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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Amanda on July 23, 1999, at 14:52:49
I have been on 20mg. of celexa for over 2 months. It has worked great for me - not as sedating as serzone. However, one major side effect is insomnia. I can fall asleep okay and two hours later I'm wide awake. I take
25-50mg of trazodone for sleep. I hate being on two different kinds of medications and I hate not getting regular sleep. I tried going off celexa cold turkey - my sleep came back, but so did my depression. I want to get off these pills. I went to see a natural path yesterday to maybe find a natural route of taking medicin and he perscribed me 60mg of 5htp and 600mg of St. John's Wort. He told me that it's a bad idea to go off ssri's cold turkey - It's hard on your body and your depression will feel worse than ever.
He told me to wean off the celexa by cutting it in half ( 10mg.)along with the 5htp and St. John's Wort.
Has anyone had success with this?
Does anyone know if it is safe to take Celexa, Trazodone, 5htp and St. John's Wort together?
Also, is 5htp all natural and better for you than an ssri medication?Thank - you : )
Posted by JohnL on July 24, 1999, at 8:18:23
In reply to Celexa, Trazodone and 5htp, posted by Amanda on July 23, 1999, at 14:52:49
Amanda, good questions. First,why change? You're lucky something works. Two suggestions: 1)Keep Celexa, but up the dose of Trazodone, stay with what's working. 2)Keep Celexa, but try Remeron 7.5 to 15mg nightly or every other night. Best sleep of your life.
I know how you feel wanting to get off pills. But they saved you, right? It's not a character flaw. At least we have choices. Decades ago there were known. You'ld be surprised what's in your neighbor's medicine cabinet. We're so fortunate to have medicines that deal with various illnesses and give us the opportunity for a better quality of life.
If you are determined to go the alternative route, your doc's advice sounds good. Serotonin syndrome is the danger to be aware of (emergency room kind of stuff), but slow and low should be OK. SAMe might be in your arsenal too, though it is pricey.
You'll only know if the alternative route is better than SSRIs by trying. It's different with everyone. But if it doesn't work, you might be sorry you ever stopped Celexa.
Try upping the Trazodone. If still no sleep, drop the Trazodone and add Remeron. There's no hurry to go the alternative route. Get some good sleep and think about it for a few months. Stay well and sleep well. JohnL.
This is the end of the thread.
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