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Re: Gabitril to Replace for Serzone to Treat Insomnia?

Posted by marshall on April 14, 2002, at 20:54:50

In reply to Gabitril to Replace for Serzone to Treat Insomnia?, posted by beardedlady on March 1, 2002, at 8:15:13

> I don't have anything but insomnia--and panic related to not sleeping. It developed three years ago, when my daughter quit nursing (and I had a few other crises). I've been on Serzone, after tries with Zoloft, Trazadone, Zanax. It has worked great! But now, because of the BLACK BOX (liver failure), I have to go on something different. My doctor prescribed Gabitril. I'm scared to death, of course.
>
> Does anyone know if this is supposed to work? I'm afraid of all the side effects, even though my doc said I'll only be taking 4 to 8 mg. (I'm not depressed or anything else--except about this!) I took 2mg. last night and had a panic attack (just from the anxiety of the whole situation, though; I don't think it was the Gabitril. Or was it?). I finally took a sleeping pill so I could get some sleep.
>
> Serzone had no sexual side effects, no weight gain, nothing. It was the best thing for me. So I am not looking forward to changing meds. Is there another drug out there (not a benzo) that might work? Should I feel safe with Gabitril?
>
> Please help!

Listen: The chance of getting liver failure from Serzone is 1 in 250,000 patient-years. Means you have a 1 in 250,000 chance every year you're on it. Consider your chances of dying in a car wreck are 1 in 5,900 in the U.S. and being struck by lightning is about 1 in 11,000. Put that into perspective. I've known several people who got anxious about Serzone, quit it, then returned. Consider trazadone as the most similar drug to Serzone (generic name nefazadone)especially for insomnia.
Gabitril isn't related to Serzone in any way except it's a psychotropic. It's claim to fame as an anxiolytic is interesting: there's only one reference TOTAL, of a German group using 15mg. a day in 4 patients for panic, and one couldn't tolerate it. There's also an "open field" rat study showing Gabitril will inhibit a rat's normal inclination to be furtive and avoid an open field. Tests are underway. Seems to have a lot of side effects.


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poster:marshall thread:86944
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/103079.html