Experience of taking Cabergoline weekly diary

What taking Cabergoline feels like

My first night taking Cabergoline on my new dose of 0.25 i.e half a pill.  I took the pill just gone midnight Wed 04 Jan 2012 with a simple ham sandwich. I decided that it’s best to get something inside my stomach to try and avoid an upset stomach.

To lessen side effects of Dostinex (Cabergoline) I had to half my Dose to 0.25 a week , I split the tablet into half.

I also found it best to reduce the insomnia caused by Cabergoline was to take my dose first thing in the morning with my Breakfast, this helped me get to sleep at night

Went to bed about 10 minutes later fully prepared to sleep downstairs later. After all on the 0.5 per week dose (the previous 2 weeks) I would be awake about an hour or two after taking the pill and laying on the Sofa dog tired but not being able to sleep.

Thankfully last night, after taking the pill I felt a little uneasy but went to sleep pretty shortly after. I’m sure I woke a couple of times but it was pretty much straight back to sleep. I was rudely awoken by our dog who was whining in the kitchen.. She wanted to share the news that she had emptied her guts all over the kitchen floor.  That’s always a treat to come down to when you are feeling a bit tired! Felt a little tired and slightly hungover. But other than that ok.  A little bit later in the day I felt a bit unnerved, like my heart was racing i.e slightly anxious feeling but this soon passed. Towards the evening I felt a bit moody and down, just sometimes feels like things get to me easier.

About 4-5pm I felt tired and lay on the couch resting and I could have slept but the kids put that idea out the window!

But no major side effects today. So let’s see what tonight brings.

Day 2 Thurs 05 Jan 2012

Went to bed at midnight, feeling a little dizzy but nothing too horrendous. I awoke at 4am and lay there for about 2 hours trying to get back to sleep, listening to my wife gently snoring and my son talking in his sleep. Feeling pretty annoyed that I cannot actually stay asleep!! I got back to sleep at about 6am for about another hour and a half.  Woke up feeling a little hungover and with a dry mouth and foaming spit.

Have felt ok throughout the day, I find keeping busy is the best way to prevent dwelling on things and feeling down.  I didn’t feel as down today as I did yesterday. I have been getting blocked ears (like during take off when flying) But they kind of clear when swallowing. I still think I have had a lingering sinus infection from a cold 6 weeks ago and it’s not related to Cabergoline side effects.

My Libido was definitely on the ‘way up’ this morning although the hangover feeling put the dampers on it going any further. Not to mention the kids being at home!

Day 3 Fri 06 Jan 2012

Got a full 8 hrs sleep last night, find it difficult to tell just when the insomnia is going to kick in. Felt pretty good in the daytime. Had a couple of spells of nausea. Which seems to also coincide with the blocked ears at the same time. Felt pretty tired and dehydrated by the end of the day. Went to bed at about Midnight and woke again at about 4am and then managed to get back to sleep for another 3- 4 hours.

Day 4 Sat 07 Jan 2012

Woke up this morning with ‘my nemesis’ the dog barking again. My wife is almost as deaf as a post (especially when it comes to things that disturbs her sleep) i.e postmen, doorbells, kids and dogs that like to ‘empty’ themselves all over the kitchen floor and then greet me in the morning by happily wagging their tail in their little ‘gifts’. In general I had quite a good day and didn’t feel any great issues.

As far as the constipation goes..Well, let’s just say that the traffic is no longer ‘backed up’. Hell yeah, that was a relief my peers and friends have long suspected that I was ‘full of shit’ and taking Cabergoline was kinda proving them right. Still suffering from this ear pressure thing.

Day 5 Sun 08 Jan 2012

Up at 8am with a straight sleep through from midnight. Wow, that was a pretty good sleep for me! I think it may have something to do with a gradual build up of tiredness throughout the week and also as the Cabergoline is wearing off throughout the week I think it allows my body a chance to sleep. It MUST be something to do with being a dopamine agonist. Getting all those ‘exciting’ chemical receptors in the brain firing.

Day 6 Mon 09 Jan 2012

Yet again, no sleep problems and been feeling pretty good apart from being slightly dizzy which I put down to blocked ears. Still painfully lingering after 6 or so weeks since my last cold.
Day 7 Tues 10 Jan 2012

Thankfully another quiet and peaceful night without any real problems except for sinus discomfort and my left chest muscle has been playing up, I think I pulled it a few days ago. Not looking forward particularly to taking my next half pill tonight. I go to bed at about 23.20 after a sandwich with which I take the Cabergoline.

I don’t really get to sleep and get a racing heart at about 2am of Wednesday 8th I end up sleeping downstairs on the couch listening to my Mp3 player until 7am. Probably slept for a total of about a 30 mins doze. Then get up for the children to go to school. It felt like a panic attack for at least 3-4 hrs, fast heartbeat, slightly upset stomach etc.  It’s amazing just how slow the early morning hours drag by when you really want to sleep. So I am going to push through wednesday and really hope that I get some sleep tonight.

31 Jan 2012

Follow up: 3 Weeks later on Cabergoline

Ok, so now I am writing this almost 3 weeks later. I still get the short periods of sleep some nights. I can be laying there for 3 hours and then I am woken up and have trouble getting back to sleep. I will say that the best thing I ever did since starting Cabergoline/ Dostinex is change the time that I took the dose. They say at night with a sandwich or something.  I personally found it alot better taking Cabergoline in the morning just after breakfast. This gave the drug about 18 hours to get into my system before sleep. If you are struggling to sleep on Cabergoline try changing the time you take your pill.

I hope that if you are in a similar situation, I hope that you can tolerate the Cabergoline and get your Prolactin levels down.