Posted by gerry on January 25, 2010, at 10:13:33
Hello folks, I am new to this board though I've been reading it for a while, in particular the experiences of those on MAO-I's. I'd been on large doses of effexor with declining results, and yet was in a good bit of fear about making a change. Having been through all ssri's with no results but panic attacks and impotence, as well as all the in-vogue augmentation strategies (ie effexor with lithium, lamictal, zyprexa etc) I thought I was running low on options. Then I began reading about maois as the meds of last resort; although I'd been given the somewhat faddish diagnosis of bipolar II, it appeared more likely to me that I was just a garden-variety treatment-resistant depressive. Three months ago I persuaded the doc to try parnate, and rather quickly ramped up the dose until I got relief at 80mg/day. The first two months of adjustment as I slogged through the fatigue, weakness and insomnia were very challenging, but I drew a lot of support from this board to hang in there, and now most of the sides are gone; other than that my heart gets a little tachy sometimes (and this is only at rest- when exercising my HR is normal) I don't know I'm taking it, except for the fact that I have my life back. I sleep, I work, I even vacuum my apartment.
Enough backstory, I need get to my questions:At first I divided the 80mg into 3 doses a day, then went to two doses of 40mg a day, and I've not noticed any peak/valley effect. If anything, it seems more effective. Now, if one was not overwhelmed by sides- heart rate and weird blood pressures and the like- from taking it all at once,is there any compelling reason for not doing so? How many of you have experience with taking it once a day? Is splitting doses solely a means of helping people reduce sides? Nowhere on the internet have I been able to find what is the complete justification for multiple-dosing.
Thanks for your patience!
poster:gerry
thread:934949
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100122/msgs/934949.html