Posted by Mitch on October 31, 2001, at 23:28:28
In reply to Re: Which benzo is *least* sedating? +other stuff » Mitch, posted by Elizabeth on October 31, 2001, at 22:26:49
> > I have found that cheap old generic chlordiazepoxide (Librium) was the least sedating benzo that I have ever taken.
>
> I didn't experience any sedation on Librium. I've been interested in finding out whether I could take a high dose of it for panic disorder (I had already been taking quite a bit -- 50 mg q.i.d. -- when I gave up on it, but I probably could have gone higher without any problems). But there's little evidence supporting the use of low-potency benzos in PD.Wow! I used to get by OK on 10mg tid! Of course, I am med sensitive and it generally takes about 1/6 to 1/3 of anything to do the same thing for me that it takes for other folks. It is true that the low-potency benzos work better for GAD symptoms. The Klonopin I take will prevent a panic attack, but at the cost of amblyopia, cognitive dysfunction, etc. ChlorD. would prevent a panic attack for me *most* of the time-but it wasn't *reliably* effective. The ChlorD. was also a lot less depressogenic (?) than Valium.
>
> > I also have IBS/d and I never have heard of "celiac disease" before. I know what you mean by "hellish AD's"!! I get the most benefit from SSri's, but they DO rip my guts to shreds. I have tried adding nortriptyline (20-30mg/day) to the SSRi and it did help a lot, BUT I didn't like the sfx from the NT!
>
> What side effects did NT have that bothered you?Mainly cold extremities (cold nose/hands, ie.), also got some facial numbness on the front of my face and forehead (that was like high-dose Gabitril in some ways). Also, my arms and legs would go to sleep easily and get numb and tingle. A little bit of tachycardia as well.
>
> (BTW, what did you mean by "IBS/d?")Diarrhea predominant IBS. If I add the NT to an SSRi it tends to dampen that problem (anticholinergic effects). Remeron worked even better for that (IBS/d)-I believe because of the 5-HT3 antagonism. But it hits far more receptors than the NT did! Definitely the NT was less antihistaminic and I didn't get irritable on it (no alpha-2 antagonism).
BTW, I am thinking about starting a thread regarding Odansentron (ZOFRAN). It is a selective 5-HT3 antagonist which is used for chemotherapy/radiotherapy/postsurgical nausea and vomiting from the chemo drugs or from anesthetics/opioids. I heard somewhere that it decreased alcohol cravings in some people dramatically-also if my theory is correct it should be able to reduce nausea/diarrhea from SSRI's as well. I haven't brought it up to my pdoc just yet. I was given Odansentron immediately after my thyroid surgery and I was sitting up in bed shortly after +morphine and eating a big tray of food with no nausea!
>
> -elizabeth
poster:Mitch
thread:82248
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82815.html