Anti-depressants and drowsiness?

First of all- you are a great kid! Thank You for being so caring towards your mother. It sounds like she needs a meds evaluation. I say this often to people on here who say their meds aren't working because yes, there are meds that may work better but she may not be dosed right either. Weight fluctuations can cause problems, etc. Her meds may not be working effectively because symptoms of depression are still evident. I would suggest that you and your Dad encourage her to see a Doc ASAP. if she has trouble paying bills, etc- re-delegate this task to someone else (Dad)- make sure she has help with household chores, etc. Focus on reducing her stress- regardless of whether it means having a hot meal on the table when she gets home, doing laundry, or whatever else needs to be done. Maybe she's due for a vacation- she should take one if she can- even if you stay in town and do small activities like going to the movies, going out for dinner, etc.

First, only a doctor should prescribe OTC for her due to the diabetes and the Prozac, due to contraindications/side effects.

Could your Mother be just plain tired, over loaded, or is she clinical depressed? Is she taking more than the prescribed amount of Prozac? Is she taking the right amount of diabetic medication and following her diet? All of those could cause her to have a low energy level. Have your Dad check these out and if he thinks there is a problem, he should call her doctor and state both of your concerns.

There are side effects to all medications, including OTC. Perhaps your mother does not realize the pattern, but it is your Dad's responsibility to support her and questions her decisions. Yours is to be a loving child and talk honest to your Dad about your concerns.

An anti-depressant like Prozac is a fake fix for a real problem. Dose Prozac fix a high-stress life, a tough childhood, or a horrible previous marriage? You need reel fixes. Her high-stress life can most likely be improved dramatically by learning when to say no. Often people provide care to loved ones who should take care of themselves. Tell irresponsible loved ones. I LOVE YOU BUT YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO CARE FOR YOURSELF. A tough childhood can be improved by realizing one has control in there adult life. A horrible previous marriage can be improved by ending as many ties as possible and trying to move on rather then get revenge. Dept is a common source of stress make sure she is paying the lowest possible price for her dept. Finlay the best way to improve energy is to eat a good diet with a minimum of processed corn and wheat products.

Prozac is one of the stronger anti-depressants. But the first month on ANY pill WILL cause side effects like this. They usually subside though. I have had great results with Zoloft. There are SO many alternatives for prozac! Examples:

Lexapro

paxil

zoloft

effexor

celexa

See if your mom can talk to her Dr. about a more modern and easy to tolerate medicine. Good Luck!

i had a few different antidepressants and i don't think in the beginning there isn't 1 that don't have drowsiness on them you will always gain a little weight in the beginning but only you can watch the weight gin your doctor may change your med and try something else but ask your doctor to get you to seek Professional help as well that's will help heaps but hang in there you will get better and you will be able to go outside eventually the first thing i did was to sit outside in the back yard i did this at least 4 times during the day and twice at night that's a start

Unfortunately drowsiness is a side effect of most anti-depressants currently available today. The problem is that in order for these anti-depressants to be effective, they must depress the nerve receptors that cause our perception of depression. The absolute best way to eliminate this effect is to get away from the outside stimulus that causes the stress that stimulates depression. For some, this is either not a viable option or not possible. For these peaple, the best options are to 1) find ways to releive as much of the stress as possible. This may be as simple as taking brisk walks a varying times during the day (particularly when stress is at its worst), getting involved in a strenuous physical work out program or finding a hobby that they can get absorbed into. 2) Delegate as many of the stress causing responcibilities as possible to others. We all, as humans, tend to take on to many responcibilities from time to time and the results often tend to be the feeling of being overwhelmed. The hard part, all to often is that we tend to fool ourselves into believing that we MUST do all these things ourselves or they won't get done. This is something we must teach ourselves is not true. If delegation of responcibility results in actions not being performed, the worst thing an overstressed person can do is to try to take on the responcibility ourselves. Rather, what an overstressed person SHOULD BE DOING is to learn the art of delegating and expecting it to be done then applying an appropriate responce. This could be rewards for the job being done correctly to stern direction or (in the worst cases) diciplinary actions. In any case, do whatever is neccessary to keep from taking the responcibility back on yourself.

If a person can learn to practice these things a person should be able to lower their intake of anti-depressants to levels that will not take them out of life. I've known peaple who, by practicing stress releiving practices and delegation, have even been able to wean themslves off anti-depressants altogether. In any case, if a person does not take redical steps soon, the results will ALLWAYS BE WORSE with many physical manifestations and even death occuring in extreme cases.

Gentle but forceful persuasion and lots and lots of TLC is a must from you at this time. I hope this helps as this is a vicious monkey to have on a persons back.

I am on lexapro now and it does make you drowsy but only right after you take it, you wake up the next morning feeling just like you got a good nights sleep...i used to be on paxil and it has no drowsy side effects at all but its usually used more for anxiety rather than depression so i guess you need to analyze what your mom has before you decide.

the drowsiness could be caused by her medicine, or it could simply be brought on by her situation. remember anti-depressants treat the symptoms, but they don't really bring about a cure. and with her being diabetic and all, I wouldn't recommend putting her on energy pills.

her best bet is to call her MD and talk it over with him.

as for what you can do to help her, nagging her isn't the answer. find creative ways to help her remember things, or even offer to run errands to for her.