![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 14:06:52
Hi All,
Exhaustion has been getting worse all of May and now into the first few days in June. My psych knows about it but so far none of his dosage adjustments have helped. I sleep 15-20 hours/day; sometimes the tiredness comes on so fast that I stop whatever I'm doing, literally fall onto the bed, and go right to sleep. I was wondering if anyone out there had similar experiences with any of the meds I'm taking. Here's the rundown:Lamictal 200 mg/day
Cymbalta 60 mg/day
Neurontin 1600 mg/day
Buspar 60 mg/day
Campral (for alcohol cravings) ~2100 mg/dayLisiniopril (for high blood pressure) 10 mg/day
Prevacid (acid blocker for reflux) 30 mg/day
Flomax (alpha blocker for urine retention) 0.4 mg/dayI threw in the non-psych meds just in case.
I know that's a vast litany of drugs, but I was hoping one or two might flag someone's attention as to the cause of this exhaustion.
Thanks to all for your patience in reading this long message. Have a good day !
Reggie B
Posted by Bonnie_CA on June 4, 2006, at 14:47:35
In reply to Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 14:06:52
BuSpar touts itself as being non-drowsy, but when I took it, it made me need to go to sleep right away. However, after about an hour or two, I'd be okay. It didn't work real well for my anxiety either. I don't know what would make you sleep for so long, but it is possible the buspar could be making to need to stop what you're doing to go to sleep. I had to pull over to the side of the road once when I was driving because of buspar making me sleepy (it was the only thing I was taking so I'm certain that was it!). Sorry I don't have any more help. I haven't been on Cymbalta but I've been on Effexor, and it only made me sleepy the first week I took it. I've never taken the other drugs you've listed. Could it be possible your doctor is just giving you too many drugs? 5 medications for mental stability just seems a bit much, but that's just my opinion, and I'm not a doctor.
-Bonnie
Posted by lymom3 on June 4, 2006, at 17:46:48
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Bonnie_CA on June 4, 2006, at 14:47:35
Just for my 2 cents worth Cymbalta had me about comatose the entire time that I was on it. I know it doesn't usually have that effect, but it did for me.
Posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 18:44:30
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Bonnie_CA on June 4, 2006, at 14:47:35
Thanks Bonnie,
Your experience with Buspar certainly fits my situation when it comes to sudden drowsiness. I'll take this up with my psych and see if maybe we can adjust the dose to see what happens (hopefully not low enough to start up the panic attacks again!!!)Take care,
Reggie B
Posted by Racer on June 4, 2006, at 18:49:03
In reply to Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 14:06:52
>
>
> Lamictal 200 mg/dayI didn't last long on Lamictal, only about a month at 200mg, but it left me more depressed, and quite amotivated/sedated/lethargic
> Cymbalta 60 mg/day
I took this for about a year and a half, and it left me amotivated and lethargic
> Neurontin 1600 mg/day
> Buspar 60 mg/dayGuess what this one did to me? :-D Yep, amotivated, lethargic, and almost unable to get off the sofa...
That's my experience of them, but it might be a combination of ALL of them.Hope that helps.
Posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 18:50:07
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by lymom3 on June 4, 2006, at 17:46:48
Thanks Lymom,
I had been on 30 mg/day of Cymbalta for some time before recently increasing the dose to 60 mg/day. I had no problems with the lower dose; but the Buspar (see Bonnie_CA's post) was added at the same time the Cymbalta was increased. Maybe they're both contributing to the problem - Buspar for the sudden attacks of drowsiness, and Cymbalta for the total sleep times.In any case, the info I'm getting from this thread will give me some ammo for the discussion with my psych this week.
Thanks to you both and have a good day,
Reggie B
Posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 18:54:29
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas? » Reggie BoStar, posted by Racer on June 4, 2006, at 18:49:03
Thanks for the input Racer,
It's certainly starting to look like an "all of the above" situation. What a mess if I have to start everything over, but I can't go on this way either.Thanks again for sharing all those experiences. It's too bad we have to have so many negative reactions to these drugs before finding the right combo - if we ever do....
Take care,
Reggie B
Posted by lymom3 on June 4, 2006, at 20:05:03
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas? » Racer, posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 18:54:29
> Thanks again for sharing all those experiences. It's too bad we have to have so many negative reactions to these drugs before finding the right combo - if we ever do....
>
> Take care,
> Reggie BAmen to that. Trying to find the "cure" has mostly made me feel worse than before I started playing with meds.
Posted by Phillipa on June 4, 2006, at 21:41:56
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by lymom3 on June 4, 2006, at 20:05:03
I had the complete opposite to the psych meds mentioned. Buspar did nothing for panic. I needed xanax for that. Cymbalta wired me with twithching legs and a head that felt like it would explode. Wanted to cry but couldn't. Are you sure you're well physically? Had a physical lately? Maybe I just have the opposite reaction to meds other people do. I've just started lamictal no headaches or any other side effects. Love Phillipa
Posted by bonnie_CA on June 5, 2006, at 1:02:56
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Phillipa on June 4, 2006, at 21:41:56
phillipa,
I think everytime they say that a drug will not do something, it turns out that maybe it only happens to a select few and they discounted those effects in the pre-release study. I just find it amusing how the makers of BuSpar say how it's so non-drowsy and it always made me uncontrollably sleepy. And i'm a poor sleeper! It seems like you have the medication effects that are unusual with any of the drugs you've mentioned. I'm always shocked when someone has great success on a drug that was horrible for me. If we all reacted the same to the same drugs, the drug companies would not be so rich! bummer! -Bonnie
Posted by Racer on June 5, 2006, at 10:27:49
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas? » Racer, posted by Reggie BoStar on June 4, 2006, at 18:54:29
> Thanks for the input Racer,
> It's certainly starting to look like an "all of the above" situation. What a mess if I have to start everything over, but I can't go on this way either.
>
> Thanks again for sharing all those experiences. It's too bad we have to have so many negative reactions to these drugs before finding the right combo - if we ever do....
>
> Take care,
> Reggie BHm... There might be another alternative, instead of stopping all these meds to start from scratch...
Have you ever tried adding a stimulant? I had good luck for a couple of years on Provigil -- 150mg, split dose. It augmented the ADs, and helped keep me awake. Kinda. And Ritalin helped a lot, too, although I had a side effect I couldn't get past, so only took it a few times.
Good luck.
Posted by Reggie BoStar on June 7, 2006, at 18:17:59
In reply to Re: Some med(s) causing exhaustion - any ideas?, posted by Racer on June 5, 2006, at 10:27:49
> > Thanks for the input Racer,
> > It's certainly starting to look like an "all of the above" situation. What a mess if I have to start everything over, but I can't go on this way either.
> >
> > Thanks again for sharing all those experiences. It's too bad we have to have so many negative reactions to these drugs before finding the right combo - if we ever do....
> >
> > Take care,
> > Reggie B
>
> Hm... There might be another alternative, instead of stopping all these meds to start from scratch...
>
> Have you ever tried adding a stimulant? I had good luck for a couple of years on Provigil -- 150mg, split dose. It augmented the ADs, and helped keep me awake. Kinda. And Ritalin helped a lot, too, although I had a side effect I couldn't get past, so only took it a few times.
>
> Good luck.
Hi Racer,
A stimulant might run interference with the Buspar. Unfortunately I had to go on the Buspar to control brutal panic attacks, which in turn started after ECT treatment.BTW this doesn't mean I don't think ECT works. In my wanderings through various support groups and clinics in this area, I've seen a lot of people get helped by it - just not me, unfortunately.
Reggie B
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.