Monday, March 08, 2010

The Big Oops

So I've been back on Effexor for a wee while now, and slowly I am feeling close to my normal self. We're not all the way there, but I can see something recognizable on the horizon.

That being said, the only side effect of the drug is the fact that I can't sleep (yeah, I know, only....ha). It makes me, for lack of a better word, squiggly. I can't stay in any one position for more than a minute, and end up tossing and turning and residing in this odd place where my brain is sort of asleep but my body is all over the place, constantly waking my poor brain up. Not pleasant in the slightest. So I take another drug, Trazedone, to sleep. (Aside: Yes, I am on two drugs. But if I have to choose between two drugs and days full of black voidiness, I'll take the drugs.)

This is all beside the point. The point is, last night we stayed up to watch the Oscars, which dragged on foreeeeeeeever so we didn't crawl into bed until after midnight. Par for the course a few short years ago, but unthinkable now. And I must have been really out of it because I accidentally took an Effexor instead of a Trazedone. Needless to say, the night dragged on and on, with nary a snooze in sight. It was, in a word, awful. So I am in a bit of a stupor today.

Was it worth it, you ask? The Oscars, I mean? Meh.

3 comments:

Marie-Ève said...

Take care...

This is the former pharma journalist speaking but aren't there other SSRIs on the market that have similar upsides with less side effects? Or is the lack of sleep only temporary? Because honey, that must be terrible. I generally have poor sleep and occasional insomnia (sleep maintenance insomnia actually, in which I fall asleep easily but then wake up to spend half the night tossing and turning, unable to turn my brain off and just give in to rest, until the alarm goes off at 5). It doesn't happen that often, thankfully, because I find I really can't function when it does, it's just that awful. So especially with a baby in tow I really hope it sorts itself out for you.

(I'm so scared of sleeping pills. I'm still freaked out by all these weird accounts of what people do on Ambien and Lunesta, not to mention the addiction potential... I've taken Ativan a couple of times and I found the way it knocked me out terrifying. So for most of my life tired has been my normal.)

Unknown said...

Meh! Only one worthwhile seeing was Meryl Streep - she was radiant! I had four hours of sleep tonight, went to bed at 4 and got up at 8! Very girly night, slept at my friends place and it reminded me of our many lovely sleep overs so I told her about your noise machine, and of course, she couldn't believe it!! Well, her bed room looks and feels more like a silent room in a monastery. I loved it ;-) Just the wooden cross was missing over her bed. She asked why you don't wear these little head phones playing the noise just in your ears, mmh, why didn't I think of suggesting this to you?!

PS: Nevertheless I might share the bedroom with you in Savannah... ;-)

krista said...

isn't is funny to think that there was a time when one might have purposely taken accidental drugs in order to stay up all night?