Posted by FourFeathers on January 7, 2010, at 23:56:22
I have always been a very heavy sleeper (i.e. difficult to wake up, don't hear noises/alarm clock, etc) and getting up in the morning has always been a challenge. During the past couple of years I have experienced what I consider full body jerks while I am sleeping. These do not wake me but my girlfriend is awakened as it shakes the bed. She has told me that my whole body shakes rather than just legs, etc. Additionally, on occassion, she has witnessed me repetitively rubbing my face into the pillow in a back and forth motion. Once again, I don't wake up while doing this. Most of these actions tend to appear while dreaming (as she has woken me up before and I remember the dream) and often are during the early morning hours (4-6 am).
The sleep disturbances occur whether on antidepressants or not and do not respond to klonipin or xanax and I usually wake up more tired and "hungover" in the morning after taking any of the benzos.
I have tried adding Strattera to my regimen and this creates sleep disturbances that look like REM behavior disorder where I act out dreams, often in an aggressive manner (swinging arms, etc) which is completely out of character for me. This has caused me to stop Strattera on two occassions.
I would like to know if anyone has experienced similar sleep issues and what I may want to consider trying to help with this. My pdoc and naturopath are both puzzled by this. I am being treated for dysthymia/anxiety and have tried many SSRIs, SNRIs, and Nardil but have yet to try any TCAs.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
poster:FourFeathers
thread:932893
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100103/msgs/932893.html