fluvoxamine & insomnia

[happiness82]

Hello,

My doc recently increased me from 50 to 100 and been suffering from bad insomnia since.

ANyone have any experience with this?

I fee like I should be on fluvoxetine (for my anxiety) instead as fluvoxamine is more for OCD, which I don't believe I have a very severe form of

Anyone have any good experiences with SSRI's? specifically fluvoxetine working for anxiety?

Or any other?

I do understand every case is different, but would be nice to hear people's stories with SSRI medication

cheers

[gypsylee]

Hey there,

I've been on about 3 different SSRIs and Effexor, which is very similar. Yep, the insomnia is completely normal because they all intensify the anxiety before helping it.

Never been on Fluvoxamine but been on Fluoxetine on and off for about 20 years (currently on just 20mg). It was the first anti-depressant that worked for me, after trying some of the older ones. I think it works on anxiety in an indirect way.. It helped a lot with the depression and very low self-esteem - which made me much more sociable and outgoing - which then helped the anxiety. Lexapro (which I've been on) is apparently better for anxiety, but the difference between all the SSRIs is much of a muchness in my experience. I've been on Zoloft as well for quite a while and that helped in the same way.

So yeah, I've had some success with the SSRIs and my brother did too (though he switched to Effexor because of the sexual side-effects). They really do take quite a while to kick in though and as I say, make the anxiety worse initially.

Good luck!
Gypsy x

[happiness82]

Right I am familiar with the insomnia.

I still feel I should be on fluoexitine. My problem is more social anxiety and a little depression.

Hoping to meet my doc this week.

A while to kick in?

LIke how long?
Its been a month.
ANother 2-3 months?

I do understand everyone is different.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help.

[gypsylee]

In my experience 3-6 weeks.

[happiness82]

Thanks Gypsy :)

[gypsylee]

No worries :)

It can be really torturous waiting for those things to kick in and I need benzos (have even been on anti-psychotics) to help get me through it. They aren't predictable like a benzo but they do work.. Sometimes I think it's because they make the anxiety worse and show you just how bad it can get lol. But no, the first time the Prozac (fluoxetine) kicked in it was pretty amazing.

[happiness82]

Yea spoke to my doc.

trying out 50 in morning and 50 at night of fluvox for a few days.

Seeing him early next week where I will bring up switching perhaps to fluoexitne.

Any tips for getting back to sleep at the moment without pills?

[gypsylee]

Any tips for getting back to sleep at the moment without pills?

Not really haha. I've been having bad insomnia lately as well and it gets to the point I need to be sedated. Like last night I was so on edge from stress and lack of sleep I took a few Mogadon (medium acting benzos). Mind you, I'm dealing with a situation that'd send anyone crazy let alone someone with anxiety disorder.

I try to avoid caffeine, do exercise, play computer games, listen to audiobooks and guided meditations, do deep breathing exercises, take supplements, write down positive things in my life, practice acceptance and mindfulness etc etc. But sometimes I am THAT wired I just don't have the right chemicals in my brain to sleep and I need help from meds.

[happiness82]

Thanks for the tips.

Good luck :)

[Fashoom]

Hi, I've been on and off Luvox for many years, it's the best SSRI for my anxiety. I personally find it sedating. And I've seen a lot of corroboration of that. Of course all of our bodies are different and there are plenty of reports of insomnia too. I'm not sure what the half-life is but I believe you could take your full 100mg dose in the morning and get the full therapeutic effect. I think it's worth asking your doctor about that if you're still suffering insomnia after the 50-50 split.

As for the OCD focus of Luvox, a couple of psychiatrists have verified to me that is just how the drug is marketed. All SSRI's are a bit different (and a bit the same), but there's nothing about Luvox that makes it special for OCD. It's very effective for treating anxiety in general, but like w/ all meds, results are individual.

[happiness82]

Thank you Fashoom for your experiences with Luvox.

[Fashoom]

you're welcome happi. let us know how you do.

[panic_downunder]

Hello,

My doc recently increased me from 50 to 100 and been suffering from bad insomnia since.

ANyone have any experience with this?

All the SSRIs can trigger insomnia, especially at the beginning, because of the increase in serotonin activity. After a few weeks the brain adjusts by reducing serotonin synthesis and expression and the insomnia may then ease, but it can be an ongoing issue for some.

The standard treatment is small doses of trazodone in the immediate-release formulation (Desyrel®). Trazodone is a very sedating, short half-life antidepressant which at dosed below about 200mg functions only as an antihistamine. Typical doses for insomnia are 25-75mg. It becomes less sedating as the dose increases so it is usually counterproductive to take higher doses. Unlike other sleeping meds, there is usually no sedation 'hangover' the next morning. It may also lessen some of the other common SSRI side-effects.

As an alternative you could try the over-the-counter antihistamine Benadryl® as it is also fairly sedating to some degree, but it not as strong as trazodone.