns and I will look for it at my local bookstore Barnes and Noble is pretty good. Thank you for the hints on sleeping also, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I am beginning to wonder if I am bipolar too. Major depression was the first thing I was diagnosed with in 1995, due to a lot of different things and I have been struggling ever since. You make a lot of sense when you say that my problems are medication-induced. It seems as though I never get manic unless I am on a medication that has a tendency to do so.
Please wish me luck, I will keep you posted.
Thanks again.
Gal> Gal -
>
> I seriously doubt you are bi-polar. I think all your problems are medication-induced.
>
> I also have insomnia that started when I was taking 400 mg Wellbutrin and never went away.
>
> Read the post I sent to Guy above:
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/250520.html
>
> This has some ways to deal with insomnia that might be helpful.
>
> I am not sure about your other meds, but insomnia is one of the side effects of Lexapro that should go away with continued use. I assume you are taking it in the morning...this is good.
>
> Also, with respect to your other post about depression, I was never really big on going to therapy. I always felt I could do it myself. "Feeling Good, by Burns" (Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by Dr. David Burns) was a book that really helped me a lot. I would highly recommend it if you haven't already read it.
>
> Let us know how things are going for you.
Posted by ROO on August 14, 2003, at 9:05:54
In reply to Re: Lexapro................... » jlo820, posted by galkeepinon on August 14, 2003, at 0:35:22
The same thing happened to me when I first started
Lexapro. At first I was taking just topamax and it
evened me out and made me feel a little better...but then
I started getting depressed. The doc prescribed lexapro
and at first it made me worse. I couldn't sleep, I had
racing thoughts, suicidal thoughts. The p-doc thought
the lexapro was causing me to cycle and so upped the
mood stabilizer dose. That helped.
You could also try lowering the lexapro. I can take very
little Lexapro because I'm so sensitive to it. I take half
of a 5 mg. pill...so that's only 2.5 mgs! But everyone's
different, you'll just have to experiment.
Posted by galkeepinon on August 15, 2003, at 3:14:20
In reply to Re: Lexapro...................Gal, posted by ROO on August 14, 2003, at 9:05:54
Thank you-I may just lower the Lexapro. Sounds like a good idea. Did the insomnia go away for you??? Do you still take Topamax, how much?
Thanks again:-)
> The same thing happened to me when I first started
> Lexapro. At first I was taking just topamax and it
> evened me out and made me feel a little better...but then
> I started getting depressed. The doc prescribed lexapro
> and at first it made me worse. I couldn't sleep, I had
> racing thoughts, suicidal thoughts. The p-doc thought
> the lexapro was causing me to cycle and so upped the
> mood stabilizer dose. That helped.
> You could also try lowering the lexapro. I can take very
> little Lexapro because I'm so sensitive to it. I take half
> of a 5 mg. pill...so that's only 2.5 mgs! But everyone's
> different, you'll just have to experiment.
Posted by ROO on August 15, 2003, at 10:30:58
In reply to Re: Lexapro...................Gal » ROO, posted by galkeepinon on August 15, 2003, at 3:14:20
Did the insomnia go away for you??? Do you
still take Topamax, how much?
>No, I don't take it anymore. I've posted about it
before. I don't like it. It turned me into a zombie.
But during the time period we're talking about, the insomnia
went away when I increased the topamax. Because the lexapro
was inducing some "cycling", which included racing thoughts,
she upped the topamax to reduce the cycling. That worked and
once you don't have racing thoughts at night, it's easier to sleep.
>
>
> >
Posted by galkeepinon on August 15, 2003, at 10:59:11
In reply to Re: Lexapro...................Gal, posted by ROO on August 15, 2003, at 10:30:58
Hey ROO, I still take Topamax-have to-it stabilizes me too well. I may have to increase that again since styarting this Lexapro. The racing thoughts are just what I am having!!!!! BIG TIME!!!!!! Sometimes I can't explain it, but that's what it is-I go from one thought to another and cannot sleep.
Thanks again.
>
> Did the insomnia go away for you??? Do you
> still take Topamax, how much?
> >
>
> No, I don't take it anymore. I've posted about it
> before. I don't like it. It turned me into a zombie.
> But during the time period we're talking about, the insomnia
> went away when I increased the topamax. Because the lexapro
> was inducing some "cycling", which included racing thoughts,
> she upped the topamax to reduce the cycling. That worked and
> once you don't have racing thoughts at night, it's easier to sleep.
> >
> >
> > >
Posted by ROO on August 15, 2003, at 13:50:06
In reply to Re: Lexapro...................Gal » ROO, posted by galkeepinon on August 15, 2003, at 10:59:11
Well increasing the topamax definitely helped me
sleep better and feel less anxious. It also took
care of the suicidal thoughts. Another benefit of
the increase, is it definitely cuts out your appetite.
I think the highest I ever went on it was 175 mgs and
I certainly didn't care about food.
Posted by galkeepinon on August 17, 2003, at 3:42:38
In reply to Re: Lexapro...................Gal, posted by ROO on August 15, 2003, at 13:50:06
Hi ROO, I see my doc soon and I'll probably increase the Topamax, it was making me depressed when I got up to 200mg-but since I started the Lexapro-that may counteract the depressive effects I was getting on the Topamax-I hope! How many mg of Topamax are you taking now? My appetite has definately decreased on this Lexapro-that is always a good thing. All I ate today was a 1/2 of a turkey sub and some choco chip cookies :-) LOL
Stay well and
Take care!> Well increasing the topamax definitely helped me
> sleep better and feel less anxious. It also took
> care of the suicidal thoughts. Another benefit of
> the increase, is it definitely cuts out your appetite.
> I think the highest I ever went on it was 175 mgs and
> I certainly didn't care about food.
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