I had one night on Valdoxan for anxiety and woke up at 3am with such bad anxiety. It took me 2 hours to get back to sleep and I suffered the worst dreams. My leg also wouldn't stop moving. When I woke(from the worst sleep of my life lol), I felt ok for the first 5 minutes and then the anxiety started building to the point that I thought I would have a panic attack(never actually had one before). My anxiety was easily 20x what it normally is. I had 2 Valium and an Ativan and still didn't feel normal or even slightly drowsy. I have only ever had one short 15 day dose of Valium which is why I had some left over and I took the Ativan once my script was filled. I'm on no other medication and don't drink, smoke or do drugs.
Has anyone had a bad initial experience with Valdoxan but carried on. What was your experience?
Question posted by Ainsruss on 5 June 2015
Last updated on 20 July 2019 by Anonymous
4 Answers
Inactive
20 July 2019
For me it helped increase my sleep from 2 - 3 hrs to 4 - 5 hrs... a small improvement. I didn't get increased anxiety, but I did read that is a possible side effect, so I would say this medication doesn't suit you.
Zopiclone sleeping meds didn't help me at all, just left me confused in daytime, so I can't take those. Lorazepam helps with my anxiety when it becomes out of control, but I can only tolerate a tiny dose. I'm not able to tolerate Diazepam or Clonazepam. (I become irritated, irrational, delusional and likely to worsen in mental state... or I start to get paradoxical effects of euphoria and hyperactivity!)
So my psychiatrist has given me some Promethazine to take occasionally. It is an antihistamine primarily, but it slows the brain down and causes drowsiness. A low dose actually puts me to sleep for several hours, though I can be a bit slow and confused and have a headache the next day. Still, that is better than going without sleep all the time.
One thing I did find with Valdoxan - you have to have a good night routine, take it just before going to bed, and have a darkened room, and wake and rise at a regular hour and open the curtains to daylight to help the circadian balance set in. It is all about resetting the brain sleep pattern... but still I only get about 5hrs, though it has lifted my depression without many side effects, which other antidepressants didn't do.
Kelvin5555
20 July 2019
Hi, I was just wondering if you did end up carrying on with Valdoxan? I’ve been on it two weeks and was hoping i would be sleeping a bit better than I am. I seems to have a subtle effect but not as strong as Zoloft from a managing anxiety perspective , mind you I found the Zoloft gave me terrible insomnia so not really sure what my options are
gatitaz
10 June 2015
I was on this medicine for about a month, I could not take it anymore due that
I could not sleep at all! Could you imagine not to be able to sleep for 27 days? It was a nightmare, end up in the ER with severe anxiety, they gave me a magic pil and voila!
This is a very expensive medicine.
coloresue
6 June 2015
The most common side effects with Valdoxan (seen in between 1 and 10 patients in 100) are headache, dizziness, somnolence (sleepiness), insomnia (difficulty sleeping), migraine, nausea (feeling sick), diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain (stomach ache), vomiting, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), back pain, fatigue (tiredness), increases in liver enzymes and anxiety. Most side effects were mild or moderate in intensity, happened within the first two weeks of treatment and were temporary. For the full list of all side effects reported with Valdoxan, see the package leaflet.
Ainsruss
7 June 2015
I read the leaflet that came with the pack of course. What I'm actually asking is if anyone else had these severe symptoms and had them dissipate if they continued using them.
My doctor immediately took me off them(although he said after some thought that I could continue with them if I wanted as there was a possibility that the symptoms would stop in 3-4 weeks). But I really don't ever want to feel that anxious again unless there is a likeliness they would stop within a few days.
coloresue
7 June 2015
I understand you want someone who has experience taking this drug. I supplied the information I could. Someone else may see the question and have experience with it.
Ainsruss
7 June 2015
Thanks for trying and relplying Coloresue :)
Related topics
anxiety, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, sleep, valdoxan
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