Posted by SLS on March 30, 2012, at 6:25:42
In reply to Effexor withdrawal nightmares: REM-blocker drug?, posted by novelagent on March 30, 2012, at 4:41:36
> When I was on 225mg and couldn't refill my Effexor for a week, I would get terrible nightmares while I did without it. For the past 4 months, I've been on 75mg, and for the past 4 weeks, I've been on 37.5mg. I'm about a week left of the remaining 37.5mg, and then I have to fly solo and not taking anymore, as I will be going off the Effexor once the 37.5mg runs out this week.
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> My doc's a resident, so I have to tell her things like "Effexor withdrawal causes nightmares" and now I think I have to explain, after already telling her that, that there's drugs for blocking nightmares. I doubt she even knows that. I really do.
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> Anyhow, has anyone experienced nightmares from Effexor withdrawal? How long do they last (weeks? months?)?
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> For all I know, I'm tapering slowly enough to avoid them, but I doubt it. I only know about the REM drugs from reading once in passing they're used to block nightmares in general. Do they work? side effects?
Maybe prazosin. It reduces nightmares in PTSD via the dampening of noradrenergic activity. Prazosin gets into the brain and blocks NE alpha-1 blockade receptors. However, it does not work by suppressing REM sleep. It will help stabilize sleep, including REM sleep. Dosages used in PTSD are 6 - 12 mg given at night. I really cannot guess if the REM rebound that you are currently experiencing will respond to prazosin. However, prazosin is usually a benign drug with few side effects.Let me look into clonidine. Just a guess.
Google:
Yes, clonidine will suppress REM sleep, but only at higher dosages. Lower dosages have the opposite effect. It works very differently than prazosin. Clonidine also reduces noradrenergic activity, but it accomplishes this by stimulating NE alpha-2 receptors. The dosage range for clonidine when used for hypertension is 0.2 - 0.6 mg/day given in divided doses. If you were to take it at night only, 0.2 mg might be enough.
So, we have two drugs that reduce noradrenergic activity that are capable of reducing nightmares. The two drugs work differently. Clonidine suppresses REM at higher dosages, but carries a risk of making depression worse. Prazosin might work, but without suppressing REM and perhaps helping with anxiety and depression.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1014506
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120328/msgs/1014509.html