Posted by Cindylou on December 1, 2001, at 16:47:12
In reply to Re: Trying Serzone - my experience side effects, posted by Bebe on November 30, 2001, at 16:11:07
Hi Bebe,
Are you still taking the St. John's Wort? If not, how long have you been off of it? I considered taking St. John's Wort, and my clinical nutritionist, my psychiatrist, plus a lot of information I read on the web said I needed to have all other meds out of my system for three to six weeks!There can be interactions between St. John's Wort and other meds because SJW has MAOI properties, which should not be mixed with SSRIs or other antidepressants. That may be your problem.
If you have been off of the SJW for awhile, you might just need to start off a lot more slowly with the Serzone -- maybe 25 mg at night and 25 in the morning. I started with 50 at night and 25 in the morning. But if you have been off of the SJW for several weeks, it does sound like your side effects on Serzone are too severe to keep it up.
I hope you feel better ... sounds awful. Keep us posted on how you are doing,
- cindyMy
> I have tried antidepressants several years ago. Pamelor is the one that I can remember. I believe I tried two kinds. Unfortunately, the first dose was also my last dose. I felt all strange, dizzy, mentally unable to function, and in a tunnel. Due to the nature of my job, I have to be able to think clearly so I never tried again.
>
> Because of my sensitivty to meds, I began to take St. John's Wart a couple of years ago which helped tremendously. I was happier, stopped being so isolated and started being able to talk, laugh, and carry on conversations with others more without it being such a drain and effort. I still feel room for improvement, because I still have anxiety, sleep problems, and lack of desire for social interaction.
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> I have a friend that formally took Paxel and changed to Serzone. I saw her go from a listless, unenerzied person to a happy productive and socialable person on Serzone. After seeing her transformation. I thought this must be the drug for me. I took my first 100 mg pill last night. Five hours later I had such a severe headache that my head and scalp hurt to be touched. I felt my the top of my head was going to explode and the back of my neck was killing me. I tried to stand up and was dizzy and falling over. I couldn't think and became very irritable. I took two extra strength tylenols last night to kill the pain so I could sleep, but they had absolutely no effect whatsoever. I dreamed wierd dreams all night and woke up this morning still in pain (almost 24 hours after taking the first pill). Light hurts my eyes, my vision is blurred, and my motor skills are very slow. I am scared to drive my car. I am terrified to take my second pill tonight. Maybe I am not giving it enough time, but these side effects seem to be worse than my original problem. I just chewed out a good friend on the phone for really no good reason except that I am very irritable. I was hoping for a miracle when I awoke this morning, but I feel I am living a nightmare. If I continue the med, how will I function at work?
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> Maybe I am not giving it enough time, but I don't think I can go through another day of severe head pain like I have been experiencing. I am thinking my best option would be to increase my usage of St. John's Wart to 2 or 3 times a day, like the lable suggests, instead of just 1 time a day.
>
> Am I giving the Serzone enough chance, or am I freaking out to early? I really freak out with anything that causing pain or takes away my ability to think clearly. Any input would be appreciated.
poster:Cindylou
thread:79119
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85762.html