Posted by JohnL on May 17, 2000, at 5:04:18
In reply to Serzone, posted by Terry on May 16, 2000, at 23:08:00
> My doctor is starting me on Serzone tomorrow morning. If anyone has any experiences with Serzone would you please let me know. Thank you Terry
Terry,
We hear all kinds of stories about Serzone. Some people do very well with it. They say Serzone has freed them from depression. The most appreciated things about Serzone are its characteristics of good sleep and good sex. But we also hear of people getting worse on Serzone, or agitated, fogheaded, couch potatoed. It's impossible to predict your response. It has the potential to be fantastic or miserable. Only a personal trial will tell.
Having said that, I do know one doctor who is having unusual success with Serzone. He claims it is his dosing schedule to credit the good results. His dosing schedule is this...start with 50mg a day for 4 to 7 days, usually at dinnertime. Then increase dose by 25mg to 50mg, but 25mg steps is better. Continue increasing dose on this schedule of every 4 to 7 days up to 300mg. If a higher dose is needed, then begin twice-daily dosing. This whole process will take longer than the textbook dosing schedule, but according to this one doctor the wait is well worth it. If your doctor suggests starting at 100mg or 200mg a day, I personally would disregard and go with a lower dose. At such an aggressive starting dose I would almost guarantee you bad results. Not for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me.
There are two reasons he does this. First, the body adjusts to side effects much more smoothly. Second, Serzone can have a rather narrow and sensitive therapeutic window. Either too little or too much can be counterproductive. Increasing dose in small steps helps the patient discover where their therapeutic range is, so they don't accidentally blow right past it. Once the general range is discovered--it will be obvious--then fine tuning can narrow it down further. Sometimes a dose adjustment of a mere 12.5mg can make all the difference. Serzone is finicky and sensitive from what I've seen and experienced myself with it.
JohnL
poster:JohnL
thread:33730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000517/msgs/33747.html