Posted by harryp on May 4, 2004, at 14:26:46
In reply to Re: AntiDepressants - A trip to hell. My take. » harryp, posted by Carlos C on May 4, 2004, at 9:52:59
Yes, 40mg/day in summer 50mg/day in winter. I've been taking it for about seven months now, and I think I would be dead otherwise. After 10 years of chronic, malignant depression (with some decent periods of remission) I had gone through nearly every med, and at that point was hardly able to get out of bed, let alone leave the house.
Fortunately I scared my psychiatrist enough for him to suggest MAOIs. I had heard dreadful things about them, but was desperate, and selected Parnate because it wasn't known for sedation and weight gain. In the end, my dr. got cold feet and I had to be fairly aggressive in getting the script!
I was amazed when I started taking Parnate because it didn't make me feel like a lobotomized bloated drone, as did nearly all the serotonergic drugs. When I finally raised my dose to 40 mg., the effect was dramatic. I was able to read difficult philosophy books with pleasure for the first time in nearly a year. The depression continued to get better, and I've been able to go to graduate school and even revive my old interest in medical school (young adult and adolescent internal medicine--anything but psychiatry!)
I like Parnate (I suspect Nardil is similar) because it isn't a "happy pill." I have been suicidally depressed and miserable on it, and also very happy (not as often as I would like!). It short, it leaves my basic emotions alone while relieving the paralizing numb depression that made it impossible to function.
I have heard of weight gain in a few studies of Parnate, but it seems very rare, and I suspect if it did occur it would be mild and reversible with exercise.
The stimulant effect is mild but has not grown any weaker since I started taking it.
Any AD can stop working (terrifying thought!) but I do know some people have been on MAOI's for decades. If it does stop working, I've heard that adding lithium to the Parnate can restore the AD effect. You could also switch to something else for a while, and try the Parnate again after several months. Effects like this really can't be predicted.
Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm really glad you're feeling better! I just wanted to add in that I also felt horrible on the modern AD's and was blown away that a drug from 1959 blew everything away in efficacy and side-effect profile.
poster:harryp
thread:342387
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040429/msgs/343270.html