Posted by Zatar on March 8, 2015, at 18:18:11
I'm asking for a friend (no, REALLY). She is probably going through perimenopause, but has had horrible sleep maintenance issues for several months and cannot sleep more that 1 to 1-1/2 hours at a time and has been getting only 2-4 hours per night for months, and that is not a sequential 2-4 hours.
The problem is that she also has depression, possible panic attacks, gets migraines and has been having vertigo or rather something like it (where the room does not spin, but she feels like she is being PULLED to one side) and the meds she has tried either increase dizziness or worsen depression. Elavil 25 mg does not help sleep and worsens dizziness. Xanax 0.5 mg worsens depression. Meclizine didn't help dizziness. Hormone replacement therapy really not an option as her mother had breast cancer.
Brain MRI negative, lumbar puncture negative. Only some vestibular testing showed "unilateral vestibular hyPOactivity".
She desperately needs something for sleep as she has young kids and cannot drive. What meds can you suggest for sleep that do not cause/worsen depression that she can discuss with the new pdoc that she will be seeing soon? Neurontin? Remeron? How can she manage side effects as most meds that aid sleep seem to cause dizziness?
Thank you in advance.
-Zatar
poster:Zatar
thread:1077385
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150223/msgs/1077385.html