Posted by danf on June 14, 2000, at 16:10:26
This is a brief record of how celexia affected me on startup.
Celexia 20mg /day, a journal
NO benzodiazapinesZoloft 3 wks, 1st wk 25mg /day, 2nd & 3rd wks 50mg /day
Zoloft /seratoin start up side effects, flushes, mild diarrhea, poor appetite, hypertensive bursts (BP 200/120, HR 120 range), resting HR 100, BP 160/100, tremour,
myoclonic muscle jerks, sustained clonus, L leg & arm weakness ( have no idea why left & right side are different ), tripped a few times, unable to push up from lying to sitting with L arm, minimal nausea, increased gag, retch at a minutes notice, lethargic, delayed orgasm, hand writing is jerky & irregular.Exercise daily ( brisk walking 2 miles ) has no specific effect
I assume the flushes are "panic" type waves. Flushes almost continous, L sided, prickly, electric, radiate from L chest to L foot, very annoying.
wk 4
Taper to stop Zoloft 50mg /day to 25mg /day 4 days, 12.5mg 4 daysAdd Inderal 10-20mg 3 x ( Q 8hrs ) /day for betablocker catecolamine effects /tremour & BP control.
Inderal 10mg 1 Q8 does not control BP /HR. Takes 20-30mg Q6. Increase in "nerves" shakiness occurs at about 5 hrs. Takes about 3 days to get to 20mg Q6 as pretty good control. This gives quiet resting HR 85 & BP of 140 /85.Week 4, wk 1 of Celexia 20 mg starting on Monday
a bitch this week, still better than previous week (week 3 of Zoloft 50mg).still have Zoloft /seratoin start up side effects, flushes, mild diarrhea, poor appetite, hypertensive bursts (BP 200/120, HR 120 range), resting HR 100, BP 160/100, tremour,
myoclonic muscle jerks, sustained clonus, L leg & arm weakness, tripped a few times, unable to push up from lying to sitting with L arm, nausea, increased gag, retch at a minutes notice, lethargic.mental clear but poor ability to focus attention, occ racing thought pattern. Able to read fine. Eating /food in stomach triggers flushes, increases HR &BP for about 1 1/2hr.
Breathing jerky, have to focus to get smooth even deep breaths.
tremour increases with focus of attention as does heart rate & bp. significant periods without tremour (several hrs ) after taking Inderal.
Flushes (10hr or more per hr, or almost continous) unilateral, left side, radiates from trunk to left leg, electric & prickly in nature, sweating increased on L side. sweats off & on. heat intolerance.
Sleep fair, about 3-4 hr night.
At about day 3-4 character of flushes begins to change from unilateral left sided to trunkal. anterior chest wall & left shoulder arm. at apex of flush, chest feels tight, no pain. Start to change from electric to warm /cold.
No days of cold /clear lucidity. Able to function OK with normal activity driving etc.
Week 5 Wk 2 of Celexia 20mg
Better. Fewer flushes, not as intense. Character & pattern different. Mainly trunkal & more symmetrical, some into right leg as well. Now more of a heat feeling. Room air temp change triggers flushes. By end of week have completly changed to a sunburn feeling of skin. Upper back /posterior shoulders, dorsum of both hands & forearms. about 1 per 2 hrs, lasts 5 10 min.
Focus better, much easier to hold focused attention.
Appetite better, retching /gagging stopped, some taste change noted, ( metallic or salty ? mild & not unplesant)
tremour better, BP & HR more stabile, Bursts in range of BP 160/100 & HR 110
muscle weakness much better, still some myoclonic jerks, more small twitches than jerks.
gradual progression & improvement through week.
Week 6 wk 3 of Celexia 20mg
monday
Sleeping evenly, 6hr night, wake feeling rested.Most of day mentally clear. Flushes Only 1 or 2 per hr. intensity very mild. only notice when resting quietly, otherwise minimal.
resting sitting bp 140/90 & hr 72, lying quiet > bp 120/70 & hr 62 (pretty much back to normal for me)
Fewer myoclonic twitches, no clonus. ( never got to this point on the zoloft )
appetite much better. no nausea. no gagging. muscle strength almost normal.
Tremour, better. Can write OK now, most of time. Still notice jitteriness at 6hr mark after Inderal, very little shake of hands visible.
Breathing smooth & even, no catches.
Wednesday
resting HR 72, no flushes by noon
mental cold clear, no fuzziness. Never ever got to this point while on the zoloft. Hands /fingers do as told without intense concentration.
Still have postprandial symptom exacerbation with increase in shakes & tremour, resting bp 136/79 & hr 100, no heat tolerance, copious sweating just walking outside during day. A lite lunch of chicken & potatoe salad shot the afternoon. Now this is pretty much what it was like on the zoloft after 6 months & after off as well. Guess this is due to catacolamines. there was no flushing associated with this, a short nap & no change. Mentally just a little dull, a little fuzzy. still note the "sunburn" feeling on the dorsum of the left hand from time to time.
poster:danf
thread:37298
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000610/msgs/37298.html