Started Valdoxan/Agomelatine today, feeling scared
My doctor prescribed 25mg of Valdoxan/Agomelatine and I took my first dose tonight.
I had been taking Pregabalin / Lyrica for the past 2 weeks (200mg) but it didn't do much for me. My doc told me to keep taking the Pregabalin for about the next 2 weeks, along with the Valdoxan and by then the Valdoxan should be starting to work and I can stop taking the Pregabalin then.
I hate taking all this medication. It's making my anxiety higher but I'm so bad that I have to try something and find what works for me.
Has anyone tried Valdoxan/Agomelatine?
Would love to hear anyone's thoughts on it.
Feeling really scared at the moment with all of these meds
Re: Started Valdoxan/Agomelatine today, feeling scared
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Originally Posted by
BrokenGirl
My doctor prescribed 25mg of Valdoxan/Agomelatine and I took my first dose tonight.
I had been taking Pregabalin / Lyrica for the past 2 weeks (200mg) but it didn't do much for me.
The pregabalin dose is on the low side for anxiety and 2 weeks may be too short a time to gauge its effectiveness, but it isn't a great long-term anxiety med anyway, imo.
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My doc told me to keep taking the Pregabalin for about the next 2 weeks, along with the Valdoxan and by then the Valdoxan should be starting to work and I can stop taking the Pregabalin then.
I think your GP is being optimistic as antidepressants (ADs) typically take 6-12 weeks to kick-in. They have no direct effect on anxiety, or depression in the way say aspirin has on a headache. They work by stimulating the growth of new brain cells (neurogenesis) to replace cells killed, or prevented from growing by high brain stress hormone levels. The therapeutic response is produced by these new cells and the stronger interconnections they forge, not the meds directly, and they take time to bud, grow and mature. For a more detailed explanations see: Depression and the Birth and Death of Brain Cells (PDF) and How antidepressant drugs act.
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I hate taking all this medication. It's making my anxiety higher but I'm so bad that I have to try something and find what works for me.
Would you have the same feelings about these meds if they were for say Type 1 diabetes, or rheumatism? Anxiety/depression are arguable as much an auto-immune disease as they are. Plus, one of the remarkable things about ADs generally is that they have little effect on the brains of those without these disorders (although they may still trigger some side-effects) and this is also true of agomelatine with no change in hippocampal activity, or neurogenesis in study controls (see for example: Dagyte G, 2010).
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Has anyone tried Valdoxan/Agomelatine?
It is a relatively new AD which acts on melatonin pathways instead of serotonin and seems to work well for some, but does nothing for many with anxiety. That said, it is has the same chance of working for you as all the others. It will come down to how well it meshes with your biology. Its main advantage is that it usually produces fewer and/or less severe initial side-effects than the SSRIs/SNRIs which I'm guessing is why you GP chose it.
Re: Started Valdoxan/Agomelatine today, feeling scared
My GP said that after 2 weeks I should definitely see an improvement with Pregabalin if they are to work for me. I saw a slight improvement, so maybe my dose should have been increased rather than giving up on them.
She also said that SSRIs and SNRIs take many weeks to kick in but that Pregabalin and Agomelatime are much faster to work.
I'll stick with the 25mg of Agomelatine for the next 2 weeks anyway. I'm booked in to see my GP in 2 weeks time so she can see how I'm getting on with them. If the Agomelatine isn't working for me at that stage I think I might ask her about going back on Pregabaline but on a higher dose.
I can't take SSRIs or SNRIs due to the side effects, mainly severe migraines, so I'm kind of limited with what I can take.
Thanks so much panic_down_under for your detailed response.You seem to have so much knowledge when it comes to medication.
It's so nice to have someone with your wisdom on the forum :yesyes:
Re: Started Valdoxan/Agomelatine today, feeling scared
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BrokenGirl
My GP said that after 2 weeks I should definitely see an improvement with Pregabalin if they are to work for me. I saw a slight improvement, so maybe my dose should have been increased rather than giving up on them.
The dose was probably inadequate with doses of between 400-600mg more usual for anxiety.
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She also said that SSRIs and SNRIs take many weeks to kick in but that Pregabalin and Agomelatime are much faster to work.
She's probably right on pregabalin, but optimistic for agomelatine. It works by the same mechanism as other ADs and will probably take just as long as them to kick-in, typically 5-12 weeks.
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If the Agomelatine isn't working for me at that stage I think I might ask her about going back on Pregabaline but on a higher dose.
Pregabalin is not a good long-term anxiety med, imo. It is becoming increasing obvious that it has the same dependency issues as the benzodiazepines.
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I can't take SSRIs or SNRIs due to the side effects, mainly severe migraines, so I'm kind of limited with what I can take.
SSRIs/SNRIs are not the only ADs, or arguable even the most effective. A tricyclic class antidepressant (TCA) may provide the relief you desire without the migraines.
