Can sleepiness due to anxiety medicines affect focus?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am 47-year-old male suffering from anxiety disorder and being treated for OCD specifically. I was prescribed Zoloft 100 mg (Sertraline) a year ago. But after three months, I transferred to Prozac 40 mg (Fluoxetine) together with Risperdal 0.5 mg (Risperidone).

This has been going on for the last nine months. I also take Micardis 80 mg (Telmisartan) and Lipitor 10 mg (Atorvastatin). I am less anxious, but I have lately started sleeping too much and losing concentration and focus. It is affecting my studies a lot. I came back to university after 20 years. When I am awake, I will come up with any excuse to procrastinate my studies and usually end up spending hours on my OCD-related daydreaming and rituals.

A friend, who is a health professional, recommended Adderall to help me concentrate and fight the obsessive thoughts. I halved my Prozac dose to sleep less than my regular 9 hours to 10 hours, hopefully. I took an appointment with my psychiatrist two weeks from now, but I have midterms next week. My GP trusts my judgment. I could probably see her sooner than my psychiatrist. Should I ask her about Adderall?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Since your Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD symptoms are under control using a combination of Risperidone and Fluoxetine, it is not an excellent choice to change it. Fluoxetine usually causes insomnia rather than sleepiness, and it is often taken as a morning or afternoon dosage to prevent insomnia.

Risperidone can cause sedation, but you are using only a small dosage, and it is at night, I believe. Here, using Amphetamine to counteract sleepiness is not recommended; instead, you can try using a drug called Modafinil, which is available at a dose of 100 mg. Try it in the morning to prevent sleepiness and to concentrate better.

If you are experiencing worsening OCD symptoms after reducing Fluoxetine to half, then it is advisable to bring it to the therapeutic dosage range in OCD, which is 60 mg to 80 mg. Consult your treating doctor, discuss my opinion with him or her and take treatment with consent.

Thank you.