Happy Columbus day everyone! I hope you're all having a good time. Luckily for me I don't have to be at work until Wednesday (Tuesday technically, but that's just a check in). Anyways, I wanted to talk a little bit about Xyrem and my experience with Narcolepsy.
When I was first diagnosed with the Narcolepsy, I was really confused. From what I knew about the disease (from the movies Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Rat Race); it meant that you basically pass out randomly. There must have been some mistake, I don't pass out randomly, I'm just tired as hell 24/7 and can't fall asleep. Well, I was wrong. I soon found out that Cataplexy associated with Narcolepsy is the loss of muscle tone, leading to the passing out everyone is familiar with due to prime time television and the such.
Narcolepsy is a neurological disease where you go straight into REM sleep (the deep sleep where dreams occur)from stage 1; completely bypassing the other stages where you would usually get your actual rest. This can cause sleep paralysis, hallucinations upon falling asleep/waking up, nightmares and excessive daytime sleepiness. Another downside is that a lot of people with Narcolepsy also have insomnia (myself included), which you wouldn't think since we are always sleepy. But it's an unfortunate truth and many of us haven't had a full nights rest in years.
I was originally put of Nuvigil, which is a stimulant to help keep me awake. It worked wonderfully the first couple days, but then it stopped. I was also getting worse tremors on it. I was then switched to Ritalin, and that didn't really help much either. Then switched to Adderall which kind of helps. I probably don't notice it as much because it's the extended release. During this time I was also put on Xyrem. For those of you that don't know, Xyrem is the pharmaceutical version of GHB aka (one of) the date rape drugs. It's supposed to knock you out (obviously), as well as keep you up during the day. It's still unclear of how exactly it works, but it did. I was feeling more awake during the day and felt less likely to fall asleep. Here comes the downsides:
It tasted horrible! Too salty
I was extremely nauseous all night and in the morning
I started to hear things at night (creepy as heck)
The frequency and realism of nightmares went up
Lost appetite (also included with Adderall)
It ended up getting to the point where I knew I had to stop. I started to lose control of my own thought process and didn't feel like I was even in charge of what I did. Luckily I was able to stop and I'm currently exploring other options. Since stopping, it's been a lot harder for me to fall asleep (even with taking Zyprexa and Remeron) and I do feel more tired during the day; but overall I feel 100x better. I feel more like myself and not just some zombie that took over my body.
I started the Zyprexa to help get me to sleep but so far it isn't working. Maybe it's too low a dose (5g) or maybe my chemical makeup is just that out of whack. Melatonin doesn't do a thing for me and after the initial break in period of Ambien (about a week), I have to take three to really feel anything. I'm hoping this sleeping situation will change shortly.
One thing that has helped keep me awake is ZMA. I first started taking it in 2009, using Optimum Nutrition's ZMA, but I now "make my own" by getting the individual bottles and taking it that way. It's cheaper and allows you to know you're getting good quality. ZMA is proposed as a natural testosterone booster and as a bolster REM sleep. People say that it helps them feel better after a heavy workout and that their test levels shot through the roof after taking it, but I never experienced much of that. What I did experience was a dramatic increase in the quality of my sleep. It's the only thing I have tried that helps me stay asleep. I don't get to sleep through the night, but I don't wake up 20 times whenever I take it. I seriously suggest that anyone who is having trouble sleeping through the night to take this. What's the worst that could happen? You lose out on the $6 you spent on the tablets. It's definitely worth a try.
Well that's about it, check out my other posts as well as my facebook and twitter. Have a great holiday everyone!
Note: Neither Jazz Pharmaceutics or Optimum Nutrition are giving me any compensation for this review. I am writing this out of my own free will to inform the public of my opinions.
When I was first diagnosed with the Narcolepsy, I was really confused. From what I knew about the disease (from the movies Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Rat Race); it meant that you basically pass out randomly. There must have been some mistake, I don't pass out randomly, I'm just tired as hell 24/7 and can't fall asleep. Well, I was wrong. I soon found out that Cataplexy associated with Narcolepsy is the loss of muscle tone, leading to the passing out everyone is familiar with due to prime time television and the such.
 |
| Sleeping at modified POA |
I was originally put of Nuvigil, which is a stimulant to help keep me awake. It worked wonderfully the first couple days, but then it stopped. I was also getting worse tremors on it. I was then switched to Ritalin, and that didn't really help much either. Then switched to Adderall which kind of helps. I probably don't notice it as much because it's the extended release. During this time I was also put on Xyrem. For those of you that don't know, Xyrem is the pharmaceutical version of GHB aka (one of) the date rape drugs. It's supposed to knock you out (obviously), as well as keep you up during the day. It's still unclear of how exactly it works, but it did. I was feeling more awake during the day and felt less likely to fall asleep. Here comes the downsides:
 |
| It's contagious! |
I was extremely nauseous all night and in the morning
I started to hear things at night (creepy as heck)
The frequency and realism of nightmares went up
Lost appetite (also included with Adderall)
It ended up getting to the point where I knew I had to stop. I started to lose control of my own thought process and didn't feel like I was even in charge of what I did. Luckily I was able to stop and I'm currently exploring other options. Since stopping, it's been a lot harder for me to fall asleep (even with taking Zyprexa and Remeron) and I do feel more tired during the day; but overall I feel 100x better. I feel more like myself and not just some zombie that took over my body.
I started the Zyprexa to help get me to sleep but so far it isn't working. Maybe it's too low a dose (5g) or maybe my chemical makeup is just that out of whack. Melatonin doesn't do a thing for me and after the initial break in period of Ambien (about a week), I have to take three to really feel anything. I'm hoping this sleeping situation will change shortly.
One thing that has helped keep me awake is ZMA. I first started taking it in 2009, using Optimum Nutrition's ZMA, but I now "make my own" by getting the individual bottles and taking it that way. It's cheaper and allows you to know you're getting good quality. ZMA is proposed as a natural testosterone booster and as a bolster REM sleep. People say that it helps them feel better after a heavy workout and that their test levels shot through the roof after taking it, but I never experienced much of that. What I did experience was a dramatic increase in the quality of my sleep. It's the only thing I have tried that helps me stay asleep. I don't get to sleep through the night, but I don't wake up 20 times whenever I take it. I seriously suggest that anyone who is having trouble sleeping through the night to take this. What's the worst that could happen? You lose out on the $6 you spent on the tablets. It's definitely worth a try.
Well that's about it, check out my other posts as well as my facebook and twitter. Have a great holiday everyone!
Note: Neither Jazz Pharmaceutics or Optimum Nutrition are giving me any compensation for this review. I am writing this out of my own free will to inform the public of my opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment