I am taking a generic form of Remeron, which has an unusual side effect. I take it before I go to sleep. Generally, I’m asleep quick enough that I’m not awake to notice. However, if I can’t sleep, about 45 minutes to an hour after I take it, I get these “surges” of energy that make me kick my left leg. The surges come about every 5 minutes. Once this cycle gets started, I absolutely won’t sleep unless I take a Xanax. This happens rarely, maybe once every week or two. If I concentrate, I can consciously stop my left leg from shaking during a surge, but it feels really weird, like a rush of energy, and feels better when released through my kicking left leg.
Anyone know what causes this? For the record, I think the medication helps my depression and anxiety. I think I’m going to start taking it mornings instead so that it won’t keep me up at night.
As a little background, the first anti-depressant I took was Lexipro, to which I reacted badly. I’d get flushes after I took it, where I physically felt warm. The drug made me feel like I was on mild Ecstasy a few times, and gave me sexual side effects. The drug did not work, so that’s when my doctor switched me to Remeron. I’ve been taking it for 6 months. The leg kick started about 3 or 4 months ago.
Just looked it up on drugs.com . . . it lists “mild tremor” as a possible side effect. I’ll call my doctor. Just curious if any of you have had this side effect as well, and what you did about it.
Also . . . all anti-depressants DO NOT recommend that you stop taking it altogether. When you do eventually stop, does the doctor generally ween you off?
IANAD, but yeah, the electric shocks are a normal side effect of some antidepressants.
I was on Paxil for months, and for about an hour after I went to bed, I had the same thing happen to me as you. I changed the medication time from the mornings, nights, afternoons and had the same problems.
I am not a doctor, so you better be calling yours as soon as possible to ask about this.
However, your description does sound like either onset of Tardive dyskinesia (unlikely, unless you’re taking a dopamine antagonist) or Restless leg syndrome which is actually listed as a possible side effect of Mirtazapine. I seriously recommend talking to your doctor about this.
Yes. If you’re switching to another drug, you might simultaneously be “weaned” onto the next, so there is no moment when you are fully unmedicated.
As to your main question, I’ve not heard of the leg kick side effect. The “shock” sensation cited by dmatsch is often experienced during the withdrawal phase of discontinuation. (Or by a user who skips a day or two.) I guess it might be a side effect during use too, according to dmatsch’s experience.
(For the record, as though it weren’t already clear, IANAD.)
P.S. – Have you considered Restless Leg Syndrome? That could be a side effect of antidepressants, for all I know.
Wellbutrin is reputed to be less likely to cause sexual side effects. Also, not all anti-depressants affect everyone equally. Even some of the medications that are reported to have sexual side effects might not have them for you. Each individual has quirky reactions to each drug that are difficult to predict. Some people end up trying a number of drugs before settling on one with the most acceptable balance of effectiveness and side effects.
Your symptoms are not unusual for psychoactive medications (including anti-depressants). Talk to your doctor about them. You probably have some alternatives.
Yes, absolutely, your prescribing doctor will give you specific instructions regarding the cessation of a particular medication. Don’t even think about doing it yourself; trust me, you’ll regret it. The symptoms of ceasing medication without supervision can range from annoying to truly horrifying.
All the anti-depressants I’ve heard of have some sexual side effects. Your doctor should tell you about these before you start on a medication. If he or she doesn’t, get another doctor. I am entirely serious about this; the first time I was on ADs (Nardil) my doctor didn’t tell me. I freaked out; wouldn’t you? (especially if you were a healthy young male). This turned out to be a sign of his unreliability and general cluelessness.
I now take Effexor, whose sexual side-effects are minimal.
I HATE the electric shocks. AND the leg kicking. Personally, I have Restless Leg Syndrome. I didn’t have it until I started taking Effexor. I am now treating it with Requip. I also take Cymbalta for depression, with no sexual side effects. If you don’t like the meds that you are on, keep looking. You’ll find the right one for you.
I talked to Doc yesterday . . . I’m going to try weaning myself off (half-pill for a week, then half-pill every other day for another week). If my anxiety returns in a noticable way, I’ll try something new.
The meds were SOOOO helpful, I was able to make rational decisions about life changes that before I was too bogged down with negative emotions to deal with. I’m hoping that now I’ll be happier by virtue of the effects of my decisions and won’t have to take meds any more. We’ll see . . .
Many antidepressants are well-known as aggravating Restless Legs Syndrome / Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (RLS / PLMD). I believe any of the SSRS such as Prozac can be culprits, as well as some others. I don’t know what category Remeron is in but it sounds an awful lot like it’s triggered a latent case of RLS/PLMD.
For more info, go to: www.rlshelp.org www.rls.org http://members.cox.net/gunzel/rls.html (Jill Gunzel, the owner of that site, is well known for providing coping strategies for RLS that can help you avoid / minimize the need for medications to help with RLS).
If you need the antidepressant, and it’s the best preparation for your needs (sounds like you’ve tried others and this one is working pretty well) there are a number of pharmaceutical aids, as well as the RLS Rebel’s coping strategies (Jill’s “nom de guerre” is “The RLS Rebel”). It would suck to have to take medication to combat the side effects of the other medication, but that may be the best thing in your situation.
I never got restless leg syndrome when I was on SSRI’s, but I noticed that Paxil in particular made me somewhat jittery. It was almost like having too much caffeine; I’d hold up my hand and it would be trembling.
Paxil and Celexa both gave me sexual side effects. Lexapro (which, I believe the doctor said, was the effective half of the isomer of Celexa…also a nice new patent) had far fewer side effects in general. The tremors were gone, and it cut the sexual side effects way down. Honestly, though, it could have been that way because the doctor told me it should be. Pesky placebo effect, I guess.
I went from Paxil to Celexa to Lexapro as well. I don’t have the leg deal but it’s definitely something that they regularly ask about during med checks, so it must not be unusual.
