Disorientation

Hi Jellyfish, I have tried every thing you can think of. I have changed my diet entirely, I force myself to get 60-90 minutes of exercise a day, I tried melatonin and Vitamin D, I have tried meditation, that's just a short list, I really have tried everything. Medication is the only thing that helps.

I can do 10 miles in a day, work 10 hours, and have no caffeine all day, eat as healthy as possible, and still sleep only for an hour, or worse, sleep for a couple of hours and then awake to sleep paralysis, or worse, sleep for a few hours more but have terrible terrible horrifying nightmares all night long.

I am not against medication, so please don't try and shove that down my throat. I believe medication can be effective in helping people recover from these disorders. There was a time when I was on one medication, but over time, had to address other issues with additional medications. I would love to get back down to one medication, but my quality of life was so poor, I would rather keep on the meds to keep a certain quality of life.

Thanks for your input though. If you have any insomnia remedies, I'd be interested in hearing them, although I have tried almost everything ever heard of.

Also, I have been doing some research, and the memory loss I'm speaking of and other symptoms actually can be symptoms of depression. So I think Mike and others may be right that because my stress level has increased so dramatically, these new symptoms are coming out.

Seesaw

seesaw... Im not going to try and figure out what this is with in you, what I can tell you is that if you google all your meds and your problems you will find that you have your answer...

....in general.... yes disorientation (ie not remembering days, confusing days, dates, believing its a different date and time...) can be part of psychotropic meds and the mental disorders that you have listed.

to find out for sure what is doing on with in you, you already know the answer as you stated it in your first post, talk with your treatment providers. I realize you stated you dont feel you are able to do that right now but maybe you cal write the problem down so that when you have your next meeting with your psychiatrist you can mention the problem to them and it wont cost you extra. you will already be there and already paying for that session/meeting anyway so you might as well say hey on this date this happened to me is that part of my meds, my disorders and can you do something about this, maybe adjust meds if you think its a med problem? worth a shot right...

You said in another post that you take 1-2 mg of xanax at bedtime. I used to take xanax, i havent taken anything else you take (im currently on prozac and topamax). My question about the xanax is - doesnt it feel like you are coming down off the xanax a lot? I was on a very regular even dose, i think twice a day. 2mg at once seems like a big hit. Maybe if you try regulating it? Cuz when i was going off it, i really felt it, and it did not feel good, despite my coming off it very slowly.

At some point I also couldn't sleep well. Anyway, even for serious insomnia, tryptophan pills and tryptophan foods (raw unsalted nuts and roasted turkey and fish - sardines, tuna, mackerel in olive oil) along with B3 (niacin) pills help a lot. It's why turkey makes you sleepy.
I understand you are struggling with PTSD on top so that is probably why you were looking for more medicine but still nature is the best medicine. Make sure you eat NO sweets except natural honey, and eat so you feel full - raw unsalted nuts, cooked legumes, fresh blue fish in olive oil, white meat (pastured), grains (rice, millet, barley, spelt etc. Not much bread and eat wholegrain.), free-range eggs, yogurt with healthy bacteria. It is so powerful against depression. Try again.
As for PTSD, you would need to process things with a therapist and try to live a relatively tidy life.
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate but the good thing is there is a lot you can do about it.

I don't take mine at the same time or same dosage. I try not to use it at all at bedtime.

Always take as prescribed.

However, your doctor has instructed you doing so?

Just a thought here seesaw, have you considered going to your gp regarding the symptoms of

I wonder if this could be a possible physical ailment not necessarily related to the meds you are on. I get this way when my blood sugars drop very low. I'm a Type II diabetic and sometimes it's hard to keep my sugars in the normal range. I'm on oral meds and insulin injections. I'm always having to try to find the right amount of insulin so I don't have such a drastic drop in numbers and get very shaky, can't think well, feeling hot flashes and emotionally weird.

Just a different take on what may be going on with you. I do know too that even when we've been on the same meds for a long period of time, our bodies do change and sometimes that can create issues with the meds.

Regardless of what it all is, I sure hope you can find a solution very soon!

And thats what im saying might be the problem. You may not be psychologically addicted to it, but there may be an element of physical addiction that is making you feel very badly. Therefore i think it might be worth titrating off. Unless you are saying you could stop it cold turkey without any symptoms because you are not taking that much? I was weighing 230 lbs and not taking much and it was still a slow titrate. I was napping ALL the time, i was so uncomfortable, grinding my teeth.

Seesaw, I was thinking along the same lines as Sabby. Maybe your symptoms have nothing to do with your psych diagnoses and meds. Maybe it's something physical? I have low blood sugar problems and experience shakiness and confusion when my sugar is low. I also wondered about your stress level. Your symptoms could be stress related.

I believe I saw a post from you that you sent an email to your pdoc about what is going on. That sounds like a good step. They would be in the best position to tell what's going on.

As for all the suggestions about meds and natural treatments. I won't speak for you, but it annoys the crap out of me when people do that to me. It took years of working with my pdoc to find a cocktail of meds that works for me. I need to be on meds. We tried weaning me off once because I wanted to see if I needed the meds. The day I realized I was back to making plans to kill myself I was on the phone to my pdoc to get back on the meds. If others can be healthy by changing diet, lifestyle, etc. that's great for them. But some of us need medication in order to function.

Sorry, kind of got off on a rant tangent there.

I take it as a PRN, which means 'as needed'

Have a look at reactive hypoglycaemia, that's the term for what Sabby and LL describe. It's worth getting a glucose meter from the chemist to check your blood sugar.

Are any feeling better?
I felt extremely guilty after realizing that one of my posts, was ingramtical thusly misinterpreted.

One or more of your meds may be losing effectiveness (tho unlikely after 1 year). Meds or stress can very much affect memory and momentary lapses. Do tell your doc about these things as they may or may not be due to meds or stress or another condition.

On the other hand I know that having too much on your mind at one time can cause forgetfulness or "brain farts". I'm nowhere near normal, but it's been over 40 years since I've used my maiden name and I still want to sign it sometimes. I don't work so I don't purposely keep track of the day of the week or date. I recently went to see a new Pdoc, and he did the general questions to see if one is dealing with reality. He asked me the date, and I said...uh....June 9th or 10th? It was the 8th. If he thought I was insane, he didn't say. lol

That has always seemed to happen to me. I feel bad for not being able to know the exact days when my T asks. I'm awful with all of friends and families birthdays. I'm just not good remembering these important dates.

Hmmm, that actually might make sense...although what everyone has said about my stress level and situation is true.

I recently changed my diet and I've basically cut out almost all complex carbs. Lots of salads and fruits, nuts, etc. And my mother is hypoglycemic. I don't think I'm diabetic, but I think I do need to get a GP involved along with my pdoc.

Thanks, you guys.

Seesaw

You are welcome sweetheart

I know that stress can definitely affect sugar levels as it does mine as well.

Just the other morning at 4am I woke up sweating and anxious and shaking and lightheaded, and my sugars were down to 49! That's toooooo low. Scared the heck out of me being so early in the morning and me sleeping. If I hadn't had those symptoms it could have been a real big problem for me.

And yes, I have been under a LOT of stress lately. I'm dealing pretty well with it but I tend to internalize a lot and it sneaks out in different physical ways. *sigh*

I'm glad you will check with your doc though.....better to rule things out as you go along.

Something that happens to me when im kinda dehydrated, is that i will half-wake up in the middle of the night into a psychedelic dream, all flashing lights and paisley patterns and noise and stuff - and all i can do is wait until i fall asleep again. I dont know WHATS going on with that. But i figure its med related.

So, turns out it's dissociation and psychosis. I am still getting tested for hypoglycemia and trying to get approved for a sleep study. But I described it to my pdoc today and she confirmed that based on everything, it sounded like I was dissociating...I've got a whole new med regime now. So basically my whole 10 days off staycation is going to be dealing with all new meds and changes in dosages and such.

Oh well. Could be worse. Could be in the psych ward.

Seesaw

Can you please share what the these new meds are?

From experience, changing an SSRI for another one is well tolerated.

I wish you the best.

No, I am uncomfortable sharing.

Thank you for your concern.

Seesaw

It's ok sweetheart. But I am relieved to know that you were able to find the answer that had most of us concerned.

I don't mean this to be offensive, but I'm not your sweetheart. And your message behavior feels unsafe. Please stop referring to me as sweetheart. I am a well-traveled, well-educated, independent 37 year old woman, living and working with a disability, but I ain't no one's sweetheart. Especially not to some stranger on the internet.

Sorry, got a little angry there. Again, please don't call me sweetheart. It comes off as predatory on a site that is supposed to be safe. Many women here have been abused, attached, assaulted, and it all started by some man calling them sweetie.

So, please rethink your words. Thank you.

Seesaw

I hope this new med regime will work out. It sucks when you try and try and try and nothing is working (and people tell you to "try this try that" even though you've tried that already and it isn't working).

Thinking of you.