> > My daughter has bipolar. It's been pretty well controlled. The big problem we're having now is an escalation of chronic insomnia.
>
> Geodon can produce insomnia. Does the emergence of insomnia coincide with Geodon treatment or dosage adjustments? Maybe she can take the second dose earlier in the day. Interesting thing - using salt for dysautonomia. I am guessing that bipolar disorder can aggravate dysautonomia via HPA axis activation.
>
Hi Scott - Thanks for responding.
I didn't know Geodon could cause insomnia! When she first started taking it, and when her dose has been adjusted, she has about two weeks of pretty serious sleepiness. And since she takes an equal dose in the morning and the evening, I just don't know if it makes a difference. As for the salt.. yeah, when the cardiologist said for her to take salt and drink high quantities of water, I was bewildered - couldn't imagine how that would help all the problems she was having.They had done a couple of holter monitors on her, with and without her psychotropics. On both, she had 700 PVC's (premature ventricular beats) every single hour, 24 hours a day. She had runs of two to three in a row fairly frequently. So she starts taking the salt, and would you believe that all the symptoms go away! Including the PVC's, erratic heart rate, erratic blood pressure, internal thermostat dysregulation, etc. And there's nothing that upsets her more than for me to let her get low on those salt tabs :-)
> Is the Geodon being used to prevent mania or as an antidepressant adjunct?
The Geodon has been crucial to moderating her hypomania. Depression hasn't seemed to be a problem so far. Her psychiatrist has told us that preventing hypomania as much as possible is key... because the more episodes she has of hypomania, the more likely she is to develop full blown mania, along with its depression counterpart.
>
> Have you tried low-dosage Seroquel yet?
No.. haven't tried Seroquel. The Geodon has really worked well for her... and the psychiatrist seems to attribute the insomnia to bipolar itself. My daughter has had a long history of difficulty sleeping - since toddlerhood.
Solstice
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