Posted by Cindy W on May 17, 2000, at 9:21:16
In reply to Re: Serzone, posted by JohnL on May 17, 2000, at 5:04:18
> > 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.
> JohnLTerry, JohnL's comments are really great, about Serzone. The only other thing I would add is to give it a fair trial. The first couple of weeks, a lot of people feel kind of moody, angry, labile in moods, or strange...or you may not feel any of this at all. If you feel any of this, try to let at least two weeks go by before you make up your mind about Serzone. I felt weird for about two weeks (mood changes without apparent reason, dizziness, tired), then I felt just great on Serzone. JohnL is especially right about great sleep and great sex on Serzone. (Unfortunately, I didn't help with OCD.)--Cindy W
poster:Cindy W
thread:33730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000517/msgs/33760.html