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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ghuber on September 26, 2004, at 18:26:20
Let me give you a quick intro -- I was diagnosed two years ago with OCD, and depression. At that time I was a mess, and was precribed Celexa. I had a fairly difficult time going on the drug, mainly due to obsessional fears about taking drugs. Anyway, somehow I winded up taking the med, and used it for 9+ months. I winded up going off it because I felt better. In the year after, I went on a strict nutritional supplementation regimin mainly consisting of Inositol,and later L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP. Unfortunately, for some reason in the last few months I again started developing OCD symptoms so I went to my Pdoc and he again prescribed Lexapro.. This is where the story beings.
Two weeks ago I started taking the medication, and after only 4 days at 2.0mg/ed (5mg tab basically split in a little less then half) I
winded up breaking down in tears due to the level of increased anxiety and depression. After an immediate appointment with my pdoc, he prescribed me Celexa, Xaxax and Klonapin to help with the increased anxiety. Needless to say, after that experience I was very reluctant to try this combo, and my OCD was kicking and I
constantly ruminated about whether or not I should take the meds..This past monday morning, I tackled my fear, and took about 12.5mg of Xaxax, went to work and winded up taking about 2.5mg of Celexa (10mg pill divided four ways). I did this all week, and was feeling 'okay', only suffering from mild anxiety and a headache. Yesterday I believe I may have unknownly broke my pill a little less precisely and may have winded up taking a little extra (3.0-4.0 mg?). By early evening last night I felt like I couldn't breath well and noticed an increased heart rate. I decided to take my BP/Heartrate on with my dad's unit - BP was fine, heartrate 115bpm. I thought I maybe developing a panic attack, so I quickly went and took another 12.5mg of Xaxax. This did not help very much at all -- The odd part is I didn't really feel mentally anxious, but was having the physical symptoms of what appeared to be a panic attack. I layed in bed from 6pm-11pm, trying to relax so that my heartrate would go down. This did not work. At 11:30 I took another 12.5mg of Xaxax which knocked me out.
Today I woke up feeling agtitated and anxious about the previous nights events. I went down and talked to the pharmacist that precribed the meds, he indiciated Tacycardia (rapid heartbeat) is a frequent adverse reaction to the medication. I opted to call my pdoc and he basically again told me he believes my serotonin
recepters are 'hyper-sensitive' to the medication because of my previous supplement use (Inositol, 5-HTP, L-Tyrosine). He suggested
I not take the medication today, and perhaps try 2.5mg again tomorrow, but frankly now I'm really scared. He also suggested I may want to take a 'washout period' - complete cesession of the
meds, and all supplements for an extended period of time. (I took about a two week break between stopping the supplements and starting to meds) I just don't know what to do. Today my resting heart rate seem to have went down to about 90bpm, but still I feel like I'm having a hard time breathing and I haven't been able to eat much all week. In total I've lost 8 pounds since I started the Lexapro 2 weeks ago.I'm scared that if I take the meds again tomorrow my adverse reaction symptoms will get worse, but if I don't take them, I'm scared I may feel even worse like I did after stopping the Lexapro.
I don't know what to do. Anyone have any suggestions or similiar experiences?
Posted by CarlaSF on September 26, 2004, at 20:02:01
In reply to Celexa/Lexapro adverse reactions!, posted by ghuber on September 26, 2004, at 18:26:20
I had a HORRIBLE time with Lexapro. I was only on lex for 21 days and it sent my anxiety levels through the roof. Maybe Lexapro is the med for you. It certainly wasn't for me.
Posted by ghuber on September 26, 2004, at 20:39:01
In reply to Re: Celexa/Lexapro adverse reactions!, posted by CarlaSF on September 26, 2004, at 20:02:01
> I had a HORRIBLE time with Lexapro. I was only on lex for 21 days and it sent my anxiety levels through the roof. Maybe Lexapro is the med for you. It certainly wasn't for me.
The strangest thing is that I sucessfully used Celexa 1.5 years ago. About 6 months into my treatment of Celexa, I switched to Lexapro and did not experience any ill side effects.
For some reason, I've had a terrible time trying to adjust to either Lexapro or Celexa this time. I can deal with side effects, but rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath are not two of them.
My pdoc seems to think the side effects of the medication are being enhanced by the desensitization of the serotonin receptors that may have taken place with high dosage inositol use I've been using -- I took 6-12 grams of Inositol for quite a long time prior to trying to start my SSRI treatment. I gave myself a week break in between the cession of the Inositol and the admission of the Lexapro. I also stopped taking both L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP about two weeks prior to starting the Lexapro.
I'm not sure why I am not adjusting to the medication as well this time. It seems logical to think that I've either developed a hyper-sensitivity to these drugs (Since they are so chemically similiar) or my serotonin receptors are simply hyper-sensitive.
Either way, this has been a HELLISH two weeks. I've now lost 10 pounds.
This is the end of the thread.
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