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verasama

Updated 1y ago

How to differentiate between depression and medication-induced fatigue?

does anyone have any advice on how to tell the difference between when my depression makes me feel tired, and my antidepressants have the side effect of making me feel tired? I feel tired basically all the time, but since I'm on three antidepressants, I can never tell if it is the depression or if one or more of them is just making me feel tired. I'm on nortriptyline for nerve pain associated with tension headaches, venlafaxine for depression and escitalopram for PMDD. I'm kind of tired of feeling tired, but I don't know how to tell what the main cause is so that I can try to feel better.

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One user mentioned that a good way to know is if you have been put on medication for depression, and if you seem to be better after some time, then it is likely the depression. However, if you aren't ...See More

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lonelypotato13

1y

Can you determine whether its a. Sleepyness b.physical exhaustion c. Mental or emothional exhaustion?
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verasama

1y

sometimes it's really hard to tell. Usually I feel like it's either physical exhaustion or mental exhaustion, but sometimes I have these days when no matter what I try to do, I can barely stay awake. As in, if I'm sitting at my table making phone calls, I might accidentally doze off in between phone calls. As long as I'm actively doing something I'm mostly okay, but the second I stop, on those days, I tend to doze off. I don't know if that helps any. A lot of the time, I generally feel like I'm just too tired to do stuff, or like I wake up with no energy, and everything as a struggle, but sometimes I can tell you I feel perfectly fine, but I still feel like I'm too tired to do anything. In the case of the times when I'm falling asleep, I'm pretty sure that that's my antidepressant, or one of my other medications, and then the time when I feel fine but I still feel like I'm too tired to do anything, I'm pretty sure that's the depression, I just don't know what to make of the other day is when I just don't have any energy and can't get anything done. It's probably kind of a dumb question now that I really think about it.
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lonelypotato13

1y

It will definitely be your mediaction if youre nodding off randomly throughout the day. That used to happen to me when i was on metazipine. I would go back to your doctor and ask for a change cos thats not good at all
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verasama

1y

Thanks. I've been considering moving my antidepressants to my nighttime medicine, even though I was instructed to take them first thing in the morning. I thought that might help, because then if I'm groggy I can just be asleep for the night. I'm hesitant to make those changes without talking to my doctor, but she's kind of adverse to me suggesting other ways to do my medicine. I got yelled at one time because the anxiety medicine that I was on wasn't strong enough, and my anxiety was still bothering me, and it had gotten to the point where I was crying every single day for some reason, so I figured that going back to how I felt before I was on that medicine, which was anxious but not crying everyday, was better, especially because it was going to be 3 months before I could talk to her about it, so I quit taking it. So yeah, I have thought about switching them and not telling her and seeing how that goes, but I'm hesitant to do it in case I get yelled at again. Lol
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ajar

1y

I had a medication that one doctor told me to take in the mornings and I was exhausted all the time and the next doctor I went to was like "oh no you can take that at night if it makes you drowsy" but she also ended up switching my meds altogether 🤷🏼
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verasama

1y

I am planning on getting a new doctor, because I would like to go to someone who does both prescriptions and therapy, instead of just one or the other. So I might wait until I can finally get in to see someone else before I do anything with the medicine.

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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