Posted by Sad Panda on June 12, 2004, at 3:19:01
In reply to Re: Ntol Question » SuzieWong, posted by King Vultan on June 11, 2004, at 19:20:53
> > Desperate for sleep while on Prozac I finally tried an OTC medication ie Nytol (anti histamine). I slept like a baby and when I woke up I could lay there quite relaxed which I haven't been able to do since taking Prozac because it seemed to activate me horrendously.
> >
> > The other strange thing was that I felt less depressed the next morning...a kind of back to the old me feeling where I walked around my house loving everything about it and my place in life etc etc. By the afternoon that had worn off.
> >
> > Do antihistamines have an anti depressant effect or calming effect which might give my doctor an idea of something else that I might need to augment the Prozac with that would prevent the insomnia and agitation
>
>
> Yes, antihistamines can have an anti-anxiety/calming effect in addition to their sleep inducing effects. There are a number of antidepressants that have these histamine blockades--that is, they have an antihistaminic effect as part of their mechanism--but many are tricyclics that you really should not combine with the Prozac. Two that are not tricyclics that are more powerful and might work better than the Benadryl/Nytol you have tried are trazodone and Remeron.
>
> Todd
>
>Hi Suzie,
I agree with Todd, I actually use Remeron combined with my Effexor which is practically an SSRI. Alot of pscyhe drugs are actually antihistamines particuarly all the older TCA's & older AntiPsychotics. Their histamine blockade causes sedation which is regarded as a side effect, but is generally very useful because it gives higher quality sleep than what can be given by Benzos & benzo like drugs. Remeron is the most potent antihistamine on the market which maybe over sedating, but it has other effects that also make it a mild anxiolytic & antinausea drug. It also curse SSRI induced anorgasmia. Some TCA's you can take with SSRI's. Doxepin at low doses would be great for sleep, if you have SSRI diarrhoea low dose Amitryptyline would be great. Nortriptyline could be taken at low doseages or you could take it at full doseage for increased antidepressant effect.
Cheers,
Panda.
poster:Sad Panda
thread:355841
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/355966.html