5 replies to this topic

[N50+]

I did xyrem for about 6 months, stopped due to extreme anxiety. Thinking back, I stopped taking klonopin and Effexor at the same time I started xyrem. Wondering if that was what caused the bad anxiety?
Has anyone stopped xyrem for like a year and then restarted? How did it go for you.
Getting by on Ritalin but the up and down emotional roller coaster ride every day gets harder to take with each passing day.
Sure would appreciate any feedback.
N w/o C.

[dailee]

I took Xyrem for 5 years with great results for several years but less towards the end. I stopped for 18 months, and then restarted. I didn't have immediate good results. At first at the lower doses it felt like I was taking nothing. I couldn't sleep. At higher doses I still couldn't sleep but it made me cry or want to eat everything. When I woke up in the morning I felt alittle nervous or anxious which I didn't experience when I took it in the past. Since I couldn't sleep, I continued taking regular Ambien which only lasted about 3-4 hours then I took 1 dose of Xyrem  at 3 g. When I tried taking 2 doses of Xyrem I had horrible acid reflux.

 

Nothing much improved until I asked to switch from Ritalin to Adderall and from Zoloft to Effexor. Then over time, I started adding 2nd dose of Xyrem a few nights a week and increased at 3.75 g. 18 months later, I am now doing better than I have in the past 3-4 years but still no where near I was when I first began Xyrem for the first couple of years.

 

I have wondered in the past if the Xyrem formula was changed at some point and that is why it no longer works like it once did. However, I just assumed that my body developed a tolerance. I think for me it has taken a year or more to start seeing improvements due to Xyrem and I have lost 30 pounds in the past 6 months due to Effexor and Xyrem.

 

I know this is off the topic from Xyrem but I have frequently had trouble w/varying severity of head pressure and tingling feet. Have others had this also? .     

[DeathRabbit]

I had a lot of anxiety problems with Xyrem as well. It's a common thread. I'm coming to believe it's strongly contraindicated for people who have ever struggled with anxiety prior to Xyrem treatment. If you have those tendencies at all, there's a good chance Xyrem will cause you to fall off the anxiety wagon again, so to speak.

[N50+]

Dailee, I had a very similar experience to your second time with my first time. Suddenly crying for no reason while laying in bed before falling to sleep, getting up at second dose time with a voracious appetite and still lost weight (35 pounds in just over 2 months). I have been thinking the extreme anxiety was because I stopped Effexor. Head pressure for me relates to headaches which I have had frequently for as long as I can remember. But they seemed to stop while on Xyrem. Ringing ears however, OMG!! My hands were tingling on and off before Xyrem and didn't change when taking it so for me, I wouldn't consider it causal.

D.R., I never had any real anxiety issues prior, this was serious and scared the crap outta me. I literally could do nothing but hold my head in my hands trying to not completely lose it. It was as close as I ever want to be to a nervous breakdown. That's when I quit Xyrem and I still think it sucks because I actually woke up before my alarm and felt rested perhaps for the first time in my entire life when taking Xyrem!

[DeathRabbit]

Dailee, I had a very similar experience to your second time with my first time. Suddenly crying for no reason while laying in bed before falling to sleep, getting up at second dose time with a voracious appetite and still lost weight (35 pounds in just over 2 months). I have been thinking the extreme anxiety was because I stopped Effexor. Head pressure for me relates to headaches which I have had frequently for as long as I can remember. But they seemed to stop while on Xyrem. Ringing ears however, OMG!! My hands were tingling on and off before Xyrem and didn't change when taking it so for me, I wouldn't consider it causal.

D.R., I never had any real anxiety issues prior, this was serious and scared the crap outta me. I literally could do nothing but hold my head in my hands trying to not completely lose it. It was as close as I ever want to be to a nervous breakdown. That's when I quit Xyrem and I still think it sucks because I actually woke up before my alarm and felt rested perhaps for the first time in my entire life when taking Xyrem!

I understand. I think it induced an almost Paranoid Schizophrenic type state a few times. I kept on having horrible visions of my skin melting off. Even having been off for 4 weeks now, I still keep having anxiety attacks, though they are less psychotic feeling now.

[mckenziee]

i didn't stop my xyrem 'for a year' but i did take it inconsistently (one or two doses here and there) due to being in college, and then began again. When i actually was consistent with taking two doses, and getting the rest, i felt like it wore off  way sooner then it should!- like after two hours...because i literally would wake up 2/2.5 hrs later even on 4.0 mg! and toss and turn especially towards the morning. i've consistently been on the same xyrem dosage for about 2 months and i have yet to get the restful sleep for 4 hrs/being able to wake up to/before alarm...and the anxiety/nervousness is rediculous. i tried to explain it to my mom... it was like, even though i knew i wasn't leaving until an hour later, my body still got frazzled like if i were SUPER-rushing or something! weird... and sometimes when i'm by myself and i find something funny or am extremely happy, it's like a giggle i feel deep down in my stomach, like i get really excited even though it's not a big deal... i know that sounds SO weird but dont know how else to explain it.