TUesday I started seeing a new doctor, and she put me on a medication for depression. Celerex. It’s the latest in the family of drugs that includes Zoloft and Prozac. And I’m starting to think it’s worse than what I was going through before. I’m falling asleep all the time now.
Now before I went on the drug one of the problems I was having was difficulty sleeping due to anxiety and compulsive thoughts. Now I’m having no problem sleeping, so that’s an improvement. But I want to sleep all the time now. Yesterday driving home from my weekly RPG game I nearly fell asleep at the wheel, and today at work I was nodding off all day. And when I got home from work today I just crawled into bed and fell asleep for 3 hours - and I’m probably going right back to bed once I finish writing this.
Man this sucks. I can’t afford this - I’ve got too much to do to spend all my time in bed, and if I get caught sleeping at work I’ll probably be fired. I’m going to have to stop taking the meds, just like I had to stop taking Zoloft becuase of the side effects. Maybe the sessions with the therapist will help instead.
Just a thought. Call your doc tomorrow and see if she can prescribe something to counteract the sleepiness without giving you insomnia again. Maybe that would help until your body adjusts to the new medicine.
Keep hope alive! ::pumps fist in air::
[sub][sup]Try painting eyeballs on your eyelids and propping yourself upright at your desk. That should keep you covered at work![/sub][/sup]
I’m seeing someone for cognative therapy next week. I’ve got higher hopes for that than for the drugs. I’ve never had much luck with antidepressants.
I stopped taking the medication last night. The insomnia came back, not as bad as usual but enough to keep me up for a few hours. And today I’m feeling pretty apathetic and down about everything. This sucks too, but at least I won’t be falling asleep on the drive home.
After discussing it with my doctor I was prescribed Wellbutrin to treat depression, I work with individuals who take SSRI’s (like Celexa, Zoloft, etc.) and one of the most common side effects is sleepiness as well as sexual dysfunction (whoopee). Quite often another medication will be prescribed to counteract the negative effects SSRI.
Wellbutrin works well for me although taking it too late in the day will often cause insomnia.
Cognitive therapy is also an excellent route to take but sometimes you need the assistance the medications offer so that you can fully appreciate the therapy.
As well, Wellbutrin has been known the opposite effect in terms of sexual dysfunction, or at least has never been shown to cause them. I can’t provide a cite, unfortunately.
Celexa is the only SSRI I’ve been on that hasn’t caused sexual dysfunction.
Celexa. Right. That’s what I meant. See what happens when I post while half-asleep?
Sexual dysfunction didn’t seem to be a problem with this one. I did notice slight nausea and a significant lack of appetite while taking it.
I’ve been off for about 24 hours now, and seem to be back to my usual (grumpy, antisocial, depressed, but wide-awake) self. Bleah. Think I’ll get back in contact with the doctor and see what she recommends.