Posted by noa on June 22, 2000, at 6:21:02
In reply to Re: Serzone, posted by Marie Smith on June 21, 2000, at 19:06:17
I take 300 mg at around 6 pm. Around 30-60 minutes after dosing, I feel a bit drowsy, but it eases up significantly within 30 minutes after that. Then, around 4 hours later, I am ready for a good night's sleep. By taking it at 6 pm, the effect then wears off enough by 6 am, so I am able to get up easily, even a few minutes before the alarm, which, given my sleep history of the past 5 years, is nothing short of amazing!
The serzone was added to my mix of meds for two reasons: 1) to counter the insomnia and fidgitiness caused by effexor, which is effective for me in treating the main depressive symptoms, but which, at higher doses, causes me to have intolerable tic-like effects and agitation, and 2) to provide more antidepressant effect, and augment the effexor's potency. It seems to be doing both quite well.
For a number of months, I took a much higher effexor:serzone ratio (375:225). A couple of months ago, I evened the ratio out (300:300). This combo seems to suit me better. I sleep better, am less fidgity, anxious, and "tic-ky", and feel more calm.
Initially, serzone made me very emotional. I felt rage and was tearful a lot during the first 3 weeks or so. Also, initially, I had coordination problems and in the hours after dosing, was quite groggy. Both of these problems wore off within a month. When I raised the dose from 225 to 300, the drowsiness and coordination effects came back briefly and more midly. If you experience these initial negative effects, it might be worth your while to wait them out. It can be hard, though. And, if you have these types of negative effects lasting beyond a month or so, I would be wary of continuing with it.
Also, initially, I dosed before bedtime, as I had with trazodone. But I found trazodone and serzone to be different in the following ways: Trazodone takes effect more quickly--within an hour I would be very sedated. Serzone seems to take longer (except for the initial 30-60 minutes post dosing drowsiness that wears off after 20-30 minutes). Trazodone also wore off more quickly. If I took it at bedtime, it was gone by morning. Serzone, when I took it at bedtime, was still sedating in the morning and made it hard to wake up. Trazodone, for me, seems to have a more intense sedation effect. Within an hour of taking it, I was fairly useless if not asleep. Serzone, much less so. I don't feel sedated when I go to bed, but I am able to fall asleep within 20 minutes, often less (I know this because I experimented with a sleep timer on my radio to see how long it took me to fall asleep--I based it on whether I remember hearing a certain radio show end or begin, etc. (using talk radio on local NPR station). Finally, with Trazodone, I was not taking enough of it (the amount used for sleep is small) to add any antidepressant effect, whereas with Serzone, it serves both purposes. So, after a few weeks, I began experimenting with taking the Serzone dose earlier in the evening. I finally settled on around 6 pm. I sometimes take it a bit later, especially if I know I would be driving during that post-dose drowsiness period if taken at 6-ish. On weekends, I tend to take it a bit later, although I generally try to keep it fairly consistent.
BTW, whenever I mention changes I made, or dosing times I experimented with, I did consult with my pdoc about these. After working with him for a number of years, he has expressed trust in me to initiate these changes, but the trust includes the expectation that I let him know about them right away.
As they say, YMMV (your mileage may vary), but I hope my story helps you as you gather info.
poster:noa
thread:37975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000619/msgs/38082.html