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Suggest Treatment For Anxiety And Difficulty In Sleeping

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Posted on Tue, 11 Feb 2014
Twitter Tue, 11 Feb 2014 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 5 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on
Question : Hello Dr. Grief. I have recently been taken off Venlafaxine ER 75 mg medication for my depression and put on Divalproex delayed release 250 mg for bipolar disorder. It did not work out since I was vomiting and experiencing stomach as well as sleep problems, plus I could not eat for a day and a half. I now have been experiencing sleep problems due to dry mouth since I cannot properly swallow, especially at night, and it is causing me my much anxiety and nervousness about trying to fall asleep. I would appreciate any suggestions and help. Thank you.XXXX
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Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (52 minutes later)
Brief Answer: withdrawal symptoms Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. I am not sure if you have stopped any of the drugs as its not helping. In such case the symptoms of anxiety dry mouth and sleep disturbance are symptoms of withdrawal from either venlafaxine or valproates. It's a temporary phenomenon and will settle down with time. However if it is troublesome then you may take clonazepam 0.5mg for some days which will take care of your anxiety and sleep disturbance and for dry mouth you may take some lozenges. Further the fact that you had nausea and vomiting with valproates, as a caution you should get a complete blood count and serum amylase and liver funtion test done done as valproates can cause hepatotoxicity and pancreatitis. For bipolar mood disorder you may now take quetiapine or lithium instead of valproates as a future option ones your withdrawal symptoms are well controlled. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
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Dr. Srikanth Reddy

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Suggest Treatment For Anxiety And Difficulty In Sleeping

Brief Answer: withdrawal symptoms Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. I am not sure if you have stopped any of the drugs as its not helping. In such case the symptoms of anxiety dry mouth and sleep disturbance are symptoms of withdrawal from either venlafaxine or valproates. It's a temporary phenomenon and will settle down with time. However if it is troublesome then you may take clonazepam 0.5mg for some days which will take care of your anxiety and sleep disturbance and for dry mouth you may take some lozenges. Further the fact that you had nausea and vomiting with valproates, as a caution you should get a complete blood count and serum amylase and liver funtion test done done as valproates can cause hepatotoxicity and pancreatitis. For bipolar mood disorder you may now take quetiapine or lithium instead of valproates as a future option ones your withdrawal symptoms are well controlled. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.