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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Peter on October 20, 2001, at 1:03:43
Hi all. Boy am I ready to babble about this. I've been on a variety of medications for about 6 years (different AD's, mood stabilizers, klonopin, beta-blockers,dopamine agonists, and more). I decided at one point to reduce all my medication to the barest essentials to see what, if anything, I truly NEED. So, I was down from 875mg to 125mg of depakote (which I did over many months, closely-monitered) and 1mg daily of klonopin, and I was doing ok. Then I suddenly began to become very aware of recurring symptomatic patterns in my moods - extreme self-conciousness, exacerbated social phobia, obsessive thinking (combined with a compulsive need to tell everyone everything I obsess about), incessant indecisiveness, and hypochondriasis, which has been of course magnified by the anthrax scares. I've also had a great deal of trouble being alone (not with friends and family) even in my own apartment) (separation anxiety?). My psycopharm. suggested much of this is due to a seretonin imbalance(gee - I've heard that before), and decided to place me on one of the few SRI's I hadn't yet tried (the others caused alcohol/drug cravings, emotional dullness, etc.). So I started good old Luvox yesterday (25mg each morning). I'm already feeling weird side-effects - some slight nausea, spaciness, and, especially, physical and mental restlessness ('akasthasia?'). So, I've been compensating by taking a little more klonopin. My questions are: 1)who has experienced these side-effects on Luvox and do they go away soon? 2)Has anyone out there taken Luvox for any of the reasons I'm taking it (in other words, not for chronic depression or extreme OCD, but for more non-continous, episodic symptoms of social-phobia and self-consciousness, obsessive thinking, anxiety, and some short depressive episodes? I guess I'm just concerned, as I've always been, about if I really have a chemical imbalance severe enough to warrant yet another medication trial, or if I'm just turning to meds again because I don't accept who I am, with my flaws and all. I know Luvox could help these sporadic symptoms (which are quite extreme and socially debilitating when they occur) - and someone correct me if I'm wrong about this - but I just wonder if it's worth it. 3) Finally, I'd love to hear, if anyone has taken Luvox for these reasons, if it works! Can't wait to hear from you.
Posted by Mitch on October 20, 2001, at 11:33:18
In reply to LUVOX!, posted by Peter on October 20, 2001, at 1:03:43
> Hi all. Boy am I ready to babble about this. I've been on a variety of medications for about 6 years (different AD's, mood stabilizers, klonopin, beta-blockers,dopamine agonists, and more). I decided at one point to reduce all my medication to the barest essentials to see what, if anything, I truly NEED. So, I was down from 875mg to 125mg of depakote (which I did over many months, closely-monitered) and 1mg daily of klonopin, and I was doing ok. Then I suddenly began to become very aware of recurring symptomatic patterns in my moods - extreme self-conciousness, exacerbated social phobia, obsessive thinking (combined with a compulsive need to tell everyone everything I obsess about), incessant indecisiveness, and hypochondriasis, which has been of course magnified by the anthrax scares. I've also had a great deal of trouble being alone (not with friends and family) even in my own apartment) (separation anxiety?). My psycopharm. suggested much of this is due to a seretonin imbalance(gee - I've heard that before), and decided to place me on one of the few SRI's I hadn't yet tried (the others caused alcohol/drug cravings, emotional dullness, etc.). So I started good old Luvox yesterday (25mg each morning). I'm already feeling weird side-effects - some slight nausea, spaciness, and, especially, physical and mental restlessness ('akasthasia?'). So, I've been compensating by taking a little more klonopin. My questions are: 1)who has experienced these side-effects on Luvox and do they go away soon? 2)Has anyone out there taken Luvox for any of the reasons I'm taking it (in other words, not for chronic depression or extreme OCD, but for more non-continous, episodic symptoms of social-phobia and self-consciousness, obsessive thinking, anxiety, and some short depressive episodes? I guess I'm just concerned, as I've always been, about if I really have a chemical imbalance severe enough to warrant yet another medication trial, or if I'm just turning to meds again because I don't accept who I am, with my flaws and all. I know Luvox could help these sporadic symptoms (which are quite extreme and socially debilitating when they occur) - and someone correct me if I'm wrong about this - but I just wonder if it's worth it. 3) Finally, I'd love to hear, if anyone has taken Luvox for these reasons, if it works! Can't wait to hear from you.
Peter,
I have BPII and social phobia/panic/GAD symptoms. I am down to 400mg Neurontin, .5-1.0mg of Klonopin, and a *tiny* dose of Celexa (about 1.5mg/day). I experience a LOT of bad side effects from SSRI's at all but the smallest doses. But, without them my anxiety disorders seem to get really aggravated as well. SSRi's are the worst "double-edged sword" as far as meds go for me. Well, I have taken ALL of the SSRI's and yes, Luvox caused the same weird effects you describe above. They all make me pace around and become restless, I get restless legs syndrome from them (esp. Zoloft), another "weird" thing that happened with Luvox (and with Celexa), is I get a little hypomanic on them and laugh at anything. The other day at work someone told a joke (I had taken a double-dose of Celexa that day), I just laughed loudly (once), and I became dizzy-saw spots and fell down! The room spun around for a moment and then I was ok. The reason I take an SSRi is not really for depression either it is also primarily for social phobia/GAD symptoms. BUT, I have tried just Klonopin and Neurontin and it just doesn't help as well as the three-way combo. Oh, another thing with the Luvox (and other SSri's): When I laugh it is so intense that all my facial muscles contract tightly in pain and I flush and feel panicky simultaneously. I really don't understand WHY these things occur, but they do. If I stop the SSRI I start becoming self-conscious and a worry-wart!
Mitch
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