Gracey,
You need to speak with this Doctor, immediately. Something sounds dangerously wrong, here.
Was this Doctor aware of the fact that you've had "up" cycles as well as "down" cycles and problems with sleep patterns? You don't mention the name of the antidepressant...some work fairly quickly, others take 4 -6 weeks to really be fully active. I'm not sure it's appropriate to mention the precise name of the medication and I'm not a Psychiatrist, but it sounds to me as though you need to go back to this Doctor and mention the fact that you were "so happy" and dancing around at 4 AM and were feeling down and miserable when you decided to go to the office for an appointment. It seems to me that the objective is to find a balance, rather than to move you from one extreme mood to another. The lack of sleep is the result of whatever is out of balance in your brain/body chemistry. When we don't get enough sleep or sleep at fairly regular intervals, it can and does mess with our moods. When you are unable to sleep or can only sleep for short periods of time, your will begin to feel irritable and lacking in energy and your moods will seem empty. If this Doctor does not realize that you are experiencing extremes in moods that are high and then rapidly plummeting into moods that are low and will not consider that perhaps treatment for depression may not be appropriate or optimal for you, my recommendation is that you look for another Doctor.
I wish that you would speak with a friend or family member, because you need the support of someone nearby who is close to you. Doctors do not always make the correct diagnosis the first time out. Or maybe this Doctor has you on the wrong sort of antidepressant or needs to add a second medication to help lessen the intensity of the moods you've been experiencing. Or maybe they haven't got "clue one." It helps to have someone you know and trust give you feedback about the way medications seem to be affecting you. When we are taking medications, we are often not able to see how we are changing in an objective way..
You may feel embarrassed but there is no reason to be. Things happen to us: chemical imbalances, hormonal changes. I don't know what it is that you are trying that are not healthy alternatives, but at least you have a handle on this and are aware that some things just aren't a good idea. In my opinion regarding antidepressants in general, No -- you ought not to be experiencing such highs and lows and this is something your Doctor needs to be paying attention to. I would be calling this Doctor, leaving voice mail, knocking on their door and if you get no response I would go to an ER -- please read the printout which came with the medication. It will almost certainly tell you to call your Doctor if you experience observable behavioral changes that cause discomfort or if you experience changes in mood which are rapid and intensify. Medication definitely should not interfere with your ability to THINK and get school work done. You don't mention whether this medication has done anything to help improve your sleep patterns. You don't say anything about your appetite -- whether this has changed.
When I go through time of stress (which has been happening to me recently), I have difficulty getting to sleep at a reasonable hour or waking up at a reasonable time. All I am able to do for myself is to remove myself form the stressful situation and pretty quickly my sleep cycles will become reasonable again. But I'm not wildly happy and dancing around the room. I just have a lot on my mind and can't sleep. It seems from what you've written that nothing in particular is triggering these changes in your sleep cycle. It is as though your brain is "getting high" on its own chemicals and does so for a time and then you reach a state of exhaustion and "crash" and have all the symptoms of depression. There are basic blood tests that can determine what is going on in your brain and body -- had this Doctor done any blood test prior to prescribing antidepressants? Had you ever seen this Doctor before?
It is one thing to need to get accustomed to knowing how a medication might affect you before driving a car or operating heavy equipment, but entirely different if you are unable to focus on studying and completing assignments. Call the Doctor, pronto and get in touch with a friend or family member who will be with you because you ought not be going through all of this without someone supportive nearby. Please let us know how you're doing. I (and others here on WP) care.
31 May 2013, 1:07 am
). Even some people thought I was high on drugs because I was so happy. Which I wasn't!! ! And this mood was fantastic and it was the best few weeks of my life. Then all of a sudden in just the span of a few days I have gone the other way...
