DOSE:

10 mg

oral

Pharms - Doxepin

(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

132 lb

To start off with some background: I'm a fairly petite woman with a long history of insomnia, depression and anxiety. I have experience with plenty of substances and prescribed medications - too many to begin to list here. I have always been sensitive to certain medications, especially SSRIs, SNRIs, neuroleptics and anticonvulsants. Due to this, my doctor has frequently switched me from one medication to another.

Recently I had to change doctors, going from a private practitioner to a public clinic doctor. In the past, I was prescribed zolpidem (Ambien) and occasionally oxazepam (a mild benzodiazepine) for my insomnia and anxiety. I had run out of both medications and was not taking any other medications at the time - only daily magnesium supplements. My new doctor refused to renew these prescriptions as she had a negative view of both substances due to their abuse potential. Instead she introduced me to a medication I had not heard of before called Doxepin. It is an older generation tricyclic antidepressant and I felt skeptical about taking it considering my sensitivity to the adverse reactions from many medications.

As I didn't have a choice, I took the prescription home that night and, after tossing and turning for three hours, decided that I was desperate enough to try it. My mindset at the time was anxious, apprehensive, depressive and frustrated. I took one 10mg pill on an empty stomach with a glass of water around 1am and lay down in anticipation of sleep.

It took a while, maybe an hour, for me to feel any significant effects from the pill. One thing I noticed was that my rapid thoughts and anxiety quieted down gradually during the course of the hour. It was not the near immediate, euphoric relief offered by a benzodiazepine - but rather a slow wave of calm spreading through my mind and body. There was absolutely no euphoria, but it was not altogether unpleasant for someone suffering from high amounts of anxiety. Over an hour in, I began to feel heavier. Not sedated exactly, but my head felt heavy and it was comfortable to lie down on the bed with my eyes closed. I began to have dream-like images flashing through my head. Some of them were quite frightening, or should have been, but I felt calm despite this (as an example, I saw the decapitated head of a baby doll with its eyes gouged out, staring at me with empty sockets). These images gradually increased as I started drifting to sleep, almost without realising it. I felt my heart rate decrease and my breathing slow down.

I must have fallen asleep, because I suddenly woke up with a gasping jolt, feeling like I was unable to breathe, or that my heart had stopped beating. As soon as I sat up, I felt normal again and went back to sleep. This happened a few more times and gave me some mild waves of anxiety. Perhaps this was an autonomic response to the decreasing heart rate? I felt heavy, warm, fuzzy and slightly 'blank' inside (noticeable due to my normally overactive inner voice). It was very easy to let go of my worries, lie back down and resume sleep within minutes.

Eventually I fell into a deeper sleep and began to dream vividly. These dreams were very colourful, lucid and surreal. I felt that a lot of half-forgotten memories and faces were dredged up from my subconscious. I was also very emotional in the dreams, crying in great despair or feeling euphoric as I reconnected with a long-lost lover. These dreams felt like they continued throughout the night as they were long, detailed and, despite their absurdity, had somewhat coherent plots that I could follow. I was enjoying them quite a lot.

Then my alarm went off at 9:30am. I woke up feeling very heavy and tired. I had trouble rolling to the side of the bed to turn my alarm off and to drink a sip of water from my bedside glass. My mouth felt very dry and my head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton balls. I was groggy and lay down on my back for a moment, only to fall asleep for another five hours. I woke up in the afternoon and felt annoyed that I had missed my morning class. I still felt slightly 'out of it'. On the positive side, I had very little anxiety and my depression felt distant and far away. It was similar to the feeling I remember having on the neuroleptic, olanzapine. It felt difficult to concentrate and I was spaced out for most of the day. The tiredness continued throughout the day, despite several cups of coffee. I felt like I could have easily slept longer if I chose to do so. Time also seemed to go by faster, likely due to how easy it was to zone out in the middle of a task.

As I am writing this now in the evening, I still feel like I have to concentrate very hard to ensure that I am typing coherently. I still feel tired and the bed feels comfortably soft; I do not feel that I need to take another dosage to sleep tonight. In conclusion, I was surprised by how effective a sleep aid doxepin turned out to be for me. It also appeared to decrease my anxiety and depression levels, although the brain fog and long-lasting tiredness means that it is not ideal for anyone who leads an active life during the day. Compared to zolpidem or oxazepam, doxepin does not appear to have recreational value and, from what I have read, can be dangerous in high dosages. The only 'euphoria' I experienced was from the anxiety relief and deep sleep. In the future, I will take it on an as needed basis and, considering the fairly long time it takes to affect me, I will take it much earlier in the evening. Perhaps I can reduce the morning tiredness that way.

Exp Year: 2016	ExpID: 109210
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 18, 2020	Views: 2,345
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Pharms - Doxepin (204) : Alone (16), Depression (15), Medical Use (47)