I would caution anyone taking an SSRI (such as Prozac, Zoloft, etc) not to try drinking for a while, if at all. While people do differ (as I’ve found out), some people can have incredibly violent reactions to the mix of SSRIs and alcohol. A friend of mine in high school stupidly took her prozac one night with some hard liquor. She ended up having her stomach pumped, and as I hear it had that not happened, she’d have been dead five minutes later.
My suggestion to you, Phil, beyond the customary “talk to your doctor about it” is to get a prescribed sleeping aid. My father’s on a variety of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety etc. drugs and among them are an aid for his sleep and something to help him see (he gets fuzzy vision from one of the drugs).
It sucks donkey dick, but it’s better than (in his case) being suicidal.
On a somewhat-related note, Phil, has your intake of carbohydrates increased substantially in the past few weeks/months? This was a problem for my father, who had to quit eating pasta/rice every night because he finally figured out that was one thing that kept him so awake and gave him such awful nightmares (I talk about his icky father. He lived it).
Now we just have to get him to stop eating half a gallon of ice cream before he goes to bed:)
[sub]And to think when I clicked on this thread I thought it’d be about lack of sexual desire, which is one of the more complained-about results of taking Prozac . . . [/sub]
Having been on Prozac for years (and Paxil for a few months, I switched back to Prozac since Paxil did NOTHING for my depression) I find the dreams are occasionally disturbing, but not a problem. Mainly because I’ve been able to relate the disturbing dreams to whatever is bothering me during the day.
MY problem with the Prozac (and the Paxil) is the sexual side effects. My libido is non-existant on these pills, but fortunately, spouse is VERY supportive. He’s told me “I’d rather have you happy and unsexed than depressed but horny.” We’re dealing with this the best way we can.
Meanwhile, hang in there and keep trying. Better Living Through Chemistry will win in the end!
My shrink had me on another anti-depressant that I took at bedtime because it helped me sleep. Used that for a couple years and it started to not work so I changed over to another, then that prescription ran out and the only things keeping me awake at nights are my dogs.
I am on Celexa now, after switching from Paxil, and UI definitely have the dream thing too. They are not terribly disturbing, but just much more realistic and clear than they used to be. They usually occur when go back to sleep after resetting the alarm.
The side effect that pisses me off is the forgetfulness. I guess in easing the obsessiveness, these meds also ease my grasp on useful things like calculating in my head and the words for things. Lately I’ve been using a similar, but the wrong word for things. I used to be able to “feel” the right word and come out with it but that takes a lot more effort with these meds.
And lower libido is fine; helps with that whole celibacy thing.
My brain was like a sieve before the meds. It’s worse now. The dreams are no problem. They were long and boring and about the same stuff before and after.
I have been taking Zoloft since 1996. It has been pretty good to me. The first couple of weeks I get amazingly jumpy and need to run around alot and stay up late and don’t eat. Two weeks later I’m back to normal but in a much better mood. The only side effect is the sexual side effect.
I have been off Zoloft for about two weeks now. I decided to see what life was like on the other side and also wanted to make sure I could quit (no, Zoloft is not considered to be addictive AFAIK but who really knows?). I am going to have to go back soon. I am getting increasingly touchy about little stuff and things around our house are starting to break.
I was interested in seeing if anyone else has had this side effect: when I come off Zoloft (I do it every once in awhile) I get hyper-sexual. I don’t act inappropirately, but the stuff that runs through my mind - whew! I make myself blush! Going back on the Zoloft knocks it down a notch and eventually I am back to what I guess is normal. The thing is I don’t remember being this was before Zoloft.
Other than that, I have been very lucky that I have tolerated it pretty well. Sorry for turning your thread into a IMHO topic! I sincerely hope you find a drug that works for you, pld!
I’m on Serzone, a wonderful antidepressant that also has a sedating effect. It also has minimal effect on my libido. Mostly, it’s used by people with anxiety problems as well as depression.
I’m also on Depakote, a mood stabilizer, for symptoms of bipolar disorder. Between the two, I usually do OK.
I have noticed vivid dreams, although they’re rather pleasant. I’ve also noticed a tendency to want to eat less, but I think that’s a symptomatic thing rather than an effect of the drugs.
I used to take Zoloft, and the only problem I had with it (besides the price) was that it didn’t help my depression.
They gave me Trazodone a long time ago, to take at night for chronic pain that kept me from sleeping. I didn’t know it was for anxiety also. It didn’t do anything for the anxiety, though.
I take Paxil, and have hypersomnia – I want to nap all of the time. But, I had been taking Pax for a really, really long time before the hypersomnia started. Who knows. Paxil does help a lot though. I don’t obsess and freak so much and don’t want to crawl into tiny spaces anymore.
But I’ve always had the crazy, disturbing dreams, before I started taking any kind of medicines, since before my teen years! At least you guys know your mind has an outside reason for producing this stuff… besides just being really weird. My mom and grandmother had the same thing, so I think it runs in the family.
I take Wellbutrin/Zyban. I’m a really happy smoker now for anyone who’s wondering.
Sexual side effects occur far less with Wellbutrin, the complaint I have heard from anyone taking it is that is had made them hyperactive insomniacs. This will happen if you take your dose late in the day so my rule is to take my last dose at 4:30pm except for today. I was really busy and lost track of the time, I think it was 6:15 and now it’s 12:25 am and I am just wired. Perhaps that has more to do with having a really shitty day at work than my medication.
At least I didn’t act on the urge to smack my co-worker upside her fucking head when she flipped out and started spouting nonsense.
But that’s a subject better suited for it’s own thread.
I initially started on Wellbutrin, but that made me too hyper and didn’t calm the anxiety. Paxil has been terrific for me - very slight sexual side effects (and I’m not even sure about those - I’m not getting any younger, after all), maybe an oochlet of weight gain (I’m not sure about that, either - since I’m not getting any younger, after all ;)).
Keep trying. Having to adjust them is just part of the process.
I guess I should consider myself one of the lucky ones- I’ve been taking Zoloft for about 4 or 5 years and had nary a problem. I’ve heard, though, that with some people it can change their personality and stuff. I never had that happen, it just evened out my moods, and, more importantly, I haven’t been suicidal since I’ve been on it. I take 100 mg. once a day, and for a short while, I increased it to 150 mg once a day- I did notice very vivid, very strange dreams while taking the increased dose.
pl, I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older, caffeine has really started to bother me. If I drink, say, a 20 oz. bottle of Cherry Coke anytime after about 5 pm, it keeps me awake that night. If I happen to drink any caffeine during the day, I make sure that I drink plenty of water the rest of the day, to flush my system (and just 'cause it’s good for you). Have you tried limiting caffeine intake? Another thing that has helped me get to sleep quicker is to soak in a hot bath right before bed. It relaxes the muscles and just feels good.
I’m going to recommend a CD to you, I tell everyone about it because it’s wonderful. It’s called “Deep Peace”, by Bill Douglas featuring the Ars Nova Singers, on the Hearts of Space label. This is some of the most beautiful, relaxing music I’ve ever heard. Some of it is choral music,and there are a couple of instrumentals- don’t know if you’re into that kind of music but it’s worth a shot. I have found that if I listen to a particular tape or CD as I’m falling asleep, and listen to it every night for a while, I become “conditioned” to hearing that music as I’m falling asleep, and it helps me relax because it’s something I’m used to. You might try listening to the same thing every night- I also found that when I tried to switch to something different, I would pay too much attention to the music and have trouble getting to sleep!
