Posted by WAS on May 19, 2011, at 20:26:06
I have not found anything on the Web or various boards about this. After taking Parnate for about a year I discovered that I had Vitamin B-12 and Folate deficiency (also known as "Pernicious Anemia," which includes low Red Blood Cell (RBC) count and abnormally large RBCs.) I know for a fact that I did not have this condition before starting Parnate, although I cannot attribute it to the Parnate. My internist began giving me B-12 shots each week and I took a prescription folic acid pill every day. My anemia lessened to the extent that my internist suggested that I begin to take OTC B-12 pills rather than the shot. I took the first B-12 pill (manufactured by Finest Natural) on Saturday at 6:30 pm. It is a "Timed Release" pill. I took my normal evening dose of Parnate at 9:30 pm (40 mg). Sunday morning when I awoke I had bad "brain zaps," like in Serotonin Discontinuation Syndrome. These continued all day Sunday, which is very unusual for me. Sunday at supper I took another B-12 pill, and Monday my mood started to go south (and the brain zaps continued). By Tuesday I was crying without warning and beginning to want to die. It finally occurred to me that maybe the B-12 pills had something to do with what was clearly a huge change in the bioavailability of serotonin and probably other monoamines. So I didn't take the B-12 pill on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday I felt a bit better. By Thursday afternoon the zaps had stopped completely, I no longer wanted to die, most of the crying jags had stopped, and my mood had turned around (although it was not back to the point it had been when I dropped off the cliff).
I can only surmise that there was something about the B-12 pill (or the Folic Acid pill) that interfered with the metabolism of the Parnate. Has anyone else out there had this kind of experience? I'm going to try taking the sublingual form of B-12 and see how I tolerate that, but in the meantime I would be interested in any experiences with B-12, Folic Acid, or other OTC meds. Thanks.WAS
poster:WAS
thread:985742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110515/msgs/985742.html