Sudden Difficulty Waking

[u/itsbecauseshescrazy]

Has anyone experienced anything similar? I’m really struggling with what happened to me yesterday morning and I honestly haven’t felt safe in my body since.
My son is 4 months old and usually wakes before my 2-year-old daughter. Yesterday morning, I got up with him and brought him out to the living room, where I put him on his foam play mat with his Kick & Play piano. I lay down next to him and ended up falling asleep.
At some point, my son started crying, which woke my daughter up. She got out of bed and came looking for me but couldn’t find me. Both of my children were then crying/screaming and apparently in hysterics for around 5–10 minutes before I finally woke up.
What has really frightened me is that I have absolutely zero recollection of any of it. I didn’t hear my son crying, I didn’t hear my daughter get out of bed, and I have no memory of them crying or screaming beside me. I only know how long it went on because our security camera picked up the audio.
Normally I am VERY easy to wake, even when I’m in a deep sleep. If my kids cry, especially right next to me, I would normally wake almost immediately. That’s why this has really shaken me.
For context, I recently started taking 25 mg of sertraline. I hadn’t been drinking alcohol and I hadn’t taken anything else that night/morning that could have sedated me.
I did contact 13HEALTH afterwards and they advised me to see my GP rather than treating it as a medical emergency, but I’m still really scared because this was so completely out of character for me, however my gp says she has no idea what could have caused it cause i didn’t have any symptoms of a seizure or stroke.

Has anyone else experienced suddenly sleeping extremely deeply or being unusually difficult to wake, especially after starting sertraline? I’m not looking for anyone to diagnose me — I’d just really like to hear from people who have genuinely experienced something similar, because I feel really unsettled and alone after this.

[u/mysicawolf]

It could just have been severe sleep deprivation and your body genuinely was struggling to wake as it needed sleep. But I would get blood work done by the doctor definitely.  When people have seizures they sometimes bite their tongue or wet themselves. You usually will feel absolutely exhausted or like you were exercising after a seizure. It sounds like 13Health have given you good advice as it doesn't appear to be an urgent medical emergency. Do you wear a fitness watch? That could give some insight?

But definitely get a primary care appointment and maybe a day where a trusted love one can look after the kids for you and you can catch up on sleep in case your body is just screaming at you to sleep! 

[u/Practical-Lychee-866]

I haven’t experienced this but scrolling the r/zoloft sub might help- it looks like there are a bunch of threads there with people having similar issues. Serotonin is a crazy thing and can definitely impact your sleep! I’m sorry this happened to you and I hope you find a fix soon.

[u/PeegsKeebsAndLeaves]

Not exactly the same thing but one time a few years ago I was put on sertraline for anxiety by a new GP despite saying escitalopram was familiar and what worked for me in the past. They insisted I try this first. I stopped taking it after 1 week because it made me so lethargic and sleepy I was having trouble staying awake at work. No other SSRI ever did that to me. So perhaps it affects you similarly. I think you should speak to whoever prescribed you the sertraline and speak about changing the medication, whether it’s a different dosage or trying a different SSRI. Unfortunately it really can be trial and error to find your best one as they can affect people so differently!

[u/carrerahorse]

You are 4 months post partum. You need to get checked by a doctor. Take a copy of your audio with you to the ER and explain your concerns. Write it down as a memo and carry it in with you and ask to have it added to your record.

[u/Officer_Devil2023]

Pare of me feels like your gp wasn’t really listening to you. Could you possibly ask to have the med dose lowered and see if that helps? If your gp doesn’t seem to be listening and just letting words go in their ears, you can have them document in your chart that they are denying your requests.