Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 48354

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Celexa, Serzone, now what?

Posted by Laura Ann on November 7, 2000, at 9:49:34

Hi,

I was on Celexa for 4 months to treat depression and anxiety. I came from a very abusive family for 20 years and it was time for me to go on something. I really liked Celexa and felt it was the best drug out there. I felt no side effects. That was until I became sexually active. I was on 20-40mg (increased dose) and felt NOTHING. It was really getting to my self esteem. I also have a very hard time in relationships so mind proved stronger than drug.

I cut Celexa cold turkey which was a big mistake. I immediately begain feeling like I was going nuts. Then my psych put me on serzone (100 mg BID) and I became violent/angry 24/7. I read that Serzone affects mCPP metabolite and that causes intense anger in some cases of anxiety. She then told me to increase it because it's a great drug. I'm crying like I did when I wasn't on any type of drug (meaning all the time), my self esteem and confidence is at an all time low, I feel so insecure and it's ruining my relationship with my fiance. I can't take it anymore.

Now she wants me to taper off and go on Effexor. Reading everything on this board and hearing friends who are on it, it sounds horrible. I don't like being on meds in the first place because I don't feel you should be a guinea pig with brain chemicals.

I would love to go back on Celexa but the sexual side effect is bad. The psych thought perhaps I should do a Celexa/low dose Wellburtrin combination or just Wellbutrin. I'm just so afraid of being on these drugs and when they don't work or when I taper off. It's hard enough trying to stay sane throughout the day without these drugs being a roadblock to recovery.

Any ideas or experiences? I'm starting to think perhaps I should get off of them all together but life is just plain hell for me right now that I don't know what I should do. My fiance is having the worse time with me and quite frankly, so am I. :(

 

Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what?

Posted by Bill L on November 7, 2000, at 11:06:30

In reply to Celexa, Serzone, now what?, posted by Laura Ann on November 7, 2000, at 9:49:34

I like your doctor's idea of a combo of Celexa and Wellbutrin. Oftentimes, docs add Wellbutrin to counter sexual side effects. Another advantage of a combo is the drug holiday stategy. Celexa has a relatively short half life in the blood. If you know that you will have sex on a saturday, then you would skip the Celexa dose on friday but you would not skip the Wellbutrin dose. Anyway, it's worth discussing with your doctor.

> Hi,
>
> I was on Celexa for 4 months to treat depression and anxiety. I came from a very abusive family for 20 years and it was time for me to go on something. I really liked Celexa and felt it was the best drug out there. I felt no side effects. That was until I became sexually active. I was on 20-40mg (increased dose) and felt NOTHING. It was really getting to my self esteem. I also have a very hard time in relationships so mind proved stronger than drug.
>
> I cut Celexa cold turkey which was a big mistake. I immediately begain feeling like I was going nuts. Then my psych put me on serzone (100 mg BID) and I became violent/angry 24/7. I read that Serzone affects mCPP metabolite and that causes intense anger in some cases of anxiety. She then told me to increase it because it's a great drug. I'm crying like I did when I wasn't on any type of drug (meaning all the time), my self esteem and confidence is at an all time low, I feel so insecure and it's ruining my relationship with my fiance. I can't take it anymore.
>
> Now she wants me to taper off and go on Effexor. Reading everything on this board and hearing friends who are on it, it sounds horrible. I don't like being on meds in the first place because I don't feel you should be a guinea pig with brain chemicals.
>
> I would love to go back on Celexa but the sexual side effect is bad. The psych thought perhaps I should do a Celexa/low dose Wellburtrin combination or just Wellbutrin. I'm just so afraid of being on these drugs and when they don't work or when I taper off. It's hard enough trying to stay sane throughout the day without these drugs being a roadblock to recovery.
>
> Any ideas or experiences? I'm starting to think perhaps I should get off of them all together but life is just plain hell for me right now that I don't know what I should do. My fiance is having the worse time with me and quite frankly, so am I. :(

 

Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what?

Posted by Cindy W on November 7, 2000, at 21:47:47

In reply to Celexa, Serzone, now what?, posted by Laura Ann on November 7, 2000, at 9:49:34

> Hi,
>
> I was on Celexa for 4 months to treat depression and anxiety. I came from a very abusive family for 20 years and it was time for me to go on something. I really liked Celexa and felt it was the best drug out there. I felt no side effects. That was until I became sexually active. I was on 20-40mg (increased dose) and felt NOTHING. It was really getting to my self esteem. I also have a very hard time in relationships so mind proved stronger than drug.
>
> I cut Celexa cold turkey which was a big mistake. I immediately begain feeling like I was going nuts. Then my psych put me on serzone (100 mg BID) and I became violent/angry 24/7. I read that Serzone affects mCPP metabolite and that causes intense anger in some cases of anxiety. She then told me to increase it because it's a great drug. I'm crying like I did when I wasn't on any type of drug (meaning all the time), my self esteem and confidence is at an all time low, I feel so insecure and it's ruining my relationship with my fiance. I can't take it anymore.
>
> Now she wants me to taper off and go on Effexor. Reading everything on this board and hearing friends who are on it, it sounds horrible. I don't like being on meds in the first place because I don't feel you should be a guinea pig with brain chemicals.
>
> I would love to go back on Celexa but the sexual side effect is bad. The psych thought perhaps I should do a Celexa/low dose Wellburtrin combination or just Wellbutrin. I'm just so afraid of being on these drugs and when they don't work or when I taper off. It's hard enough trying to stay sane throughout the day without these drugs being a roadblock to recovery.
>
> Any ideas or experiences? I'm starting to think perhaps I should get off of them all together but life is just plain hell for me right now that I don't know what I should do. My fiance is having the worse time with me and quite frankly, so am I. :(

Laura Ann, people all respond differently, but I've tried Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Serzone, and now take Effexor-XR 375 mg/day, Serzone 75 mg/day, and Seroquel 150 mg/night. The Effexor-XR has really helped me with depression and OCD, with relatively little impact on my sexual responsiveness. Serzone was wonderful too but didn't help with OCD (I just had to wait out the first two weeks of strange feelings, then I felt great). The Effexor-XR doesn't make me feel different, just not depressed and much less obsessed. It did make it kind of hard to sleep, but the Seroquel has enabled me to sleep better than I have in all of my 49 years! Hope you find the right thing for you. I think Effexor-XR is great.--Cindy W

 

Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what?

Posted by Sophia on November 8, 2000, at 9:18:57

In reply to Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what?, posted by Cindy W on November 7, 2000, at 21:47:47

> > Hi,
> >
> > I was on Celexa for 4 months to treat depression and anxiety. I came from a very abusive family for 20 years and it was time for me to go on something. I really liked Celexa and felt it was the best drug out there. I felt no side effects. That was until I became sexually active. I was on 20-40mg (increased dose) and felt NOTHING. It was really getting to my self esteem. I also have a very hard time in relationships so mind proved stronger than drug.
> >
> > I cut Celexa cold turkey which was a big mistake. I immediately begain feeling like I was going nuts. Then my psych put me on serzone (100 mg BID) and I became violent/angry 24/7. I read that Serzone affects mCPP metabolite and that causes intense anger in some cases of anxiety. She then told me to increase it because it's a great drug. I'm crying like I did when I wasn't on any type of drug (meaning all the time), my self esteem and confidence is at an all time low, I feel so insecure and it's ruining my relationship with my fiance. I can't take it anymore.
> >
> > Now she wants me to taper off and go on Effexor. Reading everything on this board and hearing friends who are on it, it sounds horrible. I don't like being on meds in the first place because I don't feel you should be a guinea pig with brain chemicals.
> >
> > I would love to go back on Celexa but the sexual side effect is bad. The psych thought perhaps I should do a Celexa/low dose Wellburtrin combination or just Wellbutrin. I'm just so afraid of being on these drugs and when they don't work or when I taper off. It's hard enough trying to stay sane throughout the day without these drugs being a roadblock to recovery.
> >
> > Any ideas or experiences? I'm starting to think perhaps I should get off of them all together but life is just plain hell for me right now that I don't know what I should do. My fiance is having the worse time with me and quite frankly, so am I. :(
>

Cindy, I am doing well of a low dose of Effexor. It has takin away the knot that I have had in my stomach for 20 years. I also have not had a tension headache once since I began taking it. It does cause sleeplesness for my so I am taking a low dose of Ambien which works great. I must admit though that I don't feel as interested in sex as before, but have not lost "responsiveness" altogether. This is something that I plan to discuss with my doc next week. Good luck to you. Sophia.

 

Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what? ยป Sophia

Posted by Cindy W on November 8, 2000, at 21:40:29

In reply to Re: Celexa, Serzone, now what?, posted by Sophia on November 8, 2000, at 9:18:57

> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > I was on Celexa for 4 months to treat depression and anxiety. I came from a very abusive family for 20 years and it was time for me to go on something. I really liked Celexa and felt it was the best drug out there. I felt no side effects. That was until I became sexually active. I was on 20-40mg (increased dose) and felt NOTHING. It was really getting to my self esteem. I also have a very hard time in relationships so mind proved stronger than drug.
> > >
> > > I cut Celexa cold turkey which was a big mistake. I immediately begain feeling like I was going nuts. Then my psych put me on serzone (100 mg BID) and I became violent/angry 24/7. I read that Serzone affects mCPP metabolite and that causes intense anger in some cases of anxiety. She then told me to increase it because it's a great drug. I'm crying like I did when I wasn't on any type of drug (meaning all the time), my self esteem and confidence is at an all time low, I feel so insecure and it's ruining my relationship with my fiance. I can't take it anymore.
> > >
> > > Now she wants me to taper off and go on Effexor. Reading everything on this board and hearing friends who are on it, it sounds horrible. I don't like being on meds in the first place because I don't feel you should be a guinea pig with brain chemicals.
> > >
> > > I would love to go back on Celexa but the sexual side effect is bad. The psych thought perhaps I should do a Celexa/low dose Wellburtrin combination or just Wellbutrin. I'm just so afraid of being on these drugs and when they don't work or when I taper off. It's hard enough trying to stay sane throughout the day without these drugs being a roadblock to recovery.
> > >
> > > Any ideas or experiences? I'm starting to think perhaps I should get off of them all together but life is just plain hell for me right now that I don't know what I should do. My fiance is having the worse time with me and quite frankly, so am I. :(
> >
>
> Cindy, I am doing well of a low dose of Effexor. It has takin away the knot that I have had in my stomach for 20 years. I also have not had a tension headache once since I began taking it. It does cause sleeplesness for my so I am taking a low dose of Ambien which works great. I must admit though that I don't feel as interested in sex as before, but have not lost "responsiveness" altogether. This is something that I plan to discuss with my doc next week. Good luck to you. Sophia.

Sophia, I'm glad the Effexor is working out for you. If you discover any secrets for better sex when you see your pdoc, please let me know (I feel a little bit less responsive, with Effexor). Best wishes to you too!--Cindy W


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