Posted by cassandracomplex on March 30, 2013, at 17:36:25
I'm not just talking about "in remission" or "absence of major depressive disorder symptoms." I'm talking about truly, genuinely happy.
The reason I ask is because Parnate seems to be the only medication that has ever resulted in this kind of response, and I've tried everything from Prozac to ECT in the past. The first time I took Parnate in 2006 I felt like I was restored to my "old self" - or a better version of the self I always wanted to be. This has happened every time I've taken the medication, continued throughout the duration of taking it (and the longest I was on it was 3 years) and disappeared entirely on other antidepressants. I do not care anymore that it disrupts my circadian rhythms; I do not care that it causes my skin to break out; I do not care that I have to follow a tyramine-free diet forever. I've been through hell and back and I will try to ameliorate the side effects, as my doctor and I have been doing, or I will accept them. I have gone off Parnate too many times because of side effects that can be dealt with in search of a "less complicated" medication. Not again. Not after spending two years in a major depressive episode and nearly not making it/ending up a vegetable for the rest of my life.
So what's different about me on Parnate? Well, I become very social and extroverted. I'm interested in things and excited about doing new things in my life. I laugh and joke around frequently. I can stand looking in the mirror (I've been diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder) and when I walk down the street, it's with confidence, meeting others' eyes and even smiling at strangers. I don't avoid going outside anymore but I love taking walks, and I even notice how beautiful certain parts of the city are. Other people tell me I seem to have a glow about me. I feel genuinely, truly happy.
The first time I took Parnate, this response was so unlike anything I'd experienced before that I was concerned it could be hypomania. The idea that a medication could actually result in HAPPINESS was foreign to me, but my doctors have assured me it doesn't present like hypomania; it's almost as though I've become a new person, a better version of myself.
Has anyone else experienced this from a medication or am I the only one?
poster:cassandracomplex
thread:1041383
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130322/msgs/1041383.html