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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mary on November 22, 1999, at 23:40:12
I have had panic disorder for over 20 years. During that time I have gone through years of cognitive behavioral therapy and almost a dailyuse of xanax and/or an antidepressant. For the past year,I have had an unusual symptom that occurs right before I fall asleep, at night or right before a nap. My heart goes through a feeling of shock.Almost like it i being electrocued. Ekg's showno sign of problems. The dr. put me on atenenol (25mg.) increased to 50ked for awhile, but now the symptoms have returned. Is this a part of the anxiety disorder? I have never heard anyone describe my symptoms.
Posted by Noa on November 23, 1999, at 6:25:54
In reply to pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Mary on November 22, 1999, at 23:40:12
Do you have muscle jerking with it? Could be myoclonus.
Posted by Mary on November 24, 1999, at 5:55:27
In reply to Re: pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Noa on November 23, 1999, at 6:25:54
> Do you have muscle jerking with it? Could be myoclonus.
Yes, I do have muscle jerking. Sometimes I find myself sitting straight up in bed just to stop them! What is myoclonus?
Posted by Noa on November 24, 1999, at 7:35:39
In reply to Re: pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Mary on November 24, 1999, at 5:55:27
Myoclonus, from what I can tell, is sudden muscle jerks as you are going to sleep. It is normal to have them sometimes. Like, almost everyone says they occasionally have a sudden feeling of falling, accompanied by a total body jerk, as they are falling asleep. But on some of the ADs (paxil, effexor), I have had (and I have read that it is an occasional side effect) these random muscle twitches/jerks. sometimes is is really subltle, but sometimes, it can be a total body jerk, with a startle, and the sensation of falling. Mostly, on the ADs, I have totally random muscle twitches in places where it would be impossible for me to purposefully try to flex those muscles. On the effexor xr, it isn't so bad, just a few sublte twitches, and even better since starting serzone at night. There is a sleep disorder called Restless Limb Movements, or Periodic limb movements. It can wake you fully or partially, and interfere with your sleep cycles. Or it could be from your medications. What are you taking?
Posted by Noa on November 24, 1999, at 7:37:20
In reply to Re: pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Noa on November 24, 1999, at 7:35:39
BTW, it can be very startling, causing acute anxiety response.
Also BTW, on paxil, I would have it bad, so that my arm, for instance would just shoot straight up in the air of its own accord. It kind of feels like some sort of seizure.
Posted by Mary on November 24, 1999, at 13:15:59
In reply to Re: pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Noa on November 24, 1999, at 7:35:39
> Myoclonus, from what I can tell, is sudden muscle jerks as you are going to sleep. It is normal to have them sometimes. Like, almost everyone says they occasionally have a sudden feeling of falling, accompanied by a total body jerk, as they are falling asleep. But on some of the ADs (paxil, effexor), I have had (and I have read that it is an occasional side effect) these random muscle twitches/jerks. sometimes is is really subltle, but sometimes, it can be a total body jerk, with a startle, and the sensation of falling. Mostly, on the ADs, I have totally random muscle twitches in places where it would be impossible for me to purposefully try to flex those muscles. On the effexor xr, it isn't so bad, just a few sublte twitches, and even better since starting serzone at night. There is a sleep disorder called Restless Limb Movements, or Periodic limb movements. It can wake you fully or partially, and interfere with your sleep cycles. Or it could be from your medications. What are you taking?
I am taking xanax and desipramine. This seisure feeling really seems like an electrical charge to my heart. Nothing near normal! I have had previous occurances that were just jerks and the "falling feeling". This is outrageous! Thanks for all your info.
Posted by Jane on November 25, 1999, at 0:42:10
In reply to Re: pre sleep anxiety disturbance?, posted by Noa on November 24, 1999, at 7:35:39
some stuff from personal experience and also from reading about various antidepressants - when i was on prozac i had a lot of sleep disturbance. night sweats (although that went away in time) where i would be soaked in sweat in the middle of the night. also alot of night time awakenings. there have been a sleep study conducted that showed that prozac increased night time awakenings. the SSRI's in general sometimes at the beginning of treatment would cause insomnia and that theoretically should go away after a few weeks as your body adjusts to the medication, but the point is, increased night time awakenings or insomnia or sleep disturbance is not out of the ordinary with SSRIs (includes drugs such as prozac, zoloft, paxil, celexa)
jane
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