I want to get rid of these med's forever.
Soo why did my doctor prescribe me this if the haziness won't get better with it... ??
As someone who fought for 6 months to stay off medication, and ended up admitting defeat, I am part of the reluctant group that sees the need for medication.
The haziness is worst when your stress levels are highest, and when you don't get REM sleep for an extended period of time.
There was a trial done where animals were taught a task, and then consistently deprived of REM sleep, and the end result was that the animals performed as though it was almost a completely new task to them.
The medication will make you less hyper-alert which means that buttons which trigger stress reactions are not as sensitive, therefore you are less stressed.
The medication world is a tricky one, however I can vouch for it's effectiveness when used properly.
2 years ago following an instruction to pick up a screwdriver and hand it to someone was a massive effort, now I'm at the stage (after falling flat on my face again in early 2012) where I am able to cope with working, and/or a little study.
True, I cannot do both full time, or EITHER of them full time, but information is starting to sink in again.
Now, as to your symptoms......
very dizzy, gained weight, really tired in the morning, and had big problems concentrating.
Dizziness - not so bad any more (4 and a half years later), apparently it's rather prevalent in sufferer's of PTSD
Weight gain - yup, have now dropped bout 20-25kg.....as soon as your sleep gets better, everything else starts to improve.
Tiredness - Well, shitty sleep, nightmares, hyperarousal.......meh! Sometimes there is little you can do. I would like to mention however, that SOMETIMES, when I am really tired after flogging my ass off at work, I'm too tired to dream.
But then again, sometimes I'm so tired that I cannot wake up from the nightmares, so it is a double edged sword.
Concentration - Well, as I mentioned above....!
Keep in mind, my first 2 years were bloody hell, I was a non functioning human being, basically like a sheep being herded from one spot to another.
It's taken some really, REALLY pig headedness on my part to get where I am now.
Things for sleep that have few side effects.....(generally), I am a very sensitive person when it comes to medication.
Restavit - an antihystamine that will knock you out stone cold - I RARELY if ever dream on the stuff.....will leave you very groggy if you plan to sleep less than 10 hours on a 25mg dose....recommend half a tablet.
Rescue Remedy - natural based naturopathic supplement sold widely in pharmacies (in Australia at least), extremely popular for the elderly who suffer from anxiety but refuse to take medication.....works a damn treat. No side effects experienced by me at all.
Sitz Bath - No, not joking here......if you hop in a hot bath that has dissolved epsom salts or magnesium flakes in it, and soak for as long as you can, you will notice a pretty big difference. Epsom salts and magnesium are what the body use naturally for muscles to release after contraction.
Contrary to popular belief, Calcium is used to contract the muscles, so an overload of the incorrect type of calcium is actually bad for you, because if your muscles are already tense, and the calcium isn't the right type, the body has to use it's OWN form of calcium and magnesium to carry out the bad calcium.
Interesting fact - Osteoporosis only started being seen in the Asiatic Countries when they started using dairy milk consistently as part of their absorption of the Western Culture - milk is a very little used ingredient in Eastern Culture.
Another interesting fact - there is more calcium and protein in soy milk than there is in dairy.
Just a few things to chew on for you! Apologies if spelling or formatting is a little screwy, I had a bit of a rotten night's sleep.
