Posted by g_g_g_unit on March 18, 2012, at 8:27:59
So I've been having tremendously difficulty trying to raise my Parnate dose due to the fact that I'm profoundly sensitive to stimulants. I apologize if this is overly-complicated and obsessive, and I'd appreciate advice from anyone can be bothered to wade through it.
I began by taking just 5mg twice a day. My sense was that a tolerance finally developed, so my psychiatrist instructed I take 10mg in the morning and then 5mg at noon. Taking 10mg at once proved to be too much - I became irritable, anxious, mentally constricted, 'flat' in demeanor.
I then tried taking 5mg three times a day, but in this case, each 5mg dose felt potentiated compared to taking it twice a day. I was wondering if increased MAO-B inhibition was responsible.
Anyway, I found that I was becoming profoundly depressed during the evening, so my psychiatrist suggested I take 2.5mg when I felt the Parnate 'wear off'. This works well, but if I take *any* Parnate after 5pm, I'm up the entire night. For what it's worth, I also find 2.5mg to be almost ideal as far as concentration, anxiety etc. goes.
Since each dose lasts 3 hours, however, it's difficult to fit multiple 2.5-5mg doses in before 3-5pm, so I've just been stuck taking around 15mg a day. I'm becoming increasingly suicidal and feel that I need to try and achieve an AD benefit faster, but simply can't tolerate a 10mg dose, which makes reaching 30mg difficult.
I tried taking my first 0.1mg of clonidine tonight. I wasn't tired an hour later and have work tomorrow, so have just taken 10mg of Valium.
I would like to experiment with clonidine on a non-work night and see if it might help dampen the next-day overstimulation, but I'm not sure if the half-life is long enough? Otherwise, would my best bet be to just (temporarily?) employ a benzodiazepine to counter the overstimulation and try push through to a higher dose?
Logically it seems like it, but even with that plan in mind, I feel so desperate and helpless, like the world has just completely closed in on me. I'm trying to hang on and appeal to logic, but it's difficult. Additionally, if anyone has any advice for pushing through extreme despair, I'd appreciate it. I try to cover the basics - going for walks, watching TV, seeing friends when I can.
poster:g_g_g_unit
thread:1013373
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120316/msgs/1013373.html