Before I ask my questions, I'd like to give a little information about my situation and some of the steps I took before they gave me a diagnosis. Some of the posts on this forum have alleviated some of my personal concerns, but I still would like to be certain before taking the medications given to me. It's not that I don't trust medical professionals, but their time is limited, and it's hard to ask them a lot of questions in one sitting. I am hoping someone with a medical background, or someone with a similar situation can help me out a little. I would be very grateful for any assistance.
My problems started long (early teens) ago, although I mostly ignored them and managed to get by (details of which I can elaborate later). However, they seemed to get worse and worse the past 5 years rather than getting better on their own, and so I went to a doctor with my sleeping problems. I was given melatonin, propranol HCl, Trazodone HCl, and Zopiclone (all at various doses), and they all made me sleepy/groggy, but I would still wake up in the morning feeling like hell and would fall asleep throughout the day like before. The doctor was going to give me something that he said would completely zonk me out, but I refused as the idea scared me far too much.
I never told the doctor at the time that I was having problems during the day and that I woke up a dozen times at night, but rather that my sleep problem was that I just couldn't sleep at night. I figured, that if I got sound sleep at night, it would take care of the rest during the day. Guess I was wrong about that. I went and got blood tests done, as well as an ECG, and everything showed up normal. I then went to see a clinical psychologist, to whom I opened up about the details of my problems, we had two one hour sessions, and he also referred me to a psychiatrist that spent an hour with me.
They both realized that I have several problems, but the main one is narcolepsy (without cataplexy, meaning I won't fall on my face while doing things, I can endure it somewhat). My sleep is irregular, in that I wake up at the very least every 2 hours on good days, and about every 30 min to 1 hour on average. I apparently also have ADD, anxiety, depression, and OCD.
They made me feel like a bit of a nut case, but at this point, I think if I can feel a little normal with my sleep condition, the rest should go away, or so I hope. I am also going to be scheduled for some overnighter sleep lab tests, but apparently it takes a long time to get in.
I was prescribed an SSRI called Cipralex, and a stimulant called Adderall. We're currently testing the dosage (the pharmacist called it "titration"), and was supposed to start taking it a couple of days ago, but after having read some of the posts online I've gotten really worried about it. Mostly because I was told one thing by the psychiatrist, and another from the pharmacist, and from the posts I've read, I need to be sure not to mix certain vitamins/minerals or I could potentially do something bad to myself. I'm not sure if I am mistaken about this, but again my reading has been limited to what I can find online.
The psychiatrist told me to take Adderall in the morning, and Cipralex at night. Whereas the pharmacist told me to take it during the morning, both. Although, she did mention I could take the Cipralex at night. Not sure what difference it makes or what's really better.
Secondly, I do like to supplement my diet with a protein shake during the day, an amino acid tablet, a multi-vitamin, including two extra B-complex, and vitamin D tablets. There problem here is that the protein shake and amino acid has things like L-tyrosine, and the multi-vitamins has good dose of magnesium, potasium, and choline.
So my questions are:
1. Should I be taking the two prescriptions at the same time? or like it was recommended initially? I already have a feeling I will be told to follow the doctor's orders, but I would like to know the difference if someone can help with that.
2. Should I be worried about my protein/amino acids/vitamins in the mornings? If there is some concern, how should I try to time it?
3. I also read about something called Modafinil for narcolepsy, and is not a stimulant or has as drastic side effects as Adderall. Any advice/suggestions on this?
I know it sounds like I am being overly cautious, but these are medications that affect brain function, and so I want to proceed with caution (maybe that's part of my OCD side). I also don't want to avoid dealing with my problems.
My problems started long (early teens) ago, although I mostly ignored them and managed to get by (details of which I can elaborate later). However, they seemed to get worse and worse the past 5 years rather than getting better on their own, and so I went to a doctor with my sleeping problems. I was given melatonin, propranol HCl, Trazodone HCl, and Zopiclone (all at various doses), and they all made me sleepy/groggy, but I would still wake up in the morning feeling like hell and would fall asleep throughout the day like before. The doctor was going to give me something that he said would completely zonk me out, but I refused as the idea scared me far too much.
I never told the doctor at the time that I was having problems during the day and that I woke up a dozen times at night, but rather that my sleep problem was that I just couldn't sleep at night. I figured, that if I got sound sleep at night, it would take care of the rest during the day. Guess I was wrong about that. I went and got blood tests done, as well as an ECG, and everything showed up normal. I then went to see a clinical psychologist, to whom I opened up about the details of my problems, we had two one hour sessions, and he also referred me to a psychiatrist that spent an hour with me.
They both realized that I have several problems, but the main one is narcolepsy (without cataplexy, meaning I won't fall on my face while doing things, I can endure it somewhat). My sleep is irregular, in that I wake up at the very least every 2 hours on good days, and about every 30 min to 1 hour on average. I apparently also have ADD, anxiety, depression, and OCD.
They made me feel like a bit of a nut case, but at this point, I think if I can feel a little normal with my sleep condition, the rest should go away, or so I hope. I am also going to be scheduled for some overnighter sleep lab tests, but apparently it takes a long time to get in.
I was prescribed an SSRI called Cipralex, and a stimulant called Adderall. We're currently testing the dosage (the pharmacist called it "titration"), and was supposed to start taking it a couple of days ago, but after having read some of the posts online I've gotten really worried about it. Mostly because I was told one thing by the psychiatrist, and another from the pharmacist, and from the posts I've read, I need to be sure not to mix certain vitamins/minerals or I could potentially do something bad to myself. I'm not sure if I am mistaken about this, but again my reading has been limited to what I can find online.
The psychiatrist told me to take Adderall in the morning, and Cipralex at night. Whereas the pharmacist told me to take it during the morning, both. Although, she did mention I could take the Cipralex at night. Not sure what difference it makes or what's really better.
Secondly, I do like to supplement my diet with a protein shake during the day, an amino acid tablet, a multi-vitamin, including two extra B-complex, and vitamin D tablets. There problem here is that the protein shake and amino acid has things like L-tyrosine, and the multi-vitamins has good dose of magnesium, potasium, and choline.
So my questions are:
1. Should I be taking the two prescriptions at the same time? or like it was recommended initially? I already have a feeling I will be told to follow the doctor's orders, but I would like to know the difference if someone can help with that.
2. Should I be worried about my protein/amino acids/vitamins in the mornings? If there is some concern, how should I try to time it?
3. I also read about something called Modafinil for narcolepsy, and is not a stimulant or has as drastic side effects as Adderall. Any advice/suggestions on this?
I know it sounds like I am being overly cautious, but these are medications that affect brain function, and so I want to proceed with caution (maybe that's part of my OCD side). I also don't want to avoid dealing with my problems.
