“Can depression medicines cause excessive sleeping?”
I am on treatment for depression. Since starting medical treatment I am feeling so sleepy and nothing helps. Could this be directly related to the medicine? What can I do?
13 Answers
Side effects from medication can include sleepiness. Sometimes a side effect is temporary and will subside after a few weeks. If this does not occur, speak to your doctor about alternative medications less likely to have this side effect.
Yes, your medication could be the cause of your feeling sleepy. Many psychotropic medications are very sedating. You might seek a psychiatrist who wouldhel to wean you off of the medications very slowly so you would not experience withdrawal which could be worse than before you took the medications. Many non-medical treatments have been found superior to anti-depressants in the successful treatment of depression and anxiety: meditation, relaxation, and bodywork, foods, exercise, music, and most of all talk therapy, especially psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
Antidepressants can cause drowsiness. It can clear up at times, after you have been on it for a bit. If it persists, contact your physician.
Psychotropic medications always have side effects. Therapy is a better idea. But, if this is your avenue of treatment, then you need to get your meds adjusted.
It can be related to the medication you have been prescribed. A lot depends on the dosage, your body weight and how you metabolize the substance. Some medicines can initially cause drowsiness if appropriate for your condition should diminish. If the situation does not improve you should discuss the side effects with your prescribing physician. If a primary care physician is doing the prescribing it might behoove you to have a consultation with a psychiatrist so you get the benefits vs the side effects that could contribute to non-compliance.
Lauren Ashley Shapiro
Psychologist
Excessive need for sleep is a symptom of depression as well as a possible side-effect of several psychotropic medications. Speak with the physician who prescribed your medication about the symptoms and side-effects you are experiencing. It may be as simple as adjusting your dose or switching you to a different medication altogether.
Johnathan M. Wormhoudt
Psychologist
Yes depending on the particular antidepressant you are taking, it may cause drowsiness and fatigue. SSRI's are more prone to these side-effects than Dopaminergic antidepressants such as Wellbutrin.
It is possible that your medication is causing sleepiness. It depends on the dose and the medication, of course. Usually, this symptom disappears in 4-6 weeks. If that does not work for you, speak with your prescribing doctor about trying a different medication.
Also, be sure to exercise, eat and sleep well. This definitely will help.
Also, be sure to exercise, eat and sleep well. This definitely will help.
Some depression meds can make some people more sleepy. If so you can try taking the med at night. You also need to inform the prescribe physician since you may need another type of medication.
Yes. Go back to your prescriber and let him or her know about this and the dosage or medication can be changed to reduce or eliminate this side effect.
Yes, it can. Eventually, we become used to the medication and it doesn’t bother us so much, but you can always have the doctor who prescribed the medication change it to something that will keep you more awake.
This can be a potential side effect of the medication or it may be a symptom of the depressive episode itself. I suggest contacting your psychiatrist or PCP for medication adjustment and routine blood tests to assure no underlying medical conditions.
Simple answer is yes - see your medical doctor for adjusting your meds or getting his advice.
