Going to take 75mg Dosulepin for anxiety - Experiences?

Hi

I have been on 75mg for 9 days and 25mg for a week before that. i tried SSRI without much success and am determined to give this one a really good bash. At the moment I am up and down like a yoyo, but on the whole am begining to feel better. Without all the side affects. Thank goodness. In another 10 days will be uping to 100mg a day.

I hope you both continue to improve.

Lizy

Hi

Well I have been on dothiepin 75mg for just over 3 weeks now, the anxiety is slightly better but i have found the depression much worse. I am due to up to 100 mg on thurs and am a little concerned as to wether the depression will get worse. My depression was very mild before and my anxiety was really bad.

Would love to hear about anyone elses experiences on this drug.

Lizzy

Hi All like your selves I was on Mirt and have tried several other Meds the SSRi's just dont agree with me as I get very bad side effects, I was on Dothiepin a few years ago when my condition was considerably worse than it is now and they did not seem to help, I weaned myself off of the Mirt comming down very slowly and was without medication for about a month, the first two weeks were the best I have been for years but then gradually the anx started to return, I went to my doctor and he gave me Venlafaxine, I took one and had the worst day for months so I did not take anymore I then went back to see him and he seemed out of ideas so I sugested I went back onto Dothiepin which he willingly accepted, I have been on the Dosulpin since last Thursday night and they seem to be working, the doc told me to take 25mg for 2 nights then 50mg for two nights then go onto 75mg, I actually took 25 for four nights and have been taking 50 for two nights, I slept until 6am this morning which is quite good for me and not having the awful dreams mirt gave me, but while working both yesterday morning and this morning my eyes kept glazing over and it was struggle to concentrate, I am still having problems with tension, during the day my back ribs and stomach muscles really ache some times until I go to bed, when I wake up all is ok, then the circle continues, I have had this on and off for the last few years and thought is was the Mirtazipam, is this something you suffer with.

Hi Colin

Think we may have chatted in another forum.

I was riddled with pain 4 weeks ago its only the last few days i have seen any improvement. Tomorrow I up to 100mg and I am hoping that will get rid of all the tention and the depression which seems to have taken hold since I started these tablets over 4 weeks ago.

Like any of theses AD they take time to work properly. So am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work as like you I am running out of options.

Lizzy

Hi Lizy, good to hear you are improving, is the depression starting to lift, I hope the increase to 100 helps you, also you say you were in pain with tension what sort of pain did you experience, mine is back ribs and stomach muscles which realy ache by the end of the day,

I think that I work from home on a computer all day does not help as due to my condition I tend to use my work to keep my mind occupied and tend not to take many breaks.

Hi Colin

Start on 100mg tonight and off camping for a week tomorrow. Don't know where yet as I feel so low I can't make the decission, will let the rest of the family decide in the morning.

Most of the time i ached all over mainly the shoulders, tops of my legs, neck, head, my back and my hip were the worst. Rheumi then told me I had fibromyalgia and put me on 25mg which did nothing, I went back to my Gp and said I wanted everything treated with the dothiepin and to hit it hard as i wasn't convinced it was fibro. So he agreed. The aching all over has gone that went after 14 days, legs, back, shoulder went after 3 weeks and the headache has just about gone. The hip still hurts but that is something else and will need to be treated seperately. I am still very anxious and have now started to clench my teeth so have had to start wearing my gum shield durring the day and night and my depression has got worse. But I am determined to stick with this one as the side effects are virtually none apart from a bad tremor(listed as a side effect) which may be my overactive thyroid, but will think about that when I get back from my hols, because if its the thyroid this is going to cause me lots of problems as I can't take the meds and so it means radioiodine treatment. I am sure that all my pain was down to tension as the anxiety was out of control.

I should imagine sitting at a computer all day doesn't help. What do you do? I work for an internet company processing the orders. Hows the concentration going and the glazing eyes?

I must admit its been heaps better than the other ADs i have tried.

Take care Lizzy

Hi Lizy, I work with Databases and spreadsheets, I quite like the design stages as it immerses me in the task, a lot of the time though I am providing daily or monthly data for the business this can become monotonous, it’s good to hear your are improving with the aches as they are depressing in themselves, I hope you have a good time camping and get plenty of fresh air and exercise as this can really help with depression, I go on walking holidays twice a year once in the Derbyshire Peak district and the other on Dartmoor, if you like walking both are great with beautiful scenery there is a camping site just outside of Castleton which is in the Hope Valley in Derbyshire I dont know if that is close to you but if it is it will be worth a try.

When I went to CBT I eventually got the message that the anxiety is caused by thoughts and feelings and these cant possibly hurt you, when you are anxious try letting it in and tell it to give you its best shot, for me the anxiety slowly receeded as it was at its max already and had no more to give, I still get anxiety at times buy nothing like it was.

All the best Colin.

hia Lizy :cheerup:

go for your camping holiday, there can be nothing better for you :ok: if you can't be bothered with walking, light a camp fire at night, lay on your back and after 20 mins (or less) watch the shooting stars come in, if it's the right time, you can see the international space station with the naked eye :mrgreen: it will put it all in perspective :wink: enjoy ya hols, don't over do it :ok:

take care, fetch me a shooting star back :wink:

cheers,

Ken~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :run: :rainbow: :rose:

Hi Colin and Ken

Thanks for all your thoughts.

My 3 kids and hubby are busy decideing where to go its a bit nosiey. I think it will be a mixture of walking and beach.

We have seen the space station several times.

Thanks for the advice on how to deal with the anxiety. Will try and give it some thought next time i begin to get tense.

Castleton is a beautiful place been there several times. its only about an hours drive from us.

Colin don't work too hard and i hope the meds kick in soon. Its great not to ache all the time.

Ken I will send you a shooting star when i see one.

Take care and have a good week.

Lizzy

Hi Colin and Ken

Spent a great week at Flamborough. Plenty of sun and rain. Saw lots of stars in the sky and we all had a pretty good week. Upped to 100mg a day and was much better instantly. We ended up staying an extra night as we couldn't go home. I had no meds left so all i can say, i have never had dreams like it, really bad tremmors too so i won't be making that misstake again.

Colin have they started to work now?

I hope you are both doing well.

My eldest has swine flu so no doubt it will be that next week.

Take care.

Lizzy

Hi Lizzy, great to hear you had a good time and the Doth is working, I have been on them for two and a half weeks now, much more relaxed almost in control, I still get the aches in my back and ribs but I suspect this is partly due to the job, I work on a computer all day, I still wake fairly early but not anxious like I used to be, A friend of mine who has had trouble for many years is switching to these this week as a result of my improvement, I tend to react quite badly with the side effects on the majority on the Meds but on these the only side effect so far is sweating but hey it’s hot anyway.

Good luck with the swine flu although it might be a good time to get it before it gets stronger.

All the best and keep up the improvement we will beat it in the end.

Colin.

Hi Colin

Glad to hear you are improveing too. I have had a pretty rough week due to anxiety but the tabs are keeping the worst at bay. I have appointment at docs next week to to disscuss whether the dose is strong enough. As i am still getting break through problems i would like to try 125mg to see how that works but will have to wait and see what the doc says.

As for the swine flu my Mum didn't get it from my daughter as she looked after her. My other daughter, hubby and myself haven't gone down with it either. I agree with you get it now while its mild, my mum had the same idea. Will have to check with doc if he thinks i am in the at risk group due to having immune problems. My other two kids come back from windband tour in Germany tomorrow night, I have missed them.

Been away for a romantic few days with hubby had a good time at the Chedder Gorge really recommend it. The caves are absolutley amazing. Mind you the 3 mile hike he took me on was a killer. Around the top of the Chedder Gorge.

I hope your friend finds the same improvement we have. You are probably right about your back ache and ribs is due to your job.I am almost pain free now apart from joint pain which i am sure is not related to anxiety.

Take care

Lizzy

Hi

Just to let you all know that these tablets are really begining to work really well for me. No depression nut have a slight anxiety problem which is not causing too many problems.

Hope they are working for you too Colin.

Lizzy

Hi Lizzy I went up to 50 and began to feel a bit more anxious so reduced back down to 25, these seemed to keep me on a reasonable level although this weekend I have felt more anxious again, so I don’t know whether to increase again or not, I have been waking early with a buzzy feeling in my head with all of the problems of the week going round and round in my head, I have had rather a stressful week with work so maybe that’s the problem, I have taken 25 again tonight so will see how I go, it seems that I react to very small doses of whatever I am on, I spent a month on a quarter of a 15mg tab of Mirtazapine and the doctor told me there would be no effect form such a small dose, but when I stopped taking it altogether there was a marked difference in me, good to hear you are doing so well keep it up and all the best, keep us informed of your progress, Colin.