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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by francesco on May 29, 2004, at 18:06:42
I'm on my fifht day on Luvox 50mg, so far so good. I had tried all the SSRIs with the exception of fluvoxamine, so I thought it would have been nice to complete my collection. Maybe it's to early to tell but it seems to me that the sexual side effects are milder than those of, let's say, Zoloft. Am I wrong in assuming this ?
It would be great to hear some Luvox stories, did you find it pro-social, did it make you gain weight, did it change your life for the best ?
Any experience is very welcome and best wishes to everyone
Posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 11:03:17
In reply to Luvox experiences ?, posted by francesco on May 29, 2004, at 18:06:42
I just started fluvoxamine (25mg 4days then to 50mg) a couple of days ago for the first time. Never tried it before simply because the docs didn't have reps throwing samples of this med and docs seem to push whatever SSRI is in the spotlight.
I'm hoping I don't have any severe sexual side effects. Paxil worked great for me but killed my sex life and Prozac didn't bother my sex life but seems to poop out because of the long half life and build up in the liver.
Anyway, I'm hoping for the best, and will probably stick with 50mg and maybe go to 100mg if necessary, but I've always been able to stay at minimum dose with most meds.
Have you started to feel the med work yet? It's suppose to start working pretty quick.
Keep me posted and I will do the same.
Posted by francesco on May 31, 2004, at 15:39:13
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » francesco, posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 11:03:17
Hi Theo, I didn't experience any major side effect but a little nervousness that may be dued (or may not) to sublying bipolar issues. I found the med working by day II but the reason I'm taking it is not depression. I have adhd-like syntoms that seem to improve with serotoninergic meds and ruminating thoughts which may be part of the ADHD or fall in the OCD spectrum. Anyway, Luvox didn't kill my libido, which is very good at the moment, but it lessens the pleasure I feel when I have sex. I am not thinking to give up for this reason because I guess it's the least thing that can happen with SSRIs in this department. I find also my self less interested in people and social relationships but this is a very common experience for me when I'm on serotonergic meds (and I hate it). If the nervous thing goes on my psychiatrist will put me on a very low dose of Depakote hoping that this won't damage my concentration issues. My ability to focus when I read is dramatically improved, so I'm quite satisfied of this med. The mood is good but is the kind of good mood I usually get from SSRI: fake and high at the same time. Hope this helps and let me know about you. Best wishes
Posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 17:49:34
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » theo, posted by francesco on May 31, 2004, at 15:39:13
What time do you take it, with dinner or at bedtime?
Posted by francesco on May 31, 2004, at 18:55:34
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » francesco, posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 17:49:34
I take it in the morning. And you ?
Posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 19:18:35
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » theo, posted by francesco on May 31, 2004, at 18:55:34
The prescribing info says to take any dose up to 100mg at bedtime, so I take mine about 10:00pm.
Posted by francesco on June 1, 2004, at 4:59:12
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » francesco, posted by theo on May 31, 2004, at 19:18:35
I would talk about it to my p-doc. She told me to take it in the morning. I find it quite stimulating even if it's supposed to be sedating. Let me know how it's going on. Bye !
Posted by theo on June 1, 2004, at 14:11:12
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » theo, posted by francesco on June 1, 2004, at 4:59:12
So do you just take 50mg once in the morning?
Posted by francesco on June 4, 2004, at 19:29:43
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ?, posted by theo on June 1, 2004, at 14:11:12
yes, but today I decided to take it in the evening to see if something changes. I find it very 'energizing' and I usually need a benzo to calm me down. how is going on your trial ?
I must confirm that it's not doing anything unbearable to my sexual desire and functioning which is a nice surpise. I'm over-eating though.
Posted by theo on June 5, 2004, at 18:27:13
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » theo, posted by francesco on June 4, 2004, at 19:29:43
Pretty good. I started slow at 25mg and am going to 50mg tonight. My pdoc did call me this morning and she said she always starts people at bedtime dosing with fluvoxamine and goes from there.
I guess if one goes above 100mg total, thats when you should start twice daily dosing but she also mentioned she has some patients taking 50mg twice daily because every 12 hour dosing is helpful for some patients.
If 50mg works for me, I'll probably continue the bedtime dosing and after a few weeks try in the morning just to see what happens.
Are you at 50mg still? If I do go to 100mg, I'll probably take 50mg twice daily. 100mg in one dose may wipe me out.
Has it helped you so far, are you feeling any positive results?
Posted by francesco on July 5, 2004, at 8:32:40
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » francesco, posted by theo on June 5, 2004, at 18:27:13
Hi Theo, are you still there ? How is going on with Luvox ?
Posted by theo on July 5, 2004, at 14:00:44
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » theo, posted by francesco on July 5, 2004, at 8:32:40
I, and my pdoc stopped it. It worked good for OCD but I started getting zoned out and not wanting to work or get anything done, which for me is typical with most SSRI's.
I'm trying something completely different for me, Lamictal and Keppra. I was scared to try the Lamictal because of the rash thing but at this point need to try something different. I've actually been on the Keppra for a while but dropped the Luvox and trying Lamictal for OCD and mild depression.
Posted by francesco on July 6, 2004, at 7:22:14
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ? » francesco, posted by theo on July 5, 2004, at 14:00:44
Oh, what do you mean by zoned out ? Anyway, I think it's how I feel : ( I'm thinking about quitting it too. I was taking it for concentration problems (adhd-like) but it's not helping that much. And sometimes I feel drugged.
Good Luck with Lamictal, a lot of people say wonderful things about it.
Posted by calico cat on July 9, 2004, at 14:35:35
In reply to Re: Luvox experiences ?, posted by francesco on July 6, 2004, at 7:22:14
My 15 year old daughter is on Luvox, adderall and a small white pill to make her sleep. She has been on meds for over 3 years. She is just having an unbearable time with her mood swings. I have noticed that the luvox has taken the edge off but she still suffers from a fair amount of anxiety. Sometimes I worry that if she has all these issues at such a young age, will it ever get better for her?
Thanks for listening, Calico Cat
Posted by chemist on July 10, 2004, at 11:56:40
In reply to Re:Luvox experience, posted by calico cat on July 9, 2004, at 14:35:35
> My 15 year old daughter is on Luvox, adderall and a small white pill to make her sleep. She has been on meds for over 3 years. She is just having an unbearable time with her mood swings. I have noticed that the luvox has taken the edge off but she still suffers from a fair amount of anxiety. Sometimes I worry that if she has all these issues at such a young age, will it ever get better for her?
>
> Thanks for listening, Calico Cathello there, chemist here....i take a meds regimen similar to your daughter - luvox, dexedrine (a bit peppier than adderall, but for all intensive purposes the same), and xanax prn anxiety, no sleeping pill (i suspect she is taking ambien?) - and there were three things that struck me that might be potentiating her troubles. the first thought was the adderall, and that hypothesis can be tested by backing of the dose a bit (in concert with her doctor's consent, of course) and confirmed/denied in a matter of a few days. the second thought was that this is a 15 year old girl, who has been medicated since the age of 12, and the hormones are ebbing and flowing now in ways that they were not way back when. being a male in my mid 30s, i do not have any reference for the transition(s) your daughter is going through physically/socially (well, maybe a little on the social side, as teen years are pretty tumultuous at times!), but this might be a factor. finally (i'm cribbing this from one of my refs): ``steady-state plasma concentrations [of luvox] have been noted to be 2-3 times higher in children than in adolecents; female children demonstrated a significantly higher AUC than males.'' i'm not a parent, but 12 years old sounds more on the child end of the spectum and 15 sounds more on the adolescent end, so perhaps the luvox needs to come down a bit (again, check with the doctor). i wish you and your daughter all the best, chemist
Posted by francesco on July 11, 2004, at 12:30:43
In reply to Re:Luvox experience » calico cat, posted by chemist on July 10, 2004, at 11:56:40
Hi Chemist, I'm on Luvox to try to target ADHD-syntoms (I live in Italy where stimulants are not available). My impression is that is not working that much on concentration and attention, it makes me fatigued and sleepy, even if my depression and tendence to ruminate are under control. Also my short-temper has improved a lot, I have not had anger outbursts anymore since I started it, but my adhd-syntoms are still there (and they have probably worsened).
I'm on a low dose, 50 mg, and my psychiatrist suggested to raise the dose but I didn't do it, it doesn't make sense to me since it's not helping. I think she's more concerned with my mood while I'm more concerned with my adhd-issues. What would you do if you were in my shoese ? The only med that made wonders for my adhd was Anafranil (NE reuptake ?!) but it made me social phobic, kind of autistic, and I'm not sure I want to come back on that route.
I didn't have success with short trials of low doses of desipramine and imipramine and also ritalin for me was unesuful. I have tried each of the five ssri for at least a couple of months and they didn't help very much. It sounds like I've exhausted all the alternatives, what do you think of nootropics like piracetam for adhd ?
Thanks, pardon me for the long post !!!
Posted by chemist on July 11, 2004, at 14:00:16
In reply to hi chemist can you help ? » chemist, posted by francesco on July 11, 2004, at 12:30:43
> Hi Chemist, I'm on Luvox to try to target ADHD-syntoms (I live in Italy where stimulants are not available). My impression is that is not working that much on concentration and attention, it makes me fatigued and sleepy, even if my depression and tendence to ruminate are under control. Also my short-temper has improved a lot, I have not had anger outbursts anymore since I started it, but my adhd-syntoms are still there (and they have probably worsened).
>
> I'm on a low dose, 50 mg, and my psychiatrist suggested to raise the dose but I didn't do it, it doesn't make sense to me since it's not helping. I think she's more concerned with my mood while I'm more concerned with my adhd-issues. What would you do if you were in my shoese ? The only med that made wonders for my adhd was Anafranil (NE reuptake ?!) but it made me social phobic, kind of autistic, and I'm not sure I want to come back on that route.
>
> I didn't have success with short trials of low doses of desipramine and imipramine and also ritalin for me was unesuful. I have tried each of the five ssri for at least a couple of months and they didn't help very much. It sounds like I've exhausted all the alternatives, what do you think of nootropics like piracetam for adhd ?
>
> Thanks, pardon me for the long post !!!
>
>
>
pronto....first, condolences about cipollini and petacchi.....especially super mario....now, on to business...seems to me like the issue to address in truly adhd, in which case you are going to have to be a little creative in working with your doctor, since many alternatives have failed. luvox has a very wide dosing spectrum - i think i mentioned this in another post - and 50 mg is pretty much at the low end. my first thought is to give a larger dose a try: some people go up to as much as 400 mg (i myself hover between 200 and 300 mg per day). the reason i mention this is because, as you know, switching meds is a real pain, and being patient for a few more weeks is a more attractive alternative. then, you can say (honestly) that you gave it a try and it didn't work, and then move on. keep in mind that there is plenty of room to work with on luvox in terms of dosing, and the withdrawl is trivial compared to things like effexor should you decide to dump it. now, anafranil gets pretty good press on these pages (i suggest posting for SLS, King Vultan, and Sad Panda for more info on that), but it seems to me that if the other TCAs didn't work - and your previous trial with anafranil was not to your liking - than reintroducing it (it is indicated for OCD, and hits serotonin and NE) is an unattractive option. what i have extracted from reading your post is that the other SSRIs were not satisfactory, nor were the TCAs, yet your quality of life has improved (in one or two ways, at least) while on a low dose of luvox. this says to me, luvox is doing some good. of course, adderall or dexedrine would be a logical approach, but you say you cannot get stimulants. so: try dosing the luvox in divided doses (cut your 50 mg tablet in half) to reduce the sedating effects (which should go away: luvox is pretty benign in terms of side effects that linger forever), as it is possible that you are maybe losing concentration and focus because you are sedated - just a suggestion. next is to try a slightly higher dose, keeping in mind that for many people a low dose of something works one way and a high dose works another. this may or may not work for you, but don't give up yet, as you note some positive experiences, even on your low dose. finally, please do post a thread about anafranil and adhd alternatives (non-stimulant) - and be sure to include Larry Hoover in your post, by the way - and get some extra info about those meds. as for the nootropics, there are some excellent choices, and you happen to be living in the country where many of the novel nootropics are being synthesized and tested: i have publications with authors at firenze, bari, roma, l'aquila, milano (glaxo smith kline), and ferrara. Pier Giovanni Baraldi's group in ferrara has done some work with thiophene derivatives that target adenosine receptors (he is director of pharmaceutital sciences at universita di ferrara), not all of it aimed at nootropic activity, but again, a good place to look; i have 4 pubs from Fulvio Gualtieri's group at universita di firenze (you might try the nootrpic nebracetam, which his group identified at being much more active and potent than piracetam, and his group has worked with other compounds extensively); try Angelo Carotti at universita di bari or Enrico Gavuzzo and Fernando Mazza, both who are (i believe) at the institute of structural chemistry in the CNR in rome, but may have wandered; try some folks at la sapienza in rome, but i cannot say if they are still around, as i have one pub that has several authors listed (all but one in rome, the other in milano), try il instituto di farmacologia II, see what you can find; and finally, check up on what glaxo smith kline is doing in milano, i have an old paper from their group, and do not know what they are up to, but they found that dimiracetam was 10-30 times more potent than oxiracetam (see if Mario Pinza is still there). in any event, the nootropics vary in function from being simply neuroprotective to, shall we say, more neurostimulating, and i would look into the 2 compounds i mentioned above (check with your doctor, of course).....all the best, and please let me know if this post addresses your concerns....ciao, bello, and all the best, chemist
Posted by francesco on July 11, 2004, at 15:26:28
In reply to Re: hi chemist can you help ? » francesco, posted by chemist on July 11, 2004, at 14:00:16
Saying that your post helped me is an euphemism.
Now I have things to try for the rest of my life !One of my concern about rasing the Luvox dosage is sexual dysfunctions. I can guess this problem is dose dependant (correct me if I'm wrong) and since I have experienced some lessening of desire at 50 mg I'm not sure I want to go higher. I have been on 50mg for more than five weeks and the sedation didn't go away (and yes, it can contribute to my concentrantion's problems). I experienced that the sedation usually goes away with a benzo and this sounds quite strange to me ... maybe what I experience is some kind of anxiety that takes the shape of sleepiness ? : o
I don't know if it's what you wanted to mean but what I understood from your post is that raising the dosage can *change* the kind of effect I experience (and not just moltiplicate it). By the way, do you think that SSRIs can help if my main problem is just adhd ? I'm thinking about that it's not weird that none of the SSRIs I've tried helped since SSRIs are not supposed to be useful for adhd.
In these days I'm obsessing about Breggin's books, he says that antidepressants in general *can* cause long-term damage to brain. You seem very well informed about all this stuff (another euphemism), what do you think about this ?
Thanks a lot for everything, now I understand why everyone wants to talk with chemist ;-)
Posted by chemist on July 11, 2004, at 15:49:44
In reply to Re: hi chemist can you help ? » chemist, posted by francesco on July 11, 2004, at 15:26:28
francesco, thank you for the kind words....i do encourage you to examine what the other posters have to say, as i am not the expert of anything...all of that said, let me address what you have written below. it takes 6 to 8 weeks for luvox to ``settle in.'' from there, then you adjust as required. the sexual desire, in my experience, has decreased somewhat, but is not a big problem. i think that this aspect is more a function of the individual's biochemistry and, as you note, the dose. however, one must take the good with the bad, and do remember that these side-effects either diminish in time or can be dealt with in other ways. now, you report that a benzo is activating: this is not out of the realm of possibilities, and i wonder, is it alprazolam you are taking (Xanax)? if so, even less surprising, as this drug and at least one or two of its relatives possess anti-depressant activity. you are correct in noting that what i meant by different doses can produce different effects (an example is Seroquel, which at very low doses is sedating but at high doses is less so and is an atypical antipsychotic), not just multiplicative ones. if your main problem is truly adhd, then i would think an ssri would not be appropriate, as you note, they don't seem to work for you. having said that, luvox seems to be doing something good for you, so maybe you will give it a try or supplement it with something to address the sedation and/or lack of concentration. in my opinion, when you find something that is good, you keep it until, perhaps, you find something better or you add/subtract until the desired result is achieved. as for long-term use causing brain damage, i personally think that brain restructuring is a more appropriate phrase, as there are people who have been on many drugs for many years and for the most most part, they seem to function just fine. i would worry more about truly dangerous drugs, like methamphetamine, than the ssri/tca/benzos/etc. again, maybe, maybe not. but if you can improve your quality of life now and keep your productivity up, perche no? with best regards, chemist
> Saying that your post helped me is an euphemism.
> Now I have things to try for the rest of my life !
>
> One of my concern about rasing the Luvox dosage is sexual dysfunctions. I can guess this problem is dose dependant (correct me if I'm wrong) and since I have experienced some lessening of desire at 50 mg I'm not sure I want to go higher. I have been on 50mg for more than five weeks and the sedation didn't go away (and yes, it can contribute to my concentrantion's problems). I experienced that the sedation usually goes away with a benzo and this sounds quite strange to me ... maybe what I experience is some kind of anxiety that takes the shape of sleepiness ? : o
>
> I don't know if it's what you wanted to mean but what I understood from your post is that raising the dosage can *change* the kind of effect I experience (and not just moltiplicate it). By the way, do you think that SSRIs can help if my main problem is just adhd ? I'm thinking about that it's not weird that none of the SSRIs I've tried helped since SSRIs are not supposed to be useful for adhd.
>
> In these days I'm obsessing about Breggin's books, he says that antidepressants in general *can* cause long-term damage to brain. You seem very well informed about all this stuff (another euphemism), what do you think about this ?
>
> Thanks a lot for everything, now I understand why everyone wants to talk with chemist ;-)
>
>
>
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