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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Serzone § Hives § Switch?
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
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.
Serzone § Hives § Switch?
by SeaLog, Feb 06, 2002 12:00AM
I've been taking Serzone since early November. It has done some wonderful things for me, helped me gain a new perspective on life, no more suicidal thoughts, a sex drive I never knew I had, help to just keep going. However, I'm getting hives from it, which started in early January. I cut my own dosage back, because I really want it to work, but of course now I'm getting terribly depressed again, and the hives won't stay away, either. I need to talk to my Dr, but he doesn't seem to have many answers, and I feel I must be armed with information when I talk to him. I experimented with my dosage and found the correlation with the hives. I'm afraid to try something else, as SSRI's seem to be pretty bad for me, making me even more suicidal. I tried Zoloft and Celexa. Welbutrin gave me such a headache I couldn't function. From my own research, Effexor seems similar to Serzone in how it works. Is this true? What about a sex drive with it? Also, Serzone helped me lose some weight, so what about weight gain?
In addition, I have a hypothyroid condition and have been taking Synthroid, 50 mcg/day. Since starting Serzone, my thyroid has gone the other way, and I've had to cut back the Synthroid a bit. In your experience, can there be a correlation between the hives, becoming less hypothyroid, and the Serzone? Any insight here would be appreciated. I know it's just the depression talking, but I'm having difficulty maintaining a perspective on this and feel it's difficult to face living feeling like this if I can't feel as good as I did when Serzone was working for me.
In addition, I have a hypothyroid condition and have been taking Synthroid, 50 mcg/day. Since starting Serzone, my thyroid has gone the other way, and I've had to cut back the Synthroid a bit. In your experience, can there be a correlation between the hives, becoming less hypothyroid, and the Serzone? Any insight here would be appreciated. I know it's just the depression talking, but I'm having difficulty maintaining a perspective on this and feel it's difficult to face living feeling like this if I can't feel as good as I did when Serzone was working for me.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Feb 07, 2002 12:00AM
, Feb 07, 2002 12:00AM
There are no reports about hives in the textbooks re celexa, but if you are sure, then it is wise to either discontinue and switch medications(effexor would be a good choice) or to take some antihistamine when the hives occur, if they are not too severe,or too often or too bothersome.
No reported relationship to thyroid functioning change.
No reported relationship to thyroid functioning change.
Member Comments (1)
by shasta, Apr 12, 2002 12:00AM
I have taken celexa for the last 7 months, and for the past month I have started getting hives. My dr. doesn't think it's from the celexa, but I wonder. I'm having an allergy test done in one week, so we'll see. I have changed all soaps, shampoo's, laundry detergent and even what I eat. Nothing has helped. I would really like to know if anyone else has experienced hives with celexa?
