Lately I haven't felt motivated to exercise. This is partly due to a shoulder injury, and partly due to the fact that I just don't feel like it. It's unusual for me to "just not feel like it"; exercise keeps me relaxed, it helps me sleep, and it helps my brain function.
I think I've found the problem. I learned from my sister's psychopharmacology book that Abilify can increase your risk of heat stroke. They don't come out and say that in the bottle -- at least, not in so many words; they say things like "use caution in hot weather" or "do not exercise heavily" or "avoid direct sunlight" (OK, maybe I'm paraphrasing that last one).
See, caregivers get to know everything there is to know about the meds they put us on. We're just the patients into whose bodies the damn drugs are being put. Why spell it out for us?
I'd noticed for some time that when I tried to exercise, I wasn't sweating. Not at all. No matter how hard I worked or how many lbs I was lifting. I felt hot, my skin might or might not turn red, but again ... no sweat. I felt dizzier than usual, and more fatigued, and I simply couldn't do as much as I wanted to or indeed as much as I once could.
I finally put this all together the other day. I had hiked up a staircase and I was breathing more heavily than I should have been. I felt tired and dizzy. And I wasn't sweating. When my respiration increases during exericse, it's normal for me to be sweating. No wonder I was tired and dizzy.
I don't remember this being a big deal last year when I was on Abilify and Zoloft, then Abilify and Lexapro (hissssss!). I wonder if it's an Abilify lamitcal interaction?
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