Posted by Ame-Sans-Vie on October 16, 2006, at 4:32:33
Actually, I haven't used it for the past two weeks or so. The early-morning awakening became overly problematic, and the Dalmane just wasn't cutting it anymore. I wasn't about to go back to barbiturates or meprobamate to take care of this side effect; not after I tried so hard to get off them.
And strangely enough, the pro-sexual effect of the drug became just too overwhelming -- I spent so much time thinking about sex that I actually considered low-dose paroxetine to quiet things down "down there"!!
The AD effects of Emsam weren't so wonderful for me anyway. Just increased energy, some anxiolysis, and of course the aforementioned libido increase. Not enough for me to continue on with it.
For the record, I had been on the 40mg patch for a couple months now, along with 0.5mg alprazolam TID and 30mg flurazepam HS. And for anyone who's concerned about narcotic use (medically supervised, of course) while using Emsam, just thought I'd share that during the last few weeks of my Emsam trial I developed a pretty bad case of bronchitis and then caught the cold immediately afterward. Was ill for over three weeks straight. My doc gave me Levaquin (levofloxacin) 500mg QD x 7 days for the bronchitis, and I went back and forth between the narcotic/antihistamine combination syrups Tussionex (hydrocodone polistirex/chlorpheniramine polistirex) and Phenergan with Codeine. No problems whatsoever, which was great seeing as how cough drops do just about jack s*** for me, dextromethorphan is absolutely MAOI-contraindicated, and Tessalon Perles (benzonatate) cause me pretty severe GI distress. So of course, YMMV, but for me hydrocodone and codeine were just fine.
So, what's next on the list for me now? Well, I'm of course sticking with the Xanax at 1.5mg daily (sometimes less) and occasional Dalmane or Halcion for sleep (depending on whether my particular problem that week has to do with sleep latency or early-morning awakening, lol).
I think I'll go back to Dexedrine or Desoxyn, but at a more moderate dose than I've previously taken (something like 20mg/day Dex or 10mg/day Des). That's really just something to hold me over until I can try Shire's new lisdexamfetamine dimesylate which has recently been declared approvable by the FDA... or perhaps one of Shire's other drugs in the pipeline: SPD465, a new 16-hour release form of Adderall. I'll keep you all updated!
Cheers,
Michael
poster:Ame-Sans-Vie
thread:695225
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061011/msgs/695225.html