Posted by franco neuro on April 3, 2005, at 20:51:37
In reply to Re: Anyone TIRED on Wellbutrin XL? » franco neuro, posted by islandangel on April 2, 2005, at 14:19:28
Hi IG,
Boy I really wish I could reach the point where I didn't have to do any more of this homework. It's really hard. Especially when you're already as messed up as I am. Your experiences with Elavil. as well as antihistamines, really got me thinking. I started at 10mgs but over time I had to keep upping it until I was taking over 125mgs a night to get to sleep. I always thought it was the antihistamine effect that knocked me out, which is the common wisdom. But I've been experimenting with whatever I could get my hands on lately, (thanks to "Tuning the Brain) so I tried some Benedryl. I had never tried it before. As it turned out, of course, it didn't make me sleepy at all. It was mildly analgesic, however. I have to look back through Dr. Goldstein's book but I'm pretty sure he mentioned that histamine may stimulate the NMDA receptor, which is why they help with pain in some neurosomatic patients. So, it wasn't Elavil's antihistamine action that knocked me out when I took it. After being an antihistamine, it hits the acetylcholine, NA, 5ht-2, and NA alpha-1. Yes it is a very messy drug. It has pretty strong anticholinergic activity, which is scary because we really need our acetylcholine! Especially if we don't want to end up with Alzheimer's. No SSRI ever knocked me out so i doubt it was the 5-ht2 effect. So it had to be the anticholingergic or norepinephrine interaction. Because I had to keep bumping it up I must have been becoming more and more depleted in chatecholamines. When I stopped it I think the bottom must have dropped out, because I really felt like I was dying. I felt week and had this strange tingly/sizzling like feeling down my left leg and in my pelvis and on the left side of my chest and torso. I swear to God I felt like my muscles were melting away. I think my brain/nervous system were in such a panic to get amino acids to make DA and NA that it was breaking down muscle tissue (protein) to get them. I tell you I still haven't recovered from it. I think I may have had something akin to a mild form of "neuroleptic malignant syndrome" of which Goldstein says,
"Although I encounter it only about once every ten years, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a disorder of autonomic hypereactivity, fever, muscle breakdown, and apparent catatonia, is caused by standard neuroleptics and possibly by rapid cessation of IV amantadine infusion."
Elavil isn't a neuroleptic, but neither is amantadine. And I have read that it has been found to cause NMS and parkinsonism with chronic use. I really screwed myself!
By the way I'm not surprised that you've seen Dr. St. Amand. We CFS types get around. I've been to 50+ docs, including Majid "The Canary and Chronic Fatigue" Ali and have had my fillings replaced and have tried cholestyramine, and have taken nystatin for nonexistant yeast infection, etc., etc., etc. I only wish I had gotten around to seeing Dr. Jay Goldstein... :-(
poster:franco neuro
thread:473033
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050330/msgs/479464.html