Fibromyalgia Support Group

Hello everyone! I started taking Savella 15 days ago and the only bad side affect that I am having is I can not sleep.I go to bed every night at 9:00 and always get up at 5:00 in the morning. Over the last 9 days it has become less and less sleep, last night was the worse, I did not get in bed until almost 10 because of work and I was up at 12:30 this morning and I am still up and will be till late tonight. It is such a crazy side affect and even with the VERY little sleep that I am getting I am still able to put in a very full day at work. I do feel better mentally, I did not realize before that I had the chronic depression from pain unti I started taking it and noticed that I was happier.My pain is a lot less as well. I was taking 4 vicodins a day, 3 Soma and at night 2 Tizanidines. It makes for a heck of a cocktail.. I am down to 3 vicodin a day, and I am only taking Soma if I absolutely have to, so in the last 3 days I have only taken 2 total. I am still taking the tizanidine but if I didnt I dont think I would sleep at all.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can get some sleep I would appreciate it! I am afraid that I am going to crash and burn hard and it worries me because I work 50 hours a week and I am doing accelerated college classes to get my degree. It is a full load!

I am glad that I am not alone out there and that there are other people that "feel my pain".

Hi Smperez, Glad that you found this group! I must tell you that just reading your post made me tired!! I'm sorry that you are experiencing insomnia; that really is something that is hard to deal with and even harder to find something that works for us individually. Unfortunately, Savella can cause insomnia, but insomnia is also one of the "big" symptoms of fibromyalgia by itself. So we (Yes, I've been on Savella for a little over 3 months now.) are being hit with double whammy insomnia!! I've tried so many drugs/supplements throughout the years to help me sleep that I can't recall all of them. Presently I've found that 9mg Melatonin (I built up to that amount over about a week.) and 1/2 Ambien help me sleep most of the night - although I still have problems. (I only take 1/2 Ambien because taking a whole pill causes me some amnesia problems.) Restoril is another drug that helps me sleep, but unfortunately no one thing consistently helps me sleep. I hope you can find what works for you. I'm sure others will be along to share what works for them.

Hi smperez,

I started taking Savella 5 weeks ago and have struggled through the side effects. I have worked with my dr. and he lowered my dose back down to 25mg once a day. That was because I get an increased heart rate (120+ resting!) So, I don't take it at night anymore. How much are you taking and when do you take it?

Stella

Hi Smperez,

Sleep...we either can't get it or we can't wake up. I'm not on Savella but I've had insomnia for years. Last night though I fell asleep at 11 and woke up today at 11:30! Still groggy though.

I started taking melatonin about a week ago too. I'm only taking 6mg at bedtime. I haven't slept that many hours in a row in years! I woke up a few times but was able to go right back to sleep...actually had a hard time keeping my eyes open long enough to stagger to the bathroom & back. The weather changed overnight too from 94 degrees yesterday to drizzly & 70 today and no headache--usually any unseasonable weather gives me a migraine!

I hope you can get some relief. Sleep is so important...

I'm not sure when you take your Savella, but taking it at bedtime may cause your insomnia to be worse. You might try taking your 2nd dose in the afternoon. My husband (a pharmacist) recommended this, and said just be sure to allow 6-8 hours between doses. My doctor actually recommended this same strategy when I was put on Wellbutrin years ago. I take my 2nd dose of Savella in late afternoon, usually with my night meal.

I'm not on Savella either, but I take my Lyrica (tonight to be Neurontin) at bedtime with a Flexeril and 3 to 6mg of melatonin. I even have my husband taking the melatonin now! I probably will not take the melatonin for at least the next couple nights as I am switching to the Neurontin and I'm not sure what kind of side effects it by itself will cause. Melatonin is a good bet though, because it is a naturally produced hormone and it's available over the counter. Webmd recommends from .5mg to 20mg a day as a sleep supplement, so there's plenty of room for playing around. And Tina's around somewhere, she says that 10mg a day of melatonin has greatly reduced her migraine headaches!

SM, how nice to meet you! The first, best suggestion I could come up with is to play around with what time you take you Savella. What time are you taking it right now?

There are lots of things you can do for yourself for sleep, otc, meditation, hypnosis, or you could call your doctor and explain the situation to him. Having to add a sleeping pill doesn't sound so bad when it seems to be helping you so much over all!

We're really glad to have you as part of the group. Please make yourself at home. Post as much as you'd like so that we can get to know one another.

Newbie Hugs

Ok Tina I had to open my mouth about you and you didn't even say anything about the melatonin! Open mouth, insert foot.

Hello,

You will most probably have to play around with the dosing times.

You could try an early morning dose and a late after noon dose for a few days and see how that goes, or you could take a dose right before bed and then a dose at the same time in the next am.

Your system will probably need about a month to get used to the drug. I had crazy side effects from it, but I think it is going to work out. I wake up easier and have less stiffness than before.

LOl! Sorry, Naddya! But you said it all! I didn't need to add anything You did it perfectly

Doc, it's good to see you back! I hope this means you're feeling better!