Posted by kaleidoscope on May 20, 2007, at 14:35:45
In reply to 5 mgs of Parnate and all kinds of side effects, posted by brooke484 on May 20, 2007, at 13:20:46
>I'm supposed to go up to 60mg.
Why? Setting high 'target doses' for meds you've never tried before is not sensible. You cannot predict in advance the dose which will work best for you. Clearly, if you are having unpleasant side effects at 5mg you will not be able to tolerate 60mg. 60mg is a high dose. Despite what you may have read on babble, 60mg in in excess of the usual effective dose. Dr. K. Gillman, a psychitrist who has extensive experience (allegedly having treated ~1000 patients over many yrs) with Parnate, reports on his website that the effective dose is usually between 30mg and 50mg per day. Some patients, of course, will respond to <30mg (this could be you) whereas others may need more than 50mg. In general, 60mg is the maximum dose. A small minority of patients will TRD will benefit from more than 60mg.
The fact that you are having pronounced side effects from 5mg suggests that you are very sensitive to its pharmacological effects. I cannot claim to know why this is, perhaps you are not metabolising it normally? Anyway.......if you can, stay at 5mg for a few weeks, you may gain an antidepressant effect at this dose. If you are having such pronounced side effects at this dose, the Parnate is clearly 'doing something', perhaps it's already inhibiting enougth MAO to relieve your depression?
>Is it silly of me to think these side effects will go away in time (except for the insomnia)?
Some of them will probably lessen or dissapear, but probably not all of them.
>Is EMSAM easier to tolerate if you're super sensitive to meds?
EmSam is a ludicrously overpriced product which is probably less effective than Parnate. I wouldn't recommend EmSam unless you find that you still can't tolerate 5mg Parnate after a few weeks. In the mean time, 10mg Ambien might help you sleep.
It's awful to have to put up with so many side effects. If you really are running out of options (as you say you are), it might be worth sticking it out....
Ed
poster:kaleidoscope
thread:758402
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070509/msgs/758414.html