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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SuzieWong on June 10, 2004, at 14:07:03
I have been on a low dose , 10mg, of Prozac for about 7 weeks. I am also taking Buspar to counteract some of the side effects.
Unfortunately I don't think I have had one full night sleep since I started the Prozac and I asked the chemist if it was okay to take Nytol (same antihistamine as Benadryl) with these drugs and they said it was fine.
I took Nytol for two nights and slept beautifully but the next day in both instances I became very nervous and almost had a panic attack as a result. I didn't take any Nytol last night and have been fine today. The leaftlet did admittedly say that it could cause nervousness and tremors.
Because of this I decided to ask my doctor if it was okay to take Nytol and they said I should not take it atall with Prozac and Buspar. I asked for sleeping meds instead and they won't prescribe them either.
Has anyone else taken Benadryl (Nytol) with Prozac and Buspar and what effects if any did you get. Why do you think it caused immense nervousness the next day....another chemist suggested that it could actually have had the side effects magnified because of the other medications.
Another thing I noticed was that most of the time I felt extremely calm after taking the Nytol and that I totally lost the edgy agitated feeling that I am still getting with Prozac (although it is decreasing). It also took away the sweating and I felt quite amazing, that is until the shaky nervousness started. I have done some research and found that the anti histamine is also prescribed for akathasia which is I suppose what I have been experiencing on Prozac.
Posted by King Vultan on June 10, 2004, at 17:22:59
In reply to Prozac and insomnia and agitation....tried Benadry, posted by SuzieWong on June 10, 2004, at 14:07:03
I don't understand why the doctor would say that you can't take Nytol or Benadryl with your Prozac and Buspar, as I'm not aware of any interactions that would contraindicate this. Benadryl is a simple antihistamine that is safe to take even with an MAO inhibitor, and MAOIs have loads of restrictions on what drugs can be combined with them.
I also am appalled that they won't prescribe any sleeping meds for you. Just because you are on Prozac doesn't mean that you aren't entitled to a good night's sleep. I had horrible insomnia and agitation while I was on that stuff, too, and since I had a hangup about sleeping pills, I started using alcohol to get to sleep. Unfortunately, this developed into a case of alcoholism, which wasn't cured until I dropped the med some months later.
I don't know how your health insurance/system works, but I would suggest perhaps finding another doctor. Your chemist sounds like he has more common sense than your MD; although, you must realize that the Benadryl/Nytol is an imperfect solution for chronic insomnia. I take 50 mg every other night and a sedating benzodiazepine (Halcion) the nights in between. My doctor would let me take Ambien every night, but it is too expensive ($50/month copay) for my tastes. Other drugs worth considering are the sedating ADs trazodone and Remeron, which have the advantage of having no abuse or tolerance potential. The Remeron might also help with your agitation.
Todd
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