Posted by SueG on July 15, 2000, at 17:21:36
In reply to Whoa !!! here !!!!, posted by danf on July 14, 2000, at 1:12:40
Thanks to all who replied to my post. Because i am only in the early stages of medication and it is helping my depression immensely, I am reluctant at this stage to alter my dose. However, in a few weeks i may try to lower it by taking it every second day and see what happens. I have tried Paxil before but this gives me anorgasmia. At least with Prozac its manageable.
I have not noticed any other involuntary body movements apart from this twitch. I do, however, bite my lips and mouth quite a bit now (anxiety I suppose.) I have always done this but seems to be happening more frequently.
My sleeping over this weekend was pretty bad. I try to use a natural sedative (Valerian) but this is rarely enough. I use temazepam otherwise. I still wake up early, my mind really active. This is not a completely bad thing though. I need activation, as my depression caused major apathy so it is refreshing to be able to get out of bed at 6am and feel "awake"! It is annoying though, that my sleep is so broken. I am hoping it will settle down.
Once again, thanks to your replies.
> Sue,
>
> How do you do ?
>
> most of the time good information comes out here on Babble.
>
> On occasion BS floats to the top. TD is a late effect. A twitch is rarely TD.
>
> OK for the book. I write in a terse form, Bear or bare with me. The likelyhood that an early eyelid twitch is TD is close to an iceberg hitting Key West, particularly when the med is known for serotonin induced muscle fasics !
>
> first it is not an eye twitch. it is an eyelid twitch. A major difference. Eyelid twitches are rare in TD. rhythmic ( wish I could spell ) repetitive movements are the rule.
>
> To advance a theory of TD as a cause is irresponsible in this situation.
>
> SSRIs cause muscle twitches for several weeks after starting the meds.
> Damn, I know it well. Have had twitches in almost every part of the body ( not eyelid yet ).
>
> What makes a difference in where the twitches occur ? If one has any kind of panic or anxiety induced twitches, that pattern is amplified when starting SSRIs. The strange thing is that it is not the same for the different meds. the patterns are usually like the anxiety patterns (key is LIKE, not exact same as ). so usually the same body area is affected. I get left leg, in the calf, with some above the knee in the quads. Not arm, not face, not right leg, etc.
>
> A personal observation, based on prozac, celexa & zoloft. I have a bitch of startup symptoms, with zoloft being the worst , so far, bordering on psychosis induction ( and don't ever plan on zoloft again, by the way )
>
> Anyway ..... muscle twitches are induced by hyper sensitivity of the muscle & /or neuro muscular junction. they usually go away after a few weeks. Magnesium helps in decreasing them. If there is either a local or general warm /hot skin feeling at about the same time, best thing to do is decrease the med dose & then increase it slowly over time ( this is usually serotonin induced).
>
> This will give the body time to adapt to the higher serotonin levels.
>
> If you have a question about this you can do your own self experiment ( which has danger !!!!!!!!!! ). yes, I have done it !!!!
>
> Take a reduced dose of med until the twitches stop or greatly reduce & then add a dose of 5HTP ( 25mg ), If the Sx recurr after the 5HTTP it is serotonin induced.
>
> I do not recommend this !!! Because you can cause a serotonin toxic syndrome.
>
> Any way., the evidence points to SSRI serotonin induced med related startup side effects & not TD.
poster:SueG
thread:40349
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/40581.html