Question:
Does anyone have experience with Paxil making you hyper and have problems with
insomnia? I'm off all my meds now except for Paxil, and I am still having
problems with a feeling that my "motor" is running, insomnia and not being able
to RELAX and watch a good movie or read a book. I feel bored and restless.
Answer:
All SSRI's can do this, Paxil least likely, but it happens.
Other people can get sedated on SSRI's, even Prozac, usually the most
stimulating one.
We are all wired differently.
You need to discuss it with your doctor.
Being initially "speeded up" is a common side-effect of SSRIs
and a relatively hopeful one, because what follows is usually
that the initial over-speed settles eventually down to normal.
[It cannot be said that this is the automatic outcome because
some people experience other things like extreme slowdown,
depending on individual genetics]. Avoid the usual benzodiazepine
sleeping pills, trust me they are more trouble than they are worth.
Options you could discuss with your doc are (a) wait and see
for a while, (b) a different SSRI, (c) adding 15mg mirtazapine.
Paxil should generally not have people be "hyper" but considering your
recent drug history, I think that perhaps your restless feeling might
be derived from coming directly off the Abilify.
As for insomnia, I think Melatonin is a great hormone to regulate your
sleep cycle. 18 mg of those babies and I think the average person will
fall asleep naturally without any kind of hang-over feeling the next
day. I have also personally used Restoril myself and in my experience
it hadn't been very effective in preventing insomnia.
But overall, Lynn, perhaps you might also want to consider your daily
activities in response to your physical feelings of restlessness. I
usually find that if I'm physically active and exercise at least half
an hour a day that I fall asleep easier and am more calm than if I had
been inactive and worrying all day. :)
Temazepam (restoril), a benzodiazepine. I am not a doctor but
i suggest avoiding these in such cases for two reasons. One, as
you have observed, there is probably something other than the
"normal" mechanism of insomnia which benzos simply don't counter.
Two, they have serious dependency problems.
I have no experience of melatonin.
However, my suggestion would be: look to the med + depressive
mechanism which is the real cause. Get off a harmful med,
or counter its unfortunate side-effects directly.
Increasing physical activity to get physically tired is always
a good option. It works especially well if you have restless
pacing about which induces the idea of a lot of movement activity
but will be countered if you actually get very tired.
