Posted by KaraS on July 17, 2004, at 1:33:15
In reply to Re: Zeugma, ADD diagnosis, posted by zeugma on July 16, 2004, at 22:45:25
> hi Kara,
>
> Yes I feel much worse after sleeping a lot. The optimum for me moodwise is to sleep about 5 hours hours. Unfortunately I seem to require a time to repay the 'sleep debt,' and then I have this comatose sleep that is unpleasant. but if I don't do this (for example on weekends when I work all week) I start to feel myself 'running down' inside. In fact, on Fridays I always feel this, and the mood- and energy-elevating effect of little sleep turns to acute dysphoria.
>
> I didn't experience any tachycardia on nortriptyline. I suspect I am relatively immune to this effect since it seems to be mediated through blockade of the muscarinic receptor, and I have reason to think that overactivity of this receptor helped cause my history of depression. depression has many causes, of course; that's why the TCA's are generally so effective, they are 'dirty' drugs, which can be a virtue.
>
> The least anti-muscarinic TCA is desipramine, which is similar to Paxil in potency in this regard; did you ever experience this effect on Paxil, if you tried it? If nortriptlyine energized you, then you would definitely be energized by desipramine. Of course, the tachycardia could be an indirect result of NE stimulation. Did you ever take Wellbutrin (forgive me if you told me already) and if so what effect did it have?
>
> I think you said you were on Effexor now? Is that energizing at all?
>
> If you are having the cycle of insomnia/oversleeping, I wonder if it's because you have a reversed circadian cycle. I don't have one now, but at the price of diminished energy: my energy naturally seems to peak around 4 am. 100 mg of nortriptyline is helping with energy a little, and the Provigil may be having a small effect too. Are you thinking of trying Ritalin again? I'm actually thinking of taking a 'drug holiday' from nortrip for a night, and taking a little Ritalin LA and seeing if I can get any work done on my grad school thesis. I wrote a chapter in January on an all-nighter but that had me feeling awful for a week!
>
>
> z
>Z,
Yes, that's exactly how I am! Mood and energy- wise I do better on less sleep but health-wise I end up paying the price. Every saturday when I was working (I'm currently job hunting) I would crash and then feel horribly depressed and sluggish. I feel the best in terms of mood and motivation when I don't sleep at all but then I actually get physically sick (CFS). I'm always gauging my sleep in a balancing act of mood/energy vs. health. Not a great way to live but hopefully I'll find meds &/or supplements to help with this situation.Also, I definitely have a reversed circadian cycle. My energy tends to peak in the early morning hours as well. I've always been a night owl and my attempts at resetting have not been successful for long. One of the biggest reasons for this is psychological. I just don't want to try to go to sleep when I'm finally feeling some energy and some sense of being alive. The normal 8-5 routine has always taken quite a toll on me. I have felt oppressed by the morning people of the world for quite some time now. (That was meant only half in jest.)
Have you had any success with resetting your cycle? Have you tried light box, melatonin, methylcobalamin?
Actually, I need to close right now as my neighbor just stopped over. I'll get back to you tomorrow about the meds and the rest of your message.
Take care,
Kara
poster:KaraS
thread:364549
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040714/msgs/367057.html