![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 25 of 26. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by banga on February 24, 2005, at 21:58:35
To luvox users--what dose did you take?
And for anxiety/OCD, how long did it take to have an effect (that is, if it did at all)?
Posted by krybrahaha78 on February 24, 2005, at 22:29:43
In reply to Luvox dosages?, posted by banga on February 24, 2005, at 21:58:35
I took luvox for a few years. I took 250 mgs for OCD. It worked great for me. Unfortunately, my new insurance considers it NON formulary so i switched to Paxil CR.
I also have GAD and SAD, i had to take Tranxene for that tho
Posted by Phillipa on February 24, 2005, at 23:52:13
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by krybrahaha78 on February 24, 2005, at 22:29:43
I took luvox up to 250mg 7yrs ago. It did wonders for my OCD. Now no one wants to rx it for me, but I have to admit I haven't discussed it with my new pdoc. Maybe she will when I tell her how bad my OCD is. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 0:30:15
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by Phillipa on February 24, 2005, at 23:52:13
I would certainly hope your new pdoc would consider it, especially when it had been so successful in the past.
Thank you both for your replies; maybe I was aiming too low, 50 mg (instead of taking lots of one med, I am going with the strategy of a little of several--but 50mg may be too little.) My pdoc wrote a prescription good for up to 300! mg, he leaves it to me to decide the amount--he considers it a very weak drug, wasnt really thrilled at the idea. We'll see....
Posted by medhed on February 25, 2005, at 1:50:06
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » Phillipa, posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 0:30:15
300mg for OCD. About 5yrs. W/ therapy I was able to improve my condition that I no longer need Luvox. My OCD was mild compared to some other sufferers.
Posted by thinkfast on February 25, 2005, at 5:34:58
In reply to Luvox dosages?, posted by banga on February 24, 2005, at 21:58:35
any of you guys take a split dose? 50mg twice a day 4 me...i've been taking 150 all at one time instead :-) it seems to be helping so far, but also seems to make some obsessions worse. It's helping with anxiety also. Probably need a higher dose and I'll find out on tuesday. good luck
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 6:45:38
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by thinkfast on February 25, 2005, at 5:34:58
I know you're *supposed* to take it 2x a day, due to a fairly short half-life...I too am interested if other people have done OK with one dose...
What time of day do you take it?
Posted by SLS on February 25, 2005, at 7:16:58
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by krybrahaha78 on February 24, 2005, at 22:29:43
> I took luvox for a few years. I took 250 mgs for OCD. It worked great for me. Unfortunately, my new insurance considers it NON formulary so i switched to Paxil CR.
Perhaps you can have your doctor write a letter and appeal to the insurance company.
- Scott
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 8:38:54
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » krybrahaha78, posted by SLS on February 25, 2005, at 7:16:58
I agree--if you haven't already, have your pdoc speak with the insurance company...especially if you give Paxil a trial and don't find it as helpful I would hope they would agree to the Luvox.
Then again we ARE talking about insurance companies and their odd logic.....I just don't understand how they can refuse a med that has worked in the past, given how hard it is sometimes to find one that works!
Posted by celticmom on February 25, 2005, at 9:09:29
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 8:38:54
Banga - Luvox has been the SSRI that has worked best for my DS's anxiety/OCD. The first time he was on it he went up to 50mg a.m, 50 p.m. He's only a little guy and very sensitive to SSRI's. We ended up taking him off for a while and now he's back on at on 25 mg justin the p.m. His anxiety/OCD completely went away in a matter of days (if that long). A little goes a long way for my son. The pdoc initially prescribed 25 mg a.m./25 p.m. I would suggest you start low and work up. Hopefully the Luvox will help you as much as it does my son. Good luck!
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 9:48:20
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by celticmom on February 25, 2005, at 9:09:29
Thank you! Encouraging on both counts. I am so happy that your son is doing so well, it must be fantastic.
Posted by celticmom on February 25, 2005, at 12:32:13
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » celticmom, posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 9:48:20
It really is fantastic. We did end up putting him on a low dose (2.5mg) of abilify too, to counter any negative effects that SSRIs tend to have on him. The combo has worked great now for a few months. I just wish he wasn't so sensitive to SSRIs. They have an added benefit of boosting the speech center of his brain (he has a communication disorder). Every time he goes on an SSRI his speech improves - the higher the dose, the more it improves.
My DS is completely incapacitated by anxiety and OCD when not medicated. I think it is amazing how much he benefits from such a small dose of Luvox.
Keep us posted!
Posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 14:58:54
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by celticmom on February 25, 2005, at 12:32:13
INteresting, I am too taking small dose of Abilify...good to hear that they can complement each other.
Well, the new experiment begins!!
Posted by theo on February 25, 2005, at 16:29:47
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » thinkfast, posted by banga on February 25, 2005, at 6:45:38
> I know you're *supposed* to take it 2x a day, due to a fairly short half-life...I too am interested if other people have done OK with one dose...
> What time of day do you take it?Actually, the prescribing info for Luvox says to take up to 150mg as a single nightly dose, and anything above 150mg is to be started as an AM dose.
Posted by krybrahaha78 on February 25, 2005, at 23:29:15
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » banga, posted by theo on February 25, 2005, at 16:29:47
> > I know you're *supposed* to take it 2x a day, due to a fairly short half-life...I too am interested if other people have done OK with one dose...
> > What time of day do you take it?
>
> Actually, the prescribing info for Luvox says to take up to 150mg as a single nightly dose, and anything above 150mg is to be started as an AM dose.
>
>I heard that you can take a maximum of 100 mgs at once and anything more should be split up with the largest dose at night. For me, with the 100 mg tablets, i took half in the morning and two at night=250 mgs. It helped me tremendously with my ocd, i took all the ssri's and this is the only one that worked.
Posted by theo on February 26, 2005, at 7:27:50
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by krybrahaha78 on February 25, 2005, at 23:29:15
If you could take it all in one dose would you? When you were only taking a night dose, did it carry you through to the next dose without the feeling of it wearing off?
I might be trying Luvox. As a matter of fact, I have thirty 50mg pills in my med cabinet, but am still debating. If I do try, I'm pretty med sensitive and can get by with low doses, so I'll probably just take 50mg nightly.
Do you remember feeling any relief at 50mg?
Posted by Dinah on February 26, 2005, at 9:00:57
In reply to Luvox dosages?, posted by banga on February 24, 2005, at 21:58:35
I took up to 300 mg, but I think it would have been effective at lower doses. I think it took over a month to really address the intrusive thoughts, but it took about a week to stop my physical overreaction to external stimuli.
Posted by Dinah on February 26, 2005, at 9:04:22
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by theo on February 26, 2005, at 7:27:50
I'm medication sensitive too, but I don't think 50 mg had much of an effect. I think it was 150-200 before I started feeling it.
Maybe not taking the whole 300 mg at night would have helped the GERD it caused. We had to put bricks under the top legs of the bed.
Posted by Dinah on February 26, 2005, at 9:05:39
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by celticmom on February 25, 2005, at 12:32:13
Could you tell me which side effects Ablify helped with? I'm reluctant to re-start Luvox because I hate the side effects.
Posted by ed_uk on February 26, 2005, at 11:44:43
In reply to Luvox dosages?, posted by banga on February 24, 2005, at 21:58:35
Hi banga!
Which other SSRIs have you taken and how did you respond to each?
Btw, have you ever taken Effexor? What effect did it have?
Ed.
Posted by celticmom on February 26, 2005, at 15:32:11
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » celticmom, posted by Dinah on February 26, 2005, at 9:05:39
Dinah - honestly I'm not sure the abilify is helping any side effects or not. We started him on the abilify before starting the Luvox again. The idea being if he does have any of the behavioral issues (little or no self control, biting, licking, tantrums etc)that he had last time on Luvox (when we pushed the dosage up too high) that the abilify would counter for it.
He's on such a low dose of Luvox that it may be that it's just not at a high enough dose to push him over the edge. Either way, the combo has worked out pretty well for a while. I think if he should start experiencing "manic" moments again, I would increase the abilify before giving up on the Luvox.
Posted by banga on February 26, 2005, at 16:39:06
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » banga, posted by ed_uk on February 26, 2005, at 11:44:43
> Hi banga!
>
> Which other SSRIs have you taken and how did you respond to each?
>
> Btw, have you ever taken Effexor? What effect did it have?
>
> Ed.Hm just wrote a long response to this and it disappeared on me.....
Zoloft--100mg--fair response, mostly for the depression. Don't recall it lessening anxiety. Very restless legs. Went off because I did not want to be on meds (!yes, this was quite a while ago...)
Prozac, good response on 20mg. Would not work again when I stopped and restarted, up to 80mg.--nothing.
Paxil--?dose?. Good response--had one of those amazing moments while on this, where you get a glimpse of life without GAD and SP ("Is this how NORMAL people feel???" I wrote to my friend, bawling in wonder). But it wasn't constant, and I absolutely swelled from weight gain, despite exersise and occasional cabbage soup diets; also puffy-faced and people kept asking me am I sick, that I look terrible.
Effexor--all the way to 225mg, barely a response. Had my first episode of derealization on this...
Lexapro--great response...for 4 weeks, then it stopped.
Overall: moderate responses to SSRIs I'd say.
But the Se's: agitation, restless legs, sexual SEs, emotional numbing, impulsivity (I still think Prozac gave me a push into a drinking problem); and on 20mg Lexapro I began to have scary aggressive ideation.
(Anafranil in comparison was energizing, motivating and put my gray life into technicolor. As you know it led to insidious weight gain and pooped out anyways)SO I had sworn off SSRIs if you may remember, now am willing to try and take a smaller dose, only in conjunction with other meds--specifically for anxiety and OCDish ruminations. (Of course never hurts to bomard the depression even more.) I feel better, but anxious/avoidant and still have a hard time getting out of my head.
In sum, I think I will start at 50 mg Luvox a few days, and go to 100, stay there for a good trial, to see if it helps at this level, before going for 150. As you know, I am on small doses of plenty of other meds....at 115lb and a frighteningly slow metabolism, I dont think I need big amounts anyways.
Day 1 at 50 mg Luvox yesterday, had the feeling I had expected from a benzo...sort of a pleasant, calming buzzz....I assume this is only the starting-up-a-new-med-effect that will wear off in a few days.But these are the meds I will fiddle with for a while...no more additions! really! Just perhaps dosage fiddling; and if I get worse I will just hold off on taking the Lamictal off completely...
desipramine 75mg
Adderall 30mg
Abilify 5mg
Lamictal 200...tapering (now at 100)
Luvox 100mg.-?That's the plan according to my head today.
Posted by ed_uk on February 26, 2005, at 17:00:39
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages? » ed_uk, posted by banga on February 26, 2005, at 16:39:06
Hi banga!
>Hm just wrote a long response to this and it disappeared on me.....
Grr, I hate it when that happens!
>I absolutely swelled from weight gain.
Did you put on weight with any of the other SSRIs?
>agitation, restless legs, sexual SEs, emotional numbing, impulsivity
How severe were these side effects? Did you get these side effects with all the SSRIs?
>on 20mg Lexapro I began to have scary aggressive ideation.
He he, that's a nice little euphemism!!
>desipramine 75mg
>Adderall 30mg
>Abilify 5mg
>Lamictal 200...tapering (now at 100)
>Luvox 100mg.-?I wonder whether you'd be able to reduce the Adderall (or possibly even d/c it) if you increased the desipramine. It would be more convenient in the long run if you didn't need the Adderall because desipramine is easier to get hold of and generally less likely to poop out.
Ed.
Posted by banga on February 26, 2005, at 22:45:33
In reply to Re: Luvox » banga, posted by ed_uk on February 26, 2005, at 17:00:39
>
> I wonder whether you'd be able to reduce the Adderall (or possibly even d/c it) if you increased the desipramine. It would be more convenient in the long run if you didn't need the Adderall because desipramine is easier to get hold of and generally less likely to poop out.
>
I have been wondering the same thing--actually thought of trying it but for once thought not to change everything at once again. I was in fact trying to explain to my pdoc that I'd at least rather use Adderall with a split dose--15mg twice a day--to get a more constant effect yet have lower blood levels at any one time.
Availability of Adderall is no problem with this pdoc!....in fact I had trouble pushing in all my requests and specifics of med alterations, and instead of prescribing me the 15 mg twice a day he prescribed 30mg twice a day! I was still trying to argue my case for the Luvox....so I had no time to explain what I meant by splitting the dose. Thus I will be pouring some Adderall spansules out twice a day.Paxil is the only SSRI/SSNRI that I gained weight on. All others I lost weight if anything.
The SEs were not all the same across the SSRIs--except for Paxil's weight gain, they weren't severe enough for me to stop taking them due to the SEs--but I am wary of going high on dosage.But in the long run I think I will increase the desipramine and proportionally lower or discontinue Adderall altogether. I will research all of this more on my own as well --once I finish the dissertation--I am all researched out for the present!
Posted by Dinah on February 27, 2005, at 0:17:05
In reply to Re: Luvox dosages?, posted by celticmom on February 26, 2005, at 15:32:11
It would make sense that Ablify would help if Luvox was causing agitation. I hope it works for your son. There's nothing worse than seeing our kids hurting, is there?
Go forward in thread:
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.