sleepiness

[jankar]

I have been dizzy for about 6 days - week 5 of treatment.  I started taking AD's on Sat and now feel really sleepy and cannot go to work. I only took two half tablets of the AD - took half Sat am and half Sun pm. Is this (sleepiness) likely to be an effect of the AD's or the tx.  Should I stop taking the AD's to see how I go without the? My tx symptoms have so far not laid me out like this although they haven't been great - a little bit of everything, going to work some days and on the couch the rest of the time.

[epiphiny]

Holy Haka, Jankar!  

I just realized you're in the mighty Hamiltron!!!  Hehe, I hail from down that way, Cambridge, and my mum is still there.  I'm living in Auckland now.  Anyway, great to see another kiwi on the board!  

Epi :)

[epiphiny]

That's interesting about waiting to take the Riba after food, instead of with food;  I have just been throwing it down with my breakfast and been feeling really nauseous as well.  I will try it differently tomorrow and see if that helps, thanks!

And yeah, treatment puts a whole new spin on the concept of fatigue!  

Bring on SVR!!!!

[jankar]

I haven't been getting sleepy from the Riba but do feel sick and yukky about half an hour later.  I was taking it immediately after breakfast but am now waiting a half hour then taking it and that seemed to work this morning.  It is definitely a half hour thing for me too.

I do get sleepy about half an hour after the Interferon and have to get to bed real quickly and am pretty dopey the next day.

I am getting pretty tired and needing to sleep a lot but it varies from day to day with the amount of stuff I do - the more I do, the more tired I get.  Never knew the meaning of fatigue before this!

At least when we get through our treatment and are cured we will be GOOD again!

[epiphiny]

I am so glad that you have talked to your nurse.  The dizziness could be your hemoglobin levels dropping quickly, I recall a few weeks of dizziness also, and it stopped once my body got used to functioning at a lower level.  Makes sense dealing with one thing at a time.  And I used to be such a multi-tasker!

I really hear what you say about work.  I'm also trying to keep working through this and there are times when I just wish I could stay home for the rest of my tx.  I have also promised that I will stop if I really have to.  At the moment I'm just trying to cut down and do less strenuous tasks.

I'd love to know if the sleepiness thing improves for you as I have found one of the sxs from the riba for me is getting really sleepy about an half an hour after taking it and having to sleep for an hour or so, it almost feels like I'm passing out or going unconscious as you say.  I'm curious to know if others have this response as well.  It all seems to depend on how much sleep I am managing to get and it seems I need HEAPS of sleep at the moment.  In fact, I really didn't think it was possible to feel so tired after having sooo much sleep!!

[jankar]

Thanks for all you good advice.  I have been taking Citalopram and have decided to stop taking it in the meantime as it made me feel immediately so bad as in virtually unconscious, so sleepy.  I want to deal with my dizziness sx (week 5) and then worry about the AD's at a later date I think, I cannot cope with the two at once.  I decided to take the AD's because my mood was dropping and it was more preventative that anything.  My nurse said she may try something else, like an anti-anxiety as suggested.  I was surprised the symptoms were so extreme!

I take your advice, Epi,  about stopping and starting willy - nilly and want to do this responsibly, I agree.  My biggest problem is I am trying to work as well and I can't go to work unconscious.  In the end, my health is more important though and if I had to stop work, I probably could.

[Trinity4]

Ad's just don't agree with everyone.  Some people, like myself, can't take them because the side effects are worse than the the original symptoms. It is well documented that AD's can cause suicidal tendencies, especially in younger people.   If you feel you can benefit from an AD, as mentioned, try some different types to see if one may be right for you.  Something in the benzo family may help too.  Good luck - hope you get it figured out.
Trinity

[Frank J. Perrotta]

It is really important that you contact your doc. Are you seeing a GP or a Psych? ADs are not to be played with, starting and stopping... that could be doing much more harm than good and may be causing some of your side effects.

ADs take some getting use to... and as others have said, there are ones that are better for a certain individual than others... took one friend a number of years before finding the perfect one... poor guy went thru hell but now he has really stabilized.

Good luck. If you are suicidal and feel you need ADs then keep on them. If you feel you are OK without them then talk to your doc and slowly get off them... maybe trying something a little easier such as anti-anxiety would do the trick better for ya.

[epiphiny]

I have heard a few people say the same thing as you describe.  It may be that they are not the right anti-Ds for you OR it just might be your body adjusting to them, in the same way that your body had to adjust to the interferon and ribavirin.  You don't mention which ones you are on but I have heard a lot of people who are taking Celexa say they make them sleepy and yawn all the time.  

I am on Prozac and they were the second ones I tried as the first ones didn't agree with me at all.  The Prozac work well for me, I just feel 'normal' and they have really helped with my energy levels and brain function as well as leveling out my mood swings.  Before I started taking them I used to feel that I had lost my mojo and had very erratic mood swings and a fair bit of irritability.  And I do remember a couple of days of feeling a little 'weird' right after I started on them but that feeling left within a few days.

I would suggest waiting a few more days to see if your body adjusts to them and allow them to actually build up some kind of therapeutic level before you decide whether they are working or not.  If you really don't think you can handle it you should talk to your Nurse or Doctor about them.

It's not really advisable to just stop and start them willy-nilly.

All the best

Epi :)

[alijee]

same case with me. i tried ADs at week 3 but they made me dizzy, nausia and suicidal. i stopped taking them and not i m on week7 without ADs.