Lamictal 150 mgs: Sleep Returning to (Almost) Normal, Dry Mouth Interfering

The good news is that after nearly twelve weeks on this medication, my delayed sleep phase seems to be fading.  I have to credit this to my sunlamp.  Last week, with the official onset of autumn, I started using my sunlamp for half an hour in the morning and half an hour around sunset (sometimes an hour if I'm feeling particularly low).  I've also been trying to stay in bright light until 8 or 8:30, as per the instructions of my brain doctor.

Within two days of starting the sunlamp, I began to wake up on my own around 9:30.  I had been waking up at 11, but only with the help of my alarm clock, and it was sometimes a struggle.  At night, I'd been staying up until 3 am.  Most of the time I simply couldn't fall asleep until then, even if I was exhausted.

The last several nights I've been turning the light out at 1 am, but I haven't really been able to sleep until 2 or 2:30.  I think that much of this is due to the hellish dry mouth I'm enjoying, courtesy of lamictal, vyvanse (a stimulant), all of my allergy meds, and my sunlamp.  I'm drinking what possibly amounts to two gallons of water a day.  This is (I think) four times the "eight cups of water" that's recommended.



Drinking this much water means I have to pee like every 20 minutes, so I'm inevitably getting out of bed several times for the first hour or so, until I get it out of my system (heh).  There were a couple nights last week when I'd toss and turn for those first few hours, but recently I've found myself falling asleep (or nearly asleep) between trips to the bathroom.

Another thing that might be interfering with my sleep is that I haven't been exercising.  Last week I was too exhausted, and realized that I was due for a break in my weight training anyway -- it's recommended that weight lifters take a week's break from time to time to let their bodies recover.  It's necessary, but every time I've taken my break since starting lamictal my sleep has really suffered.

In other news, my appetite is returning to somewhat normal.  I ate my breakfast in well under an hour today.  Sometimes, I've even been getting hungry by mid-day.  Woohoo.