Posted by gardenergirl on December 15, 2008, at 7:36:32
In reply to Re: Went to pdoc and all I got was the lousy Tshirt » gardenergirl, posted by SLS on December 15, 2008, at 7:10:54
> Is is possible that your doctor has very little idea what to expect?
I think that's likely. I don't know that he's ever had anyone on an MAOI before. I first met him when he was a resident where I was doing a practicum. I was already on Nardil when I started seeing him a few years later.
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> With me, withdrawal from Nardil and Parnate are similar. If you taper too fast, you are bound to have rebound vivid dreams and begin to dream even before falling asleep. This is called hypnagogic hallucinations. Something similar can happen upon approaching wakefulness - hypnopompic hallucinations. These things are more likely to occur with Parnate than with Nardil.I've had the rebound REM sleep and hypnagogic hallucinations when I've tried lowering the dose. I think it would be if I went down one tablet, 15 mg. It might have been less when I went down a half tab, 7.5 mg, but I can't remember for sure. I recall needing to sleep and sleep and sleep for a few days, which is also a symptom of depression for me, but I think this was rebound.
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> You might experience "brain zaps" if the taper is too rapid. With Nardil, I think I experienced having my blood sugar become destabilized. I had to eat a granola bar every few hours to keep me going for the first few weeks. You can experience rebound depression or rebound mania, depending on your status of bipolar disorder.Never had brain zaps before. They don't sound like fun. I already have trouble with my blood sugar at certain times of the month, so I'll watch out for that if necessary, thanks. My diagnosis is atypical depression, so I would expect I'd be more likely to feel more depressed, and I believe that has happened with dose decreases in the past. It tends to even out in a week or two, though. The only time I've had any kind of manic-like episode was some mild hypomania when taking Biaxin XL. I never dreamed an antibiotic could have a psychotropic effect. Man, that was an uncomfortable feeling I wouldn't like to repeat.
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> The MAO system may take at least 2 weeks to recover from the time you discontinue Nardil completely. Recovery seems to take less time with Parnate.
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> On the whole, discontinuation of MAOIs can be uneventful if the taper is gradual enough. There are always exceptions, of course. I hope yours is easy.
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> - ScottThanks, Scott. That's very reassuring. I hope, if I indeed have to go off temporarily, that it's smooth. Since the surgery likely has to take place during a five-day window in my menstrual cycle, I will probably have a fair amount of time to taper.
Thanks again.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:868059
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081214/msgs/868872.html