almost 7 hours of sleep
 

Hi,

I went to bed at 3:30 and woke up at 10:20.
That's about 7 hours of sleep.

I'm feeling hung over of course from the 300 mgs Gabapentin.


M

yeah!!!!
I am happy that you got some decent sleep!
good for you!
you took less klonipin?
bizi

HI, Bizi,

I wet to bed and slept for an hour and fifteen minutes.
Nice nap.

M

How do you feel?
bizi

Bizi,

I feel good today.


M

Thanks Bizi,

Here is my med report tonight/ Sunday: At 9:30 pm I took the following:

~~2.25 mgs Klonopin (usual dose for the past zillion years is 2.5 mg)

~~300 mgs Gabapentin (one capsule) I need to balance the benefits of the med with the down side of brain fog. I anticipate changing this dose when I get the 100 mgs capsules from mdoc soon.

~~Verapamil


M

4.5 hours of sleep
 

. . . . . .depressed.
Tired.
Worn out from trying to see through the brain fog of the Gabapentin.

I few times I was almost in tears even though the work day was not stressful.


M

Hi Mari

Sorry you are still struggling. :( :hug::hug::hug:

how soon do you see mdoc? do you think you call her about this - perhaps she could just call in the script? or even just go there as a walk in if dealing by phone is difficult.

i hope you can get the 100's soon!

meantime maybe you can just open a 300 and discard a small amount? if you choose to do this again, i would not recommend you just pour out the powder directly as you previously indicated. doing so will give you a rather arbitrary dose each time.

this is how i used to split mine: i did not pour the amount directly out of the capsule -
open them with the long part down, and then carefully decant an little of the powder back into the top of the capsule. tap the two halves together to make the powder settle. compare the levels of the two using backlighing, like a bright window. decant back and forth if necessary, tapping the capsule halves in between, to get the amount you want.

to get about 200 mg, you need about 2/3 of a capsule, so:

when the level in the top of the cap is half the level in the bottom of the cap, that's about 200mg.

it would be just a smidgeon more than 200 because the capsules are rounded at the bottom but that is of little consequence. the point is if you use this method you should get closer to the same amount each time, because you have a way to visually measure what you toss against what you keep, rather than pouring an arbitrary fraction out of the capsule each time.

.... i don't blame you if you don't want to mess with it and keep taking 300's. it just sounds like it might be too much for you.


~ waves ~

Thanks Waves for explaining about the capsules.

This medication punishes me for not sleeping. It needs a full night's rest.

Duh. I'm a goof ball. People are supposed to sleep.

I met with my new direct boss today for something. She mentioned that she wakes up at 5:00 am and struggles with teaching after 5:00 at night as she is scheduled now. She did add that she needs a couple of hours of not dealing with people when she first gets up. I should think that this is not a problem. She doesn't have committments at dawn. Perhaps larks and owls each have crosses to bear that the other cannot imagine. Then we have little subsets of larks who like this while other larks like that.

Knowing that she is a 5:00 person helps me understand her a little better. That also helps me know a little bit more about not surprising her with something difficult late in her day.

M

Hi,

Tdoc and I had a phone session. I needed to talk about confusing feelings about work buddy and our work colleague who died. I cried. . . took some notes. She helped explain things.

M

I am so glad that she helped explain things for you.
((((HUGS)))))
bizi

Sounds like a productive session. i am glad she was able to help.

(((hugs)))

~ waves ~

Hi,


Saw girlfriend and talked. 'Called sis and talked for a while. Agitated and sad.
Almost ready to talk to work buddy -- almost feel like I might to come right out and say something to him like this: "I hope that I have helped your healing with colleague's passing as much as you helped with mine."
OR
I hope that I have not hindered your healing process.

=-=-=

Tdoc says realationship between work buddy and me will evolve --- that we will get out of this situation we have now that was forged in trauma and evolve onto something different and better (more "normal" as sis said). . . . also that entirely new close relationships will open up for me.

=-=-=-

I would trade everything I have and everyone I know for colleague to be alive and happy again.

I wish that work buddy and I had not gone through those brutal 18 months almost alone together at work while we shared colleague's fight for his life with him.
=-=-=-


M

meds for tonight
 

I hate the brain fog. It's going to make me nuts very soon.

Tuesday night I took:

2.25 Klonopin (usually dose is 2.5)
Less than one half capsule of Gabapentin (maybe somewhere around 100 mgs.

M

Dear Mari

i hope you feel less foggy "tomorrow" (wednesday) with the downsized med doses, and still manage to sleep.

i am so sorry for what you and work buddy went through. :hug::hug::hug: i believe your sister is right though, and that all this will evolve.

i do not see an imminent need for a direct exchange between you and work buddy about your common loss and reciprocal roles in healing. imho you know the reality of these things, and he knows it, and you each know the other knows it. perhaps considering this verbal exchange, and even formulating different words for it, made it more concrete in your mind... brought the feelings into thought, or something like that. if there needs to be a verbal exchange about it between you, it will probably happen spontaneously when the time is right.

it is sunny and clear here this morning. i'm sending you sunny and clear vibes from my local weather, for you to wake up to. ;)

~ waves ~

Hi Waves,

Yes, I don't know why tdoc suggested that. It was near the end of the session. I have to pretend she didn't say something that doesn't make sense. Maybe she was just making stuff up and talking smack as the kids say.

Last summer was my hardest summer I have ever worked. He and I did a huge amount of work that required we be in almost minute to minute contact. It was so exhausting emotionally and physically. At the end of the projects, the big big boss un-did what we did.
The summer ended sooo unfruitfully. We got no satisfaction, only exhaustion . .. and a kind of weariness with each other.
Work buddy's mother died a few weeks ago due to illness.

Today, I feel hung over. I had four hours of sleep.
On the way to work I often listen to a cd for breathing and positive healing thoughts.:eek:

M

I had not realized it was 18 months. That is a long time.
I am sorry you lost your colleague.
It sounds so painful for you.
Things will evolve for your work buddy.
Do the tapes help with your anxiety?
bizi

Bizi,
Thanks
The cd does help tremendously. I sometimes wake up with anxiety and chest pains. The cd calms me before I get to work.

I've been in a funk I think. .. .

M

(((((HUGS)))))
love to you
bizi

Mari

I'm not sure its the gabapentin causing the foggy feelings.

Donna:grouphug:

Dear Mari,

guess i've got meds on the brain (well, literally :rolleyes:) and wondered how the gabapentin was working out?

did you get the 100 mg capsules prescribed?

how much are you taking now?

are you feeling any better, in any of the areas that were bothersome:
-- fogginess
-- depression
-- (anxiety - not sure if it helped you with that)
-- nerve pain

i hope there has been some improvement. :heartthrob:

~ waves ~

Gabapentin
 

Dear Waves,

Thanks.

My mdoc appointment is sometime in January so I do not have the 100 mgs pills yet.
I am taking about a third to a half of a 300 mgs pill: perhaps 100-150 mgs.

Fogginess -- has improved now that I am down to this low dose
Depression -- helped within the first month of taking it
Anxiety -- lessoned almost immediately when I started it
If going up beyond the low dose does improve the anxiety issue any more -- it does at the huge cost of fogginess.
Nerve pain -- no help I think. Pdoc said that I would need to be at 400 - 600 mgs for a month. I was up to 600 mgs for 10 days.

Being out in the sun three times in the last seven days has helped with depression, anxiety, and energy levels. . . .so it is hard to respond to your questions with regard to time line.

. . . if you asked me your questions two weeks ago I might have answered differently. Today, I feel sleepy but good.


M

I am a 28 yr old female with a dx of bipolar 2, ptsd, and generalized anxiety disorder. I was prescribed Gabapentin 300mg capsules 6-26-12. Was told to start with one at night and if I had no side affects after 2 days to step up dosage to one in the am and 2 before bed. With all I have been reading, (umpteen google searches and ended up here), I see mostly negative things about this drug as far as mood stabiliztion goes, so it has me concerned. Mood stabilization is what it was prescribed to me for. Almost everything I have read says it is uncommon for mood stabilization, and rarely works, some even say not FDA approved for mood stablization. My psychiatrist says she has had other patients in my demegraphic with similar issues with mood and anxiety, sleeplessness etc... and seen marked improvement for may of them. I'm not quite sure what to make of all these conflicting reports. I am confused and anxious over all of this, and wonder if I should trust the psychiatrist and stick to it until I go back in 2 weeks, see what it does or does not do for me, or exprss my concerns now and get on something else. Any suggestions or positive feedback anybody has to offer would be greatly appreciated and welcomed! Thanks

I take gabapentin, But it wasn't prescribed for mood. But I believe it
has helped my anxiety some along with my celexa generic.

I also know that when I first started it, it made me sleepy and helped
my sleep a lot. It still helps my sleep.

I take it for pain issues. I have fibromyalgia, and I take 1200 a day,
now. I've been on it for over 2 or 3 years now. I don't believe I've
ever had any side effects unlike others.

Its been a good drug for me.


I personally would say, if you trust your psychiatrist I would give
it a try. See how it goes, then decide. The only thing I would say
is if you want to wait say 4 days to start the morning dose that
would be okay. I believe I was told to wait 5 days. But remember
I take it for a different reason. And I started on 300mg too when
I started.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

:thud: I know it defenitely takes time, as was my experiance with other meds. I am just so ready for something to work. :Sigh: Patience is what is required here, of which I have very little. However, on a lighter note, I have had it help some already for getting me to sleep. Insomnia has been one of my biggest issues for the last 10-12 years. My mind is almost always go go go, even when I am deeply depressed, but my body is dragging. It feels strange to want to do everything, to look at all that needs to be done around my home an half of me is thinking ahh, the heck with it it aint that bad, while the other half is saying get of you behind and do it. The motivation more often than not, just isn't there for me. I have to look at my son, and think about his health and safety, and push myself daily to get something done. I am hoping that I continue to have progress with this over the coming weeks. I am going to continue taking it and see how I respond. No negative affects yet accepy for a slight sluggish feeling. But I don't as that is even from the gabapentin where I experience this almost daily anyways. I guess you could say it is slight;y more noticible than before I began taking this, but not bothersome. I am actually quite calm today. Which is a rarity for me. My psychiatrist also said if this works for me, but only partially, that there where other thing she could prescribe me in combination with the gabapentin to level me out and get me functioning at an optimal level again. Lord knows I need it. Thanks for your prompt responce and input @ Dmom3005! I will be checking back in here to update after a week or so and after my 2 week progress with the psych. Heres hoping! :hug:

Sorry so many typos, my mind goes a lot faster than my fingers can keep up with sometimes! :P

Hi Mari
 

Hi Mari, this med. did the opposite for me. After a week on the med. I was more depressed than ever. I do not know how others respond to it. Maybe it effects you in a good way. ginnie

Dear MaineMom
 

Hi, MaineMom,

Good news about getting some sleep!
I am on two meds that are not approved for bipolar. They help me a lot. Try not to pay too much attention to what others on the internet are saying about their reactions to meds.

After two weeks on Gabapentin, my anxiety was eased. :)
After a month more, my depression lifted a tiny bit.
My psychiatrist calls this a third line mood stabilizer that he does not use much in his practice. Still, he knows it works for me.

Keep a spread sheet or a mood chart of some kind to help you keep track of
1 medications
2 sleep
3 side effects
4 symptoms

You can google "mood chart" for some on line or make your own so you can keep track of your progress and bring the chart to show the psychiatrist at the next appointment.

Mari