Back to droxidopa. I have POTS and was invited to be in the study. I know a friend with NMH (neurally mediated hypotension) who was also invited to be in it. She doesn't have POTS. I would wonder then how specific they are about the type of O.I. you must exhibit to be in the study?
I am on venlafaxine (effexor, an SNRI), in a very small dose (37.5 mg. daily): 1/2 tablet morning and evenings. I am on it because I couldn't get off Cymbalta. Effexor has a negative effect on POTS because (for me) it increases heartrate. That is not good for a POTS patient or for a CFS patient with a low aneorobic threshhold. I've stayed on Effexor because of the positive effect on mood and emotions. My POTS is treated with a low-dose beta-blocker which counteracts the increased heart rate. Yes, I had POTS long before I started on SNRI's.
IMO, the old fashioned tricyclics are the best. They tackle sleep, pain, and mood all in one pill. Too bad the side effects are so awful (dry mouth and weight gain).
Seratonin doesn't just work on mood; it affects many bodily systems. That's why seratonin-syndrome can be life threatening. I was on trazadone for sleep when my PC doc sold me St. John's Wort in his office and told me how to taper off the traz. Well, long story short, the St. John's Wort didn't help at all with sleep. So I tapered off and took a trazadone. That night, I sat up in bed out of a deep sleep, sweaty, heart racing and strange headache. I took something for the headache and waited out the night never falling back asleep. I was diagnosed with seratonin syndrome both at the emergency clinic the next day and Monday at the neurologist's office. I got my money back on the St. John's Wort, though.
