antidepressant use

Status
Not open for further replies.

mbg1977

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2016
Messages
29
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
01/2014
Country
us
State
ny
City
ny
does anyone use ssri or snri type antidepressant -prozac, lustral, cymbalta ...-
i feel these drugs aggravates my symptomps like leg shake.

did you experience smilar
 
May I ask why you are asking as you do not show as having ALS.

If you don't then your question is moot.
 
sorry, i have als. i filled there wrong. i will correct it. so sorry
 
My mother’s neurologist at our local ALS clinic said his favorite antidepressant for ALS patients was sertraline. Not sure why he said that, but that is what he said.
 
does anyone use ssri or snri type antidepressant -prozac, lustral, cymbalta ...-
i feel these drugs aggravates my symptomps like leg shake.

did you experience smilar

My PALS took them and didn't have a good experience. I believe they intensified his symptoms. As far as I can tell though, his reaction was atypical. Most pals seem to do fine on them. Or, at least I haven't seen many posts regarding adverse reactions or worsening of symptoms. I'm not an advocate of ssri's in general but for most PALS they seem to do more good than harm. That's just my personal observation.
 
I take SNRI Venlafaxine, AKA Effexor. Very good results.
I took SSRI Sertraline, AKA Zoloft for years. It worked OK.
Don't know if ALS makes a difference.
I do not have ALS.
 
Last edited:
I experienced an increase in wakefulness at night while on SSRIs (sertraline and celexa). I also started getting increased myoclonic jerks and auditory hallucinations when I finally did fall into a half sleep. SSRIs were definitely NOT for me! As it was something the doctor recommended to help me sleep, it was a gigantic failure.

I am currently trialing amitriptyline at a very low dose to see if that helps me sleep. So far so good.

I think it depends on why you're taking antidepressants. If it's for sleep, a vastly lower dose can be more effective than the so called "therapeutic" dose that is recommended by the manufacturer.

Note- I am upper motor MND, and my spasticity and reflexes were affected for sure. It may be different for those with LMN predominant or ALS.
 
SSRIs are known sleep disturbance/shakiness culprits, though paroxetine and sertraline are worth trying out of that group if the class helps you but those are issues.

Low-dose TCAs such as trazodone/amitriptyline/nortriptyline and mirtazapine are more often used to facilitate restful sleep.
 
Primary Care Physician prescribed Sertraline for hubby. He has been feeling what he calls "fuzzy". So today he didn't take one and today he no longer feels "fuzzy". I think he should probably give it more of a chance as the doctor did say that at first they might make him feel a bit "off" but that would go away.
 
I've taken Remeron (mirtazapine) since 2003. I only weighed 104 at the time. It packed on 30 pounds (over time). The two side effects I had/have are constipation and sleepiness. It did give me a very good sleep.

I actually forgot to put it in my pill box last week and missed 2-3 nights. I only slept a few hours on those nights.

Prior to that I had tried many antidepressants but couldn't tolerate them because they aggravated a heart arrhythmia. Remeron pulled me out of a depression and I was able to get my life back in 2003.

I'm still taking it.

Mayo Clinic recommended it.

It has a strong antihistimine properties which causes the drowsiness.

At low doses (15 mg) it is more sedating than higher doses (30-45 mg) It can be activating at 45 mg. I've been on a low dose because it helps with anxiety.
 
Steve took lexapro. It really helped him relax to sleep. He also took hydroxyzine pamoate, a sedating antihistamine at bedtime.
 
I do not have ALS (I am a friend of a PALS). During a period of significant sleep problems, my doctor prescribed one of an older class of antidepressants called trazodone (Desyrel). She said in her opinion, it doesn't work all that great as an antidepressant but is great for sleep.

She was right. It helped me sleep through the night. I did not have any of the symptoms/side effects of the SSRIs.
 
I take zoloft,aka sertraline, and clonazapem. I take them at night a half hour before bed. My anxiety has greatly improved and my sleep as well since I am not up all night stressing about things. These two meds have been a life changer for me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top