Lithium induced insomnia

[peubear]

I am taking 1200 mg Lithium Carb for help with mood swings. It is very effective and there does not seem to be a down-side except one: I've got a bad case of insomnia. Benzodiazepines and Ambien caused me to be depressed / mood-swings. On Lithium alone I am really fine -- except for the sleeping, which is a BIG problem.

Any suggestions how to get better sleep while on the lithium???

--Thanks ... Stephen

[bernie40]

Need to bring this thread back up.

I started lithium 4 days ago and despite my regular sleeping pill I'm having trouble sleeping.  I have trouble dropping off (didn't used to be a problem) and I wake about 2 hours later with a sudden start and then can't get back to sleep.  Feel very agitated and what I can only describe as "jumping/jittery".

Wondering whether to ask my doc for a valium prescription to help combat this.

Thoughts, experiences, etc welcome.

[horselover65]

I hate having to buy pseudoephedrine from behind the pharmacy counter. You have to show your driver's license and seems like I've had to sign something somewhere - maybe that was when I was in another state with my grandparents. It's too bizarre to feel like a suspect because you have a stuffy nose! My husband was supposed to get me some about 10 days ago and then we had unexpected bad weather. I ran out, was snowed in, yada yada. When I finally got out to the store five or six days later, I told him about it. It was one of those days and I looked like someone with a meth lab - dirty, tangled hair, clothes that didn't match, no jewelry or makeup, face broken out... He said, 'that's why you wanted me to get it'. You betcha!

[monkeyc]

Psuedoephedrine is tightly controlled here as well because its pure and meth cooks love to steal it and use it.

That being said its ironic because per MG meth is cheaper than psuedoephedrine in australia by a significant margin now.

[horselover65]

Thanks. That is news to me. I have only a short list of interactions they gave me at the pharmacy and the word of people who should know.

I had tried other decongestants because we keep pseudoephedrine in the pharmacies now since folks use it make meth. Unfortunately, they don't work. I only take one tablet, which is half the regular adult dose. I cannot handle two of those. I am bouncing off the walls. I will have to look and see how rare. I would hate someone to try it and then fall out.

I dread the idea of taking allergy meds daily, but then they told me that allergy shots would still take two or three months. I'm not keen on shots either. That's life, though.

[monkeyc]

Not so much as call you out because I spend a lot of time in data centers and savage air con so I get colds a lot and I take pseudoephedrine tabs to sleep.

There is an interaction indicated with Lithium absoprtion but its very rare apparently.

[horselover65]

Someone will call me out on this if it is bad advice, I hope!  I need to get allergy testing and it's been a very expensive year for us, so I've been putting off. (Plus, it's hard to leave the house anyway). We are uninsured.

Anyway, I take one pseudoephedrine only at night so I can breathe. The pharmacist recommended that I take Benadryl instead of some of the other OTC allergy meds. That was okay with my psychiatrist who knows I have a problem with pseudoephedrine winding things up and keeping me awake - or worse. So, I take a regular dose of Benadryl tablets to cancel out the pseudoephedrine. I have not heard of an interaction; the pharmacist and doctor both approved it. It is very good for allergies, but the major problem many people have is from drowsiness. You might ASK YOUR DOCTOR if it would do any harm, especially if you are on another allergy medication or if it might interact with some other prescription medication. Better safe than sorry. It does make make me drowsy. Sometimes I still don't sleep, but I don't have insomnia or anything. It's a different issue altogether... Actually, there are many safe medications that are not specifically for sleeping problems that will likely put you to sleep. Because of another physical health issue, I have a prescription med that does knock me out. I might use it once a month or every couple of months, so your doctor may have to think outside the box to help you find relief. I won't name the other medication here. I may already have said too much.