Palpitations, anxiety, loss of confidence, excessive sleep, gastric problems. On rabeprazole sodium. Worry about side effects?
Patient: I am a 42 year old female. I used to be very courageous and confident but unfortunately this past two months i am getting palpitations and anxiety. Also I fall asleep as soon as I go bed but only for 3 to 4 hours than I wake up at about 2am than thats all I cant go back to sleep no matter what I do .This is affecting my health and interrupting my daily routine . I consuted my family Doctor he prescribed me Clonotril 0.5 mg 1/2 - 1/2 - 1 per day. He also prescribed some sleeping dose but I didnt take it due to fear of addictionj to it and also the side effects. But i took the clonotril as prescribed . I still have sleep problems and some palpitations in the morning. I am also having severe gastric problems . Can you help me and advise me on what medication to follow. I am now taking Rabeprazole sodium for gastric morning and night and clonotril night dose. Kindly advise me I am very worried about side effects. I also want to become my normal self and regain my courage. Doctor: HelloClonotril being a benzodiazepine is a very effective medicine for controlling anxiety symptoms and can be taken for 4-12 weeks but not more than that to avoid developing dependence on it.SSRI antidepressant like Sertraline or Escitalopram are currently the first line medicines for controlling anxiety symptoms however they can cause gastric side effects like nausea, constipation, diarrhea initially as a side effects therefore in your case, you can discuss with your doctor about trying Mirtazapine which is a sedating antidepressant and a good antianxiety medicine too. It can help in sleeping and you won't be needing any other sleeping pill once you start taking Mirtazapine. It does not cause gastrointestinal side effects and can be  a good option in your cases in my view. Clonotril can be taken on as and when needed basis if you are much worried about developing dependence on it.Kind regardsVikas