I had to come home from work Friday night. I am a Nurse Practitioner and triage patients in emergency care making life and death decisions, (ndon't wnat to dramatise it, but it is my decision on ypriority of care they recieve.) I am fairly new to this site and value any input you can give me. I am currently on increasing dose of CARBAMAZIPINE and am now on 400 mg in two divided doses. I also take Cymbalta and Arcoxia for fibro pain. Was wondering if you ever get used to the sleepiness aspect of these meds as I am finding I am making spelling mistakes when typing up clinical summaries. This is not a major problem and my workmates find it funny, but I am terrified I make a mistake during actual triage. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I make spelling mistakes more than I would like to admit to, foggy brain, short term memory loss all related to meds. I truely understand your frustration especially you being a NP. Thats tough for you. Its always on your mind as a nurse but must be ten fold as an NP. I think knowing you are aware will make yourself check yourself twice , maybe three times so younare not so uneasy. The sleepiness for some diminishes. I have been on tegretol and elavil for years now and they still make me sleepy. Maybe its up to the individuals body chemistry and how the drugs break down and affect you. Hang in there Anan. Hope this helped you abit
My Best
Never thought I would get used to 800 mg of carbamazepine. I take 300 chew tabs am, 200 at 12:00 and 300 at 5:00. It helps to break up the doses. I also take Tramadol for breakthrough pain and 50 mg of nortriptyline and .05 Xanex at bedtime. Hmmm. I am back at the gym and plan to run a 5 k in June. Had a major setback and am recovering today. Memory problems. I have to tell myself to focus constantly. I get these horrible sweats. Do you get that? I feel so uncomfortable in my skin. Feel wiped out today a d listless.
First thanks for the responses. I am going to see doctor tomorrow as Fibro pains not controlled so will speak to her then. I know what you mean about terrible sweats. It is horrible feel really clammy at times, hair soaking wet at the back and creepy crawly feeling. It is reassuring to know I am not the only one with these problems. I sommetimes wish for a magic wand to make it all disappear. I feel so old, ( well I am, but didn't feel old until all these symptoms appeared.) I have constant lethargy from Fibro and don't know if these problems down to meds or conditions.
You are all supportive I don't know what I'd do without you all.
I am on 1200mg carbamazepine a day split into 3 doses) and I am really tired a lot. I still work because I have to, but if I have to increase again, idk unless I do it in 4 doses. I just don't know. I do EVERYTHING in my office.....all payroll, books, ap, ar, etc... It's hard, I drink lots of coffee.
I drink lots of coffee too but apparently thats bad for fibro pains. Thats a lot of tegretol you take, don't think I could function on that much. I will speak to doc tomorrow about possibly splitting it into 3 doses to see if that will help.
Anan, I feel your pain, I am in healthcare as well. You would think that in our field you would have more compassion but I warn you to be on your guard. This is not paranoia either. Having worked HR 10 years before going back to school to into the healthcare field you would be surprised how willingly everyone forgets your excellent employment history when you become ill, especially with something they really can't see. When I started my meds I found I was very sleepy add that to the commute and 10 plus hour days it was impossible so my dr. wanted me to work half days for a while. I tried reducing the meds so that I can pull through full days but once individuals start making comments about your ability to be clear headed my ability to be more detail orientated that was pretty much the end of a 9 years 7 months career in public health. A supervisor challenged my ability to make decisions based on my meds/HR came in handed me a letter to sign my resignation and with everything that was going on I can't believe I signed it. It is not a bad wish on them but several months later on some other issue all those involved in pushing me out are no longer employed because of an issue they had blow up in their face. Anyway after my venting I just want to share be very guarded when sharing your health because unfortunately if people see blood, and guts then it requires attention. Those of us who suffer without visual scars must unite to get more individuals educated. Good luck, I wish you the best.
I think it is a common problem for many of us.
At the moment I feel I have a good mix of medications and can cope with the side effects. Some medications I just couldnt tolerate no matter how long I took them, they still left me unable to function.
I have definitely lost the ability to spell and even trying to write a cohesive sentence is difficult. When I read a novel I need to keep notes on the characters and plot because I just can’t remember what is going on and have to keep reading the same chapters over and over.
It must be difficult for you in your job and i can certainly understand your concerns. I guess it is all a trade off trying to balance the pain, medications and the subsequent side effects.
Best wishes finding the right combination of medications, it is so hard.
Oh believe me I am very guarded. I don`t trust anyone at work they would stab you inthe back without any thought.That was why I came home and told them I was going to see doctor about changing meds so I could function better and have asked for referral to occ health. Thanks for kind thoughts and your input. Luckily when I spoke to my boss prior to coming home he understood as his wife has T.N. too
Ann
tnjourney said:
Anan, I feel your pain, I am in healthcare as well. You would think that in our field you would have more compassion but I warn you to be on your guard. This is not paranoia either. Having worked HR 10 years before going back to school to into the healthcare field you would be surprised how willingly everyone forgets your excellent employment history when you become ill, especially with something they really can't see. When I started my meds I found I was very sleepy add that to the commute and 10 plus hour days it was impossible so my dr. wanted me to work half days for a while. I tried reducing the meds so that I can pull through full days but once individuals start making comments about your ability to be clear headed my ability to be more detail orientated that was pretty much the end of a 9 years 7 months career in public health. A supervisor challenged my ability to make decisions based on my meds/HR came in handed me a letter to sign my resignation and with everything that was going on I can't believe I signed it. It is not a bad wish on them but several months later on some other issue all those involved in pushing me out are no longer employed because of an issue they had blow up in their face. Anyway after my venting I just want to share be very guarded when sharing your health because unfortunately if people see blood, and guts then it requires attention. Those of us who suffer without visual scars must unite to get more individuals educated. Good luck, I wish you the best.
Update: Saw G.P. this afternoon he thinks symptoms may be reaction to Arcoxia as B.P. and Pulse sky high. Have to discontinue Arcoxia and he will review again on Wednesday. Also advised if symptoms get any worse. phone 999.