I Hate Appearing Tired At Work

What helps you appear less tired? Lately, I go to work, and people comment that I look tired. I hate these comments! I will drink my coffee and still get these comments.

Granted, I am on some sedating meds. The Klonopin, Gabapentin, and Seroquel are the ones that happen to be sedating compared to the others that I'm on. I need them though.

Also, with Klonopin (or Seroquel, for that matter)....do you ever feel that even though you are tired and look tired, you just can't sleep for hours? My mood does seem to be a little Mixed, so maybe that's a factor too with insomnia, yet appearing sedated.

Any tips on ways to look alert or what can be done to cope with the insomnia, even being on these drugs, would be appreciated. It's tough keeping up with work, especially lately. My anxiety is very high too, by the way.

People used to tell me I looked depressed or tired. I wanted to shout right back: F*** you!!!!

Ladylike, huh?

That kind of cocktail would make me sleep for ages.

Will caffeine help? Although I'm sure you've tried that already.

Sometimes I splash cold water on my face and rub it into my eyes a little. Like, I'll go to the bathroom a few times during the day and do just that. It helps me look more awake for a short period of time. I do this especially before meetings.

Do you take the seroquel during the day???

My pdoc asked me if I wanted to take it in the morning/day, but I refused, the reason being that I'm already tired on it during the day when I take it in the pm, so I can't imagine how sedated I'd feel if I took it during the day

There are things like Vivarin OTC, but you might get a mixed feeling of up and down from the drugs- sleepy and jumpy at the same time. No fun. A mixed state induced by OTC meds.

I hope it's ok to throw out something perhaps on the shallow side...
Makeup, clothes and hair.

A lot of the tips for "looking younger" also can be helpful for looking less tired. (Looking tired can be a component after all...) Yup, I've gone there. Looking at the lists. (Especially after hearing that maybe black wasn't so much a good color for me anymore! [Is it better to know that or not? Lol.]).

Things such as not wearing black (or other color that doesn't work with your complexion) near your face, not using any eyeliner/shadow/mascara under the eyes, not having hair styled in a way that drags the face down. Like that. Also, I've seen where people talk about cucumber slices for bags under the eyes.

(Though maybe the most needed then), this kind of stuff goes by the wayside for me when depressed, but it never hurts to know anyway. It won't do much for feeling tired maybe, but so often we're just trying to keep up appearances in so many regards, just so people won't comment. Because who needs that?! (Kind of rude, really!).

Hope this isn't too far afield....

It's okay to throw something in that's superficial! No worries, I welcome that advice. I do wear black eyeliner, although lately I'm trying to keep it minimum and a gold shadow on the lid to brighten things up. I do wear a lot of black. My hair looks "perky" enough if that makes sense....but yeah, maybe I need to go lighter on the makeup and watch some of those youtube tutorials. Sometimes people still think I look tired, so I guess I have a way to go...but at least it's not daily!

When people say you look tired, are you really tired? Everyone says I look very tired all the time, but I'm not really tired, I'm depressed.

I don't really have any great advice on how to look less tired. I find in my case I have to throw on a fake smile and act more "peppy" for the "you look tired" comments to stop.

Usually, I am a little tired due to the night meds kicking me in the *** the next day, but I'm not always exhausted. I do think when I'm depressed or overwhelmed, it shows in ways. My walk is probably heavier, and maybe I need to be a little more aware of my expression. I do smile, but maybe I need to work on the peppy-ness.

Another thing: I think my co-workers notice my changes in mood. When I'm hypo, I speak faster, I'm more talkative...my speech gets a little pressured. When I'm not in the mood, I'm slower. So maybe the contrast in moods seems very different, so they are noticing the tired, "depressed me" even more.

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. i got a dream job at the same time my doctor put me on seroquel. It kicked my ***. I went to my first day of work, took seroquel and was knocked out for the next two days. I understand what you're going through. Can you decrease the dosage or take it earlier in the evening and get more hours of rest to help with the sedation effect? I hope things start looking up for you soon and you find a solution. I'm thinking of you. You're not alone.

I have a kind of post-punk, gothy kind of thing going on, so I hear ya! The closet's still seriously black and it's work trying to gravitate away from reflexively reaching for it at the store. Fortunately there are some other nice colors in the universe...

That lower lid was a challenge. It felt so weird at first. But I added mascara to the top in exchange, lol.

Perky hair -- cool! Makes perfect sense.

Good luck on the physical tiredness. I struggle with that too.
Like today. Where's that magic wand?

To LOOK more alert?

I dunno if anyone said this already, but have you adjusted your makeup?

I start with tea bags on my eyes. Then Clinique BB (CC? I'm not near my makeup bag) cream to touch up under the eyes (use a sponge to dab it on; add the tiniest bit of water first and make sure you keep it moisturized all day. Follow it up with matte eye shadow the same color as your skin and black mascara--at least two coats, but top only.

Never rub your eyes, of course, and drink a lot of water.

Hope I'm not repeating someone else. I probably shouldn't come on here when I'm on my phone.

Oh! One other thing. I have heard that at higher doses, quetiapine has a paradoxical effect on sleep, so you're probably normal with the insomnia issue.

Thank you, Jennifer. At first, I was on 600 mg of Seroquel (then for a short time 800 mg) and even at night it was scary, because if I got up too fast, I felt I was going to faint. I even felt that it was difficult to drive. After talking to the pdoc, we lowered it to 400 mg for the time being. It's better as far as not getting the scary side effects, but it still makes me drowsy. I do need to work on getting more sleep. Maybe I'll take it even earlier, although I try to. It's hard though since I've always struggled with insomnia. I hope things get better for you too.

Thanks! I can definitely relate. My co-workers actually noticed when I wore tan pants for a change instead of black. LOL. I'm starting to explore some other colors. At least summer is coming, so they'll be more colors to choose from in the stores....so maybe I'll branch out. I'll let you all know how that works out. (((hugs))) Sorry you're struggling too.

Thanks. I did hear the tea bag thing from my grandmother, and I never tried it. I try to choose colors that are in the bronze/gold range, which complements my skin tone, but they have a little bit of shine, so maybe I should try matte colors? I am guessing maybe I should lay off the black eyeliner? I only wear a little bit when I'm working, but maybe it's not helping me as far as looking alert and "fresh." I do like my eyeliner though, but on some days, I'd be willing to sacrifice.

So have you found any relief from feeling and looking tired at work? Seroquel can be a bear.

I use my apple watch and in the past my garmin to remind me to walk around every hour, it definitely helps to take a lap every hour. When I really need to get it together I will focus on my water intake, which in and of itself helps. But then I need to physically get up for refills and use the bathroom.

I've been trying to take Seroquel earlier, but it doesn't always work out too well since sometimes things come up that distract me at home. Keeping a regular schedule helps....but I am still trying to work on all the good suggestions that so many of you have brought up here (thank you!) I'm going to experiment a little bit with makeup (and not wear it too heavy). I bought a few outfits with colors that stand out. Seroquel definitely kicks my butt though! Trying to give myself a little extra time in the morning is probably needed since I am used to just getting up immediately as my alarm rings, and that makes me dizzy.

I'll see how this week goes.