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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by krybrahaha78 on January 24, 2006, at 15:05:48
Can too much of a drug make it not as effective? I have taken Luvox 250 mgs for a while and recently moved up to 300 mgs thinking it would work better but now been having more of my ocd issues coming back...does anyone know anything about if more is not always good?
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on January 24, 2006, at 15:35:58
In reply to Is more not always good?, posted by krybrahaha78 on January 24, 2006, at 15:05:48
I don't know abt that med specifically, but on Prozac I was more depressed at higher doses than lower ones. Go figure. Others have reported similar experiences.
Best,
EE
Posted by Racer on January 24, 2006, at 16:30:41
In reply to Re: Is more not always good?, posted by Emily Elizabeth on January 24, 2006, at 15:35:58
Most drugs have an effective range, a therapeutic window in which their effects are optimized. Higher than that is likely to produce either more side effects or even a reduction in benefits. Partly it's the law of diminishing returns -- raise a dose above this level, and the benefits are outweighed by the adverse effects; but in some cases you will just plain lose the benefits. (That pretty much happened to me with Cymbalta, but that's another story.)
The old TCAs used to have blood tests to find out if they were in that range. It was nice, because it removed a lot of the guesswork -- you'd know if you weren't responding to the drug, or if you just hadn't gotten into range yet. The newer drugs don't have that, so it's more guesswork. Raising doses, though, beyond the top of the therapeutic range FOR YOU won't improve performance, though.
I'm curious: you say you raised the dose? What has your doctor had to say about this?
Posted by blueberry on January 24, 2006, at 16:33:03
In reply to Is more not always good?, posted by krybrahaha78 on January 24, 2006, at 15:05:48
Doctors sure seem to think more is better! :-) At least most of them anyway. I did read about one doctor though who says as soon as the med starts working, the first thing he does is reduce the dose.
Anyway, in my own personal experiences, more has always been worse. Didn't matter if it was paxil, prozac, zoloft, lexapro, nortriptyline, xanax, zyprexa, seroquel, lamictal, depakote, ritalin, adderall, or whatever. I mean, if the theory is true that it is a brain chemical imbalance, then it just seems logical to me that we could go too far and go past the point of balance and into a new imbalance. If that makes any sense. Just an thought though.
Posted by john berk on January 24, 2006, at 16:36:55
In reply to More is not better, posted by Racer on January 24, 2006, at 16:30:41
Hi! When i was on serzone, [before prozac] i did well on 500 mgs., not well enough, lol, thus prozac, but i was told that 600 mgs. was no better than placebo, i couldn't beleive it at the time, but more is def not better i have found, 40 prozac doesn't help me as much as 20 ..john
Posted by Phillipa on January 24, 2006, at 20:51:32
In reply to Re: More is not better, posted by john berk on January 24, 2006, at 16:36:55
Interesting as I once was on luvox 250mg and believe it or not I had no side effects. And it did stop OCD symptoms. And I had a surge of energy for about two weeks and then it stopped working. Currently taking it again at 50mg. I know this is a starter dose but what the heck we'll see if there is any improvement. And the dose won't be raised until I've been on it a month. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by krybrahaha78 on January 24, 2006, at 21:39:07
In reply to Re: More is not better, posted by Phillipa on January 24, 2006, at 20:51:32
i was on 250 mgs and went up to 300 per doctors permission because I was feeling SOME of my ocd tendencies comeing back but now that im up to 300 i obsess more than before, so i will just go back to 250.
Posted by qbsbrown on January 25, 2006, at 8:07:06
In reply to Re: More is not better, posted by krybrahaha78 on January 24, 2006, at 21:39:07
In my experience w/ a couple of sucessufl meds (paxil, lamictal), the lowest dosage was always the best.
This is the end of the thread.
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