Squish Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I really suffer from fatigue. It is the number one thing that prevents me from actually doing stuff. I'd just sort of assumed it was because of depression or not eating right or something, because I sleep a minimum of 8 hours each night. I feel sleepy during the day, find it hard to concentrate and all my muscles kind of ache. Plus sometimes I feel so tired I can barely stay upright and my knees go kind of wobbly. I've had routine blood tests and they haven't thrown up anything. Now I'm kind of thinking that maybe it's because I'm really not sleeping well. I don't have obvious sleep issues but I do tend to have a lot of nightmares and wake up early with anxiety fairly often. I've taken 2mg diazepam (prescribed short term for anxiety and agitation) twice in the evening this week and the next day I felt much less tired when I woke up and had less fatigue over the course of the day. This could be total coincidence, and I couldn't take diazepam long term anyway. Maybe it'd be worth thinking about a sedating antidepressant though, like amitriptyline or Remeron? I'd usually want to avoid them because I don't think I need anything to make me more tired but if it means I end up getting a restful sleep then it might have the opposite effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I take a hefty dose of amitriptyline. It knocks me out. It also messes with my REM sleep at this dosage. I've had a few sleep studies and they were amazed at the small amount of time I was in REM sleep. Not getting enough of the right kinds of sleep can make you feel worse when you wake up as you did when you went to bed. If I were you, I'd check into getting a sleep study. Every time I've had one, when I've gotten the results, I've had one of those a-ha moments. It all made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squish Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 I'd be interested in getting one but they're only really available for people with narcolepsy or chronic obstructive sleep apnea where I live. If the sleep problem looks like it's secondary to something psychiatric (and in my case it does) then the chance of getting a sleep study is pretty much nil. I get most of my healthcare from the National Health Service (I live in the UK) but I could look into getting a sleep study done privately if it isn't too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I take Remeron (mirtazapine). It really knocks me out, and I never slept so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Emperor Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I took Remeron for a while and it was REALLY awesome in helping me sleep. I don't think I've taken anything that's helped me sleep quite like that since. That was really good for my sleep, bad for other things, unfortunately. But yeah, I think even an AAP seconds that in what knocked me out like nothing else. It was really good. Trazodone was kind of hit or miss on random nights for some reason and it made hypangagic hallucinations worse for me (I suffer from that shit regularly, though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I'd be interested in getting one but they're only really available for people with narcolepsy or chronic obstructive sleep apnea where I live. If the sleep problem looks like it's secondary to something psychiatric (and in my case it does) then the chance of getting a sleep study is pretty much nil. I get most of my healthcare from the National Health Service (I live in the UK) but I could look into getting a sleep study done privately if it isn't too expensive. I don't get this. How would you know if you had chronic obstructive sleep apnea without a test? In my case, I gained so much weight from the AAPs that I ended up with sleep apnea. I love my CPAP. Best sleep ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squish Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Sorry sylvan, I should have said suspected chronic obstructive sleep apnea. I have literally none of the many risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (young, female, not overweight, no family history, don't drink or smoke, etc.). So although I have symptoms similar to the symptoms of sleep apnea, it most likely isn't the cause. Remeron does sound like it's worth thinking about. If my pdoc brings up switching ADs (the one I'm on isn't working too well) I'll suggest it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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