Anafranil--this sleepiness sucks

Seriously. I've been taking it for a week, and it's doing a number on me. No appetite, a mouth so dry that I could strike a match on my tongue, and supreme drowsiness. Of these, the last is really messing me up. How am I supposed to live like this? I can't continue dozing off at my desk at work. It's embarrassing!

I am at a low dose (25 mg). I AM noticing a change in the intensity of my repetitive thoughts, but I'm concerned my pdoc is going to recommend I take a bigger dose. But I don't know if I can deal with more sedation.

It gets better. I promise. It should start getting better in a few days. 25 is a rly low dose, so if they don't go away, tell ur doc cuz most likely he or she will want to continue building u up. I'm on 125 and we built up over about 8 months (up the dosage, wait out the side effects, up the dosage, wait the side effects, etc)

It's not certain it gets better. Things like sleepiness can, but dry mouth, keep your eye on that one. This med can actually rob you of all saliva, which means you have absolutely zero defense against cavities. If this doesn't get better and you stay on the med, at least 3 visits a year to the dentist is a must. I'm not trying to scare you.

Hi Miswimmy, and other folk!

I take Anafranil, Also call them Climopramine, is that what you guys are taking?

Anyway, I been taking them for years (for my ocd). And they are okay, dry mouth, is I think more when you first start taking them. I am to take 100 mg, But alot of the time, I only take 50 mg.

So try to persevere, and I hope thats okay. Oh Miswimmy, I just realized you take 125 mg? How do you feel with this amount. Reason I am asking is cos, I get about scared to take 100 mg.

Don't worry. I'm already scared about it! I'm being diligent about rinsing, chewing gum, and drinking water. Fortunately, I already see the dentist every 3 months because I have gum disease. I really don't want to make things worse.

In many people, it seems to increase appetite and make them gain weight. But my appetite is on zero. I hope it comes back. I can't afford to lose weight.

I think I've talked to u about this in another post, I'm having déjà vu. Lol

I am doing ok on this amount. I've been taking it for almost a yr, and it's taken that long to build up. I'm super sensitive to meds and so working with the side effects has been hard. I went up to 125 about a month ago. It was a tough change. I remember feeling awful for a day. And then things got better.

I know how you feel. Dry mouth is extremely uncomfortable.

About 7 years ago, I tried Effexor for my obsessive thoughts and only lasted slightly over a week because it dried my mouth out. Drinking water and chewing gum was useless. Even though the drug was effective (I "saw" results within 5 days) my dried out mouth was unbearable.

Now, I take Cepralex 5 mg and have noticed a huge improvement with my obsessive thoughts. When I started taking the drug, I experienced light headedness, slight dry mouth and some diarrhea. It wasn't severe enough to stop so I endured it. Now, they are hardly noticeable.

If you cannot tolerate the dry mouth, perhaps you can try one of the more modern antidepressants than the tricyclic variety. We all metabolize medication at different rates so people often have to try different ones until they find one that is beneficial and compatible with their body.

I lost some molars due to the drug loxapine, so please look after your teeth.

I actually never had success with Anafranil. I was never able to get up to a high enough dose to receive the therapeutic benefits as the dose killed my digestive system and completely turned me into a walking zombie. And that was on less than 1/4 of the lowest possible dose.

Tricyclics are known for their sedative effects. Do you take it in the evening? Like another poster said, that side effect should lessen with time, once your brain adjusts but that's not always the case. If you can bear with the side effects then try a good trial period of 6 weeks. It is always beneficial to give a medication the chance to have positive effect ts on you. Often times people will quit on a med. prematurely and then question somewhere down the line. Could that med have helped, if I would have waited for a month or so? That question often pops up, when subsequent meds. have failed.

That being said, there is a threshold for everyone and the side effects are to intense or intolerable. Then sometimes you just have to stop. Often it's an intuitive feeling. That just isn't right for me. You did mention that it is starting to help you. So, that is one factor to keep in mind. People usually reach therapeutic levels at 100-200mg. Also don't rush the titration unless it is urgent. If you need to take more time at 25mg for 4-7 more days, then tell your pdoc. He/she can always call in a script for a higher dose between appts.. If you need some more time to adjust.

I wanted to point out that people with... well, you know, are usually more sensitive to medication. One can get the same therapeutic benefit with a lower dose so you may not even need to take 100 mg.

I think it may be helping my thoughts, but my tics are unusually bad right now.

Drugs. They don't make any kind of sense.

I spent 6 months on the max dosage on that med. It had no positive effects at all for me. Just negative ones. So I wanted off it and try something different. Then my doc wanted me, with all those horrid side effects, on 150 % of the max dosage, since i "tolerated it so well". I guess meaning I didn't have any positive effects. I wish there had been the Internet back then so I had more an idea what I was doing. Then I wouldn't have missed 6 months of my life to sluggishness and sleepiness and getting 23 cavities.

Could the tics be due to the physical discomfort the drug is causing?

I find my repetitive behaviors increase when I am in discomfort.

Anafranil could be a tailor made drug for me if it wasn't that bloody drowsiness. Panic attack is so dead with Anafranil, and a lot of severe obsessions gone when i stopped consuming alcohol with Anafranil. If it wasn't the drowsiness it would be GREAT! I take now 150mg but i used to take 225mg in the past (the days that i was also consuming alcohol).

This exactly is the point, i have the same problem with you...