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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 0:52:26
Bumped up luvox to 25mg. Woke up after two hours feeling weird. Worse sleep than usual. I told my wife that I feel I am dying or something. Luvox was supposed to be sedating??? Ssri failure. All I want to do is sleep and then I will feel better, just can't sleep. Muscle twitches ans spasms worry me. Maybe I have physically come to the end. I pray that God takes me as my energy is almost gone.
Strange thing is I don't feel depressed am no having panic attacks. The lack of sleep is terrible. I am yawning all of the time but the front of my head feels active. Sorry to be pesimistic but there is not a whole lot to be optimistic about.
Posted by med_empowered on February 26, 2007, at 2:17:20
In reply to Med failure, what to do next?, posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 0:52:26
Luvox can be kind of rough. Maybe something else? The muscle twitches could be EPS--movements induced by the antidepressant. More common w/ antipsychotics, but can happen w/ antidepressants.
If you want to keep taking the Luvox, you can add a sedative for sleep. The muscle twitches are weird though--you might want to ditch it.
Another AD could be the answer. Or maybe therapy. Have you tried Provigil or another stimulant?
Good luck.
Posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 8:14:07
In reply to Re: Med failure, what to do next?, posted by med_empowered on February 26, 2007, at 2:17:20
Thanks for the response. Responses are far and between around here. I should have clarified that I have had the twitches for a few months now. I am only on day 4 of luvox and it is not good. I took 0.5 of klonopin last night at 1 and my wife had to wake me up this morning at 6;30. I feel drugged up right now but I had to take something to help me sleep and all I had was klonopin. Can't feel like this all of the time.
The problem is who does one know if this will settle down? If an ssri is going to help is it some what sedating at first? I need something to help me sleep and relax me without the fear of benzo depression. Thanks again.
johnj
Posted by med_empowered on February 26, 2007, at 8:48:27
In reply to Re: Med failure, what to do next? » med_empowered, posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 8:14:07
my big question is what's going on with the twitches. Is it med induced? An anxiety thing? An OCD thing? If its med-induced, you might want to skip over the SSRIs and maybe the snris and tca drugs, too--you might just be really, really sensitive to EPS effects, and early onset EPS is never, ever a good sign, especially since antidepressants are usually given pretty long term. Have you tried an MAOI? If you have insurance, EMSAM might be worth a try. Low-dose oral deprenyl can help, too.
Good luck.
Posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 9:20:19
In reply to Re: Med failure, what to do next?, posted by med_empowered on February 26, 2007, at 8:48:27
The spasms and twitches started after I went off meds and my sleep became messed up about 5 months ago. I believe it is due to the lack of decent sleep. After taking the klonopin last night they have settled down greatly.
I just don't want to get addicted on klonopin. I took tranzene in the past and after years I became depressed on it. It was nice to have to be woken up after taking 0.5 mg last night. I could have stayed in bed for another couple of hours and acutally slept! Having a hard time this morning, feeling drugged. The luvox appears too sitmulating for me. Maybe all ssri's will do that to me. Just feel lost right now.
Posted by laima on February 26, 2007, at 9:49:03
In reply to Re: Med failure, what to do next? » med_empowered, posted by johnnyj on February 26, 2007, at 9:20:19
There is a chance this ssri doesn't agree with you-maybe ssris in general. The ultimate reason I was taken off prozac wasn't that it pooped out on me, but in fact because I was having sleep difficulties and the doctor said ssris can in some cases be too "activating" to allow proper rest. And if you don't get proper rest, you can end up more depressed-and tired, or course. He switched me to wellbutrin, because he said it would be less likely to interfere with my sleep-less seratonin action. (Or was that no seratonin action? Can't remember.) I did end up feeling better, and a sleep study showed some improvement. I had been lacking stage 4. Neither psychiatrist nor sleep doctor were eager to prescribe a sleep med for long term use due to sleep cycle interference-I already had a problem- why make it worse?I share your concerns about using klonopin regularly for sleep- I personally ended up developing a strong tolerance and had many problems with it. Ultimately, I personally ended up far more agitated and exhausted by using it nightly. It is also widely reported to diminish the deep stages of sleep, which you really need to feel your best. But I'm not usually a fan of absolutist positions- a few nights won't "harm" you in any way, and just the calm may be very well worth it and restful. Yes, it is an anticonvulsant. But maybe it would be more straightforward to try another med, one less likely to cause spasms or mess with sleep, rather than medicate for side effects? Just an idea. Like I said, I had similar problem, and wellbutrin worked out better in relation to it than all ssris tried. It has an "activating" reputation, sure- but somehow that didn't translate into sleep disturbance.
Good luck!
> The spasms and twitches started after I went off meds and my sleep became messed up about 5 months ago. I believe it is due to the lack of decent sleep. After taking the klonopin last night they have settled down greatly.
>
> I just don't want to get addicted on klonopin. I took tranzene in the past and after years I became depressed on it. It was nice to have to be woken up after taking 0.5 mg last night. I could have stayed in bed for another couple of hours and acutally slept! Having a hard time this morning, feeling drugged. The luvox appears too sitmulating for me. Maybe all ssri's will do that to me. Just feel lost right now.
Posted by Phillipa on February 26, 2007, at 11:56:07
In reply to Re: Med failure, what to do next? » johnnyj, posted by laima on February 26, 2007, at 9:49:03
And luvox is the only SSRI I've been able to tolerate. Can't win as benzos were life savers for over 30years functioned normally now don't work. Love Phillipa ps do any meds work?
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