Posted by Susan on October 17, 1999, at 6:26:30
In reply to Re: Need to drop Paxil & trazadone, any suggestions?, posted by JohnL on October 17, 1999, at 3:45:43
>In this situation, I would favor dropping the Paxil down to 20mg and taking a small-medium dose of a TCA instead of Traz. That would turbocharge the Paxil and allow you good sleep. TCAs might also be good for allergies because of their histamine effects. As a sidenote, Paxil caused me terrible sleep. I think that is common. Insomnia is actually common with all the SSRIs, though not with everyone. Paxil+Nortriptyline (a TCA) has been cited as being a very good combination. I just think tweeking with what has been working makes more sense than a complete switch. But again, we need to know for sure if either drug is actually causing the problems you're dealing with.
>
Is there any reason for choosing Nortriptyline over Sinequan or Elavil which are also both quite sedating? I have tried Sinequan and Elavil in the past but never Nortriptyline. Does it have fewer side effects? I have been using Xanax for sleep and am not getting more than 6 hours a night (unless I take more at 4 am) and want to consider going back to a TCA. Trazodone did not work for some reason. The Xanax does not cause the anticholineric side effects which Sinequan and Elavil caused. I suppose I could up the dose of Xanax from .50 to .75 for longer sleep. What do you think? Actually, now that I am writing this question I remember that the reason I liked the Xanax over the TCA's is because I do not wake up with a drugged, groggy feeling as I did with the TCA's.Also, have you ever heard of Lamictal causing severe nightmares? What dose/combo are you on? I tried it for 2 weeks and kept my husband awake with my moaning from terrible dreams. I was also taking 150 mg Effexor XR and .50 Xanax. Could it have been a serotonin syndrome reaction? Any way, I stopped the Lamictal. Tried it again 10 days later and the nightmares resumed. I know that Lam. is a promising new medication but it did not work for me. Thanks for your input. Dr.'s appointments go so fast even though I am always given extra time. The questions on this board are even a puzzle at times for the experts!
poster:Susan
thread:13272
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991016/msgs/13307.html