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Re: Question - anorexia, depression, sleeping problems » Kat26

Posted by Cam W. on December 30, 2001, at 3:59:16

In reply to Question - anorexia, depression, sleeping problems, posted by Kat26 on December 29, 2001, at 14:15:45

Kat - Which SSRIs was your friend taking and for how long? I have found that insomnia is a fairly common start-up side effect of most SSRIs, especially Prozac™ (fluoxetine) and Zoloft™ (sertraline). The insomnia (and the other start-up side effects) usually disappears between 2 to 4 weeks after a stable dose is reached.

Since your friend has already started taking the Surmontil™ (trimipramine), she should at least wait to see if it works for her. An adequate trial for any antidepressant is about 8 weeks (eg. to obtain a good effect, and to wait out any start-up side effects - eg. daytime drowsiness).

An alternative antidepressant that works quite well for OCD symptoms is Anafranil™ (clomipramine). This antidepressant may not cause as much daytime sedation (ie."hangover effect") as the Surmontil, but it may not help with the insomnia, especially when when starting the drug. Have your friend ask her doc about this antidepressant, if the Surmontil doesn't pan out.

If your friend decides to retry a SSRI (eg. Paxil - paroxetine) there are reasonably safe ways to treat the insomnia (which should decrease with time on the drug, anyway). Some people with persistent insomnia have been helped with a low dose (25mg to 100mg - 50mg bedtime dose is most common) of Desyrel™ (trazodone). This drug was used as an antidepressant about 15 years ago, but it caused too much sedation in most people at the antidepressant dose (450mg to 600mg per day in divided doses).

Have your friend talk to her doc about the options I have mentioned, so he/she can decide if any are suitable for her, if the Surmontil doesn't end up working. - Cam


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poster:Cam W. thread:88165
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88213.html