I am SOOOOOO wiped out...HELP!
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| Wed, 03-08-2006 - 3:09pm |
Okay, the lithium is TOTALLY wiping me out...I cannot stay awake...what do I do??? I am supposed to take it in the a.m., at lunch, and at night...but how am I supposed to work, if I can't stay awake???? I mean, I literally start falling asleep...I have no energy, and am so listless...and its not cuz I'm depressed now...first I thought it was that...but its not...I'm just soooooooo soooooooo sleepy...I go to bed around 7 at night cuz I am so exhausted. Its crazy! Its been 2 weeks now...and its almost worse, not better...
What do I do now??? Can't have caffeine too much cuz I will get manic. But I can't go on like this anymore either.
Can I not take one in the morning, and just take it in the mid afternoon, then at night? I used to take it all at night before, because of this...why can't I do that now? Sleepiness was one of the big reasons I had to do that then...
I am so sleepy driving home it scares me...

call pdoc and ask about taking it all at night again. I always had one cup of coffee in the morning just so I didnt fall asleep and then maybe a soda later in the day, and I was fine..if I was starting to get manic I didnt do it because it made it worse...but if I was kinda depressed or just sleepy I drank some coffee. I think its fine as long as its not too much. Cutting down on caffeine and cutting it out completely are two different things. Pdoc told me not to drink much caffeine either, so I went from a pot to a large cup...and its fine for me. Try that and call pdoc. I used to take my meds @ 6:30am, 2:30pm and 11pm. It was okay with me and pdoc just said 3 times a day and not less than 4-6 hours apart. I think in terms of okay, how long are you awake everyday (6am-11pm, for me) then cut that in 3, and take the meds like that, but bc of school I took them before I left and after I got home then at bedtime. They cant expect you to take them every 8 hrs because no one is gonna get up in the middle of the night and take them because they slept more than 8 hrs yanno? So I figure if you do it round about that time then it would be good...or what about 1.5 in the morning and 1.5 in the evening? get the pharmacy to cut them up for you.
Thats just what I think about it
Rebekah
Keli
Trust me, I KNOW what you are talking about. Remember me when I went on my lithium? I was sleeping almost non-stop and couldn't stay awake either. The dr had me cut back on my dosage for a week to 1 pill, then to 2 pills the next week, and then up to the full 3 pills the 3rd week. Call Jane or new pdoc and see if you can do that. Or even if you just drop the AM pill for a week. DO NOT GO OFF THE LITHIUM!!! It WILL improve and soon. I promise. Make sure you are drinking a LOT OF WATER!!!! Colder the better. That will help with the lithium, and it will help you lose weight. Also, make sure you ARE still eating salt. You NEED the salt still with the lithium.
Hang in there honey, you will be better next week and even better the week after.
Sorry I didn't post sooner, it was a horrible busy insane crazy day at work. I even forgot until 11:30 that I had a noon apt with pdoc!!! Went well though and I worked until 6pm. Have to go in early tomorrow tho - WAY too far behind now.
ANYWAY - hang in there and I will talk to you soon!
Love ya!
T
I'm sorry, Keli...I can so relate because several of the meds I've tried have had that effect on me, unfortunately. But like the others said, it's really important for your mood and stability if there's any way to get around the sleepiness...can you give your doctor a call to ask those questions about switching around what time of day you take it?
That strategy has worked for me with other meds some...I was on Topamax a while ago, and taking the morning dose made me drowsy and "out of it" all day...so my doctor said it was OK to take it all at night. But I'm not sure about lithium and how that works...please do check in with your doctor before you change anything, OK? I'd hate to see you start feeling worse, mood-wise...
Hang in there...you have my sympathy, since I've definitely been there!
Rose