Posted by King Vultan on November 14, 2004, at 0:51:33
In reply to Re: Parnate (or other MAOI's) and Sleep Disturbances, posted by AudreyE on November 13, 2004, at 13:15:10
> Hi, and thanks for your reply!
>
> I've tried very little in terms of my insomnia, actually. I've been taking melatonin, which is no longer working. My doctor is very condescending about everything, and he won't prescribe anything. He finally suggested I take Alluna, which is an all natural supplement. I'm concerned, though, since it's not FDA approved, and God only knows how it interacts with Parnate.
>
> Audrey
>
>I never had much luck with melatonin in the past, but I understand this works pretty well for some people. I use diphenhydramine (plain Benadryl) quite often, and it is not great, but it is better than nothing. It is perfectly safe to use with an MAOI, but just be sure you get a version that does not have any decongestants in it. The Simply Sleep product is pure diphenhydramine, and there are also some other products that are equivalent.
Your doctor, however, really should be willing to prescribe some kind of sleep aid, and IMO, it is irresponsible and unconscionable to prescribe a psychiatric med that produces insomnia and then not be willing to prescribe something to help the patient sleep. The most common sleep med to be prescribed is probably Ambien, which is really not strong enough to cope with the insomnia in my particular case, but many doctors will let you use it every night. I use triazolam/Halcion every other night, and this works reasonably well, but it is helped out by the sleep/relaxation CDs that I also use (every night). Trazodone is also commonly used to treat MAOI insomnia, but it keeps me awake, as does hydroxyzine, a prescription antihistamine.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:415403
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/415681.html