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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:10:26
This is a brief record of how celexia affected me on startup.
Celexia 20mg /day, a journal
NO benzodiazapinesZoloft 3 wks, 1st wk 25mg /day, 2nd & 3rd wks 50mg /day
Zoloft /seratoin start up side effects, flushes, mild diarrhea, poor appetite, hypertensive bursts (BP 200/120, HR 120 range), resting HR 100, BP 160/100, tremour,
myoclonic muscle jerks, sustained clonus, L leg & arm weakness ( have no idea why left & right side are different ), tripped a few times, unable to push up from lying to sitting with L arm, minimal nausea, increased gag, retch at a minutes notice, lethargic, delayed orgasm, hand writing is jerky & irregular.Exercise daily ( brisk walking 2 miles ) has no specific effect
I assume the flushes are "panic" type waves. Flushes almost continous, L sided, prickly, electric, radiate from L chest to L foot, very annoying.
wk 4
Taper to stop Zoloft 50mg /day to 25mg /day 4 days, 12.5mg 4 daysAdd Inderal 10-20mg 3 x ( Q 8hrs ) /day for betablocker catecolamine effects /tremour & BP control.
Inderal 10mg 1 Q8 does not control BP /HR. Takes 20-30mg Q6. Increase in "nerves" shakiness occurs at about 5 hrs. Takes about 3 days to get to 20mg Q6 as pretty good control. This gives quiet resting HR 85 & BP of 140 /85.Week 4, wk 1 of Celexia 20 mg starting on Monday
a bitch this week, still better than previous week (week 3 of Zoloft 50mg).still have Zoloft /seratoin start up side effects, flushes, mild diarrhea, poor appetite, hypertensive bursts (BP 200/120, HR 120 range), resting HR 100, BP 160/100, tremour,
myoclonic muscle jerks, sustained clonus, L leg & arm weakness, tripped a few times, unable to push up from lying to sitting with L arm, nausea, increased gag, retch at a minutes notice, lethargic.mental clear but poor ability to focus attention, occ racing thought pattern. Able to read fine. Eating /food in stomach triggers flushes, increases HR &BP for about 1 1/2hr.
Breathing jerky, have to focus to get smooth even deep breaths.
tremour increases with focus of attention as does heart rate & bp. significant periods without tremour (several hrs ) after taking Inderal.
Flushes (10hr or more per hr, or almost continous) unilateral, left side, radiates from trunk to left leg, electric & prickly in nature, sweating increased on L side. sweats off & on. heat intolerance.
Sleep fair, about 3-4 hr night.
At about day 3-4 character of flushes begins to change from unilateral left sided to trunkal. anterior chest wall & left shoulder arm. at apex of flush, chest feels tight, no pain. Start to change from electric to warm /cold.
No days of cold /clear lucidity. Able to function OK with normal activity driving etc.
Week 5 Wk 2 of Celexia 20mg
Better. Fewer flushes, not as intense. Character & pattern different. Mainly trunkal & more symmetrical, some into right leg as well. Now more of a heat feeling. Room air temp change triggers flushes. By end of week have completly changed to a sunburn feeling of skin. Upper back /posterior shoulders, dorsum of both hands & forearms. about 1 per 2 hrs, lasts 5 10 min.
Focus better, much easier to hold focused attention.
Appetite better, retching /gagging stopped, some taste change noted, ( metallic or salty ? mild & not unplesant)
tremour better, BP & HR more stabile, Bursts in range of BP 160/100 & HR 110
muscle weakness much better, still some myoclonic jerks, more small twitches than jerks.
gradual progression & improvement through week.
Week 6 wk 3 of Celexia 20mg
monday
Sleeping evenly, 6hr night, wake feeling rested.Most of day mentally clear. Flushes Only 1 or 2 per hr. intensity very mild. only notice when resting quietly, otherwise minimal.
resting sitting bp 140/90 & hr 72, lying quiet > bp 120/70 & hr 62 (pretty much back to normal for me)
Fewer myoclonic twitches, no clonus. ( never got to this point on the zoloft )
appetite much better. no nausea. no gagging. muscle strength almost normal.
Tremour, better. Can write OK now, most of time. Still notice jitteriness at 6hr mark after Inderal, very little shake of hands visible.
Breathing smooth & even, no catches.
Wednesday
resting HR 72, no flushes by noon
mental cold clear, no fuzziness. Never ever got to this point while on the zoloft. Hands /fingers do as told without intense concentration.
Still have postprandial symptom exacerbation with increase in shakes & tremour, resting bp 136/79 & hr 100, no heat tolerance, copious sweating just walking outside during day. A lite lunch of chicken & potatoe salad shot the afternoon. Now this is pretty much what it was like on the zoloft after 6 months & after off as well. Guess this is due to catacolamines. there was no flushing associated with this, a short nap & no change. Mentally just a little dull, a little fuzzy. still note the "sunburn" feeling on the dorsum of the left hand from time to time.
Posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:37:22
In reply to celexia startup seratonin effects, posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:10:26
Celexa not Celexia, sorry about the typo.
never could spell
Posted by danf on June 15, 2000, at 15:38:35
In reply to celexia startup seratonin effects, posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:10:26
Thursday wk3 celexa
Woke up slept well 6hrs or so, above avg for me. (never used an alarm for yrs, just woke up to hit the rat race )
First awake, no tremours. Bp & HR normal. After about 6 months of starting the day shaky. Very minor episodes of shakes noted during the day.
appetite good, coffee sounds good, first time in 6 wks.
Day smooth, able to think & function.
Flushes /rushes (anxiety attacks ? ), 1 or 2 very mild, upper back, no big deal to shake off & ignore.
Was able to do work stuff ( put off for a couple of months because when started they elicited shakes & had to stop ) that would have left me shaking before.
All in all not a bad day.
Posted by danf on June 16, 2000, at 12:20:26
In reply to celexia startup seratonin effects, posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:10:26
Friday wk3 Celexa
Thursday night
Had spagetti for supper, still with a jittery period for about 2 hrs after eating where BP goes up & am quite sleepy.
slept OK, rested OK. Had moderate myoclonic twitches going to sleep, mostly in leg thigh muscles, an occasional jerk. They are almost like old friends by now.
Taking the Celexa in the evening as it still causes a period of fuzziness /mild sedation for a couple of hrs, seems to leave the day clearer.
Woke up with the jitters. BP 150/90 & HR 90.Normal BM, now it is 2 or 3 days without a loose stool. so many different effects to keep up with. no nausea. Buzzing in ears still here.
Jitters responded to 20mg inderal @6am but were back by 10am. took 30mg & settled down.
Neighbor came over & told me to look at the yard. Someone has TP rolled the yard well last night, did a great job. High in trees, covered. Only teens I know of are from EX's boyfriend, who is a teacher. This would have sent me into a down spiral before where I hid from the world & tried to sleep. Not today, I admired the TP job for one well done, even tho it is my yard & decided to leave it. No sob, no jitters, no flushes
Had planned for a weekend trip to see friends & am headed that way. Back in a few days.
Posted by danf on June 22, 2000, at 8:40:44
In reply to friday wk 3 Celexa, posted by danf on June 16, 2000, at 12:20:26
Thurs week 4 Celexa
20mg/day
Sleep OK, a little slow going to sleep. restful. getting about 6 hrs. wake up at 6am.
appetite OK, still have increase in "nerves" /jitters after eating for about 2 hrs. Diarrhea pretty much gone.
Nerves /tremour much better. pretty much functional. can do things like tie a hook on end of fishing line. Writing is almost legible. still shows up from time to time during day.
Mental fuzziness better. mood better & level. able to laugh. don't feel sad at all. Short term memory better.
Flushes better & almost gone. Noticed one last PM when lying down. warm feeling on upper back & shoulders, don't think I would have noticed it if things had not been very quiet. No panic episodes for several days, going on a week or so.
myoclonic jerks /twitches gone. still have some muscle weakness, minor, notice quads are a little weak when walking up steps /stairs.
heat intolerance & night sweats better. seem to sweat a little more when doing stuff outside ( high humidity & temp in the high 80's )
guess that the shakes /nerves are residual anxiety ? consider upping the celexa to 40mg in another week vrs addition of another med ?
This is the end of the thread.
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