14 replies to this topic

[whitejk]

My father has a c6/7 injury and seems to have been coping fairly well but lately he seems to just want to sleep all the time. We were worried that the baclofen that he has been on for the last couple years is what is making him want to sleep all the time so they decided to ween him off of it. So far his spasms have just come back and he still seems to still want to sleep. I guess my question is, is this how it is going to be or can we get him back to an active life. He was very active before the injury and now we wonder if this might just be depression related. Any advice?

[Erica Smith]

personally i find the more i sleep the more i want to sleep. the initial getting out of bed and getting ready for the day is the hardest part but once i get this task done i tend to have more energy to do whatever it is i'm going to be doing! which also results in me being happier than if i had just chosen to stay in bed all day. I am also on baclofen (10mg, 3 times daily) and it definitely does add to my drowsiness.

[SequinScandal]

Baclofen is horrible in my opinion if you want to do anything other than sleep all day. I have an EMS and it really helps with my spasms. But if he has been taking it for a while it might take some time to completely be gone out of his system. I also like to have some spams they help to keep muscle on my legs.

[qbounce]

Baclofen made me drowsy when I first started taking it, but my body got acclimated to it fairly quick.

If his dosage hasn't changed and he doesn't have any type of infection (UTI), or he's not taking antibiotics, then depression would be my best bet.

Try taking him out more.
He might do better with antidepressant medication as a last resort.

[davjed]

I think that age is a factor among other things. I've found that after sixty I just could not bounce back from physical insults the way I once did.

[rollingtrouble]

Well, the thing you describe sounds like me during bouts of depression before I finally decided to seek help. I stayed in bed all the time, keeping the room dark and decided it was better to sleep to escape my misery than try to do anything about it. My kids and family were just as puzzled as you are why this was happening. If he is not on anti-depressants, he should really look into seeing a doctor for help, I waited until several years trying to cope on my own, but realized finally that its ok to ask and be helped for depression. Its a horrible monster that messes with the mind.

[Tetracyclone]

Dear Lady,
It sounds unlikely to me that the baclofen is causing your dad's drowsiness, given that he has been taking it awhile without this symptom. Depression is certainly a possibility, but so is some unknown health issue. I would want him to have some lab testing done.

If no one can entice dad to talk about how he is feeling about life, discuss depression directly. Describe how he has been sleeping so much, and since what dates, and ask him what changed. Have his doctor describe depression for him so he can look at his own life and see if that fits.

The last thing you could do, if nothing else works, is try to start him on an antidepressant and see if things get better. "Dad, this might help you feel more interested in life."

Good luck.

[greybeard]

Is he taking amitriptyline for nerve pain? I've started to discover why so many hate the stuff. I'm like a zombie some days and just want to sleep all the time.

[jessa]

I know that any kind of pain medicine would do it, but when that was happening to me it was because I had low iron and was anemic. . Although depression could be a thought also.

[KK*]

I say definitely depression. I didnt realize it but recently I had forgotten my Cymbalta in my meds and i was soooo tired all the time. Slept until 11 or 12 then made myself get up but had to drag myself through the day. Then I started haviing emotional issues annd realized I had been off mmy Cymbalta for about 5 days. Got back on it and I amm back to normal.

KK

[Zack]

personally i find the more i sleep the more i want to sleep. the initial getting out of bed and getting ready for the day is the hardest part but once i get this task done i tend to have more energy to do whatever it is i'm going to be doing! which also results in me being happier than if i had just chosen to stay in bed all day. I am also on baclofen (10mg, 3 times daily) and it definitely does add to my drowsiness.

I'd swear you just described Me perfectly.

I say definitely depression. I didnt realize it but recently I had forgotten my Cymbalta in my meds and i was soooo tired all the time. Slept until 11 or 12 then made myself get up but had to drag myself through the day. Then I started haviing emotional issues annd realized I had been off mmy Cymbalta for about 5 days. Got back on it and I amm back to normal.

KK

Please define your Normal!

Edited by Zack, 02 June 2012 - 07:55 PM.

[KK*]

Zack, go to your corner.

[Zack]

Zack, go to your corner.

I love when you wiggle that finger at me! It's worth going to my corner!

Sorry for going off Thread! I'll take it to PM. With chat closed I'm forgetting where I am. I'm usually winding down in Chat after 8 pm to help me sleep better! Hope that's more on Thread! KK started it.

[whitejk]

Thank you all for the advice. He has been off of balcofen for about 3 weeks now and he actually stopped taking the lexapro (his decision) around the same time. He has been on the lexapro since his accident and we haven't noticed any change in behavior on or off of it. So, now the only medication he is on is for blood pressure. I think he is enjoying being off the baclofen because he can actually move his foot a little, where as he couldn't before. We have been trying to talk with him about seeing someone for the depression but haven't had any luck yet (I am not giving up on it anytime soon). I also keep trying to tell him to get on this site to talk with others who are experiencing the same thing but haven't had any luck yet. He was sort of technology-challenged before the accident so now it is much more daunting. Thanks again for the advice, I just wanted to make sure that we were doing the right things to help him.

[Robert W Sullivan]

While it didn't work for me, have your dad mention the Cymbalta to his Doctor. Some folks swear by it. It would be worth it to have your Dad back.