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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 Tracy U on October 15, 2004, at 12:49:00
I am trying to get some feedback.
I have taken Effexor XR for almost 3 years now, 225mg, and just recently increased it myself..to 300.
I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy, and 10 days post op, my military husband leaves me and our three boys for duty.
The oldest one is 19, mentally handicapped, so 4 mentally and my youngest one has Tourette's syndrome.
SO, I have been dealing with a lot and trying to survive...
I can't sleep, that's not new, I have had insomnia for years, post traumatic stress from being sexually abused by my dad for years.
Anyway, I got ambien, and read that it can interact with the effexor, but it didn't say how.
I tried a 10 mg, but it didn't help much, and I want to know if anyone has tried 20mg?? If anyone has had success with this,or what?
I am desperate to get sleep, and relieve some of this stress and depression. Anyone have advice/feedback or am I just doomed to get worse and worse until the world swallows me??
Tracy
Posted by partlycloudy on October 15, 2004, at 12:58:41
In reply to Ambien with Effexor XR???, posted by Tracy U on October 15, 2004, at 12:49:00
Hi, I take 225mg of effexor and my p-doc put me on Ambien for insomnia. I take either 5 or 10mgs depending on how bad the day was and how worked up I've become. No interactions that I can feel, maybe ask your pharmacist?
Posted by King Vultan on October 15, 2004, at 16:54:05
In reply to Ambien with Effexor XR???, posted by Tracy U on October 15, 2004, at 12:49:00
> I am trying to get some feedback.
> I have taken Effexor XR for almost 3 years now, 225mg, and just recently increased it myself..to 300.
> I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy, and 10 days post op, my military husband leaves me and our three boys for duty.
> The oldest one is 19, mentally handicapped, so 4 mentally and my youngest one has Tourette's syndrome.
> SO, I have been dealing with a lot and trying to survive...
> I can't sleep, that's not new, I have had insomnia for years, post traumatic stress from being sexually abused by my dad for years.
> Anyway, I got ambien, and read that it can interact with the effexor, but it didn't say how.
> I tried a 10 mg, but it didn't help much, and I want to know if anyone has tried 20mg?? If anyone has had success with this,or what?
> I am desperate to get sleep, and relieve some of this stress and depression. Anyone have advice/feedback or am I just doomed to get worse and worse until the world swallows me??
> Tracy
Usually 5 or 10 mg is what people take, and if 10 mg doesn't work, it's best to try something else. I would suggest considering a sedating antidepressant that could be taken every night, and probably the best one to try first is trazodone. Beyond that, you might also consider a sedating tricyclic such as doxepin or Surmontil, perhaps even nortriptyline. I hesitate to recommend amitriptyline because it is so anticholinergic, not that the other tricyclics I mentioned can't have these effects (dry mouth, constipation, etc.) as well.Ambien is a very safe and innocuous med but is not a true benzodiazepine and is not as powerful as a high powered benzo sleep aid such as Halcion/triazolam or Restoril/temazepam. The problem with the true benzos is that they should probably only be used three or four times a week to avoid dependence and tolerance issues. So they are okay for occasional use, but if you have a chronic insomnia problem, you have to find something else for the nights you can't take the benzo. This is the situation I am in, and I have to fill in with OTC sleep meds such as diphenhydramine (plain Benadryl, Simply Sleep) or Unisom tablets (doxylamine succinate).
Todd
Posted by psychosage on October 15, 2004, at 21:51:00
In reply to Ambien with Effexor XR???, posted by Tracy U on October 15, 2004, at 12:49:00
> I am trying to get some feedback.
> I have taken Effexor XR for almost 3 years now, 225mg, and just recently increased it myself..to 300.
> I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy, and 10 days post op, my military husband leaves me and our three boys for duty.
> The oldest one is 19, mentally handicapped, so 4 mentally and my youngest one has Tourette's syndrome.
> SO, I have been dealing with a lot and trying to survive...
> I can't sleep, that's not new, I have had insomnia for years, post traumatic stress from being sexually abused by my dad for years.
> Anyway, I got ambien, and read that it can interact with the effexor, but it didn't say how.
> I tried a 10 mg, but it didn't help much, and I want to know if anyone has tried 20mg?? If anyone has had success with this,or what?
> I am desperate to get sleep, and relieve some of this stress and depression. Anyone have advice/feedback or am I just doomed to get worse and worse until the world swallows me??
> TracyWhy are you increasing the dosage yourself? Sometimes going too high is worse. There is a middle ground that is therapeutic usually and too low is just cause for side effects and nothing else while too high can cause all sorts of unintended troubles.
I am prescribed both but not by the same doctor.
My primary doctor thinks my thyroid causes my insomnia.
I have has no adverse reactions from being on both, but I have come across the same moderate warning about there being an interaction between the two.
I am surprised that you can not sleep on Effexor. It sedates me during parts of the day.
What else do you take?
Do you have help? Friends? Family? Counseling?
Maybe now is the time for some support if you don't have any, whether is be professional or other women in your situation.
You are allowed to speak up about this even though you are expected to hold down the fort during these times.
Good luck and keep asking questions.
Posted by King Vultan on October 16, 2004, at 12:44:56
In reply to Re: Ambien with Effexor XR??? » Tracy U, posted by psychosage on October 15, 2004, at 21:51:00
>
> I am surprised that you can not sleep on Effexor. It sedates me during parts of the day.
>Effexor would also sedate me during the daytime, particularly right after taking it, but it also caused the worst insomnia I have experienced other than on MAOIs. However, I mostly took the regular version twice a day. If I had taken the XR version at bedtime, it might have made me sleepy enough for a long enough period of time to cut down on the insomnia. The regular version taken at bedtime would knock me out for a few hours, but then I would be wide awake.
Todd
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