Posted by Jedi on July 28, 2007, at 15:07:02
In reply to Re: To Nardil or not to Nardil? » Jedi, posted by Sentience on July 28, 2007, at 6:54:19
Hi,
In response to your questions:>What was your experience with the Parnate like? I guess it is inferior to Nardil otherwise you would have stayed with it.
This was my 2nd trial on Parnate. I had tried it many years ago and had no luck knocking back a serious major depression. This time I titrated off Nardil quickly and titrated up to 80mg of Parnate over about a months time. The idea was to get my MAO inhibition back up quickly before the major depression had a chance to return. Parnate was working fairly well for me. I quit because of a rare autohypertensive reaction. I would get a splitting headache and my BP would be way up. This was not a tyramine reaction or a reaction to any other medication taken with Parnate. I tried dosage reduction, which didn't help; so I had to quit Parnate.
> I'm also wondering why you discontinued the Nardil in the 1st place? and why you have 'nearly' started back on it several times before but didn't?
I was actually pretty stable when I stopped Nardil for the trial on Parnate. It comes back to the side effects of Nardil. The worse for me was the severe carbohydrate cravings which caused some massive weight gain over the years. Other side effects that were problems was edema in my lower extremities and delayed ejaculation.
I have nearly started back on Nardil several times, not because of major depression, but because of a chronic low level depression(dysthymia). Also, lurking in the back of my mind is the knowledge that the times I have been off Nardil, for other medication trials, the major depression has eventually returned. For me, the major depression is life threatening, and I don't want to risk going there again.
> Do you find that you need the benzo Clonazepam adjunct, because the "new" post-2003 Nardil is no longer as effective at influencing the GABA levels? Did you need the clonazepam when you were taking the old pre-2003 Nardil?I have always used clonazepam as an augmentor with Nardil, before and after the formulation change. For me they work synergistically for relief of my social anxiety, which has been a problem since my teenage years. That was a long time ago, I just turned fifty. I am currently taking 2mg of clonazepam daily. This does not work as well for my social anxiety as 1mg combined with Nardil.
> I'm not sure what is the source of this blankness that I feel, although I can describe how it affects me: I feel as though the lights are on but there's no one home. For example: I was walking my dog the other day & a little old lady stopped to talk to me... I couldn't put two words together to say anything. I struggled to blurt out a couple of yes/no answers. My point is that this was hardly an anxiety inducing event, and yet my mind was just vacant. It was very distressing to feel that way ...
Does any of that sound similar to what you experience?Yes, your experiences with Nardil and your withdrawal from it really seem to mirror my own. With my social anxiety, I can usually fake some kind of a response, but internally I'm a wreck. I believe the 2mg of clonazepam keeps me from doing a total meltdown. My hope, after two months off MAOIs, is that the major depression won't return and maybe I'll start feeling more normal after a few more months off the meds.
Be well,
Jedi
poster:Jedi
thread:772210
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070719/msgs/772560.html