Posted by Kim on July 26, 2001, at 0:52:25
In reply to RANT. This is NOT fair. I hate it !!!!, posted by Else on July 25, 2001, at 22:14:53
Else,
I know you didn't ask for information, but I just can't help myself. After going through virtually every kind of antidepressant there was, my pdoc put me on Parnate--which was the first thing that made me feel like there was hope. It wasn't quite enough, though, and so we augmented it with dexedrine. I was fine on these drugs for 2 years--delight? Sometimes--but mostly I just felt like I was a real, normal human being. That I was as good as anyone else. That I could do the things I wanted to do and were expected of me without feeling "sick." As for the diet, I pretty much gradually ignored it and never had a problem. Then we got transferred to another state.I waltzed into my new pdoc expecting that he would just renew my prescriptions--no big deal, right, since I'd been on them so long? But no, he went ballistic at the dexedrine. Didn't I know that was considered a "dangerous" combination? Well, yes, I was well aware of the risks but I'm a grown up and I've been taking them and haven't had any problems. He immediately set out to cure me of my "dexedrine addiction."
So he gradually took me off the dexedrine and I gradually went downhill. Finally I was off the dexedrine and feeling like crap; so he decided that the Parnate must not be working since I felt like crap. So he took me off that too.
That was the bottom of my life--the only time I've seriously considered suicide. Fortunately my therapist was not my pdoc. When my therapist saw what was happening, he advised me to find a new pdoc--actually said if I didn't do it he would do it for me.
The new pdoc was also taken aback by the dexedrine, but he put me back on the Parnate immediately. I've been back on the Parnate for over two years now. What would it be like to feel joy or delight? I don't know. My pdoc is experimenting with augmenting my Parnate with different drugs, the latest is imipramine--now there's a combination that gets attention at the pharmacist's window. I had to have an EEG before he prescribed it and have to monitor my blood pressure,and I'm more careful about the diet than I was before, but I have had no problems. The imipramine helps--I can get out of bed and sometimes act almost like a real person.
At my last visit, my pdoc said that if the imipramine doesn't do it, he's going to put me back on the dexedrine. I think I have had to prove that I'm a "good girl" and will take care of myself.
Maybe if you stick with your pdoc for awhile, he'll get to know you better and trust you enough to give you an MAOI. (Dr. Bob has a copy of the "new" diet on his website.)
Geez, sorry this got so long. I mostly just wanted to comisserate and tell you and your pdoc, that yes, there are times when only MAOIs will work, and yes, you can take them without having any side effects.
Best of Luck,
Kim
poster:Kim
thread:71846
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/71861.html