I'm so tired!!!

[lethargiccowgirl]

Hello all. I need help. I meditated consistently every day or every other day for about three months. Started out with focusing on my breathing, but I started to notice it made me very tired. So I switched to serene reflection for a short amount of time. Then I had to stop all together, as I was so drowsy. It's been seven months since I've meditated and I'm still drowsy.

I take medications: lithium, seroquel, celexa, and levothyroxine. When I first started meditating I was also on buspirone. Since I'd meditated I was getting so drowsy, I had to stop the buspirone all together. Now since meditating I'm also more sensitive to other medications (like Benadryl) and have to take less of my seroquel, but even so I'm still abnormally drowsy in the morning.

Meditation is the only thing I can correlate to my drowsiness. I've had minimal improvement since I stopped meditating seven months ago. I really liked meditating; I miss it.

PLEASE HELP!!! Any suggestions would be so very helpful. Thank you.

[Hazelkay]

Welcome to the forum.

Drowsiness is a common response to meditating, but perhaps yours is exacerbated by the drugs you need to take. That is not meant to say that you should stop taking them!! Just a reflection on reality as it is.

Position when meditating can be important. If you are lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair the body often reverts to sleep mode. An upright posture is most helpful. (That said, I seem to have the facility for nodding off even in an upright posture) At least, if the posture is upright you are alerted more quickly to the nodding off by the body going out of balance.

It can be helpful to keep the eyes open, just gently looking down and remembering to blink.
You say it is seven months since you meditated, yet there is minimal improvement in the drowsiness. I assume you have consulted your medical practitioner - do they have any explanation?

Very cautiously and gently, try a bit of walking meditation. Find a quiet space where you can mark a path about 20-30 paces apart (like between two trees)
and allow the attention to be on the feet. Feel every small movement of the feet, every contact with the ground. Only for five minutes at first. At the end of the week, if you have noticed no increase in your drowsiness, add another couple of minutes. If all is well, keep adding a couple of minutes every week, but stop at 20.

Keep us posted on what is happening
peace and joy

[GilesC]

Hi cowgirl and welcome to Project Meditation.

I'm not too familiar with all the medications you're taking or what they're for, except levothyroxine which I know is for underactive thyroid.... just doing a quick google...

lithium - treatment for depression/bi-polar disorder, can cause underactive thyroid function, and in excess can cause drowsiness.

seroquel - treatment for schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder, common (more than 1 in 10 people) side effect of drowsiness

celexa (a.k.a. citalopram) - SSRI for treatment of depression, common side effect of sleepiness. Interestingly it says that it should not be using in Manic episodes of manic depression (bipolar affective disorder) and caution she be taken when taking anti-psychotics (of which seroquel is classed)


You say that meditation is the only think you can correlate to your drowsiness, but then say since stopping you had minimal improvement, so in terms of eliminating possible causes, that actually sounds more like the meditation is not really the cause, though the above medications are common causes of drowsiness it would seem, as well as having an underactive thyroid.

Obviously we can't offer any diagnosis here, and I wouldn't suggest you change your medication without seeing your doctor.

Typically, meditation actually causes a stilling of the mind and thoughts and is, for most people, beneficial in helping with depression and other such related disorders.

If I were you, I would go back to your doctor and ask for him/her to check the medications you are taking and their compatibility a) to each other and b) to you. It may also be worth getting your thryoid levels checked again too (and it's not just the levels the doctor should look at, but the level in conjunction with your symptoms), especially as one of those medication is a liable cause for reducing your thyroid function.

In terms of meditation, check with your doctor, but you may also want to give mantra based meditation a go, as Michael teaches for free in the downloadable Discover Meditation course.

Hugs

Giles

[lethargiccowgirl]

"Drowsiness is a common response to meditating, but perhaps yours is exacerbated by the drugs you need to take. That is not meant to say that you should stop taking them!! Just a reflection on reality as it is."

Yes, HazelKay, I agree. The meditating is being exacerbated by the medications. But the question is, WHY? And is there any way to reverse it? And why am I still drowsy after 7 months? I have an appointment with my phychiatrist this week, perhaps to test thyroid levels, see if he has any ideas. I'll update, thanks all.

[lethargiccowgirl]

Hello all. I was consistently lethargic/drowsy for seven months following my meditation and the drowsiness was caused by my medications (intolerable to medications after the meditation).

Well things with my biplolar depression got worse. Tried (and failed) to kill myself, during it I took at least 3 mg of Xanax and 1 mg Klonopin (this was not my attempt to kill myself, other things were). A side effect to this was sleeping for 3-4 days with subsequent near-total blackout. But fancy enough, my problems with the medication intolerance were over.

Possible things I can think of to cause this resolution: psychosomatic or sleep deprivation.

I met with my psychiatrist prior to my attempt and he suggested possibly the balance between my sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system were causing the para- to be more active, thus causing my lethargy. Maybe. Small changes in brain or nervous system can cause big effects.

Who knows. None of it is testable. All I know is that I hope it never happens again. I really need to be on these medications (specifically Buspar and Seroquel). Thanks all.

[Bryan555]

Wow, that is a very frightening story, Cowgirl. I'm sure all of us here are very sympathetic to your situation. But, as non-medical professionals, we must of course tread very carefully about giving any advice or suggestions.

What about your meditation? You didn't mention that. Is it now OK for you to meditate?

[lethargiccowgirl]

I'm sure you can understand that I am completely scared to even try to meditate again. I'm afraid the same lethargy will occur again. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts to as WHY my lethargy did occur. I'm not planning on meditating again nor am I going to stop any of my medications.

[pollyanna]

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear about your condition and all the medications you are having to take. I respect that you choose the path your doctor is suggesting and will continue with these medications.

Here's a little information you may choose to discuss with your doctor and I hope this is helpful to you. The organs and systems of the body all back each other up and when one is not working properly, the first back-up system will work harder to compensate for it.

For example- The thyroid is the first backup to the heart and the generator to the brain. Certain deficiencies in the thyroid include symptoms of fatigue, depression, low self-esteem, suicidal tendencies and mental disorders.

Doctors prescribe artificial chemical drugs e.g. thyroxin, however, over time, and as the dose is increased, the thyroid loses it's own ability to produce natural thyroxin.

The adrenals are the second back-up to the heart and if these are put under too much stress, this will cause extreme fatigue and many other symptoms. The heart will also take on more and more stress.

If you can think back to when this all began, and I imagine it has gone on for years, maybe you can remember how it all started. This is very important, because, so often, people feel very tired and run down and learn to live with this and accept it as normal. I know I certainly did at one point in my life.

Of course, doctors and surgery play a very important roll in life - however - they are trained to put plasters on. They cure the symptoms often, not the cause.

Here's the good news:- most people who suffer from depression and mental disorders, usually have a major vitamin B deficiency. Perhaps you could ask your doctor for some really good natural multi B vitamins.

Also, you may not be aware that most people are deficient in magnesium because of pesticides and many reasons. Epsom salts (otherwise known as Magnesium sulphate) are really good to add to your bath. I would recommend that you purchase a good quality of these which are pure and do not contain chemicals.

I strongly recommend that you speak to your doctor about all the above and if he doesn't listen, maybe find one who will.

One last thing, if you have downloaded the free meditation course, on the second C.D. you will find the little gratitude exercise. This little exercise is really good to create in your day while listening to the peaceful music provided. You may find it has a really good effect on your life over time.

I hope the facts above have not given you cause for concern and I hope you have an understanding doctor who is open minded and will help you to get well

I wish you much peace and joy

[lethargiccowgirl]

Hello all. My therapists brainstormed and have landed on a possibility. They formulate that when I started to meditate I had difficulty dealing with subconscious issues. I didn't know how to deal with it and became drowsy as a way of compensating with the subconscious issues.

If I become drowsy again my therapist suggests I write down what I was thinking and/or feeling prior to the drowsiness.

I think this very well may be a good idea about what's going on.

[GilesC]

Hi cowgirl,

It's certainly a good starting point in tracking down what the issue may be.

Let us know how you get on.

Hugs

Giles