[*Beth*]

Those of us who treat our mental illness with medication often mention "med hangover." I've been thinking, what do we mean when we say med hangover? (I'm referring mostly to AP's, but other types of medication can certainly cause what I would call "hangover.")

For me, hangover means that when I awaken, I still feel tired. I believe I could keep sleeping through the day - especially days. The intense feeling of exhaustion is not generally present at night, probably because by dark the full hangover effect has finally worn off. Or perhaps that's the nature of BD, to turn day/night sleep around.

Hangover causes me to take a long time to go from sleeping to waking. An hour, sometimes 2 hours. During that time I feel very shaky, hands and arms trembling. Generally weak all over. My eyes feel heavy; it feels laborious to blink. It's easy to be short of breath and to experience a degree of racing heart, especially if I stand too quickly or move around too much. Hyper-sensitive to heat. Cognitively dull (although usually my mind still races).

What about others of you? What does hangover effect feel like to you, and how is it different than side effects that are present all of the time (or close to)?

[bpcyclist]

What a terrific thread, Beth!!!!!

Yup. Hangover. Maybe 90 minutes. Groggy. Little cranky. Slooooow to wake up. Cup of tea and Wellbutrin helps. Oddly, when I am healthiest brain-wise, this is my morning. It is a good sign for me.

When not well, I do not sleep deeply, wake up instantly, and then suffer.

[FluffyDinosaur]

The only AP I've had is Seroquel. To me it feels like there's something really heavy pressing on my mind, like a physical weight, pulling me down. It's more than just regular tiredness. More like I took a sledgehammer to the head or something. It can also make me really loopy, make me think weird things and say weird things that I normally wouldn't. Usually it's worst after waking up, but sometimes it lasts all day.

[Moose72]

I have problems some days with waking up. I half wake up and am right back to sleep again. In the back of my mind I hear phone calls and texts come in but again I'm right back to sleep. I used to think I was just lazy but the other day I WANTED to get up but went from dream to dream to dream and when I finally opened my eyes it was 6 pm. Yes PM!! I was so angry with myself!

[*Beth*]

No, Moose...please never tell yourself you're lazy . What you've described is med hangover. I experience the same every morning. If my cats didn't push on me I'd just keep falling back to sleep repeatedly. (Maybe they know they have to make me awaken, or I'd sleep all day.)

[Soupe du jour]

Great and thorough descriptions that I can definitely relate to.

For me, the medications that gave me the "hangover" worst were Klonopin and Seroquel (and Seroquel XR). I had demanded that my Klonopin dose be lowered from 2 mg per day to 0.5 mg, about 8 years ago. That helped. Unfortunately, I was never taken off of it so it's useless, I think. My psychiatrist keeps me on only to avoid withdrawal issues.

It took me a long time to adjust to Seroquel's sedating effects. I forget how long, but I doubt I would have held out (had patience) if I wasn't on disability. But now I have no "hangover" at all from 700 mg per day, as long as I take my evening Seroquel XR early (7 pm or latest 9 pm) and fall asleep at a good time. If I am awake at 2 am or later, I will get the "hangover" even nowadays. Proper routine is crucial for me. I generally get 7 hours of restful sleep with no major sedation before/after.

Nowadays, 50 mg Seroquel or Seroquel XR taken in the morning does not tire me. It curbs agitation and maybe gives me a very level feeling (smoooooth jazz) but that's all. Pleasant, unless my energy levels dip because of mood issues vs. medications. Then the morning dose is lowered or discontinued. My evening dose goes up and down, too, occasionally.

As a side note, I sometimes think that my past Seroquel "hangovers" were significant causes of any added hunger I experienced. I can't speak for anyone besides myself, but when I am tired/listless I always think more food/fuel will get me out of it, but often it does not, and yet my reasoning didn't help curb the desire. Once I managed to triumph over the hangover tendency, the excess hunger was curbed. I believe Seroquel XR is much friendlier for me than regular Seroquel. In layman's terms, the "spike" in sedation is lower and the plateau is longer. Having grown accustomed to that so-called plateau, I have managed to get past the initial negatives of the medication. Right now, my 700 mg Seroquel XR seems weight neutral. At times, even lower doses weren't. Adjustment. But I realize that we don't all adjust to medications the same.