Posted by enndub on October 11, 2012, at 21:54:14
In reply to Re: Nardil only working half the time. Appt tommorow. » enndub, posted by ChicagoKat on October 11, 2012, at 12:35:57
> Oh Nick, it's funny you should say that, b/c Nardil is making me feel mildly bipolar now too, but I think it's just normal ups and downs at the start of therapy. I've never been the least bipolar after decades of atypical depression. So mood stabilizers - I've tried Lithium and Lamictal - did jack sh*t for me. Unless you are truly thinking you might be bipolar, personally, I'd stay away fromt them cos they both have potentially dangerous side effects.
>
> How long have you been on Nardil? I'm so scared that it will help and then poop out on me after a while like all drugs seem to do. Do you think that might be what's going on with you?
>
> I think Lyrica is a good idea, but I personally think Neurontin is a better one. I admit I am prone to experience side effects often, but Lyrica made my depression worse. And it didn't work very well for me either. Neurontin had no affect on my depression, and it helped with my anxiety much more. The only problem I've had with it is a rapid build up of tolerance, but again, I'm prone to that.
>
> An AP is certainly not a good option; it doesn't mix with an MAOI, and if you get akathisia from even drugs with antihistaminic properties, you are almost guaranteed to get it from an AP.
>
> Hopefully one of the true experts like Scott will chime in with some better recs than I can offer. But I hope I've helped even a little bit. Good luck with the pdoc tomorrow; be sure to let us know how it turns out.
> My best,
> Kat
>
>Hi Kat, thanks for your input.
I did have the up-downs in the first two months of Nardil treatment (and the literal up-downs with the orthostatic hypotension :)). I've been on Nardil for 4 months now, and on month three I had pretty consistently good results. Still occasional twitching in group settings and quivering voice when talking which I why I upped to 75 mg, but my dysthimia was completely gone (maybe it was just the novelty of having less anxiety? after all, I do have mood reactivity).
I too have feared the poop out. In fact, having a Flowers for Algernon regression after getting my first taste of living a normal life is probably my biggest fear right now. I feel like my depression could be worse if it comes back in full force since I now know what I'm missing. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone on the road to full therapeutic results and not a poop out, but I'm not really sure.
I'll ask my doc about Neurontin. I have experienced rapid tolerance build up with Strattera and stimulants, and have a pretty high natural tolerance for most drugs, theraputic and recreational. I also experienced rapid tolerance to benzos, but those never helped with anything but sleep so it wasn't too big of a deal to me.
Thanks for the advice on the mood stabilizers and APs. I had the same thoughts on APs but wasn't sure about mood stabilizers, so it's good to know that they didn't help you.
Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to let you all know what happens tomorrow.
Nick
P.S. Still welcoming any more input or random thoughts.
poster:enndub
thread:1028340
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121009/msgs/1028381.html