Medication Help..AD's

[mikewashere]

Ive posted a lot about sleep deprivation and truly hope to be posting about something else in the somewhat near future. But in the meantime i do need some insight about medication that might be able to get me there.

My therapist has begun to see my situation full circle and wants us both to make a clear treatment plan in the hopes that we can finally begin to tackle this thing....Started EMDR, getting in depth about traumas, working with a sleep specialist, and also put him in contact with my psychiatrist(who isn't so much on the same page).

Ive tried a share of medications...ambien, trazadone, a few antiphychotics etc. and none have worked. Ive also dodge many meds like antidepressants and others in fear of dependency and withdraw. But I'm realizing i have to deal with things as the come and need to hit this monster at all angles.

Seeing how this sleep issue is so relentless and being that I'm only able to achieve a very very shallow level of sleep when I'm oh so lucky....im really starting to believe that there some serious physiological imbalance that I'm not able to correct on my own..i practice sleep hygiene, exercise most days, i have no immediate stressors..i just don't sleep..simple as that..dont find myself sleepy...just exhausted.

This brings me to this link that i stumbled upon myptsd.com/c/threads/lexapr...

It explains "Lexapro is the only current drug that actively targets the primary area of cause for PTSD, being the chemical imbalance between the right and left brain hemispheres."

Not sure how accurate or credible that is but i remember lexapro being offered to me when my sleep issue started but i had declined it. Also remember a guy in the trauma center with me having sleep issues..so so severe as mine....but he was able to correct it when he was put on lexapro.

I guess what I'm asking is...anyone have any insight/experience/knowledge on any of this....can lexapro overtime help facilitate sleep in the sense that it balances the brain after trauma...antidepressants in general? I know that they effect people differently..but in the case of trauma are the effective

[Hidden]

Hi Mike,

I use Lexapro, and while it has helped enormously balancing the anxiety, it didn't regulate my sleep much. I went back to melatonin for the sleep, which has worked nicely.

[mikewashere in reply to Hidden]

gotcha, thanks for the insight

[Hidden in reply to mikewashere]

You're very welcome! Oh, I should mention - the last year I've been confronting some of the deepest PTSD issues in my whole life, so I'm thinking I would likely have struggled with sleep issues whatever I was taking. That's leveling off now, and my sleep is starting to normalize again.

[mikewashere in reply to Hidden]

That good and thanks, yeah..from what i gather lex is great for anxiety etc...but some people experience startup insomnia...and some people end up sleeping better...so its really a toss up....i got nothing to lose at this point lol....but I'm also looking at other AD's like Remeron...Tried it way back and actually had a successful night on it but hated the side effects and never really gave it a try

[Hidden in reply to mikewashere]

Yup, the way it was described to me, we try something, and if it doesn't work for me, we try something else. I got lucky and it worked right away for me.

I hear you on nothing left to lose!

[mikewashere in reply to Hidden]

Also not sure if this is any help to you, in reference to the melatonin...my sleep specialist put me on Rozerem..its a melatonin agonist, told me that it will regulate my sleep cycle and he prefers it compared than otc melatonin which might not be closely regulated

[Hidden in reply to mikewashere]

I will look into Rozerem, thanks for the info! I've never had any side effects from melatonin, so I'm inclined to stick with it at this point! I hope the Rozerem gives you a great night's sleep! That's all we're seeking at this point!

[AnyaC]

I really haven't found anything but Ambien that really helps with sleep, but that's addictive, so I don't use it any longer. Thus, I'm still awake at 2 a.m.... My doctor has told me there's a new sleep aid I'm going to try later in the year when I must be awake during the day. Right now, daytime sleeping isn't really an issue, but there will be a time when I need to be on a regular "normal" schedule.

Dan's right, tho. If one thing doesn't work, keep trying. As with the medications for PTSD, there's a wide variety with varying degrees of potency and efficacy, depending on the situation and the patient. My doctor works with me to make sure the meds help to keep the PTSD balanced as much as possible. I take two different ones with a 3rd I call my "emergency happy pill" for when things are starting to get out of control. Right now, this mixture of anxiety meds is working well, most of the time. Understand, too, that the meds lose their effectiveness in time, so it's important to be aware of things and keep working with the doctor to keep the balance. I've had to change my "cocktail" of meds 3 or 4 times in the last 10 years.

From what I understand, most of the meds they use for PTSD are actually designed to control seizures, so basically slow the brain down to prevent triggers. Of course, they slow everything else down, too, so finding the right ones can be interesting.

Good luck!