Posted by Novelagent on March 31, 2012, at 7:22:39
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal nightmares: REM-blocker drug?, posted by mellow on March 30, 2012, at 16:51:53
I appreciate these last 2 posts, but given my only symptom is the nightmares, I don't feel it's necessary to play compounding pharmacy with the capsules, or take Prozac, or try an antipsychotic for the edge (an antipsychotic rather than plain old klonopin?) : )I actually take Invega Sustenna, and like Risperdal, it doesn't do anything for any edge... Oh well. But prazosin sounds effective, so, why not just nip it in the bud with that? : )
Any ideas on how long the nightmares might last, so I have a sense of how long I'll be on prazosin? My doc is waiting to switch me from Dexedrine spansules to Vyvanse after the Effexor is switched off, so I hope the process doesn't take a month or something...
She has a habit of also dragging her feet and "planning for later" when it comes time to actually switch my meds. She likes the idea of sitting on an idea for weeks after I first ask for a switch, and then by that time, some other med has to take priority first, like in this case.
> If you need to calm down the dreams some SSRI's are known to repress REM sleep. But eventually you will have to taper that drug. I work at a sleep disorder clinic and many pt's on SSRI's get very little REM. Part of the discontinuation syndrome with AD's is that your body "rebounds" on dream sleep once the drugs are taken away. The physcian at my clinic says the body figures out it can dream again and kind of tries to make up for lost time.
>
> My Celexa withdrawal was terrible. I would leap out bed screaming several times a night. My dreams were incredibly intense. It didnt even feel like sleep. You could try the prozac trick as others have suggested. The half life is longer than most AD's and it might slowly ease you back into a normal sleep architecture.
>
> Have you considered low dose risperdal or seroquel just to take the edge off for a few nights rest?
>
> mellow
poster:Novelagent
thread:1014506
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120328/msgs/1014632.html