Broken_Shell Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hi,I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences with using anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications to treat their dysautonomia. I have read some things stating that these types of medications can help to "reset" the autonomic nervous system and reduce symptom flairs, but with my sensitivity to medications and the types of side effects associated with these medications I am scared to try them. Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.~ Broken_Shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoudiniCat Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 In the beginning when my symptoms were at their worst I decided to follow my docs suggestion and try Klonopin (benzo) to ?re-balance? my nervous system. It definitely took the edge off many of the POTS symptoms but left me with other side-effects of the medication. Stayed on it for awhile and then switched to Lexapro (SSRI). The side effects from that weren?t worth it for me so I stopped it after two months or so. For me, I?d say the Klonopin helped me to at least function better when my symptoms were at their worst in the beginning. Weaning off it and then finally stopping it altogether presented a whole bunch of other issues for me. But I look at it as a? necessary evil? at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4family Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi,My experience with both anxiety meds, and antidepressants were before I was diagnosed. I had very negative reactions to them, and they made my symptoms more severe, and added many that I didn't have before. I improved greatly after I went through withdrawl. If you would like to know more detail I'd be happy to tell you just PM me. Suzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 I have tried different SSRIs and SNRIs, but none of them were beneficial to me. Many people find some relief of symptoms from them, though, so it's worth a try. Talk with your doctor about your concerns. You can start the med a low dose and titrate up slowly.Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewatcher Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 HI there!One of my worst symptoms is an unrelenting headache. Before I was diagnosed with dysautonomia, my former primary doc had tried me on a vast array of SSRIs in an effort to help me sleep and treat the headache. All the sleep meds stopped working after a few days, so he tried the SSRIs "off-label." With most of them, I had a worsening of symptoms; Amitriptyline was the worst! My horrible headache got horrendous! I've been on Lexapro, Amitriptyline, Mirtazapine, and Trazodone with most making my headaches much worse and not helping with sleep at all. My neuro tried Klonopin initially to stop the tremor I had developed, it didn't do anything for the tremor, but did curb the headache! I have found that it calms things down a great deal for me. It is HIGHLY addictive and you will develop a tolerance. Inderal does not work as well for me without the Klonopin. I have far fewer "episodes" while on the Klonopin, as I found out when I tapered off of it for my autonomic testing. I gradually remembered why I was taking it! I don't like to take it, but it works for me. I don't have anxiety issues and have not noticed any mood alterations, neither has my family. For me it helps. I do wish there was something else though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathmcev Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi Broken_Shell,I'm currently on Cymbalta, but at a micro-dose level (my doctor says I'm "exquisitely" sensitive to meds). I open the capsules and count granules. I'm up to 30 granules/day now and definitely feeling a difference in my POTS symptoms. Although there is still plenty of exhaustion - it seems to have taken the edge off the extreme fatigue so that there are days I have more energy. The beauty of the micro-dosing is that I didn't have one single side effect going onto it! It's a subtle approach, and definitely requires patience. Of course as I write this I'm realizing most of us here are probably masters at biding our time - waiting for doctors appointments and meds to kick in!! While we are all very different & one med may be great for me/bad for someone else... in my experience this general approach has been helpful.best of luck dizzyde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurehope Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi,I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences with using anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications to treat their dysautonomia. I have read some things stating that these types of medications can help to "reset" the autonomic nervous system and reduce symptom flairs, but with my sensitivity to medications and the types of side effects associated with these medications I am scared to try them. Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.~ Broken_ShellAnti-depressants - not for me Had headaches, gained weight, felt terrible.Klonopin 1/2 of a .5 mg pill - I take nightly. It is the only pill on which I noticed an improvement. After all these months, I'm not sure what it's doing now, but my neuro said to stay on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan2 Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 I have tried lots of meds, SSRIs and benzos included.I would say to try an SSRI first to see how your body handles it, but be very careful to start at the lowest dose possible and SLOWLY increase. For me, I tried Lexapro (it's supposed to have less side effects than some of the others), but it was awful. I barely lasted a couple of days.I recently tried Ativan, 0.5 mg twice a day, and it has been incredible. I have gone from bedbound, and almost hospitalization (was so nauseous couldn't keep anything down), and now a couple days of later, am going about my life. I cannot endorse benzos because of the risk for dependence, but for me, it's definitely worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broken_Shell Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi,I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences with using anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications to treat their dysautonomia. I have read some things stating that these types of medications can help to "reset" the autonomic nervous system and reduce symptom flairs, but with my sensitivity to medications and the types of side effects associated with these medications I am scared to try them. Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.~ Broken_ShellAnti-depressants - not for me Had headaches, gained weight, felt terrible.Klonopin 1/2 of a .5 mg pill - I take nightly. It is the only pill on which I noticed an improvement. After all these months, I'm not sure what it's doing now, but my neuro said to stay on it.Can I ask in which symptoms you saw improvement? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ana13sanchez Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hello, I am taking effexor (venlafaxine) but just about less than 20 mg. per day, a very low dose.... without it I am not able even to drive !! or even just turn my head because the dizzyness, so I find this antidepressant very helpful for me, it helped me to low many symptoms of the dysautonomia, it also reduce almost all the syncopes, I was having many and they were lasting hours!! but with this low dose of antidepressant I feel more.... "normal"...... but of course it work different in every person.... I think you should try..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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