so terribly sleepy so much of the time

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I take Adderall and drink regular coffee but STILL feel terribly sleepy so much of the time. I was prescribed Adderall by by sleep specialist--likely having ADHD/ADD but not verified because of overlap with other symptoms of anxiety and paranoia.

Been sleepy pretty much all my life. Increase with a huge increase in anxiety in my mid twenties. I wish I knew why/how it increased.

Sleepiness increased greatly (again) with being prescribed Clozapine, Clomipramine, and Thiothixene. I was VERY sedated on all those meds. Now I am an Aripirazole, Quetiapine, Escitalopram, and, of course, the Adderall (sometimes generically called Amphetamine Salts or Amphetamine-Dextroamphetamine).

Believe it or not, I don't think that the Aripiprazole, Quetiapine, and Escitalopram cause all that much sleepiness. I think I felt about this sleepy before I started on any psych meds. I don't know how much the Adderall reduces sleepiness, really, but I feel better on it (less depression and less intensity of ADD symptoms).

Sleepiness seems to have increased with my just recently having made a court appointment to have my guardianship from my dad reduced in powers. That my guardianship will be reduced is a good thing... maybe I am sleepier than before because I am more relaxed about life. At the same time, setting up the court date has made me more motivated.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

1. Are you getting enough hours of actual sleep? If not, get some rest. And some people need more than 8 hours, so get more than that if you are so sleepy.

2. See if your docs can offer non drowsy versions of your meds.

3. Have a sleep study done to see if you have sleep apnea.

Getting more than 8 hours per night.

Don't want to change my meds--I don't think they are a huge source of the problem, and my anxiety would really skyrocket. Very little else works. There are few meds that I have not tried.

I had a sleep study twice. First time was a simple night test. I hardly slept, and there was no apnea. I had special watch (with a light sensor and motion detector) a watch attached to me for one week a little later, they set me up for night/day sleep study. Slept 7 to 8 hours, then fell asleep all of the four times the had set up for possible sleep tests. Based on that, I was diagnosed with excessive daytime sleepiness/idiopathic hypersomia.

Two things that could be responsible are depression - though I think you might have mentioned that if it was the cause - and ME. Have you looked into a diagnosis for that one? And while you're at it, get checked for diabetes/hypoglycemia (or is it hyperglycemia? I get those mixed up).

You could also be reacting to something in your environment. Have you tried cutting out caffeine? You may be reacting to it oddly.

Myalgic encephalitis? Is that what you mean by ME? I do have Major Depressive Disorder, but the meds I take treat that, including the Adderall.

I see ME is also called chronic fatigue syndrome. Most physicians don't think much of that, to my knowledge.

What's your diet like? And your exercise routine/ general physical activity?

That doesn't mean that people don't suffer from it. (I don't, but I do know several people who do and for whom it is very real).

But there are many physical reasons why you might be feeling so sleepy and you should probably go to the doctor and get checked out.

http://www.trans4mind.com/jamesharveystout/ground.htm

?

All the meds are probably greatly damaging your brain chemistry. Should find ways of comping through your special interest. ME is very possible though...could be caused by a history of poor sleep forcing the brain to adapt to function on less.

Two suggestions, based on my experiences:

1) I find that the more socially-engaged I am (whether online or in person), the more exhausted I am, no exceptions. I'm not saying you should withdraw from social engagement, just something to be mindful of, and

2) B Complex vitamins. Seriously. It will do a world of good.

Good luck!

See a (body, not brain) doctor to rule out any physical causes.

I had a similar problem couple of years back that was easily resolved by a change in diet.

I know the feeling!

Had it all checked out. The last thing was to go to a sleep specialist. They don't really know what causes it.

Doubt that the meds are damaging the brain chemistry. I think the psychiatric medical community knows what they are doing.

I sleep plenty. Had bad sleep habits for a long time, but it is better now.

Did someone point you toward that webpage? What are you questioning?

Actually, I've heard about similar things. Isn't being coeliac able to cause similar symptoms?



*giggles*