Exactly!
#155254 - 03/01/05 09:09 AM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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I went from graduating Summa Cum Laude to also not remembering that I have something cooking on the stove. Almost burned the place down a couple times.
It saddens me to realize how much of my brain I have lost. So frustrating to not be able to learn and pick up on things as easily.
This must be what Alzheimers is like for some people. In the beginning, they remember being top notch lawyer, doctors, professors, only to see there brains deteriorate and it is frustrating and sad.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I took very low dose, only 25 mg I think. Maybe even cut that pill in half for a while before giving up totally. I was given it to help sleep and also to help with chronic pain. As you probably already know, AD's can help chronic pain.
I now take Klonopin, a very mild anti-anxiety medication, and valerian herb to help me sleep. And also for anxiety of course.
I don't think I kick in my sleep. But then I don't have a husband or BF to tell me if I did!  Hmmm, could explain why my sheets are always tangled around me and half lying on the floor!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Re: Exactly!
#155320 - 03/01/05 11:16 AM
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Nelly
Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
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That's so true. The roughest part is I can look back on all the notes I took in college and it amazes me what level work I was doing. I can't understand half of it now.
It's so scary remembering being sharp, and looking at my mind slowly fading away. Sometimes I have my moments and I think "wow everybody's listening to me" and then BAM! I stop mid sentence! My train of thought is GONE and I don't remember what word I was trying to find. 
~nelly~ 
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The nortipaline made me the same way! I think I took it for three days than had to stop!! I was actually hallucinating on it!! I also suffer from insomina. I started taking Ambien about 6 weeks ago and it has really helped me! I don't toss and turn and sleep throught he whole night. Well, I get up to pee but I don't think I really wake up to do that!!  It shuts down a certain part of your brain. Not sure if it will help with the RLS or not. It doesn't make me tired the next day at all. As long as you take it only when you can sleep for 7-8 hours, it works great!! Maybe something for you to check into? Hope you're feeling better soon! Hugs!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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LOL! I guess if you kick you'd probably wake yourself up in the process. I only kick right when I'm drifting off to sleep, or if I'm in the middle of a vivid nightmare. Otherwise, I bob my legs up and down throughout the day and can't keep them still. Friends have offered to break my knees for me before. Guess the daytime RLS bothers them more than it bothers me.
Watch out for that Klonopin. It is rough stuff. I took it for a year and kicked it cold turkey. Took me a month of nasty DTs to get it out of my system. My legs and back hurt so much during that month, and I was dizzy constantly. They also perscribe it for cocaine addiction (in a sense similar to being prescribed methadone to kick heroin) for addicts getting off of coke. Stevie Nicks (from Fleetwood Mac-- remember her? I'm dating myself! ) writes about getting off of Klonopin after she had been addicted to coke, then addicted to the Klonopin for years. Be careful with that stuff.
You have a good idea-- I'm also thinking of cutting the nortriptyline in half, but it's the capsule type of pill with the powder so I'm not sure how much mess it's going to make. But if I take a 25 mg pill it lasts me for 3 days of zombieness and 3 nights of sleep, so I might just take it every 3 days.
I'm going to have to start attending meetings soon for my part-time job, seeing the clients and making on-site appearences, so I can't afford to be a zombie, but I really need to get some sleep amid the stress too. Benedryl works fine for sleep for me, but I still bite and kick. Same for Soma. Probably the only thing other than the nortriptyline that works with regard to the RLS is (*shudder*) alcohol. (!!) Not sure I want to go that route tho!!
~nelly~
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Did it help your anxiety and sleeping? Why is it so bad to take? I'm nervous now because I've been taking it for a while. Why did you stop? What did it do to you while on it?
My nortryptylene came in tablet form so I could cut it.
Ps. did you see my post on smoking pot below? How do you find a "source" without getting busted. I don't know anyone! I would only take this for pain relief. Not because I want a buzz. I've never even smoked a cigarrette before, or drank a whole beer! But I need something for pain! 
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I appreciate the tip Michele! I've also heard great things about Ambien. I'm reading all that I can about it so that when I visit the doc I can ask for some to try. I like trying out new remedies, because I am very curious about knowing what's going to work for me! Even more important I think, is finding out what doesn't work at all, or what makes things worse. I like being able to be in a position to say "this has worked for me in the past, so I know I can count on it working now, when I REALLY need it!"
The nortriptyline does exactly what it's supposed to-- help me sleep and stop the RLS. The trick is handling the side effects, which I'm getting the hang of. I want to be at the point that I can take it without fear, and so any knowledge is power!
Thanks for everything, Michele! You know I think you're the cat's pajamas!!
~nelly~
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I'm going to the doc today to get off it....hope she'll help me...or I'm taking myself off.
I have lost 5 pounds in 3 or 4 weeks (can't remember) but I can't lose anymore. And it's making me miserable.
Plus I had hemms from it, and other stuff (my breasts are huge now and so's my tush!0
I am SICK o meds making me sicker. I'm going naturale!
Ok...bout to reads the rest of this thread.....
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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Nelly not to but in on this, but make sure you can get a full night's sleep when taking Ambien. My husband took it during graduate school when he was only getting 4 hours and the doctor forgot to tell him that it would cause some memory loss or make you feel like you are in a daze. That was not a good combo when he was up studying for classes!!
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{{{{{HUGS!!}}}} You are the nicest thing for thinking about me! Yes, please smack the tar outta me if I get out of line and hurt myself! Please know that I am not suicidal, that I do take measures to be in a position where I will not hurt myself! I recognize the warning signs and I do ask for help when I start having dark thoughts, but please know it is because of drug interactions with my brain, not because I am a sad person! Some of these ADs are like chemical dispair in pill form, I swear. The nortriptyline is not one of those, luckily, because it actually works for RLS! It would suck royally if it worked for the RLS but then made me into Dr. Gloom.
I have a biteplate (several, actually ) but I spit them out in my sleep. It's always been like this for me even when I had a retainer; I can't tolerate anything in my mouth while I'm sleeping, or awake for that matter. I don't even do gum or mints. It's weird, but if I can't swallow it right away, I spit whatever it is out!
I have TMJ too. on my right side it's both up and going down, and on my left, it's just going down. I can't bite down properly at all because I have some weird mouth malformation, and I grind my teeth when I get stressed and when I'm asleep. When it's at its worst, I actually wake myself up because of the squeeking of my teeth grinding against each other! LOL! Ugh, the THOUGHT of the sound is making me cringe!!!
I totally agree we have to meet one of these days!! I've been wanting to visit Toronto for a while, so I'm going to have to put some plans in gear to go up to the Great White North for sure!!
~nelly~
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