Exhaustion

[Judy02]

Heh, maybe I'm just being a freak here, but does anyone else have problems with tiredness who also suffer from depression? I seem constantly exhausted. Today for example, I woke up at 9:00am, , felt sleepy again at 10:30, so had a bit of shut eye, hoping I feel better, woke up 4 hours later and felt no better whatsover! I also dream too much which prob doesnt help, as its not proper sleep, so my mind is always racing away. Annoying thing is, my parents aren't taking me seriously which is always annoying, when I've mentionned it to them. Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I know I need to see a doctor about it, I made an appointment for a few days back, but I accidentally slept in and missed it (it was at 8:40am!) :o So makin another one today, but its really frustrating being like this, I feel like a freak!

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

The excessive sleepiness is called hypersomnia and is one of the symptoms of depression. The drowsiness could also be caused by a medication if you are taking any.

Back when I was depressed, I would sleep between 12-17 hours every day and missed a lot of doctors appointments, classes, work, and other important things because of my excessive sleepiness. The good news is that now that my depression is gone, so is the fatigue! So, hang in there.

One of the treatments for hypersomnia is taking stimulants; I've been there, done that, and would not recommend it. The drugs did not help me much and the side effects were pretty bad (I ended up in the hospital).

What I believe finally helped me was starting an exercise program. I know that sounds insane because back when I was excessively sleepy all the time, just getting a shower would wear me out. When I first started going to a gym, for three days a week, my entire day was dedicated just to getting up and getting there. I did not always succeed at first. I think I started noticing improvements after about a month of exercising consistantly.

Here are some links on hypersomnia in case you are interested! You are definitely NOT alone in this. Perhaps you could print off some information on hypersomnia for your parents?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/hypersomnia.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersomnia

Here are some links regarding exercise and depression:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15626549

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043

http://www.psychologymatters.org/exercise.html

 

[Soulwings]

You aren't a freak, Jude When I was at my uncle's, doing nothing during the day, usually I got up at 9:30, took a bath, slept from 10 - 12, got up and ate lunch with him, went back to sleep from 2 - 4, read for awhile, went out for supper, and then I was awake and stayed up til midnight or one. All to say that sometimes depression/meds can really screw up sleeping habits, as can not having any definite plan for the day. Try making a schedule, of things that you've got to get done each day. Make a goal for each day. Start off small and work up to larger and larger goals.

Take care of you, sweetie.

 

[Judy02]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys! Been feeling a bit better the last few days in terms of tiredness, but still depressed, lol! Think I partly just need things to do. I've just finished college (prob failed it too) and just been sat around the house being miserable, which I guess won't help. I'm trying to look for a job but I've just got absolute zero confidence and motivation to do that... :o I'm not on any medication right now, I stopped taking my meds about 6 weeks ago. I was on prozac, but well at the time, I thought that must be making me tired, but been the same since being off them, so I guess not. I'm considering starting up, if I'm still really bad in a few weeks time, I'm trying to see how I cope with nothing for now, but I don't think prozac made any difference (or citalopram) which was what I started off on. Anyway, thanks again you two xxx

 

[Ruth~]

There's no need to feel like a freak because many many people suffer from depression. I do know how you feel, though. I have felt weird myself. I got tired a lot when I wasn't on medicine and with the last med. I was on. I am on Lexapro for depression now and my mood has lifted as much as possible. I am going through grief now, too, so I can't expect myself to feel perfect. I wish you lots of good luck with your depression and appointment. Take care.
Ruth

 

[Judy02]

Thank you Ruth

 

[trinitygrace]

Heh, maybe I'm just being a freak here, but does anyone else have problems with tiredness who also suffer from depression? I seem constantly exhausted. Today for example, I woke up at 9:00am, , felt sleepy again at 10:30, so had a bit of shut eye, hoping I feel better, woke up 4 hours later and felt no better whatsover! I also dream too much which prob doesnt help, as its not proper sleep, so my mind is always racing away. Annoying thing is, my parents aren't taking me seriously which is always annoying, when I've mentionned it to them. Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I know I need to see a doctor about it, I made an appointment for a few days back, but I accidentally slept in and missed it (it was at 8:40am!) :o So makin another one today, but its really frustrating being like this, I feel like a freak!

Girl, let me tell you something. I used to be the "Queen of Exhaustion". I used to get up each morning feeling so tired I didn't even want to raise my arms let along get out of bed. That is when my depression was at its worst. To make things even more worse, I was taking 20mg of Prozac in the a.m. which put me right back to sleep two hours later. Things didn't change much when I switched to taking it at night. I still woke up, ate breakfast and felt the urge to go back to sleep. Many a days I would wake at 7:30-8, just to get on the Internet for an hour, eat a bowl of cereal than go back to sleep for 2-3 hours. It was horrible!

The thing that helped me was cutting my dosage of prozac from 20 mgs to 10. Are you on any anti-depressants? I am all for anything that can help you with this horrible disease, but if it affects your life negatively, than something has to change.

After I cut my dosage, I began to jump in the shower and let the warm water wash away the sleep from my face. I know it sounds a little weird, but the warm water really woke me up.

Then I would start working out. Exercising woke me up too.

What REALLY REALLY worked was drinking coffee from McDonalds (I suck at making my own coffee. It always tastes horrible) or making hot green tea. I found the caffeine kick really gave me a boost in the mornings.

Also, I prayed. I got down on my knees in front of my bed and prayed to Jesus to give me strength and help me not to go back to sleep. Sometimes I even would cover my bed with clothes and anything I could get my hands on so I WOULDN'T go back to sleep! It worked and sometimes it didn't.

In conclusion Judy, just put your faith in the Lord. Get connected with a Christian counselor who will give you biblical advice. And most importantly stay healthy, eat well, get a good night's sleep, possibly get your blood checked to rule out any problems, and put your FAITH in the LORD! He can help you!

I hope this helped. I will be praying for you! You WILL overcome this! If I could, ANYONE can!