For a while I would oversleep, and just felt very slow, no energy, now for the past wk or so, I am having a hard time sleeping, and seem to be talking more, more energy. Why does this change like this.

being unable to sleep through the night is a classic sign of depression. However, once our meds 'kick in' we find we often have more energy and are relaxed enough to begin to take part in day-to-day living again.

How much does not sleeping bother you? I spent years worrying until the night I thought 'OK I don't sleep well, live with it' - ever after I've had mostly good nights!

the other reason for low energy can be connected to the thyroid gland, so getting a thyroid function test might give you a clue?

A shift like that could be a sign of bipolar disorder, swinging from a depressive phase to a manic phase. Be sure to keep your doctor informed of all this, to be sure you receive the proper diagnosis and treatment.

I have not been to a doctor for this, and I"m not on any meds for depression/anxiety. But this sounds like what I have. My Mom suffers from depression, runs in family it seems. I did take a AD called Paxil, over a yr ago, took for about 2 wks, and this caused severe anxiety/panic attacks, so I stopped. Scared to take AD'S anymore. They seem to increase my anxiety, which is bad enough. I'm going to get a glucose test done nxt time at doctor, since this past Saturday, I got really weak in the legs, and extremely shaky, with fast heart rate, just picking up limbs in the yard. This kinda scared me, not sure if I have a low blood sugar issue or not.

I have similar problems. I have difficulty falling asleep every night, and even when I get enough sleep, I'm always tired. I often oversleep too. Unfortunately I have not seen any doctors or taken medication either, so I can't really give you any valid advice. I can only say that your sleep problems most likely are related to your depression. If possible, you should talk to a doctor.

Yes, I know, and eventually I probably will. I'm just scared of AD'S. I've read a lot on them, seen people on them, some got worse, and had to keep changing meds and doses, and I suffered some really bad, worse anxiety on them. I know I only tried one, but they really do mess with my anxiety, and stomach really bad. I also know, they really help some people as well.

This post has been edited by cvoor: Feb 19 2008, 07:20 PM

They can mess with you yes, but its important to try more than one, and its important to keep on them for at least a month or so, as it takes some time to get into your system. Paxil really screwed me up, but then I was moved to Lexapro, which worked considerably better. Unfortunitly its kind of a trial and error process.

Is Lexapro, a little more "Gentle" than Paxil or Effexor ?
My stomach and anxiety can't take much.
I just don't sleep well thru the night, wake up constantly, then I'm very tired in the morning, and have to go bk to bed, for a couple of hrs, before work.

This post has been edited by cvoor: Feb 21 2008, 09:24 AM