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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Burning sensation
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Burning sensation
by phil, Jun 27, 2000 12:00AM
I have been taking 100mg's of Zoloft for 4 weeks now and it is having an antidepressant effect, however I am also getting paresthesia (burning, itching sensation on my skin) as a side effect. Had the same thing when I was recently on Paxil and Trazadone(the reason the switched me to Zoloft). I never had this effect from an SSRI before (I was on Paxil for 1.5yrs a few years ago).
Is it likely that this side-effect will eventually go away? If not, is there something else I can take to counteract it?
Is it likely that this side-effect will eventually go away? If not, is there something else I can take to counteract it?
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS.MD-AJ, Jun 29, 2000 12:00AM
Paresthesia is an unusual but possible side effect of the Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), including Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, Celexa, and Luvox. It is difficult to predict if the paresthesia will resolve or not. If medical or dermatological causes of the paresthesia have been excluded, your treating physician/psychiatrist may consider treating you with an anti-histaminic medication such as Benadryl, or switch you to a non-SSRI antidepressant such as Wellbutrin or Remeron.
Dysthesias are common on zoloft in the startup period. Benzos will usually help with this as will beta blockers.
The beta blockers blunt the effect, but usually do not stop it.
Klonopin is usually used for this type of side effect & is probably the best choice. It tends to abort the adrenergic surges that the dysthesia is accompanied by.