Posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 18, 2002, at 22:23:49
In reply to social phobia medication, posted by geno on March 18, 2002, at 17:55:43
The only two medications I have taken (besides alcohol) that caused disinhibition- Zoloft and low dose Dexedrine. (I didn't take the medications in combination). Right now I take 4 mg of Klonopin/day for social phobia (2 mg night for sleep, 1mg breakfast, 1 mg lunch for social anxiety). Klonopin doesn't make you that much more outgoing, just lessens anxiety. I also take Provigil 200 mg & Lamictal 100 mg neither of which do much for social phobia.
The Zoloft I took 100 mg & for me was the best social phobia medicine I have ever taken (better than high-dose Klonopin). I started the Zoloft with 50 mg which did nothing at all- made me sleepy. The only problem was with Zoloft I couldn't sleep at night, and was so disinhibited that I was doing stupid things like buying cocaine etc. Also, you can't take Zoloft & get drunk because you act like a complete idiot (not in a good way) & don't remember any of it- Combine alcohol & Zoloft & you are out of touch with reality. I never drank & drove ever, but on Zoloft I got a DWI. The thing with Zoloft is that since it is activating (like Prozac), you are more likely to go and talk to people ("it makes the timid brave, & the shy person an extrovert"). But the psychs said I can't take SSRIs because they make me "manic" so you would probably have a more positive reaction if you aren't Bipolar II. (In retrospect, the psychiatrist should have prescribed Klonopin or Ambien with the Zoloft so I could sleep at night, or lowered the dose to 75 mg.) I think Paxil, the less activating/somewhat sedating SSRI, makes you less nervous (like Klonopin) when people talk to you but doesn't necessarily make you as outgoing.
Dexedrine 5 mg at 9am & 2 pm was a great disinhibitor for me & didn't cause me hardly any anxiety. Rather, I felt much more confident, & was much more talkitive. It makes you feel like your the sh*t! But its hard to get a prescription for Dexedrine unless you have ADD.
Ritalin or Wellbutrin would increase your anxiety- not recommended. Adderall is also a good disinhibitor/social phobia med but probably causes more anxiety than Dexedrine because it is a less selective (for dopamine) amphetamine.
For disinhibition, most people just drink alcohol though, & alcohol is probably the most effective legal disinhibitor.
poster:3 Beer Effect
thread:98631
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020318/msgs/98697.html