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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Rocket Jackson on May 3, 2003, at 0:36:48
Just curious if any of you have any thoughts or experiences in regards to the effectiveness of Neurontin vs. an SSRI (particularly Zoloft) in the treatment of Social Anxiety. In particular, do both essentially make you "feel" the same? If the same results in general have been experienced, I'd much rather go with the Neurontin as compared to an SSRI.
I had a short trial with Neurontin last summer for my SP, but I didn't seem to have much luck with it. However, I feel I may not have given it enough time to take effect. For the most part it seemed to just make me really tired and it actually dried my eyes out quite a bit, which I thought was an interesting side effect. But now I'm thinking that adding something Provigil and giving the Neurontin a good few months to take effect might well be worth it. I'd much rather go with Neurontin than risk the side effects from an SSRI. Any thoughts?
Rocket
Posted by bark2323 on May 4, 2003, at 8:50:01
In reply to Neurontin vs. Zoloft for SP, posted by Rocket Jackson on May 3, 2003, at 0:36:48
I think neurontin would be a better choice, at least from my experience. I was on 1800mg a day and the sedation went away pretty quick, though provigil is a good idea if it doesnt, and i find provigil to actually be pretty good in regards to sociability. At first I felt a bit dumb with the neurontin, but that went away, and I found it less emotionally constricting than the SSRIs Ive been on, though zoloft was my first so I dont really remember if that one was an exception or not. I dont really know how long neurontin needs to take effect for SP (I wasnt on it for that, just a beneficial side effect), or what dose for that matter; how long were you on it last time?
matt> Just curious if any of you have any thoughts or experiences in regards to the effectiveness of Neurontin vs. an SSRI (particularly Zoloft) in the treatment of Social Anxiety. In particular, do both essentially make you "feel" the same? If the same results in general have been experienced, I'd much rather go with the Neurontin as compared to an SSRI.
>
> I had a short trial with Neurontin last summer for my SP, but I didn't seem to have much luck with it. However, I feel I may not have given it enough time to take effect. For the most part it seemed to just make me really tired and it actually dried my eyes out quite a bit, which I thought was an interesting side effect. But now I'm thinking that adding something Provigil and giving the Neurontin a good few months to take effect might well be worth it. I'd much rather go with Neurontin than risk the side effects from an SSRI. Any thoughts?
>
> Rocket
Posted by Rocket Jackson on May 4, 2003, at 17:58:11
In reply to Re: Neurontin vs. Zoloft for SP, posted by bark2323 on May 4, 2003, at 8:50:01
> I think neurontin would be a better choice, at least from my experience. I was on 1800mg a day and the sedation went away pretty quick, though provigil is a good idea if it doesnt, and i find provigil to actually be pretty good in regards to sociability. At first I felt a bit dumb with the neurontin, but that went away, and I found it less emotionally constricting than the SSRIs Ive been on, though zoloft was my first so I dont really remember if that one was an exception or not. I dont really know how long neurontin needs to take effect for SP (I wasnt on it for that, just a beneficial side effect), or what dose for that matter; how long were you on it last time?
> matt
>Hi Matt,
Thanks for the response. Your experiences do provide some optimism with this possible regimen.
I was on Neurontin (about 900mg tid for a total of 2700mg/day) for probably about three weeks straight before giving up on it. I think I may need to tinker with the dose a bit and definitely give it a longer trial. And adding the Provigil would probably be a big help. Then I could continue to use the Klonopin on strictly a prn basis. I'm just very reluctant to try an SSRI, mainly due to the sexual side effects, sedation, and the apathy/lack of motivation that many speak of with prolonged use. For some reason the SSRIs just scare me, and I would feel much more comfortable with a relatively "cleaner" med like Neurontin.
Thanks again for the input!
Rocket
Posted by Tepiaca on May 5, 2003, at 2:21:41
In reply to Re: Neurontin vs. Zoloft for SP, posted by bark2323 on May 4, 2003, at 8:50:01
I asked my doctor and he says , that its only used for epileptics , is he correct??
I think he is wrong
is he?
Posted by bark2323 on May 5, 2003, at 8:54:43
In reply to Re: Neurontin vs. Zoloft for SP » bark2323, posted by Rocket Jackson on May 4, 2003, at 17:58:11
maybe you could try a lower dose of neurontin, but thats just my intuition. And it seems you took it right around that amount of time that may/may not have been long enough, but I tend to think maybe it was. As for the dose, seems theres a point where the sedation and all around 'numbness'(for me)came into play when I got to higher doses, while still leaving the anxiolytic component there at low-mid range doses. You mention klonopin, and I didnt see it in your first post so I dont know your reasons for not wanting to take it regularly or how it effects you, but I found that to be better than neurontin for the anxiety component of SP, or at least much more selective for it. But if you feel you dont want to take it regularly, neurontin might be a good choice.
Oh and as for the the question posed by tepiaca (I probably have that spelled wrong, but dont want to go back to see and lose this, so Im sorry if I do (asa you can tell this whole thing about actually posting here is new to me)) it is an anticonvulsant, but so are a lot of meds used in psychiatry, and I believe there are anecdotal reports of it being effective in SP and anxiety related disorders in general.
Hope that helps
matt
Posted by cybercafe on May 5, 2003, at 13:00:59
In reply to is neurotin a medicie for SP????, posted by Tepiaca on May 5, 2003, at 2:21:41
> I asked my doctor and he says , that its only used for epileptics , is he correct??
> I think he is wrong
> is he?
>it has off label uses as well, anxiety being one of them
This is the end of the thread.
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