Posted by Nathan on June 16, 2001, at 18:47:45
In reply to Re: Are Zoloft and Prozac dangerous?, posted by JohnL on June 16, 2001, at 4:47:05
Hi John,
Thanks for the very informative post about Zyprexa. Are most doctors familiar with Zyprexa? My primary care physician has never heard of it. Is it expensive? Do you receive yours through overseas mail order or by normal channels?
Most people say Remeron is great for sleep. How did Remeron affect your sleep? What was your experience with Remeron like? Will Zyprexa work for bipolar and unipolar depression? Thanks again for your insight.
Nathan
> Hi Nathan,
> Zyprexa is an antipsychotic for schizophrenia. However, it is also FDA approved for treating bipolar, and there is plenty of anecdotal and clinical evidence supporting its use in treating depression. It increases serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine activity. The increase is especially profound when combined with Prozac, for some unknown synergistic reason. I found out about the combo from two places: 1)a friend who was taking it convinced me how good it is; 2)I saw clinical studies with the combination and the results were quite promising.
>
> I too experience anxiety and insomnia with Prozac. Zyprexa effectively eliminates the insomnia right problem right away. The anxiety actually increased for the first week and a half or so. But then it just faded completely away and now there is no anxiety left at all. I think another good reason these two drugs go well together is because they have counteracting side effects.
>
> Zyprexa has also been good to my sex life, which was a nice surprise. My dose is 20mg Prozac in the morning, 5mg Zyprexa after dinner. I started at 2.5mg. There is some daytime sedation during the first week, but it completely vanished after that.
>
> I was on Remeron for almost two years, with Prozac. In every way I can think of Zyprexa is far superior to Remeron. My sleep on Remeron was not as good, sex wasn't as good, mood wasn't as good, and I wish I had tried Zyprexa earlier.
>
> > Hi John,
> >
> > What is Zyprexa? Isn't it for schizophrenia? Is it a ssri? What neurotransmitters does it affect? Your post about combining Prozac and Zyprexa seems promising. My problem with Prozac is the insomnia and anxiety. What is the recommended dose of Zyprexa and how much do you take (and when) to augment Prozac? How did you find out about this combo? How do you think Zyprexa compares to Remeron for Prozac augmentation?
> >
> > Thanks for your insight.
> >
> > Nathan
> >
> > > The symptoms you describe are side effects that are not uncommon for SSRIs. They are listed in the side effect profiles. All SSRIs can cause sleep problems, and any psychiatric drug can cause anxiety, panic, or palpitations as possible side effects. Dangerous, not often. Bothersome, yes. In my personal trials I have found that the anxiety/panic stuff usually mellows out after a 3 or 4 weeks. If it doesn't, then a switch of meds is probably in order. Also in my own trials, if I have sleep problems early in treatment, they continue longterm. A sleep aid is needed. In my case, Zyprexa is highly effective at counteracting my Prozac insomnia, and at the same time boosts the overall effectiveness of Prozac tremendously. Sometimes two drugs are needed to get a full rich response and to counteract troublesome side effects.
> > >
> > > Both Prozac and Zoloft can cause the side effect symptoms you described. If they are overly bothersome to you, you could either stick it out for a few weeks to see if they go away, or switch to something else. If the particular drug was working really well, but still had real bothersome side effects, then it might be better to instead add a second drug to counteract the side effects. I see no sense however in messing around with any drug that isn't showing promising hints of improvement within four weeks. Actually I prefer two weeks as a determination window of whether to continue or not, but 4 weeks is closer to mainstream thinking.
> > > John
poster:Nathan
thread:60075
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66765.html