I am very physically/mentally fatigued every day. I've taken every antidepressant with no luck. Any suggestion

Question

Fatigued all day every day. Both physical and mental. Can't concentrate. Memory is bad. Motivation is bad.

Answer 1

EXCERCISE! I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it can help soooo much! I had the same problem til I started going to the gym 3-4 days a week. It helps your blood pressure which relieves headaches and fatigue, and also makes you feel so much better because it releases endorphins. Try it. It can't hurt. Just do some cardio excercises like joggin, running, treadmill, elipticycle, etc. While doing an excercise regimen, drink lots of water and eat nutritious foods, take some vitamins, etc.

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

Mike, have you been for a thorough physical, are you sure you are not anemic or something along those lines? Do you sleep well at night or maybe have a sleep disorder? There are other medical problems that could come into play.

Have you gone for counseling while taking the antidepressants? I am not sure if antidepressants can be used in combination with other drugs to help.

I was taking an antidepressant for a chronic pain problem. Part of the depression besides becaused by years of chronic pain was the fact that I was gaining weight from all of the medications, one of the side effects of the antidepressant was weight gain, talk about a catch 22.

Well I changed anti-depressants, lost a little weight and got rid of some of the stressors, although I still have the pain. I still take antidepressants, but at least I can cope most of the time.

In your life, if you could change one thing (outside of the depression) what would it be? Do you think it would help your depression problem if you did that? Have you considered it.

Also, and I know this is tough when you are feeling physically exhausted, exercise helps.

Just make yourself exercise everyday for 30 minutes, and if you sleep after that, it might be a good sleep, what your body needs. give it a few weeks and see if it helps.

And Good luck.

Answer 3

Exercise is a free antidepressant. If you do it outside you will have the added benefit of sunlight which also can help.

Stay on a schedule. Get up in the morning and go to bed at night at the same time. Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night if possible. Make sure that you keep your sleep-wake-up schedule on the weekend. Do not exercise within 3 hours of going to bed, limit alcohol and avoid caffeine after noon.

Continue taking your medication. They can take a month to even know if they are working. You must take them every day at the same time for optimal effect. When your depression lifts, your memory, concentration and motivation will improve since these are symptoms of depression. Keep trying to find a good antidepressant, there are many new ones out there and what may work for someone else may not work for you.

Also, talk to a good psychologist or therapist. They can help you and suggest additional techniques to get you through these hard times. Try to set realistic goals. Don't tell yourself that you have ten things to do today; just do one thing at a time so that your won't stress over the amount that you want to get done. Most things will wait for a few days. Try to go out and do something with friends or family. This is sometimes hard but it will keep you from staying at home all day sleeping or watching TV while you vegetate which will only feed your depression.

My last suggestion is if you are not going to a psychiatrist for your medication you should consider switching. Psychiatrists are trained to know the medications for mental conditions much better than most family physicians and usually are more familiar with the newer medications since they have a lot more patients that need them. If you don't like the first one that you go to don't hesitate to find another. Sometimes you just may not like your psychiatrist or even your psychologist. They are important to you and you need to feel like they listen, care and want to make your life good again so be particular. I hope at least a few of these suggestions help.

Answer 4

Do a little research about fibromyalgia, then see if your overall symptoms fit the pattern. Distribution of diagnosed cases is about 75 % women, 25 % men. I'm not saying that this IS the cause of your problems, but it's a possibility. I was diagnosed with it in 1999, and the fatigue ( both kinds ) is something I face all the time. CFS - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is either the same thing or closely related to FMS (fibromyalgia), depending on who you talk to. Some people consider fibromyalgia a "junk" or "fad" diagnosis, but WHATEVER it is that I have - it's not fun.

Answer 5

I use to take the ephedrine like drinking water. I kept increasing my use cause I kept feeling tired, mentally and physically exhausted. Actually what I've learned is that ANY stimulants drain my energy causing me to think I need more. Once I totally stopped the pills, any pill with caffeine in it, I actually found I have more energy and sleep better. It didn't happen overnight but once my system got rid of the caffeine OD I felt tremendously better. Also I took antidepressants during that time and I have to say that the combo made me feel like a yo yo. I take antidepressants now without the caffeine and am feeling much better. Try to rid yourself of the stimulants and give yourself time to recover.

Answer 6

Medication is only one half of the equation. The other half is finding a good therapist to help you work through your unresolved feelings of grief, anger, regret (or fill in the blank), that is the real cause of your fatigue.
Also you need to have a complete physical exam and blood work done by your doctor. Your fatigue may be caused by a physical illness. I hope you feel better soon.
Good Luck.

Answer 7

I was like you quite honestly and I discovered a product called Noni Juice I take 2oz twice a day and now I sleep only six hours and night and feel awesome the next day not tired or drained. It will also help you to detoxify your system. I'm sure you will not be disappointed. I was recommended by my Doctor and he also uses it. You do have to take it religiously to feel the full affects for min of a month but I did see the results in 1 week. Hope this helps it's worth the price of the product, especially the way I was feeling like you.
Here is the website you can get it from if you like..
www.nhtglobal.com/innerlife

All the best

Answer 8

You might have Epstein-Barr Virus,otherwise known as chronic fatigue snydrome I have heard that deep breathing exercises like bodyflex.com or oxycise.com helps replenish your body with oxygen. I have bought a book called "Be a Loser" by Greer Childers, and it shows how alot of us are oxygen deprived, because of all the pollution and such in the air. Anyway I have started doing the exercises, and it give me more energy. Also when you get more oxygen to your brain you think clearier. Just give these websites a try, and the book is great. Google the question (Are there any health benefits with deep breathing exercises, or Google the benefits of oxygen for your body. It also helps you lose weight. Any how good luck:) p.s. Exercise is great and it is the same purpose to get oxygen in your blood, well deep breathing exercises can be done without all the jarring effects to your joints. In the book it says alot of Olympic athletes perform these exercises. Oh yeah I just love................ my GAZELLE GLIDER it works great also, makes you feel like you have accomplished a great workout.

Answer 9

Funny you should ask this...I just asked this the other day:

Burnt Out / Emotionally exhausted?
Does anyone else ever feel just totally mentally exhausted at times? I'm tired of my work problems - I'm totally overwhelmed with work and not enough HELP and time. I'm tired of being broke all the time even though I work like a dog. I'm tired of being everyone's support system. I'm tired of being the "strong" one that everyone else comes to for help and/or advice. I'm tired of my relationship situation, and worrying if I'm doing the right thing being with the man I'm with. It's just EVERYTHING...I want to hide away from the world and sleep for about a week. Am I the ONLY one who ever feels this way? Just totally overwhelmed....

This is what I chose as my best answer:

This kinda thing happens periodicaly throughout life.

Take a nap, take a walk. Sit down and think things through. As far as money goes, look at what you have, what you own, what you pay for and your quality of life. Find where the problem is and set a solution to it. If what you have is not enough money, find out where it is going, or re evaluate your current employment. If what you own isnt good enough, ask yourself why. Get rid of it. start over. Nothing is more liberating and giving your stuff away to people who have nothing. it leaves you with room to add new things. If you're paying too many bills, find a way to pay them off quicker. even an extra twenty bucks on a credit card payment makes a huge difference. Be sure to set yourself aside a few bucks a week for mad money.

I promise you'll find room for improvment, but if you're honest with yourself you will find that you have it pretty good. Because no matter what there is always someone who is worse off than you.

As far as work goes, I would just make it known that you're no ones workbitch. You do things, because you get paid to. end of story. You dont owe anyone anything.

Things get super overwhelming at night time, after a huge work load, when you're PMSing, when you're tired from lack of sleep.

Do you have a sick day? Call in. sit at home in your pj's and watch price is right with a tub of ice cream. Sleep the day away. if you dont have a sick day, have sick moments at work. Take you time walking to the bathroom. Take two seconds to look out the window. Count to ten and close your eyes and think of your favorite place. Mini-vacations. listen to your own music at work whenever possible. your favorite songs can take you anywhere, no matter where you're at.

most of all, reassure yourself that there is a way out of this, it might not be immediate, but there is a way out. And you will survive. And things wont seem so big and weighty after a while.

Just breathe.


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Hopefully you'll find some wise things in it like I did - I wish you the best....take care of YOU, Marilyn

Answer 10

mike- sorry you feel so lousey..i can relate..been there..still there sometimes..you should have a complete physical exam by a DR. OF INTERNAL MEDICINE..these guys are way smarter than just a regular MD..could be a low thyroid, could be low testosterone level..have a complete exam and blood tests..also, cannot concentrate, that could be ADD-attention deficit disorder, memory bad, motivation bad, these are all possible--i was tested and diagnosed at age 50 to have ADHD-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder..now taking Strattera, 60 mg, has helped A LOT !!! also, some anti-depressants have lousy side affects, including fatigue..i now take Wellbutrin XL, 300 mg, once a day, without fatigue, actually dr. says will give me a bit of energy!!! also, i recently complained i was tired, out of gas, my dr. did an EKG, was OK, he also did STRESS EKG, was not OK, showed at low physical activity, my heart was beating extra beats, thereby fatigueing me, gave me Toprol XL, 50 mg, this has also helped.. i found out my testosterone level was LOW NORMAL, so i am using a testosterone gel, daily, to increase my level, which also affects energy and fatigue.. i am overweight now..even though i'm 6'3", am about 315 lbs..too much..technically, morbidly obese, working on reducing my weight..actually the Strattera for ADD has reduced my appetite and is helping me to lose weight.. i also am trying to walk some, with and without the dogs i have...also, who is giving you the anti-depressants, a dr., or shrink...maybe you could use a different dr. or shrink, perhaps they are not working on your best behalf??? sometimes a new dr. can look at your situation differently and freshly..the Strattera & Toprol are new Rx's by a different Dr. since i moved to another county--both Dr.'s were internists, both were good, yet this new Dr. is much better, than the previous one..catching the stress EKG thing was really sharp, and the Toprol has really helped..so has the Strattera, both from new DR... A VERY THOROUGH COMPLETE PHYSICAL EXAM BY A DR. OF INTERNAL MEDICINE IS THE BEST START IN MY OPINION, FOR YOU, BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, HAVING FELT ALMOST AS BAD AS YOU HAVE, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, NOT FUN, GETS OLD REAL QUICK.. i am almost 60 yrs old, this Dec, wish i had known about my ADHD before age 50, and my extra heart beats one month ago, yet, better late than never...hang in there buddy, it can become better.. need to get some more information and better professional help from your Dr's...if i can be of further help, please holler back at me..good luck to you....PS, i also have sleep apnia, which is more than just snoring, it can kill you, most likely brought on to me by weight gains.I.use a machine to breathe better at night-has helped a lot-all part of tracking down, and solving physical complaints, one by one, by a good DR. of Internal Medicine..get a complete physical-ASAP-- it could be a real lifesaver and eye-opener for you..good luck-again- don't be bashfull..holler back at me if i can be of help to you..i am retired, & would be happy to help you if i can, with some different ideas and thoughts, that might be help-full to you !!!