Posted by zeugma on May 7, 2004, at 4:53:56
In reply to Re: Xanax - my pdoc thinks its too much! I DONT!, posted by harryp on May 6, 2004, at 22:05:52
Your advice is sound- Nardil is indicated for depression accompanied by severe social anxiety and general "phobic features" (which i have always had). As I said in another post, however, use of MAOI's rapidly seems to be becoming a lost art, and TCA's seem outre enough to most pdocs I have encountered (and who are, of course, the reason i am in this predicament). My depression is partially TCA-responsive- I did well on nortriptyline twice- it blocked the panic attacks, helped me sleep and lessened the fog a little as well as lifting my mood. So I am going to ask my pdoc for anafranil as I can titrate more easily from nortriptyline to the new drug, as well as taking a med that may be sedating enough to help me sleep. I also have narcoleptic symptoms- cataplexy- and TCA's are effective treatment for this if they are at a high enough dose, as is a pure NE reuptake inhibitor like Strattera. I take my 80 mg of Strattera in the morning, and get painful episodes of cataplexy in the late afternoon when the strattera drains away (5-hour half-life) but i don't want to up the dose of strattera as its s/e are at least as bad (for me) as a TCA- so much for new meds having less 'side effects' than old ones. That said, I would not want to discourage anyone form trying Strattera as it is a potent drug and can help.
I am going to try to explain to my pdoc, as best I can, that AD's, when they have worked, have broken up the 'ice' that clogs my brain- I mean overall patterns of thinking, general emotional tenor. Klonopin on the other hand works in a more simple way- people and things appear less frightening. It was a shock to me when i started Klon and discovered that being presented with the stimulus of a person's face didn't register as 'frightening', 'disturbing', etc. I haven't had any AD affect me on this kind of level and it has enabled me to say hello to my neighbors (for example) although I still have strong fear-reactions to people- there's more aberrant with me than just physiological perception, which is why I am pushing for anafranil or if not that lexapro- but ONLY if combined with a suitable benzo that is at an adequate dose. I'm writing this post in the midst of tears and anxiety so excuse any misspellings and /or unclarities- Nardil is next if anafranil or lexapro fails-
poster:zeugma
thread:343353
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/344296.html