Posted by JohnX on March 17, 2001, at 7:43:34
In reply to Re: Help me Mary, posted by jb on March 13, 2001, at 13:11:08
> > I have been talking Buspar for generalized anxiety
> > and Wellburtin for mild bipolar for about 4 months
> > now. They do help my anxiety and mood swings, BUT . . .
> > they make me absolutely fatigued. This isn't I-didn't
> > -get-enough-sleep-the-last-few-nights fatigue. I am
> > talking about immobilozing sleepiness. What's worse,
> > I'm restless at night. My cousin suggested diet
> > pills for energy. But I need another solution.
> > ANYTHING will help. I'm very desparete.
> >
> > Mary
>
>
> Hi, Mary. Modafinil, 200 mg/day, is supposed to be very good at restoring alertness, energy, etc., without interfering with normal nightime sleep. It's been prescribed for narcolepsy (falling asleep during the day without realizing it), but is also prescribed for the daytime fatigue, sleepiness, etc.
>
> Please talk to your psychdoc about this.
>
> See you and good luck.
>
> John B (:)John B/Mary,
What do you think the possible impact is for a bipolar paitient not taking a mood stabilizer or low dose anti-psychotic. My pdocs have told me that true bipolars can be destabilized (inducing more rapid cycling) by anti-depressants by themselves. I took unipolar meds for a long time and had a lot of see-saw action, finally a doctor told me I was bp II (i.e. "mildly bipolar") where the hypomanic symptoms are harder to diagnose. That's why I was trying to see if Mary was potentially having intermittent hypomanic episodes followed by slumps into atypical depression symptoms (i.e. was the tiredness accompanied by lack of interest or pleasure in activities). A mood stablizer may be appropriate if this was the case.
Otherwise, I do agree that a low dose stimulant like Provigil or even Adderall would help with the sleepiness even though it is rare for those on Wellbutrin to feel sleepy, hence my diet questions. My own experience on Adderall was similar to Wellbutrin, at 1st I felt like I had a rush of energy and both tended to shorten my sleep. But after a few weeks, I found myself eating less food since the meds killed my appetite and at that point I was really tired. Forcing supplementation of calories with easy to digest balanced health drinks cured my problem.
If your not really sure of the underpinning reason I think its best to discuss it with your physician.
Good luck.
-John
poster:JohnX
thread:56250
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010310/msgs/56741.html