![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Amy Blue on May 3, 2001, at 10:02:48
Does anyone have experience or thoughts on Celexa/Serzone combo? I am having good results on Celexa for anxiety and depression. BUT I am having some trouble sleeping and no sex drive at all. Been on Celexa for 9 weeks.
Will it help if I add a low dose of Serzone, maybe 50 mgs at night? I would really like to stay on Celexa as it's the first A/D that's helped. But the sexual sides are very bothersome to me.
Any thoughts or suggestions GREATLY appreciated.
Blue
Posted by mm0883 on May 3, 2001, at 11:29:30
In reply to Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo, posted by Amy Blue on May 3, 2001, at 10:02:48
Hi
I have been on Celexa for a little over 2 years and it was a miracle for my anxiety and depression. I did initially experience problems sleeping which lasted approximately 2 1/2 months. My Dr. wrote a script for Restoril which I used. This helped tremendously. I was easily able to discontinue the restoril when the "activation" feelings from the celexa subsided. Celexa was great for my anxiety yet I definitely had this feeling of being energized.
Good luck
Marie
> Does anyone have experience or thoughts on Celexa/Serzone combo? I am having good results on Celexa for anxiety and depression. BUT I am having some trouble sleeping and no sex drive at all. Been on Celexa for 9 weeks.
>
> Will it help if I add a low dose of Serzone, maybe 50 mgs at night? I would really like to stay on Celexa as it's the first A/D that's helped. But the sexual sides are very bothersome to me.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions GREATLY appreciated.
>
> Blue
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 3, 2001, at 16:42:16
In reply to Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo, posted by Amy Blue on May 3, 2001, at 10:02:48
I think adding low-dose Wellbutrin would help with the sex drive more than Serzone--the last study done on it claimed that half of the participants benefited from the addition of Wellbutrin to an SSRI...I'll find that study for you.
Posted by Amy Blue on May 4, 2001, at 15:52:51
In reply to Re: Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo » Amy Blue, posted by SalArmy4me on May 3, 2001, at 16:42:16
Sal, my pdoc didnt' think Wellbutrin would be good for me. I am very anxious and neurotic and she thought it would make those symptoms worse. She said it tends to make most people more wired. I already have insomnia.
She actually wants me to take Serzone only. What do you think about THAT? For major depression and anxiety/panic disorder.
Already tried Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, Zoloft and Celexa. Can't take benzos due to addiction.
Amy> I think adding low-dose Wellbutrin would help with the sex drive more than Serzone--the last study done on it claimed that half of the participants benefited from the addition of Wellbutrin to an SSRI...I'll find that study for you.
Posted by Bill L on May 5, 2001, at 16:11:06
In reply to Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo, posted by Amy Blue on May 3, 2001, at 10:02:48
Since you are having good results from Celexa, I think you should stay on it. I know that for people that have both sexual side effects and sleep problems while on SSRI's, some docs will recommend Trazodone in addition to the SSRI. Serzone is sort of related to Trazodone so it sounds like a good strategy. Serzone should give you less day time sedation than Trazodone.
> Does anyone have experience or thoughts on Celexa/Serzone combo? I am having good results on Celexa for anxiety and depression. BUT I am having some trouble sleeping and no sex drive at all. Been on Celexa for 9 weeks.
>
> Will it help if I add a low dose of Serzone, maybe 50 mgs at night? I would really like to stay on Celexa as it's the first A/D that's helped. But the sexual sides are very bothersome to me.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions GREATLY appreciated.
>
> Blue
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 6, 2001, at 0:26:10
In reply to Re: Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo Sal, posted by Amy Blue on May 4, 2001, at 15:52:51
I think Serzone is worth a 6-week trial. My next suggestion would be mirtazapine.
Serzone is good because:
*No anticholinergic effects
*Few sexual side-effects
*Efficacy similar to SSRI's in many affective disorders and co-morbid disorders from anxiety to dysthymia, etc.
*Good for insomnia
*No cognitive side-effects
*Few significant drug-drug interactions
*Cheaper than SSRIs, depending on where you live
Posted by JohnL on May 6, 2001, at 5:31:00
In reply to Re: Help re: Celexa/Serzone Combo Sal » Amy Blue, posted by SalArmy4me on May 6, 2001, at 0:26:10
> I think Serzone is worth a 6-week trial. My next suggestion would be mirtazapine.
>
> Serzone is good because:
> *No anticholinergic effects
> *Few sexual side-effects
> *Efficacy similar to SSRI's in many affective disorders and co-morbid disorders from anxiety to dysthymia, etc.
> *Good for insomnia
> *No cognitive side-effects
> *Few significant drug-drug interactions
> *Cheaper than SSRIs, depending on where you liveJust wanted to comment that some of the above comments could be misleading as they are not completely true.
For example, though Serzone supposedly does not have anticholinergic effects ON PAPER, in the real world we hear frequently of people experiencing dry mouth and blurry vision with Serzone. Efficacy ON PAPER is similar to SSRIs. But in the real world, like here at psychobabble, we see more good results with SSRIs than with Serzone. If we made a list of disappointing trials on Serzone, and a list of disappointing trials of an SSRI, the Serzone disappointment list would be a lot longer than the SSRI list. My own doctor won't even prescribe Serzone any more because he found it to be not be very helpful with most patients who tried it. Sure, it looks good in theory on paper and in clinical trials, but real world results is what I like to see.Few sexual side effects, true. Good for insomnia, mostly true, but not always. There have been a couple cases where it created insomnia. No cognitive side effects, totally false. Most people who try Serzone report some version of foggy headedness. Few significant drug drug interactions, false. Due to its metabolism pathway, it interferes with the metabolism of quite a few other meds.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.