Tiredness on meds

[Tupac]

Hi there, this is my first post on this form.

About 3 years ago i was diagnosed with depression and my GP put me on a medication that treated via SSRI with a dosage of 10mg. I still experienced the same symptoms and when I went back to visit my normal GP he was aware. His replacement or stand-in referred to a wellness GP based on what i had told him of my condition which was difficulty concentration and tiredness.

One of the things the wellness GP diagnosed was that I had a sleep apnea and when i began using the sleep machine I had never woken up feeling better as after using the sleep machine. So much so the doctor and i agreed to come off my SSRI meds - noting that the dosage of the SSRI I was on at that time was 5mg. He also put me on some other medications to improve my testerone levels and zinc levels.

I had a bit of a relapse whereby the tiredness returned along with yawning and waking up exhausted despite still using my sleep machine. I went to the sleep clinic to ensure the machine was working correctly and to see if there was a problem with it. All checked out ok.

I did some urinal tests for my wellness GP that returned some results showing some issues with brain chemistry and his put me on another SNRI medication now.

My question to forum members is finding ways of maintaining medication but getting rid of the tiredness!!

I cannot tolerate being tired and yawning all the time.

[Beetle]

HI Tupac

Welcome 🙂

I am also quite new here, I was diagosed with major depression and anxiety 4 weeks ago. I also was dead tired and now on SNRI's. I have found that the meds help me with the tiredness. Im still not a bouncing castle but can function 200% better. walking and sunshine also helps me to feel better 🙂

maybe you got sleepapnea AND depression and you need both to feel well: the sleep machine and the SNRi's.

Let us know how you go. We all support each other here and i found the site very helpful . so u are not alone 🙂

PS: what is a wellness GP?

Beetle

[geoff]

dear Tupac, I wish I could help you with regards to your tiredness, but I am in the same boat, taking 50 mg of a SSNRI which is the max dose, plus I take 2940 mg of anti epileptic medication which is an enormous amount, so in other words I am fighting a real battle.

I would get your doctor to do a blood test for Vit D, thyroid, B12, so really a full blood test.

I am concerned about 'brain activity' and what test did this involve. Geoff.

[Mbuna]

Hi Tupac,

 I cant be much help with the medication side of things but I agree that lack of sleeps does not help the depression. I decided to go on a fitness kick last year. I was quite overweight and snored a lot. At the time my depression was bad and the doctor was looking at prescribing me antidepressants. I found that the exercise helped me sleep and that in turn helped the depression. After 10 weeks I had lost 15kg was swimming 10km per week, walking 30km and also did the occasional hike through the blue mountains. The depression did not disappear but it was very manageable. During the winter I found it hard to keep motivated. I put most of the weight back on and started snoring like a buzz saw again. The depression came back. Now I am back walking again I am managing to keep the depression demons to the back of my mind. Everyone is different but exercise definitely helps me. I'm not sure why but I think the sleep component has a lot to do with it.