Keep falling asleep

[natashaj1210]

I kept falling asleep randomly today. Behind the wheels on the way to work, at work, and even in the way home this afternoon. I dozed off and rolled into the back of another car and jumped up at the thud. Why? And why so randomly? I've never had this happen before...

[Lizziesview]

Dear Natashaj1210

I'm sorry to hear if your awful problem, but you must stop driving and get yourself to the doctors asap. Good luck! Best wishes

Lizzie x

[Marz]

Hopefully your Doc will look at the bigger picture. I would be asking for the following tests: B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD. Those are the building blocks of our health and need to be optimal. Be aware that Docs today declare you normal even when bumping along the bottom of the range. B12 and VitD need to be near the top of the range - and Folate and Ferritin mid-range.

Then I would have the FULL Thyroid profile checked to include - TSH - FT4 - FT3 and the anti-bodies - TPO and Tg to rule out Hashimotos. There are 300 symptoms linked to low thyroid.

Are you taking any other meds that may be causing this problem ?

You can click onto my name above and read my profile in a couple of minutes and any Posts or Replies that may catch your eye

[natashaj1210 in reply to Marz]

Thank you very much for your insight. I currently take pantoprazole, venlafaxine, cyproheptadine, Clonazepam, and amitriptyline. Maybe one of those are causing it? It's strange though because that's the first time that happened and I've been taking must of these pills for a while now..

[Marz in reply to natashaj1210]

Gosh that is an awful lot of medication. Perhaps some of them work against each other and are causing a problem. How long have you been taking the PPI - that prevents you from absorbing vitamins and minerals especially B12. What are all the meds for ?

Have you ever had any of the tests I mentioned above ? Do you ask for copies of all your bloodtests so you can monitor your own health ?

Perhaps symptoms are being treated but not the root cause 😊

[natashaj1210 in reply to Marz]

GERD- I have been taking this one for like 10 years. The others are for depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, and 2 for migraines. I sometimes take a sleeping pill for insomnia but not always. I take oxycodone and/or ketorolac to treat migraines as needed as well.. I'm going to make an appt with my PCP to discuss and I'll be sure to mention the tests you referenced. Thank you so much for your advice!!

[Marz in reply to natashaj1210]

Low Iron can be the cause of bad headaches. Oxygen is transported around the body by sticking to iron in the red blood cells. Hence it is important to have Ferritin checked and a full iron Profile.

Most of your symptoms are linked to LOW thyroid.

PPI's should only be an 8 week course. Have you read the side effects. When Hypo stomach acid is LOW and can cause the same symptoms as high. Just s BIG earner for BIG Pharma. If you read my Profile you will know my history and how do I treat myself ? - just thyroid hormones and supplements.

It so upsets me when the root cause is missed - it happened to me too 😴😴

[Molly2022 in reply to Marz]

Never take any medication ,or vitamins with coffee or tea anything caffiene or decaf it cancelles them ..

[highchiro1]

Check for diabetes, FBC and Thyroid for a start. That is a lot of meds btw, tiredness is aside effect of most of them.

[natashaj1210 in reply to highchiro1]

Thanks for your advice!

[natashaj1210]

So I went to see my PCP today. He told me it was the 2 new meds for migraines that is causing the drowsiness. I gotta follow up with labs still but that was what he said. So I have to try changing the time I take the morning pill and see if that helps any...

[highchiro1]

900mg aspirin shown in studies to be just as if not more effective than migraine med. Try if you have no stomach issues / asthma sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

[natashaj1210 in reply to highchiro1]

I actually have GERD so I don't think I can

[highchiro1]

Has to be taken in very early stages of migraine

[Judmilla]

That IS a lot of medications. I had a doctor say once, "any drug can have any side effect it wants to have, any time it wants to have it". In addition, the interactions between different drugs is not as predictable as they'd like to have you believe. Also, as someone else here said, many drugs can CAUSE a vitamin deficiency. At the same time, many drugs NEED a good level of certain vitamins in order to do their job. So it's a very complex issue, and many doctors aren't aware of and don't consider that complexity when they order stuff. All that being said, falling asleep during the day can also be related to sleep apnea, which in turn could be spontaneous, but also could itself be a drug side effect. You might ask about getting that checked out.

[natashaj1210 in reply to Judmilla]

The Dr seems to be convinced it's the side effects of the drugs. He included vitamin level tests in the order for my lab work so we will see what ur says. Thanks so much for your advice.

[Marz in reply to natashaj1210]

Did he include Thyroid Testing. ? GERD can be a Hypo symptom. Hope you get some answers. Pop your results in a new thread so more people see them. Only saw the last few posts by chance.

😊😊

[natashaj1210 in reply to Marz]

Marz I haven't done the labs as yet. I think he did include thyroid testing. He usually included as my mom has hyper thyroid issues.. I'll be sure to let u know when I get my results!

[littlelulu in reply to natashaj1210]

Hi.

You really have a lot going on!

A few questions for you:

Has any of the doctors had an idea of what was causing the migraine headaches? (There is not only one cause.) Do you feel there are any particular triggers for the migraines?

When did you last see an ophthalmologist; and have you ever consulted a neuro-ophthalmologist?

Have you ever been told you have dry eye? (Your eyes don't necessarily have to feel dry for you to have dry eye; it can mainly be a function of the composition of the tear-film)? Ever blink a lot?

Ever use eye-drops containing steroids (like prednisone) for any length of time?

Ever been told, or felt, that you were sensitive to light?—do any of these bother you: sunlight; outdoors glare (like a daytime sky in which you cannot see the sun, but that is nonetheless covered by clouds that are bright and glare-y)?

Ever feel that any of these bother you: fluorescent lights (especially in those overhead fixtures that have what look like criss-crossed metal strips that reflect the light even more), or halogen lights, or any other kind of indoor lighting? What about a computer screen, or watching TV?

How old are you, and when did you begin having migraines?

[natashaj1210 in reply to littlelulu]

I can't really pinpoint a trigger.. most times I wake up with the migraine. I do have an arachnoid cyst but there's no confirmation the migraines are associated with it.

I've never seen a neuro-ophthalmologist. And I've never been diagnosed with dry eyes. I do have light sensitivity, but that mostly affects me when I have the migraines. I work in front of a computer full time..

I first started having migraines when I was a teen. I'd say around 15 ish.. I'm now 31..

[Tomada62]

Obviously first thing you would do, would be to rule out medication?

Lack of sleep, late nights or worries keeping you awake.

See GP and stop driving in meantime if you have ruled out any of complications mentioned above.

Good Luck

[natashaj1210 in reply to Tomada62]

My Dr seems to be convinced it's the migraine meds I take..

[littlelulu]

PS: What are the names of the 2 migraine meds?

[natashaj1210 in reply to littlelulu]

Amitriptyline and cyproheptadine for prevention of migraines. Oxycodone to treat.