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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 teresa on March 13, 2001, at 1:18:15
i've been taking serzone for 5 or 6 years now, and i'm still not sure about some side effects. i know that serzone causes "sun sensitivity" but sometimes when i tan, i feel sick and more anxious than usual. is this just a coincidence, or is it the medication? also, i've been feeling obsessive about certain actions (i count things and things like that) i've been thinking of stopping the serzone, but the last thing i want to do is to feel worse. if this is causing my anxiety and sickness when in the sun, i may have to stop, the outdoors is very important to me and for the last few years, i've been avoiding the sun and i've been unhappy about it. i would appreciate any advise, my doctor doesn't take my side effects very seriously and i can't afford to see anyone else right now. thank you
Posted by JohnX on March 13, 2001, at 3:25:09
In reply to serzone side effects, posted by teresa on March 13, 2001, at 1:24:39
> i've been taking serzone for 5 or 6 years now, and i'm still not sure about some side effects. i know that serzone causes "sun sensitivity" but sometimes when i tan, i feel sick and more anxious than usual. is this just a coincidence, or is it the medication? also, i've been feeling obsessive about certain actions (i count things and things like that) i've been thinking of stopping the serzone, but the last thing i want to do is to feel worse. if this is causing my anxiety and sickness when in the sun, i may have to stop, the outdoors is very important to me and for the last few years, i've been avoiding the sun and i've been unhappy about it. i would appreciate any advise, my doctor doesn't take my side effects very seriously and i can't afford to see anyone else right now. thank you
Serzone can have a tendency to raise the body temparature and nausea is also a common side effect. Is it possible that these side effects are increasing your likeliness of getting sun sickness ? Is this a recent phenomena ?
It may be hard to attribute this to Serzone without stopping the med and seeing if it helps. Even then the changes in the body and psychology may hinder understanding your situation as you have mentioned. I hope you can find some relief to your situation as I know it stinks to be not depressed but have the catch 22 of side-effects hindering enjoying hobbies. Maybe some SPF 40 (there goes the tan, but save your skin) ?
-John
Posted by Mary Ann on March 13, 2001, at 14:11:02
In reply to serzone side effects, posted by teresa on March 13, 2001, at 1:18:15
I have only been on Serzone for about 3 and one-half weeks now, but I noticed that many of my compulsive behaviors have returned, such as counting, etc. They went away when I was on Prozac. I think that Serzone DOES have an effect with the sun because I have noticed an increase light sensitivity that I didn't previously have. Your doctor should take your side effects seriously. Too bad you can't affort to switch. Perhaps your doctor isn't too educated about the drug and its side effects? Or perhaps he/she thinks these are side effects that you must live with. I disagree. I work for an alternative healthcare management magazine and we recently ran the following news piece about side effects and depression:
Patient/ Physician Communication Gap Hinders Depression Recovery
A recent study reveals that more than 75% of the people being treated for major depression feel their illness isn't under complete control and more than half of those who have experienced side effects ceased using their prescribed antidepressant because of side effects. The survey, conducted for the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association (National DMDA, Chicago), reveals that a significant communication gap between primary care physicians and patients is at the root of the problem. The study, Beyond Diagnosis: A Landmark Survey on Depression and Treatment, involved interviews with 1,001 patients and nearly 900 primary care physicians.Additional findings include:
Although doctors say they routinely alert patients about side effects when prescribing antidepressants; patients reveal this is often not the case.
Few primary care physicians (27%) believe that antidepressant side effects are temporary or can't be avoided (9%), compared to a significant proportion of patients (59% and 40%, respectively) who believe they have to put up with side effects for these very reasons.
While 90% of the patients who had side effects say they told their primary care doctor about them, close to 20% also report that their doctor did not do anything in response.
Almost half of all patients surveyed report having had side effects, which caused 55% to stop taking their antidepressant and 17% to skip doses.This is a very abbreviated version of the report, but if you want to view the entire report, look up www.ndmda.org. For a copy of the full
executive summary, contact Kelly Hammel or
Geralyn LaNeve.
Phone: 212-886-2200Good luck and hope your doc comes around.
Posted by jb on March 13, 2001, at 15:24:45
In reply to serzone side effects, posted by teresa on March 13, 2001, at 1:18:15
Teresa, here is a blurb on Serzone which I found on the Internet. Hope this helps.
JohnB
Nefazodone (Serzone): Nefazodone combines moderate reuptake inhibition of 5-HT and NE with potent blockade of the 5-HT2 receptor to produce a calming antidepressant that is particularly useful for agitated depression, mixed anxiety and depression and fibromyalgia. It is as effective as TCAs and SSRIs and has demonstrated efficacy in treating severe, major depression.29 It is initiated at doses of 100 mg twice daily and titrated to an effective range of 300–600 mg/day. Due to its short half-life, it requires twice-daily dosing, although some clinicians may administer most, if not all, of the total daily dose at bedtime to utilize its sedating qualities.Somnolence, dry mouth, nausea, dizziness, and constipation are the most common adverse events.17 Others include headache, weakness, lightheadedness, blurred vision, confusion, and abnormal vision consisting of “vapor trails” in the visual field. It produces no more sexual dysfunction than placebo and less dizziness than its chemical cousin, trazodone. Nefazodone is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P4503A4, capable of elevating serum levels of a number of medications (see TABLE 7). Of particular concern are the benzodiazepines, alprazolam and triazolam, which should have their doses reduced by 50% and 75%, respectively, if nefazodone is added to the regimen. Concurrent administration of astemizole and cisapride are considered relative contraindications, since high serum levels of these drugs can lead to cardiac problems and possible death. The concurrent administration of MAOIs is also contraindicated by the manufacturer, who advises a 7-day washout period for nefazodone before starting an MAOI, and a 14-day washout of the MAOI before starting nefazodone.
Posted by Noa on March 15, 2001, at 7:36:34
In reply to Re: serzone side effects, posted by jb on March 13, 2001, at 15:24:45
> > It is initiated at doses of 100 mg twice daily
FYI---Although this is the manufacturer's suggestion, I have read that many pdocs like to start it at 50 or less. My pdoc started me on 25, and titrated up gradually.
This is the end of the thread.
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