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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 17:50:49
I get small muscle 'tics?' mostly in my lower lip and right arm and occasionally the left arm, my wrists and sometimes legs. They don't bother me at all, in fact, they are quite amusing. I don't think people can notice them unless someone had their hand directly on the muscle or something. I remember noticing these same 'tics'(not sure what to call them) when I was on Zoloft about a year ago. They stopped when I stopped taking the Zoloft. Now I'm on Celexa and the tics have started again. My question is, is this a common side effect of SSRIs...how does the SSRI cause the 'tics' and is this harmful? Any theories?
Much appreciated :-)
Posted by Chris O on March 28, 2005, at 18:40:51
In reply to Muscle tics from an SSRI?, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 17:50:49
Shy_Girl:
I've gotten the same "muscle twitch" side-effect with every SSRI I have taken. I specifically remember them occuring frequently when I took a Celexa/Wellbutrin combo a few years back. I am not certain of the exact biochemical reason that the muscle twitches occur, but I know every psychiatrist I have seen has brushed them off as harmless. However, they don't seem "harmless" to me. (But then again, I'm really paranoid about taking them.) Seems like these drugs create a kind of "mini-Parkinson's," perhaps by affecting dopamine? I don't know. It's always bothered me though, one of the many reasons I don't like staying on SSRIs for long.
Good luck,
Chris
Posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 18:45:40
In reply to Muscle tics from an SSRI?, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 17:50:49
Hmmm...I just got another tic in my left arm, I was wrong, they can be noticed by other people. ie. They are clearly visible, but are so quick they miss recognition.
Posted by Ritch on March 28, 2005, at 18:54:36
In reply to Muscle tics from an SSRI?, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 17:50:49
> I get small muscle 'tics?' mostly in my lower lip and right arm and occasionally the left arm, my wrists and sometimes legs. They don't bother me at all, in fact, they are quite amusing. I don't think people can notice them unless someone had their hand directly on the muscle or something. I remember noticing these same 'tics'(not sure what to call them) when I was on Zoloft about a year ago. They stopped when I stopped taking the Zoloft. Now I'm on Celexa and the tics have started again. My question is, is this a common side effect of SSRIs...how does the SSRI cause the 'tics' and is this harmful? Any theories?
>
> Much appreciated :-)Yep, I get that from them as well. A lot of folks do. I got some nasty jaw-clenching and teeth grinding on Zoloft. Celexa causes some "buzzing" tendon effects that are difficult to describe. It is like I feel a fast pulsing all the way down the nerve in my leg to my toe-but it is only on one side. Are most or all of your 'tics' on one side only?
Oh, I read that article you posted the link to before and I definitely agree with a lot of what he has to say. I definitely haven't found my Depakote to be worthy of the title "antidepressant" in any way.
Posted by Colleen D. on March 28, 2005, at 18:58:43
In reply to Muscle tics from an SSRI?, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 17:50:49
I just posted about having my right eyelid twitch a while back. The twitching lasted 3.5 weeks and was very annoying. I was on Cymbalta and clonazepam then. I have since added Wellbutrin and it has stopped. (Yea!)
Colleen
Depression, GAD and OCDp.s. - I had MORE various twitching muscles before starting any meds.
> I get small muscle 'tics?' mostly in my lower lip and right arm and occasionally the left arm, my wrists and sometimes legs. They don't bother me at all, in fact, they are quite amusing. I don't think people can notice them unless someone had their hand directly on the muscle or something. I remember noticing these same 'tics'(not sure what to call them) when I was on Zoloft about a year ago. They stopped when I stopped taking the Zoloft. Now I'm on Celexa and the tics have started again. My question is, is this a common side effect of SSRIs...how does the SSRI cause the 'tics' and is this harmful? Any theories?
>
> Much appreciated :-)
Posted by Phillipa on March 28, 2005, at 19:31:59
In reply to Re: Muscle tics from an SSRI? » Shy_Girl, posted by Colleen D. on March 28, 2005, at 18:58:43
Doesn't everyone get muscle twitches from time to time. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 19:36:01
In reply to I got them on Celexa too » Shy_Girl, posted by Chris O on March 28, 2005, at 18:40:51
> Shy_Girl:
>
> ...I am not certain of the exact biochemical reason that the muscle twitches occur, but I know every psychiatrist I have seen has brushed them off as harmless. However, they don't seem "harmless" to me. (But then again, I'm really paranoid about taking them.) Seems like these drugs create a kind of "mini-Parkinson's," perhaps by affecting dopamine? I don't know. It's always bothered me though, one of the many reasons I don't like staying on SSRIs for long.Where your twitches severe? Is that why they bothered you so much? When I mentioned my muscle twitches a while back, my pdoc said they would go away as my body adjusted to the Zoloft, but I didn't find that they went away. Did you only develop the twitches after staying on the SSRI for a while? I wonder if it is causing some damage to my brain.
I don't know why they don't bother me more...I get them many times a day, but I think they are kind of fun. It's wierd, these twitches are like the only side effects I really notice from taking an SSRI and yet it isn't even a main side effect of these drugs.
Posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 19:38:47
In reply to Re: Muscle tics from an SSRI? » Shy_Girl, posted by Ritch on March 28, 2005, at 18:54:36
Are most or all of your 'tics' on one side only?
Hmmm...I'm not sure whether the muscle twitches are mostly on one side or not. Somedays it seems like they are more on the right side, but maybe not. Does it make a difference what side they are on??
Posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 19:42:46
In reply to Re: Muscle tics from an SSRI? » Shy_Girl, posted by Colleen D. on March 28, 2005, at 18:58:43
> I just posted about having my right eyelid twitch a while back. The twitching lasted 3.5 weeks and was very annoying. I was on Cymbalta and clonazepam then. I have since added Wellbutrin and it has stopped. (Yea!)
>
> Colleen
> Depression, GAD and OCD
>
> p.s. - I had MORE various twitching muscles before starting any meds.I'm pretty sure that my twitching is caused by the Celexa because that is the only med I'm taking. It must be difficult to figure out what drugs cause what side effects for people who take multiple meds! Cool that the Wellbutrin made it stop for you. Does anyone know why the Wellbutrin could make muscle twitches stop?
Posted by Chris O on March 28, 2005, at 19:44:57
In reply to Re: I got them on Celexa too, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 19:36:01
Shy Girl:
Well, all I know is that they were not "normal." In other words, they were a result of taking the drug(s). I don't remember when the twitches started occuring, probably pretty much from the start as I was only on the Celexa/Wellbutrin combo for about a year. I just took Lexapro for 8 months, and the twitches were there too, albeit more mildly than on the combo. You know, some of the anti-psychotics can give people permanent Parkinson's like twitching (I am thinking of the lawsuits against drugs like Seroquel), so I'm thinking that...SSRIs, as they affect similar brain chemicals, could be implicated in doing something to the brain that causes these twitches to occur. I don't know about the twitches staying after long-term use of SSRIs is terminated. However, there is probably someone here with more knowledge than me that could give you feedback in that area.
Good luck,
Chris
Posted by Ritch on March 29, 2005, at 10:30:48
In reply to Re: Muscle tics from an SSRI?, posted by Shy_Girl on March 28, 2005, at 19:38:47
> Are most or all of your 'tics' on one side only?
>
> Hmmm...I'm not sure whether the muscle twitches are mostly on one side or not. Somedays it seems like they are more on the right side, but maybe not. Does it make a difference what side they are on??
>
>Hi, I just mentioned that because *my* twitches that were related to taking Celexa are on the left side only. The "eyelid flutter" I got from Cymbalta was only on the right side though. I'm not sure what significance it has. Some of this I believe is an *interaction* with the Depakote I take, because Depakote can make my muscles twitch too. It is just that when I throw an SSRI in, the twitches that appear to arise from that are only on one side..
This is the end of the thread.
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