Oh wow.\u00a0 At age 46 I started having a very different reaction to my medications. I take\u00a0brand Lamictal. \u00a0I said in an \u00a0earlier blog that I would write out the whole story in a newsletter and I will do that soon! If you are not on the newsletter list, you can sign up on the right.<\/p>\n
I upped my meds a few weeks ago and am now having the sleepiness side effect I have not experienced for years.\u00a0 I often get blog questions asking about\u00a0tiredness and if it means they are not getting enough sleep or good enough sleep. or if it is directly related to the medications. \u00a0 Here are some differences between the two:<\/p>\n
Not Enough Sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0It’s obvious\u00a0that sleep the night before was not refreshing. You wake up tired and a bit cranky and worry that you will be tired in the afternoon, but you eventually wake up.<\/p>\n 2. You are sleepy in the afternoon, but don’t\u00a0really have\u00a0a desire to take a nap as it would be a waste of time. You know you will have to go to bed early.<\/p>\n 3. It only happens once in a while and is not constant.<\/p>\n Side Effect Drug Sleepy<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. You are so tired your head feels numb.<\/p>\n 2. ALL you want to do is get into bed-\u00a0 and it’s not related to being depressed.<\/p>\n 3. Your tongue, jaw and cheeks feel tired.<\/p>\n 4. The tiredness is pervasive- in other words, it feels like every cell is tired.<\/p>\n 5. It feels EXACTLY like jet lag.<\/p>\n 6. Even if you had enough sleep, you can get into bed in the afternoon and sleep for hours and then wake up just as foggy as before.<\/p>\n I could go on and on about drug side effects as I have experienced them all, but this tiredness is hard to fight. The main way to know if it’s the drug is if it goes away when you lower the dose or change drugs!<\/p>\n Julie<\/p>\n PS: Thanks for all of the comments and reader questions. I read everyone and answer them in as many blogs as possible. My video plan is getting closer and I will have regular video answers to blog questions soon.\u00a0 It is always great if you answer the questions from others- some would love a pen pal – remember those!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oh wow. At age 46 I started having a very different reaction to my medications. I take brand Lamictal. I said in an earlier blog that I would write out the whole story in a newsletter and I will do that soon! If you are not on the newsletter list, you can sign up on the right.<\/p>\n I upped my meds a few weeks ago and am now having the sleepiness side effect I have not experienced for years. I often get blog questions asking about tiredness and if it means they are not getting enough sleep or good enough sleep. or if it is directly related to the medications. Here are some differences between the two:<\/p>\n Not Enough Sleep<\/p>\n 1. It’s obvious that sleep the night before was not refreshing. You wake up tired and a bit cranky and worry that you will be tired in the afternoon, but you eventually wake up.<\/p>\n