thanks,
it is good to know what has worked for others.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cleveland, Kyle E. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 10:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
Ken,
I know we are starting to sound like walking pharmacies, but I've had a bit
of luck lately with an old tricyclic antidepressant called Elavil
(amitriptyline). It's one of those drugs that takes a while to build up
serum levels, so it's not very effective the first few nights. While not
specifically designed for relief of neuropathic pain (which, I think, is
what's happening in your hands/wrists), it has a secondary effect of being
therapeutic for this condition.
I was researching ways to cut back on my use of opiate pain meds, and came
across Elavil as a possible alternative. My pain doc, at my suggestion,
prescribed a very low dose (10 mg) once a day at bedtime. He started out
slowly to see if I could tolerate the stuff, and now were up to 50, then 100
at bedtime. It doesn't completely knock down the pain, but it makes it
tolerable enough that I can get 6-7 hours in (usually).
Just thought I'd pass it along, Ken.
-K.
-----Original Message-----
From: Barber, Kenneth L. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 9:37 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
well the last two nights i have got at least 5 hours. that is normal for me.
i only sleep longer than that on some saturdays. world of difference in 2-3
hours and 5-6 hours.
when i was awake with ambion, i saw nothing strange. i was just awake.
the past two nights (sunday night and monday night) it was mainly that
the pain in my fingers and feet were past the ignore threshhold.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cleveland, Kyle E. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 9:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
Wow! Was your mind just racing along when you tried to sleep? I was going
through this recurring anxiety/depression thing before the last time I used
Ambien, and I just couldn't get my mind to slow down. Like I said, it
worked great for me, but I had to be careful and take it right before lying
down. If, for some reason, I stayed up, really carzy stuff would happen:
I'd see things like the carpet moving, or talk to people that weren't
there--hallucinations, I guess. I was never afraid of what I was seeing,
and sometimes I would even remember the next day what I saw the previous
night. After that happened a few times, I was careful to make sure nothing
prevented me from going right to bed after I took the med. Once I was out,
though, I was out cold for the night.
Sounds like there might be some underlying reason you can't get to sleep,
like my anxiety/depression. Have you thought about checking out a "sleep
clinic"?
-K.
-----Original Message-----
From: Barber, Kenneth L. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 2:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
that is what the physicians assistant told me. she said if she took it she
was out cold. there was 10 pills. i slept some of the nights but in about 5
i did not.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cleveland, Kyle E. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 2:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
If you didn't sleep with Ambien, friend, you are in a pickle. That stuff
laid waste to me.
-K
-----Original Message-----
X-Sybari-Trust: 33b67d46 1fc6593e a78b9402 0000003d
From: Barber, Kenneth L. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 10:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
I HAVE TAKEN IT BEFORE AND AT TIMES IT WORKED AND AT TIMES I STILL DID NOT
SLEEP. oops, caps lock on. sorry.
-----Original Message-----
From: BG Greer, PhD [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 10:37 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hey Ken
>He said that insomnia can get to be a vicious cycle where you get
>so tired that you can't sleep. The med broke that cycle, but it isn't
>something you would want to take for an extended period of time.
>
>-Kyle
Kyle and Ken,
My new doc told me Ambien is not a benzo. Kyle is correct, when I used
it, it works like a charm.
Bobby
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