Posted by Tony P on February 16, 2003, at 14:05:10
In reply to Re: Serzone info » petters, posted by Rick on February 7, 2002, at 23:18:02
Agree 100% with Rick about having periodic liver function tests.
Serzone and the closely related Trazodone (Desyrel) have serious liver action conflicts with many other drugs. They also act additively with each other: I had liver pains and 1 seriously elevated liver enzyme when I boosted my Trazadone to 150mg while also taking Serzone - returned to normal within a week of stopping the Trazadone. An added factor was that I had been drinking heavily for a month about weeks before.
Some incompatibilities I know about:
DX/DXM in cough mixture, not usally a problem with normal doses of DM, but with DM above about 300 mg a day there is a strong possibilty of permanent liver damage.
Celexa - not mentioned in the literature, but I consistently experienced liver pains with Trazadone 100mg after taking Celexa 10 mg earlier in the day. The symptoms went away within 2 days of stopping the Celexa.
Tylenol (acetaminophen) - should be used as little as possible with Serzone/Trazadone. In any case, anyone with pre-existing liver damage or who drinks (alcohol) regularly should limit themselves to 2g total per day - i.e. two extra strength twice a day!
The most important thing to know is that most of these liver interactions are addtive, with a threshold where liver damage is immediate and can be drastic.
Tony P
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> I will check my lever enzym soon. Are you awere of how often raised lever enzym occure.
> >
>
> Here is a link to the U.S Food and Drug Administrations warning page on Serzone. They don't speak specifically of enzyme elevation, but they say that serious cases of liver failure are rare. This is not what I would call alarming, although if you search the internet for Serzone info you'll find lots of business-seeking law firms giving exaggerated warnings. I even saw it on a "recalled drugs" list, which is completely irresponsible and misleading.
>
> I would certainly monitor liver enzymes once or twice a year while on Serzone. For me, a few slightly elevated enzymes fell back into the normal range while I was taking Serzone 450 mg. And I was taking two drugs that interact with itat the same time. I started taking Serzone again a few weeks ago. (BTW, many doctors, even psychs, are shockingly unaware of Serzone's many drug interactions.)
>
> It's always wise to have periodic liver tests when you are taking ANY drug that is eliminated through the liver.
>
> Rick
>
> http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2002/safety02.htm#serzon
poster:Tony P
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