Posted by loosmrbls on March 29, 2001, at 12:20:23
In reply to Night Sweats with Serzone?, posted by R. Kol on March 29, 2001, at 10:48:18
I was on Effexor at one time and had the same side effects: sweating, increased blood pressure, and extreme irritability. My withdrawal wasn't that bad. But, like you, I did suffer from insomnia. I was switched to Celexa, but this drug did nothing. I was just recently switched to Serzone. I am not on the max dose yet (still tapering up) but I noticed an almost immediate improvement in my sleep and anxiety.
Effexor increased norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which can be very activating and cause insomnia. At doses like 225mg/day, it increases dopamine which can make these symptoms worse.
Serzone is basically like an SSRI except weaker, and it blocks certain serotonin receptors to stop some of the side effects of "classic" SSRI's. It also binds histamine, which is why maybe I became less anxious and slept better so soon. It does have a mild norepinephrine effect, but I haven't noticed any problems with insomnia or activation yet. I'll let you know as the dose continues to go up. But my response to Effexor was similar to yours, and so far Serzone has been much better.
poster:loosmrbls
thread:57928
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/57946.html