[JaneOnceMore]

...because i feel miserable in the morning, then it improves in the afternoon, and in the evening i feel fine. I'm on Seroquel 100mg, Risperidone 2mg, and Valium 5mg. All are taken at bedtime.

Does anyone else have this problem?

[Nammu]

those are all low or average doses. And three meds isn’t much. But if you’re under weight it could be too much.

[JaneOnceMore]

Thanks, Nammu. No chance i'm UNDERweight! I'm way overweight. I guess they are reasonable doses. Perhaps i am just not a 'morning person'?

[Nammu]

That could be. I’m not a morning person either. I schedule all my appointments for afternoon s. Even though many articles I read suggest to take the early appointments to get people at their best. Hmpt. I guess doctors are a different species than me cause I’m never my best in the morning. Most of my working life I worked night shift. Worked better that way.

[bizi]

Dear Jane,
I am not a morning person at all.
My alarm is set for 9am and
I still hit snooze a couple of times
then run around getting ready for work.
And then I make sure I know where I am
going and if it far away I might have to
leave at 10am or earlier but I can always
call them and tell them that I am running
behind schedule.If I have to take a shower
then I set the alarm for 8am but never
get up that early by hitting snooze.
any way I can relate to the nite owl.
we get to bed either 11;30 or midnight.
Jane I join you in the nite owl club.
bizi

[Soupe du jour]

Hi Jane,

Is the Valium you take specifically to help with sleep? Or anxiety? Or both? If just anxiety, perhaps your doctor may consider switching that to the morning or even afternoon. I find with 1mg Ativan (lorazepam) it helps knocks me out at night, but when taken during the day, it really doesn't at all. At most I get a calm feeling, during the day, but not a sleepy one. I'm unsure if Valium being long-acting versus Ativan being intermediate-acting makes a difference in this.

Do you also take Seroquel (I assume IR) in the morning, or just at night? I take 600 mg of Seroquel XR at night. Until recently, I also took 50 mg Seroquel IR at night, but I've since been weaned off of the small IR portion. Neither made/make me tired during the daytime, but perhaps since I've grown used to them over a 12 year period. I remember that even Seroquel XR (all at night) made me drowsy into the day at the very beginning. It's been a very long time since I took Risperdal. I forget if it made me at all drowsy. I don't think so. I rather remember other side effects.

[JaneOnceMore]

@Soupe du jour:

Nice to hear from you. How are you? Thanks for sharing your experience with me.

This may sound odd, but when i've tried to withdraw from my meds in the past, under my doctor's supervision, of course, i've had problems with anger and fear. I fight with everyone. I can't take a bus without fighting with the driver. I can't buy something without fighting with the cashier. I once got barred from a mall for fighting with the cashier over a penny! Ack!

It's not completely clear whether it's due to the discomfort of withdrawal or to the absence of the meds themselves, but it's an awful risk to take. I feel lucky to have stayed out of jail, my behavior has been so bad in withdrawal.

Nammu pointed out that i take small amounts of everything, so i've stopped worrying about the oversedation due to meds. I think it's just a symptom of depression. After all, i used to get up before dawn when i used to get hypomanic. Note past tense. I haven't had problems with hypomania in 18 months, since i stopped taking anti-depressants. I hope that's all behind me, tho i have fond memories of the euphoria.

Drowsing away the day is not ideal, but it sure beats jail!

[mote.of.soul]

I think what you're experiencing are quite common side effects of the "drowsiness" which is usually pointed out about these kinds of medications. And it's often the case that the medications can effect people differently, so even a low dose might effect you differently than someone else on the same dose. It's true.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I was quite drowsy when I took valium and risperdal together. have you ever had a sleep study? you could have sleep apnea which also makes you feel fatigued during the day

[JaneOnceMore]

Thanks for the care and attention everyone, but i've reconsidered the matter. Upon reflection, it's clear that it's the depression making me sleepy and tired. When i used to get hypomanic, i'd be up before dawn. So it's become apparent that it's just my mood state. There's no need for anyone to post any further. Thanks for all your time and concern and i'll try and be more careful here in the future.