I have 'flare ups' of sciatica, back pain & muscle spasms. Been diagnosed in my 20's with depression/anxiey disorder but was fine with the tricylic & later with SSRI's. I'm now 54 and ALL antidepressants make me more anxious and agitated. Doc said I'm sensitive to to them, even baby dosages. It started during peri-menopause...now that I'm totally menopausal, tried again...no good. PLEASE HELP!
Has anyone read that Flexeril is somewhat similiar to antidepressants?
- Posted:
- 3+ months ago by Dee Marie
- Topics:
- flexeril, depression, muscle spasm, pain, back pain, fibromyalgia, sciatica
Details:
Responses (7)
I have no idea about that but needed to respond to you cause of what you said.I started having anxiety and other symptoms also when I started being premeonpausal ,I started early and now it seems to be getting worse and my doc put me on an anti depressant and all I read about the pills is bad stuff makes me not wanna take them......What is tricylic??? Is it something for anxiety and depressing and does it have lots of bad side effects or no??? Sorry couldn't help you with your question wished I could've though ! But what I did hear about flexeril before was that it was a muscle relaxer ,that's all I heard !
Thanks Rita
well I already know I'm gonna stop them citalopram I already have side effects and don't like it a bit......right now I am tired as heck but can't sleep .......I'm a bit nauseated and dizzy ....so yea I'm gonna get off of those pills .Any idea when you come down from a pill u know after you take it? How long does it take to get rid of that feeling??? It's been already 7 hrs for me geez .......
Hi Rita, Jr. is right tricyclic's are older with more side effects. When I was able to take antidepressant's I found effexor to have the less side effects, my friend did well with cymbalta....just make sure to tell your dr. you want the lowest dose available. Most ppl feel minor symptoms for the first week or so. Not sure how long and how much (dose) your on but sometimes we get these symtoms from taking on an empty stomach. If you just started peri-menopause you could be getting period soon. If you've been taking them longer them a month or longer you should come off slowly, it won't take long but always check with your doctor! Best bet is to see gyn and/or psychiatrist. Regular MD's are quick to write prescrptions. Remember too, when you're not familiar or have doubts about take meds, it's possible you're getting anxious and may not be the medication. If you just want a none addictive anti-anxiety ask doc about busbar. Hope this helps....
Hi Rita. Just wanted to say that I agree with Dee. With any of the anti-depressants, you should always taper under the supervision of your GP or psychiatrist. This allows your body to slowly adjust to the drop in dosage and is less likely to cause this 'discontinuation syndrome' or withdrawal problems.
Rita, just found this on another site:
"If Cipramil (citalopram)is stopped suddenly you may experience mild, but usually temporary, symptoms such as dizziness, pins and needles, sleep disturbances (vivid dreams, inability to sleep), feeling anxious or agitated, headaches, feeling sick (nausea), vomiting, sweating, tremor (shaking), feeling confused, feeling emotional or irritable, diarrhoea, visual disturbances, or fast or irregular heart beats."
I'm not sure what the half life (how long this medication stays in your body) of it is but I would think 3-4 days. As far as how long withdrawal symptoms can last (if you have them at all; everyone is different) - again, it is hard to say. I've just withdrawn cold turkey from Cymbalta (60mg) after only being ON it for 19 days and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The drug OR the withdrawal. LOL!
Thank you all very much! I found the article where I saw a somewhat similarity. Will check with doc exactly what this means: "Cyclobenzaprine is chemically related to the tricyclic class of antidepressants (e.g. amitriptyline, Elavil; nortriptyline, Pamelor). As such, it should not be taken with or within two weeks of any monoamine oxidase inhibitor."
Thanks again & be well,
Dee
TRy zanaflex 4,6, and they have the 8 mg.Much better than the flex.Ask you doc.about them.
I haven't Read that.But i was on Flexeril for years about 6 to be exact.For muscle spasm.I didn't like them.I am now taking zanaflex.they are much better.And taking them along with the norco for pain they work just fine.I have chronic back and neck pain.And these two meds seem to work for me.I have been taking the norco for about 4years and have recently been taking the zanaflex 6 to 8 mg.Ask your Doctor about these drugs
they are not an anti depressant.they are for muscle spasm.They are pretty good.But the zanaflex was better for me.They come in 4,6 and 8 mg.Most ins. want let you get the 8.so if your Doc put you 8mg get the 6mg and cut in 1/3 works great with the 10-norco i have to take for pain.And they don't put me to sleep like the flex did.Hope this helps you.
Rita, tricyclics are an older style antidepressant medication. Like all meds they have side effects. Before the SSRI's were around, I was prescribed one - amitryptline (known as Elavil or Endep here in Aussie) - for depression on a couple of occasions. It worked but took longer than the SSRI's to begin kick in (@ a month for me), had more of a sedative effect and gave me a horrible, horrible dry mouth. I was always glad to be able to come off it. I don't think it does anything for anxiety but I can't be sure.