![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:51:42
I've been taking 150mg of Zantac (ranitidine), which is a histamine-2 receptor blocker inhibiting acid secretion in the stomach. I've been taking this for about 14 days since noticing that Zoloft was really upsetting my stomach.
Now I'm concerned that it could be affecting my behavior in some way. I haven't been able to find a monograph that suggests that H2 receptors are present in the brain, however there is evidence that H2 receptors increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. I've had a headache since starting this treatment.
In addition, I've read reports that H2-blocker discontinuation produces behavioral symptoms similar to psychopharm drug discontinuation symptoms.
Although the drug interaction checker comes up with 'negative' for my combination of drugs
zoloft 50mg, abilify 5mg, there seem to be some effects of irritability and the headaches. Anyone else have experience with zantac or tagamet therapy along with antidepressant (SSRI) and/or AP treatment?thanks,
-Ll
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:56:53
In reply to Zantac H2 blocker and behavior/psych, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:51:42
I forgot to mention that in addition to zantac, abilify and zoloft I also take 300mg of lamictal. I have been taking less klonopin. Some days I take .5mg, or .25mg. Sleep is okay, appetite is normal. Moodswings are not a problem, just some breakthrough depression and the unending headache and apathy.
thanks
-Ll
Posted by zazenducke on August 20, 2007, at 10:11:37
In reply to forgot to mention » LlurpsieNoodle, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:56:53
Central Nervous System: Rarely, malaise, dizziness, somnolence, insomnia, and vertigo. Rare cases of reversible mental confusion, agitation, depression, and hallucinations have been reported, predominantly in severely ill elderly patients. Rare cases of reversible blurred vision suggestive of a change in accommodation have been reported. Rare reports of reversible involuntary motor disturbances have been received.
from rxlist side effects for zantac
I know nothing of interactions. I know of one elderly person who was psychotic on this med...of course I know you're not elderly. Maybe it's not an interaction just a side effect?
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 10:24:23
In reply to Re: forgot to mention » LlurpsieNoodle, posted by zazenducke on August 20, 2007, at 10:11:37
That list of side effects is certainly different from what is listed on the common websites.
I suppose the next logical step is to discontinue the zantac.
nah, I'm not elderly :)
-Ll
Posted by Justherself54 on August 20, 2007, at 10:41:13
In reply to Re: forgot to mention » zazenducke, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 10:24:23
have you by chance increased your doseage of Zoloft..when I was taking it and increased a dose, I got brutal headaches for a couple of weeks..same thing happened with Lexapro too..just a thought..
Posted by Quintal on August 20, 2007, at 11:58:49
In reply to Zantac H2 blocker and behavior/psych, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:51:42
You went through a number of med changes in a short space of time recently didn't you? That makes it hard to narrow this side effect/interaction down to one particular drug, unless you have a reason for thinking Zantac is the culprit? I used Zantac to ease the acid stomach I got from Abilify, but I don't remember having any unusual problems with it, though at the time I was feeling so bad it would be hard to tell.
Q
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 12:25:12
In reply to Re: Zantac H2 blocker and behavior/psych » LlurpsieNoodle, posted by Quintal on August 20, 2007, at 11:58:49
> You went through a number of med changes in a short space of time recently didn't you? That makes it hard to narrow this side effect/interaction down to one particular drug, unless you have a reason for thinking Zantac is the culprit? I used Zantac to ease the acid stomach I got from Abilify, but I don't remember having any unusual problems with it, though at the time I was feeling so bad it would be hard to tell.
>yeah, I switched to abilify (was taking geodon for several months) that was a painless transition. It seems that most of the stomach problems happened about 18 days ago when I titrated up to 50mg zoloft from 25mg zoloft. I felt great (except for tummy). Now I'm not feeling so great anymore :(
yeah, it does make it hard to narrow one thing down.
-Ll
Posted by psychobot5000 on August 23, 2007, at 13:42:32
In reply to Zantac H2 blocker and behavior/psych, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 20, 2007, at 9:51:42
It does sound to me as though you've gone through too many changes to have a clear idea about what's causing these problems.
That said, the H2 blockers can inhibit liver enzymes, changing the levels of other drugs quite significantly. Tagamet is the primary culprit for that, though. I think zantac is relatively clear, but you might want to check into it more. With the number of meds you're taking, if just a couple of them had slight blood-level changes, who knows what it would do?
When I was on Tagamet or Zantac, the main side-effects I noticed were dry-mouth and drowsiness, but I don't think either of those are very common. No irritability or headaches that I remember, though.
Hope you figure it out!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.