am I over medicated

[jhmil459]

I take Cymbalta, abilify, and trazadone.  I am extremely overweight and have sleep apnea.  I find it increasingly dificult to focus and function in my daily life.  I was taking seroquel for a year and I think that it did much more harme than good.  I could not get off of it without help.  that is why I am taking trazadone to get me off the seroquel.  I no longer take the seroquel.  my appetite is out of control and I  am getting up in the middle of the night eating sometimes with no recoloection that I did so.  my biggest concern is that I do not get the benefit of taking cymbalta because what I take at night (trazadone) saps my strength energy and focus through out the day.  things arebecoming desperate and I am afraid I am about to lose my job because of my lack of ability to function.  What do I need to do to fix this?  can I take provigil in the daytime to help me with energy, focus, and my appetite?  please help,  i am so very afraid.

[wellb]

Hi,
I'm not a Doctor, just a poster, but from what you've described, the combo does not seem to be working for you.

First about your apnea:
My friend has a form or sleep apnea also, and she has to use this special breathing aparatus at night, so that her apnea does not cause her nightly breathing problems. Can't remember what that apparatus is called, but people w/ sleep apnea often use it. It's sold at those stores that sell "aids" for people with foot,back,knee problems, etc. If you look in the Yellow Pages, I bet there's a store like that near you.

Anyhow, that breathing apparatus for S-Apnea might solve part of your night problem.

Secondly, as far as your question about being over-medicated, well, who knows, because all our bodies are so different and we all react differently.

Were you placed on Cymbalta because you're depressed or anxious, etc?

Also, on another thread ,they were discusing Abilify and how it makes people real hungry, so that might be the reason why you're food-binging in the middle of the night (almost like sleep walking and/or sleep eating).

I would definetely tell my Doctor about the Abilify's  sleep eating-walking side-effect. Does not sound right to me.

If you are Depressed, there are many other meds out there that might be better for you...

OR...it could be that you don't need any of the meds anymore, and maybe just a good diet,good vitamins, etc.

Since you said you're taking Trazadone to get off of the Seroquel, do you think the Trazadone worked? If yes (ie: it got you off the Seroquel), so now can you get off the Trazadone?
Ask your Doctor if it's time to get off the Trazadone, since you're not hooked on the Seroquel any more.

Maybe you don't need the Trazadone (??) anymore either. Ask your Doc what next.

Once again, I don't know if you're suffering from a serious depression, and why that's the reason you were placed on all these meds.

Personally, I have refrained from using any of these night-time prescriptive meds, because I've heard so many strange things about them from just about anybody that's used them . For me, they're not worth the trouble.

I have weird sleeping habits like you, but the only thing I've used is Melatonin, or chamomile tea at night.

Also, since I'm on Celexa and Wellbutrin, what my Doc and I decided to do is for me to take Celexa at night (since it knocks me out), and then during the day I take Wellbutrin, which gives me a bit of energy. Works for me, although Celexa has put weight on me also, as your meds did you, but really, not too much weight (maybe 20 lbs---but I was underweight to begin with).  

BTW, Celexa & Wellbutrin are both anti-depressants because I suffer from recurring major depressions (but no anxiety as of yet). My dosages are not too high either. I told my Doc I didn't want to be placed on high dosages. He seemed to listen.

See if your Doc can help you with your predicament, in terms of your bad reaction to all your meds. Maybe he/she will tell you that you don't need so many meds any more. (??)...and   thus, letting go of some of your meds might help you to lose weight and give you back some of your energy.

[M4Y0U]

Hello there,

first off all getting off seroquel is a good thing.

Now speaking of Modafinil (Provigil) well i suggest it to you because it doesn't have any badside effects at all but the little side effects when you start or the ones of drinking coffee and even then i didn't notice anything stronger than coffee with Modafinil (Alertec here in Canada). I take it as a cognitive enhancer. With Modafinil you don't have the bad side effect of any amphetamines chemical class kind of drug like Dexedrine and the likes well basically anything with dextro or levo-amphetamine. Since you have sleep apnea you should really take the Modafinil since it will help you for it since it's one of the main purpose of taking such drug but it is also a powerful cognitive enhancer so it will help you thru the day at performing tasks. Provigil (Modafinil here again) is extremely safe compared to any other kind of stimulants and is side-effects free for most of the people. Is effectiveness at staying awake is compared to those of caffeine but it is really a cognitive enhancer that will promote alertness and better overall performance. I find it funny that you bring that up because I am also on Modafinil and Cymbalta. Try to get rid of the Seroquel and trazadone when you can and go for the Cymbalta and Provigil. Think about adding a good vitamin B complex to help with energy and you metabolism and what it can do for your brain and mood.

Best regards,
M4