SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

In 2004 I was diagnosed with narcolepsy. My neurologist put me on provigil for the excessive daytime sleepiness and effexor for the cataplexy. Before being diagnosed I had never taken an antidepressant and had had no real issues with depression.

Last year I asked her to increase the effexor because I felt it was making me depressed...I no longer felt really happy or really sad, I was basically just numb. She did increase it but it made no real difference. Then everything happened with my A....and I am now more depressed and numb than I have ever been before. Because of the narcolepsy I can sleep all the time, and have recently found myself to be napping more often. Not cuz my body is tired, but because it's a quick escape from my life.

I am going to my Neuro tomorrow for a routine check up.My BH has asked me if I am going to talk to her about my meds and either increasing the effexor again or changing to another depressant. He also mentioned asking her about abilify, which I guess is a med you take on top of antidepressants.

I hate taking meds....it drives me crazy that I already have to take medicine daily in order to function like a normal person, so I am not sure if I want to take more. And I am nervous to switch meds cuz I don't know what the side effects will be...I already know how my current meds effect me and they do what they need to control the narcolepsy, so I am scared to mess with that.

So now that I told my reasons, my question is for those of you on anti depressants, do they work for you? Were you on them before the A? I guess I just want to hear what other people think about this. Thanks!

Antidepessants work differently for everyone. I have heard many people say that they do not like a particular drug because of the numbness or lack of happiness/sadness.

An antidepressant which is working properly should not numb or dull your feelings. Also if you are using a nap to escape life the antidepressant is not doing its job. There are many excellent types of antidepressants on the market. If weaned properly from the Effexor onto another drug you should not likely see any problems with control of your narcolepsy. I have also seen people use two different types of antidepressant when one alone doesn't do the trick.

Why not express your concerns to your physician about the fact that you are apathetic and see what she says. It can't hurt...good luck.