There you go. You're working it. That shows initiative and that you still have some hope! As alloh says, don't quit trying.

There are days that we all feel like trying. Today in one of those days that I feel like just walking out the front door and never come back. Husbands, children, friends, who needs them. I don't.

I want to be a wander w/no contact. Maybe I should see that new George Clooney Movie.

Meant to say days we were all feel like quitting to try.

Use crazymeds.us! The owner has profiled most head drugs in a way like no other(not like rxlist or something);he notes side effects, freaky rare side effecs, and stuff your doc won't tell you, and all for free. They have forums where people talk about all meds for your head! Users chime in on their experiences and stuff, it is a really great site, it is a godsend website for someone with depression (me).

Sorry I don't mean to Shill (I am not sure I can Shill this site, as they don't sell anything) but it is a resource like no other. I know how it can feel, noone to talk to about your meds, but here you can ask any question to someone just as crazy as you who has firsthand experience with the meds! :P

I myself take Lexapro and Remeron, and just added Suboxone. Now I am gonna add Androgel (T Level 41, I am 25) and Nuvgil.Been on the Andro for a week or so, feel ok, and I've been to scared to start he Nuvigil, as I am sensitive to stimulants.

Sorry to hear your having a bad day meonlytis I've certainly had more days than I can count just like you described...

I'm a stubborn little bastard though... So far every time I hit rock bottom or yet another brick wall I've found a way to claw back a little hope into my life... I must say thats getting harder to do each time though...

This doctor at least seemed to take more of an interest than the other doctors... So I'm hoping that once he is satisfied there is not some other underlying medical condition that he'll actually listen...

I just hope I can hold onto my job long enough for that to happen... Fingers crossed...

Thanks for the link arcady59... There is some excellent information on there... The author certainly has a good sense of humor... It was good to see that particular subject handled in a light hearted manner for once...

The crazymeds web site is definitely very entertaining except if you are actually looking for factual information about your medical condition.
To paraphrase the owner's credo about treating your psychiatric disorders:
Get treatment from your psych doctor
Confirm with your primary physician
Consult with your pharmacist
And, finally, go to crazymeds.us to get the real skinny

My advice is caveat lector.

Have you tryed mentioning the meds you by name?

Whenever I mention any of the options I'm looking at, e.g. Ritalin, Adderall or Wellbutrin, the doctors usually shut down at that point...

I guess they think I'm after some high or something... When all I really want is to be able to get through a day without feeling like I'm sleep walking...

I have even more blood tests on Monday morning... It'll take a few days to get results from that...

Hopefully the ApneaLink test equipment I hired shows up on Monday as well... Can't send it back till Wednesday because of a public holiday... Fingers crossed I can get the results of that back ASAP and present it all to the doctor by the end of the week...

martind I certainly wouldn't use crazymeds.us as a source of 'factual' information... More along the lines of anedocal stories from people who have been there and done that...

Well, like i said, if worse comes to worse, you may have to order it online. But, the sleep study may come back in your favor. Try not saying that you're just falling asleep, because they may automatically assimilate that with you not sleeping well. Try saying you are just having trouble concentrating and that you think about all the things you need to accomplish during the day all at once but can't concentrate on one long enough to actually accomplish it. That, they will assossiate with add/adhd.

There you go again Martin, making me have to google. OK, caveat lector is latin for reader beware.

You know what I can't stand is that we have to talk to and see and be tested by so many doctors and therapists b4 we get what we need, whatever it may be.

for sure...

That's pretty much what I'm telling them alloh04... I think they are just too busy covering their own asses...

Unfortunately whilst they delay and delay my life is going down the toilet... By the time they make up their minds who knows what will be left of my life... All these delays is why people take things into their own hands...

If anybody knows any good reliable sources of Wellbutrin or Ritalin please let me know... Adderall isn't worth the risk of trying to import at this stage...

Yea adderall is no where to be found. The BI sites all offer ritalin at the best prices i've seen (not to say that they are)... give em a try..

Well the Sleep Apnea test equipment showed up yesterday... Wore it last night and will chuck it back in the mail tomorrow (public holiday today)... Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get the results back...

It was not a pleasent experience wearing that thing whilst trying to sleep... Did not have a good nights sleep at all... Hopefully I did manage to get some long enough periods of sleep to get some reasonable results...

The supplements my naturopath wants me to take showed up yesterday as well... Just took my first lot... I think they are working on the theory that if it tatses bad then it must be good for you lol...

I also went for more blood tests yesterday as well... It was an eventful day... Have an appointment with the doctor again on Thursday morning to get the results back...

Also managed to get an appointment with a different shrink at a much earlier date... So not this Thursday but next... Much better than the 1st of March...

Happy Australia Day to any Australians out there reading this... If you not Australian then pretend you are for the day and go out have a BBQ and get drunk

Hi Runey,

Any chance you could ask the doc for just 1 month of whatever med you need that they are reluctant to script?

You could say that you will gladly jump through all the hoops, but while they are gathering their evidence or justifications or whatever we want to call them, maybe they could keep your life from falling apart, or asleep as the case may be.

Of course you would have to be way more diplomatic that I was just now. But it might be worth a try.

Meon

Assuming this round of blood tests come back normal like all the other ones that's what I intend to do...

Diplomacy is not exactly my strong point but I'll give it a shot lol

In truth I'd rather not be on this stuff for the rest of my life anyway... Even though I know that may very well be the case... Still I'm doing everything I can think of to change my lifestyle for the better in the hope that one day I can be drug free...

Yes, that is much better. Keep working it Runey. Just keep working it ... It's the only choice we have.

Yea i agree, it took me a year for a doctor to properly diagnose me and for me to find a medication that worked. It was a long year but worth it in the end.

Another doctors visit over and done with...

All test resulst came back normal... Including glucose and cholesterol... Choloesterol was on the high side of normal though... Considering the last time I had those tests done the results were worse than they are now I'm pretty happy...

So that just leaves sleep apnoea as the last issue they want to DISCOUNT... Hopefully my results will be back soon...

I brought up Ritalin and Adderall with him again... He had a very strong negative reaction to that... I doubt no matter how many tests I get done I will never get access to those options...

His reaction to Wellbutrin (Zyban here) was largely indifferent...

He has put me on Modafinil (Modavigil here but made by the same people who make Provigil in the USA) though even though I told him I have tried it with no success... I guess it is worth a shot... There is no telling if what I bought online was the genuine thing or not... At least now I know that it is the real deal... I have to try it for at least two weeks before he will discuss any other options...

The pills themselves are very very different... Different shape and significantly different size... Not sure if that means anything or not...

I've just taken my first one so it'll be intresting to see if it has any effect...

That's what my doctor started me on as i previously mentioned. Alot of times they start with the lesat potent stuff (provigil). Take it for a month (or until you see your doctor again) and tell him it's not working, if it's not... then see what he has to say about moving you up to ritalin, which is the next step up, then adderall.

I've scheduled another appointment with him in eight days... By that time I will have my in home sleep test results back and I would have had my first appointment with the shrink...

If the modafinil hasn't had any effectby then I will ask about upping the dose at that point rather than waiting the two weeks he suggested...

Hopefully I can convince him to allow me ot keep upping the dose each week until it either works or I hit the maximum dosage of 400mg...

That will take four weeks... If it hasn't worked by that time I hope he stops being so negative about the other options...

Failing that I will at least have a record of officially attempting this option... I'll just have to get a copy of those records and find yet another doctor... Who will hopefully start where I've left off rather than at the beginning again...

I hope this doesn't take a year like it did with you and other people... I don't know how I could possibly cope with work if this process drags on too long...

hopefully not... the doctor that ultimately ended up giving me what i needed was the one that started me on provigil... give it a try and take it from there... hopefully all works out well. I think you are on the right path though and it is only a matter of time

I got my sleep study results back... I only had three apnea events the whole night which is nothing... I did have 54 hypopnea events in that time and 227 snoring events though...

Basically an apnea event meant I stopped breathing whilst a hypopnea event meant my air intake was reduced but not completely...

So pretty much those figures say I don't suffer from sleep apnea... However it may still be having some effect on my sleep quality because of the hypopnea...

The good news is that a CPAP machine is overkill... YAY I really did not want to be on one of those things...

However a mouthguard will probably be beneficial... It should stop the snoring and hopefully reduce the hypopnea events...

Hopefully that helps with this tiredness at least a little... The hypopnea isn't bad enough to explain the whole thing but every little bit helps...

The company I hired the test equipment through has a premade mouthguard they can sell me... The Somnoguard AP... Much cheaper than getting one made by the dentist and faster too... Should have it in a few days...

Once I have been using it for a few days I'm going to do the test again and see if it made any difference...

Slowly making some progress

Well that's good news..... yes i think you are definately on the rigt path, just hang in there!!!

Interesting about the mouth guard. Is it for snoring only or would it help teeth clenchers, grinders too do you think?

We have a few members on the board with TMJ and can not afford custom mouthguards from dentists.

Alloh is right - sounds like you are on the right path. Keep working on it Runey. We are routing for you!

Meon

They are meant specifically for snoring and sleep apnoea... I'm a teeth clencher and grinder myself though...

The SomnoGuard AP has an adjustable screw to move your bottom jaw back and forth... I have read reports of that screw getting damaged due to teeth grinding...

The SomnoGuard 2.0 doesn't have any adjustment and might be better for teeth grinding...

This was only my first night wearing the SomnoGuard... Was kinda weird but once I managed to get to sleep I slept all the way through... Teeth and jaw ached a little in the morning but not for long...

Check out www.tomed.com who make the SomnoGuard...

Everybodys support has meant a great deal to me... Thankyou...

Thanks for the info on the SomnoGuard.

Hope you have a good weekend.

Meon

So Runey.... any luck with the medications?

Doc let me up my modafinil dosage to 200mg... Still not helping though...

The SomnoGuard is helping a bit though... I'm definitely finding it easier to get up in the morning... Not sure if thats because I have had a better nights sleep or because I want to get the damn thing out of my mouth

Within a couple hours I start to crash though...

Since upping the dosage of Modafinil I've been feeling more anxious than usual... That could just be work though... Next week is the first outage of the year and I don't feel up to doing it... So I'm probably just reacting to that...

My script of Modafinil runs out soon so I'll go back and see what the next stage is... Either get him to up the dose again or switch to something else...

I kinda blew him away with the research and test methods for the sleep apnoea... It's hard to get into a proper sleep study so I found some companies who send the equipment to you and then just analyse the results... I also showed him the SomnoGuard that I am using... Looks like he is going to recommend the process to some other patients who don't have the money to go for a full sleep study or custom made mouthguard...

So I think he is starting to trust that I'm not just some nut who wants drugs to get high... That I'm taking this seriously and looking at all the options... Hoping that will make him more open to other ideas...

that's good to hear... if the modafinil isn't working at 200mg, which was what i was taking before i got put on ritalin (and eventually adderall), maybe he'll put you on it as well. I think you're gonig in the right direction though as far as complying with every possible thing that you could...

It's been a month Runey, any updates?