Posted by SLS on January 15, 2001, at 12:36:58
In reply to Re: Nardil plus Stimulant?, posted by anita on January 14, 2001, at 17:55:56
> > Okay here's my dillema. Nardil and neurontin seem to be the only drugs that help my social phobia to any considerable degree. But the neurontin causes insufferable memory problems and the nardil causes insufferable weight gain. What I'm wondering--and I saw something about this in the tips--is what about combining Nardill with a Stim. like Adderal. By doing that might I be able to get the same effects AND keep off the weight? Has anyone tried and MAO/Stim. combo?
> I took nardil with ritalin and then with adderall. I found it did help my concentration a bit, but not with word-finding difficulties or weight at all. (I had gained a lot of weight from nardil, and had bad word-finding problems on the combo of nardil and lamictal.) Just based on my similar experiences, maybe the memory problems would get better if you lowered the neurontin dose a bit, since neurontin and lamictal are somewhat similar. But, for me, I never found anything that helped with the nardil weight gain. I don't think stimulants in general can help with that. If you're desperate, maybe Topamax or cytomel (thyroid hormone) could help, but that's only theoretical...
>
> anita
Hi guys.What sort of memory problems are you having and what dosage of Neurontin are you taking. It is remarkable how well some people do on 300m - 900mg.
Perhaps switching to Parnate would obviate the problem. Although Nardil is most often thought of as being the choice MAO-inhibitor for social phobia, GAD, and OCD, Parnate can work wonders just as well. I doubt you will gain any weight, and you would probably lose the weight that you did gain on Nardil.
I agree with Anita's proposed solutions. Wow, Anita. I had no idea how smart you were. :-) I'm not sure that I would have thought of them. Oh well, I guess I'm no longer needed here ;-). From what I can see, my guess is that women are more likely than men to have subsyndromal hypothyroidism associated with atypical depressions, and, by extrapolation, GAD, social anxiety and social phobia. I don't know about OCD or agoraphobia. In these cases, the addition of thyroid might produce an increase in energy and mood, plus encourage weight loss by increasing the body's metabolism.
Topomax (topiramate), an anti-epileptic drug (AED), might be an ideal solution. This drug seems to have a mixed profile. It is both pro-GABAergic and anti-glutmatergic, and may produce psychiatric benefits. "In theory", it might provide more energy, foster actual weight loss to compensate for the Nardil, and possibly produce a mild antidepressant effect, which perhaps, would act synergistically with Nardil. One caveat. It is my guess that Topomax can actually increase anxiety in certain individuals. Interindividual differences account for such varied reactions to the same drugs. Topomax may reduce or prevent your anxiety, but it might also produce anxiety in someone who has never had it before. All in all, I think both strategies are worth considerating.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:51681
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010111/msgs/51739.html