Depression meds & motivation

[grungygeorgie]

I know many of us here suffer from depression. I was wondering if
any of you have experienced lack of motivation or apathy towards
life in general because of your meds? While the meds have dug me
out of my hole of blackness, I don't seem to have much energy
or intrest in things. I was hoping my dosage increase would give
me the energy in tackling the house. I just feel rather blah and
just sit around. I did manage to have Easter at my home, but the effort
nearly killed me. Now there is a even bigger mess hiding behind
closed doors. I am still recovering from the holiday and have no
desire to tackle anything else. Do you think it is unusual to be
so exhausted 3 days after the holiday? I crisis cleaned the week
before. I couldn't of done it without the help of my 2 young step-
daughter's. I am 50 years old, overweight and feeling my age,
the physical act of cleaning is exhausting and combined with the med
increase I really feel drained.Does this sound familiar to anyone?
I feel like I don't care about anything anymore.Sorry to be a "Debbie
Downer"but thanks for listening.

[Script]

the FIFTY year age factor may be very important. Menopause? General aging issues? Thyroid? I have much less energy now, compared to younger years.

It is also possible to work WITHOUT energy: by moving very slowly. Sometimes the PERCEPTION of "tiredness" is really just mental for me. I find that a little constructive movement helps. Example: taking out the garbage.

ps: I KNOW that I suffer from SAD [seasonal affective disorder] and am always MUCH BETTER as the spring progresses.

[eagle]

Apr 12, 2012 7:53:38 GMT -5 grungygeorgie said:

I know many of us here suffer from depression. I was wondering if
any of you have experienced lack of motivation or apathy towards
life in general because of your meds? While the meds have dug me
out of my hole of blackness, I don't seem to have much energy
or intrest in things. I was hoping my dosage increase would give
me the energy in tackling the house. I just feel rather blah and
just sit around. I did manage to have Easter at my home, but the effort
nearly killed me. Now there is a even bigger mess hiding behind
closed doors. I am still recovering from the holiday and have no
desire to tackle anything else. Do you think it is unusual to be
so exhausted 3 days after the holiday? I crisis cleaned the week
before. I couldn't of done it without the help of my 2 young step-
daughter's. I am 50 years old, overweight and feeling my age,
the physical act of cleaning is exhausting and combined with the med
increase I really feel drained.Does this sound familiar to anyone?
I feel like I don't care about anything anymore.Sorry to be a "Debbie
Downer"but thanks for listening.

GG, even without meds, exhaustion is bound to happen. Not all anti-depressants boost energy, and even then, it varies with different people. Personal reactions to drugs vary with various people. What might energize someone else, might tire you. What I'm saying is, it may not be totally predictable. But you can discuss this with your doctor and work together to alleviate some of the tiredness side effects. It can take time and often involves a lot of trial and error.

Perhaps you can find a depression forum with a specific thread on this topic, where you might find more detailed input from others who have experience with this. But I still think it's something to address with your doctor, as he/she will know you better than any at any of the forums in which you participate, however, the forums are a very good resource.

As to the exhaustion and it's causes. Of course there is the depression itself, there can also be nutritional factors involved, the holiday preparations, age changes, emotional work in therapy (very draining, as I can attest to from personal experience), insomnia, etc.

Regarding nutritional factors, I would suggest a complete workup by your doctor, including blood work to look at vitamin and mineral stats. Deficiencies can contribute to feelings of exhaustion. Poor nutrition can lead to deficiencies, which compromise our ability to produce energy in the body. So ask you doctor to order blood work to check vitamin B-12, B-9, and D. Vitamin C and a variety of other water soluble vitamins are often in short supply due to inadequate diet when depressed. Also as we age, women have an increased need for calcium, which also depends on vit. D for absorption. Many vitamins and minerals are interdependent on each other, so nutrition plays a strong role in sustaining energy levels. Sufficient fluids even make a difference. Also some vitamins & minerals can cause tiredness when taken in excess, so blood work is indicated if you tend to over-do with supplements. Also excess sugars (too much sugar, carbohydrates, alcohol, and caffeine) will lead to fatigue, so you might want to take a look at your intake of those.

So it's not just your meds that might be affecting your energy levels.

Are you in ongoing therapy wherein you talk about the root causes for your depression? If so, that's bound to be exhausting in and of itself. I know, I did that for seven years. It was very exhausting work.

Do you have other medical issues that might contribute to the fatigue, such as thyroid problems, diabetes, CFS, COPD, etc. A medical work-up will help rule these out or ID them.

Insomnia may be a part of the depression issue, or it could be linked to nutritional practices, or other medical issues, or a combination thereof. I found that once I eliminated caffeine after noon (2 cups of caffeinated tea is my limit per day and only before noon), my sleep patterns improved exponentially. That was within the past few years. I did not address it at all when suffering depression. Perhaps my depression may have improved earlier had I dealt with that sooner.

N.B. I have never been prescribed meds for depression, although I was in therapy for depression for several years. This was my personal choice, as I did not want to take drugs. By the time I was ready to accept that taking medication might be beneficial, my doctor felt I no longer needed them, so I never did take anti-depressants.

edited to correct spelling

[grungygeorgie]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply.Eagle a thoughtful &
thorough reply, lots of food for thought!Bless you both, thank you
for being my friend on these boards.SOS is a life line I turn to frequently!

[roadrunner]

grungygeorgie I really can not offer any advice in regards to meds. But I am at my heaviest right now (weight) and my whole body is suffering. I really have to push myself to do stuff because my feet and back hurt really bad. Dropping just 10 lbs makes a difference in how I feel. The only problem is I start to feeling good after I drop the weight and then I am not focused on losing more or maintaining what I lost and before I know it I am back up the 10 lbs. (I need to lose about 50 lbs all total)

I trick myself into working. For example I will pick 3 task I would like to accomplish but really do not have the motivation to do. For example today I wanted to work on filing some papers, toss trash around the house and matching socks. (Had a huge pile of them been sitting my coffee table for weeks now) So I do what is could a round of 10. Every hour (could be 2 hours, could be between commercial breaks, could be after you finish task X) I would match 10 socks, file 10 papers, and throw away 10 items of trash. On my next round of 10 socks will be done, filing has a bit to go, and trash is mostly under control.

I also find working in 3(s) is very helpful.

Hope things get better for you.

[downandout]

depression sucks. and it can suck the energy right out of you. i dont take meds for my depression because the meds dont work for me. either they make me crazy depressed (suicidal) or they make me physically sick. so alto it sounds like your meds arent working right for you that is really up to your doctor and you to decide that. i would surely talk to your doctor about this!!
im overweight too and yeah dragging around that extra weight can wear you down. makes it hurt on your joints and all that. when my body was really hurting what worked for me was sitting down whenever i could. take an office chair (on wheels) and drag that around to do stuff. and like if im doing laundry i fold clothes in the bedroom so i can sit on the bed. if i had say alot of dishes to do i would take the chair in the kitchen and sit down every so often to give my back a break.
i have recently lost 19 lbs and i can tell you the difference is amazing! much better on my knees and back.
as for motivation i usually dont have that so instead i try to do something without thinking about it too much and that seems to help. or i figure im only going to (for example) wipe down the mirrors in the bathrooms and thats it. i dont have to do one more thing if i dont want to and usually i will end up cleaning way more than that! OR i find one chore that needs to be done. one that i hate doing. a chore that will be massive and time consuming and difficult. and then i avoid doing that one chore by doing all these other less horrifiying chores. basically i trick myself into doing stuff that i dont want to do and yet i let myself off the hook for the really bad one.
def check with your doctor!
i know you can do this!!

[Sunshine]

I think I must be one of the lucky ones - the first meds that my doctor tried me on worked really, really well, and 15 years later, they still do.

I remember going to her after I had been taking them for two weeks, and saying how - to me - those tablets should have been 8 feet tall and bright orange - because it seemed impossible that such a little white insignificant thing should have saved my life.

Sometimes I still get down, and taking them sure didn't stop the squalor. But for me, it stopped the bleak despair that used to completely immobilise me for months on end.

I hope you find the solution that works for you

[fluffernut - now Jannie]

While meds can help, you need to consider two possible physical causes for your lack of energy: 1. Sleep deprivation. Do you sleep well, at least 7 hours a night? and 2. Dehydration. Are you drinking adequate amounts of liquids? Soda pop and especially diet drinks rob your body of water rather than adding. You are better off drinking plain water or even coffee or tea or fruit juices. I have kidney problems and I've been told I must drink between 2 and 3 QUARTS of water a day. I have one of those pitchers with a water filter. I keep cold filtered water in my fridge. I pour myself a nice big glass any time I sit down and take a break. If you're sure you are hydrated and getting enough sleep, there may be a physical cause like Anemia. I've struggled with anemia (lack of iron in blood, leading to low oxygen in your blood and especially the brain ). Don't start popping vitamins and iron. You need to see a doctor for a blood test. Many people lack Vitamin D, another possible reason for low energy.

[Ally]

I would talk to your doctor about your symptoms. I was on meds for depression for a short while about 20 years ago, and felt the apathy, the lack of motivation. I wasn't depressed any more, but I didn't think the alternative was much better. I tried a few different ones, and then found that a really tiny dose of Zoloft did the trick for me. I only took about 1/4 of the normal dose, but felt the darkness lift, and didn't feel like I just wanted to sleep my life away. Still some of the negatives were bothersome enough that I decided to wean myself off... Something I would not recommend w/o talking to your doctor.

Best wishes.... I'm hoping that you feel better really soon!

[howardsgirlfriend]

And yes, it could be that your meds need adjusting a bit.

[ramatama]

Apr 14, 2012 7:00:20 GMT -5 fluffernut - now Jannie said:

While meds can help, you need to consider two possible physical causes for your lack of energy: 1. Sleep deprivation. Do you sleep well, at least 7 hours a night? and

I did a search to see if this topic of sleep deprivation had been covered on this forum...and this thread turned up.

I notice how much better I do with decision making after having slept well, and also even after a short nap!

But coincidence would have it that I came across this talk while watching others at TED.com:
www.ted.com/talks/arianna_huffington_how_to_succeed_get_more_sleep.html
5 minute talk

it is serious but it is also funny.

[joyinvirginia]

Hi Georgie, I hope you can give us an update some time. Hope you were about to go for a physical. Thyroid, anemia, menopausal symptoms, and a whole pile of other things can cause fatigue. Hope you are feeling better

[Di]

I am the poster child for better living through pharmaceuticals. I clear out a drug store monthly. My advise is keep a mini journal for a week. Note meds taken and times. Note foods and times eaten. Also note your ups and downs and your exhaustion levels and times. Take it with you to the doctor so that he can see what needs to be adjusted.

[flymomrn]

One of the best tricks for dealing with lack of energy is to "just do it"...as you force yourself to do things, people often find that they get energized. I know that it works for me. Get enough sleep, protein, water, fiber and vitamins (particularly the B vitamins and vitamin D). Most Americans have a low vitamin D level and that can cause depression, chronic pain, and lack of energy. It made a huge difference for me when I started taking 4000 IU of Vitamin D every day.

[vagabondmoon]

I, too also have severe depression and am on a high dose of meds for it, which help me immensely. I have come to realize I will always have to be on them. I'm also 51, very overweight, with a very sedintary job. I reall am impressed with the excellent advice given here! It IS so hard to get motivated, especially if you have physical problems- I just try the slow moving thing. after all, it worked for the tortoise! I like all the helpful hints too. I also just switched to a doctor who appears to really listen to me-Good luck!