Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 103939

Shown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others...

Posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 20:29:00

Hi,
I have been holding onto a bottle of Nortriptyline for about a week now, but too scared to start it, since I have such horrible side effects to every med out there. I have tried tricyclics in the WAY past -- about 15 years ago, and did okay on a low dose of Desipramine, but when I tried it again a few months ago I couldn't tolerate the side effects -- mainly fatigue.

I tried Nortrip. (also 15 years ago) for a few days and remember feeling very agitated so I stopped.

My body chemistry has changed drastically over the years. I am desparate to find something that will help me, that I can tolerate, and hopefully that I can take while pregnant.

I'm looking for encouragement and info. on this Nortrip.

Scott, I know you are on it, and you said I may suffer fatigue and dry mouth at first, but that it will go away. I can't find that post ... How long did you say you have been on it? And what else do you take with it?

Does Nortrip. help with anxiety at all, or just depression?

Is it even worth a try, or should I just pitch it?

If I start with 10 mg, am I being overly cautious? I forget what the therapeutic dose is ... 100 mg?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. Any info. on Nortriptyline (a tough med to type out!) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
cindy

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - Cindylou

Posted by johnj on April 23, 2002, at 20:52:39

In reply to Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others..., posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 20:29:00

HI, I have been on nortriptyline for over 8 years. It is the first med I was given and at first had bad side effects( dry mouth, constipation), but these can be dealt with and did abate over time. I cannot tolerate high does of any meds and had to stay at 50 mg. 10 mg is very low and my doc said even I was on a low dose. It did help with anixety as well as depression, and allowed me to sleep. The only thing I find, and can't prove, is that when I excercise it causes my sleep and mood to be disturbed, and this is mostly with aerobic type excercise. Check the thread with Ron Hill and Colin Wallace. I posed the same questions and Colin had similiar experience with a pamelor's mother drug, nortriptyline is a metabolite I believe. I think it is very safe, and if you cannot tolerate the side effects try something else. I also take some lithium(lithobid) to "boost" the AD and I do find it helps. Hope this info helps you. If I had to do it over again, I would do it again, because I am much better than when I fell into depression. I had/have a very anxious depression. Take care
Johnj

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions » johnj

Posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 21:32:27

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - Cindylou, posted by johnj on April 23, 2002, at 20:52:39

Thank you for the hope!! My depression has developed into "anxious" depression over the past couple of years. I can be extremely fatigued, and extremely agitated at the same time.

I will start with the 10 mg tonight, just to be safe ... and hopefully be able to work my way up.

You said you are on 50 mg -- is that a standard dose? I know you said it is a low dose, but is it considered a "therapeutic dose?"

Also, does the lithobid cause you fatigue?

Thanks again!!
cindy

> HI, I have been on nortriptyline for over 8 years. It is the first med I was given and at first had bad side effects( dry mouth, constipation), but these can be dealt with and did abate over time. I cannot tolerate high does of any meds and had to stay at 50 mg. 10 mg is very low and my doc said even I was on a low dose. It did help with anixety as well as depression, and allowed me to sleep. The only thing I find, and can't prove, is that when I excercise it causes my sleep and mood to be disturbed, and this is mostly with aerobic type excercise. Check the thread with Ron Hill and Colin Wallace. I posed the same questions and Colin had similiar experience with a pamelor's mother drug, nortriptyline is a metabolite I believe. I think it is very safe, and if you cannot tolerate the side effects try something else. I also take some lithium(lithobid) to "boost" the AD and I do find it helps. Hope this info helps you. If I had to do it over again, I would do it again, because I am much better than when I fell into depression. I had/have a very anxious depression. Take care
> Johnj

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions

Posted by Kelty on April 23, 2002, at 23:47:38

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions » johnj, posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 21:32:27

I have been taking nortriptyline for about 5 years. I am currently switching to another med, but not over concerns about side effects so much as other issues. The main side effects I had were dry mouth, some constipation and fatigue which mostly went away after about 2 weeks. I am fairly med sensitive so I started on 25 mg but eventually went as high as 100 mg. The pdoc thought I could go as high as 150 mg if necessary. Nortriptyline did make me gain weight, but it does not do that to everyone. I would give it a try as for me it was a lot more benign than most other AD's.

A therapeutic dose is probably whatever dose keeps your blood level at what it should be, it could be different for everyone.

Good luck.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others... » Cindylou

Posted by Ritch on April 24, 2002, at 0:17:21

In reply to Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others..., posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 20:29:00

> Hi,
> I have been holding onto a bottle of Nortriptyline for about a week now, but too scared to start it, since I have such horrible side effects to every med out there. I have tried tricyclics in the WAY past -- about 15 years ago, and did okay on a low dose of Desipramine, but when I tried it again a few months ago I couldn't tolerate the side effects -- mainly fatigue.
>
> I tried Nortrip. (also 15 years ago) for a few days and remember feeling very agitated so I stopped.
>
> My body chemistry has changed drastically over the years. I am desparate to find something that will help me, that I can tolerate, and hopefully that I can take while pregnant.
>
> I'm looking for encouragement and info. on this Nortrip.
>
> Scott, I know you are on it, and you said I may suffer fatigue and dry mouth at first, but that it will go away. I can't find that post ... How long did you say you have been on it? And what else do you take with it?
>
> Does Nortrip. help with anxiety at all, or just depression?
>
> Is it even worth a try, or should I just pitch it?
>
> If I start with 10 mg, am I being overly cautious? I forget what the therapeutic dose is ... 100 mg?
>
> Sorry for the barrage of questions. Any info. on Nortriptyline (a tough med to type out!) would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> cindy


Hi Cindy,

I am med sensitive and very cautious for good reasons. I started with 10mg/day. The thing with tricyclics is they are tough to get a tolerance to the side effects (it takes a while) AND they take a couple of weeks at least for much of anything good to happen. Pdocs in the past either took one of two approaches: 1) You can start off pretty much at the dose you think you will wind up taking (some guesswork), and just grin and bear the sfx until they fade (best for being hospitalized-or at least housebound), or 2) Start off very low and slow and gradually increase every week or two until you get into a therapeutic range-find the lowest dose that is helpful and stay on it.

Interesting that you mentioned being fatigued on desipramine but agitated on nortripytline. Have you ever tried amitriptyline? It is nortrip.'s parent drug, and is quite sedative. I have heard of some people taking a small dose of amitripytline at bedtime (for sleep-anxiety), and then a small dose of nortriptyline in the daytime (to augment for depression). That way they get the AD benefits of the NT with less agitation. The max. of NT I have taken is 30mg/day for ADHD/depression and it worked pretty good. Interestingly, I found it helpful to *reduce* anxiety associated with taking Wellbutrin.

Hope this helps,

Mitch

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others...

Posted by ChrisK on April 24, 2002, at 5:24:05

In reply to Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others..., posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 20:29:00

I've taken Nortriptyline for over 3 years and really only had the dry mouth as a side effect. Nortrip is one of those meds that is supposed to have a definite therapuetic range. It can be determined by simple blood tests whether you have found that range. I take 100 mg/day and that seems to be about the standard depending on how well your body breaks the med down.

Give it a try but don't expect big results at such a low dose. It may take a little while to get your blood levels in the range that should be helpful.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others... » Ritch

Posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 6:01:36

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others... » Cindylou, posted by Ritch on April 24, 2002, at 0:17:21

Thank you Mitch!
Your post was very helpful to me. I did try Amitriptyline (way back when), and that one made me feel so horrible I would never venture another try with it. I was so exhausted and parched I could barely move!

Sounds like you and I are quite similar in our med reactions. I'm glad to hear the Nortrip. is working for you. I took my 10 mg last night and feel a bit shaky this morning, but nothing major.

Thank you again, and take care,
cindy

> Hi Cindy,
>
> I am med sensitive and very cautious for good reasons. I started with 10mg/day. The thing with tricyclics is they are tough to get a tolerance to the side effects (it takes a while) AND they take a couple of weeks at least for much of anything good to happen. Pdocs in the past either took one of two approaches: 1) You can start off pretty much at the dose you think you will wind up taking (some guesswork), and just grin and bear the sfx until they fade (best for being hospitalized-or at least housebound), or 2) Start off very low and slow and gradually increase every week or two until you get into a therapeutic range-find the lowest dose that is helpful and stay on it.
>
> Interesting that you mentioned being fatigued on desipramine but agitated on nortripytline. Have you ever tried amitriptyline? It is nortrip.'s parent drug, and is quite sedative. I have heard of some people taking a small dose of amitripytline at bedtime (for sleep-anxiety), and then a small dose of nortriptyline in the daytime (to augment for depression). That way they get the AD benefits of the NT with less agitation. The max. of NT I have taken is 30mg/day for ADHD/depression and it worked pretty good. Interestingly, I found it helpful to *reduce* anxiety associated with taking Wellbutrin.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Mitch

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions » Kelty

Posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 6:02:53

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions, posted by Kelty on April 23, 2002, at 23:47:38

Thanks for the hope, Kelty! I hope you do well on your next med.
cindy

> I have been taking nortriptyline for about 5 years. I am currently switching to another med, but not over concerns about side effects so much as other issues. The main side effects I had were dry mouth, some constipation and fatigue which mostly went away after about 2 weeks. I am fairly med sensitive so I started on 25 mg but eventually went as high as 100 mg. The pdoc thought I could go as high as 150 mg if necessary. Nortriptyline did make me gain weight, but it does not do that to everyone. I would give it a try as for me it was a lot more benign than most other AD's.
>
> A therapeutic dose is probably whatever dose keeps your blood level at what it should be, it could be different for everyone.
>
> Good luck.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - » ChrisK

Posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 6:04:52

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - mr. scott, others..., posted by ChrisK on April 24, 2002, at 5:24:05

Thanks, Chris!
By the way, what do you do to help with the dry mouth? When I've had that side effect from other meds, I could drink water all day and it wouldn't make a difference. Gum, maybe?

cindy


> I've taken Nortriptyline for over 3 years and really only had the dry mouth as a side effect. Nortrip is one of those meds that is supposed to have a definite therapuetic range. It can be determined by simple blood tests whether you have found that range. I take 100 mg/day and that seems to be about the standard depending on how well your body breaks the med down.
>
> Give it a try but don't expect big results at such a low dose. It may take a little while to get your blood levels in the range that should be helpful.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions -Cindylou

Posted by johnj on April 24, 2002, at 14:52:53

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - » ChrisK, posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 6:04:52

I would make sure you chew sugarless gum. When I went into stressful situations and new I would get the dry mouth I would chew gum if appropriate or just make sure there was water available.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions(Cindylou)

Posted by johnj on April 24, 2002, at 14:54:57

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions » johnj, posted by Cindylou on April 23, 2002, at 21:32:27

My doc said I am borderline theuraputic on 50 mg. I don't know if it causes any fatigue since I started it when I had no energy at all.

 

Re: Nortriptyline questions - » Cindylou

Posted by ChrisK on April 24, 2002, at 17:27:37

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - » ChrisK, posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 6:04:52

Sugar Free pepermints and spearmints and lots of water. Hope it works out for you.

Chris

> Thanks, Chris!
> By the way, what do you do to help with the dry mouth? When I've had that side effect from other meds, I could drink water all day and it wouldn't make a difference. Gum, maybe?
>
> cindy
>
>

 

Lasted only one day on Nortrip :-(

Posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 18:11:28

In reply to Re: Nortriptyline questions - » Cindylou, posted by ChrisK on April 24, 2002, at 17:27:37

Well, everyone, thanks for your help.

But I became so incredibly agitated as the morning wore on that I could barely function. I had not one ounce of patience or tolerance with my 2-year-old. I tried 1/2 a Klonapin tablet (I usually only need a 1/4), and it didn't TOUCH the agitation, so I took another half, and then I was a zombie. Once the Klonapin wore off, I was agitated again.

Crazy -- the same reaction happened to me when I tried several years ago -- for some reason I thought this time would be different.

My pdoc said to just stop it and not try to keep it up. Now she's thinking Depakote??? Anyone tried that route before?

(P.S. I was on Lamictal 75 mg for several months, but stopped because I couldn't increase it due to side effects, and I wasn't able to augment it with anything -- side effects from other meds in combo with Lamictal were unbearable.)

Okay. That's it for now!

Thanks again,
cindy

 

Re: Lasted only one day on Nortrip :-( » Cindylou

Posted by Ritch on April 24, 2002, at 23:04:12

In reply to Lasted only one day on Nortrip :-(, posted by Cindylou on April 24, 2002, at 18:11:28

> Well, everyone, thanks for your help.
>
> But I became so incredibly agitated as the morning wore on that I could barely function. I had not one ounce of patience or tolerance with my 2-year-old. I tried 1/2 a Klonapin tablet (I usually only need a 1/4), and it didn't TOUCH the agitation, so I took another half, and then I was a zombie. Once the Klonapin wore off, I was agitated again.
>
> Crazy -- the same reaction happened to me when I tried several years ago -- for some reason I thought this time would be different.
>
> My pdoc said to just stop it and not try to keep it up. Now she's thinking Depakote??? Anyone tried that route before?
>
> (P.S. I was on Lamictal 75 mg for several months, but stopped because I couldn't increase it due to side effects, and I wasn't able to augment it with anything -- side effects from other meds in combo with Lamictal were unbearable.)
>
> Okay. That's it for now!
>
> Thanks again,
> cindy

Cindy, obviously your dx is BP? Depakote is probably the best thing besides an antipsychotic for grouchiness/agitation/dysphoria/rage, etc. Lithium works fairly okeedokee for that, too. Maybe if you can get on a low-dose of Depakote and feel better you might be able to *retry* the nortrip. to help out depression, etc.

Mitch

 

Re: Lasted only one day on Nortrip :-( » Ritch

Posted by Cindylou on April 25, 2002, at 4:02:33

In reply to Re: Lasted only one day on Nortrip :-( » Cindylou, posted by Ritch on April 24, 2002, at 23:04:12

Thanks, Mitch ...
Yes, I was recently re-diagnosed as BPII because of this huge agitation factor. (I just started another thread asking if agitation can be considered a sign of "mania" since I really haven't had other signs of the traditional mania I've heard of.)

My pdoc and I thought about trying Nortrip. since I can't tolerate SSRIs or SNRIs, and I was hoping to try to get pregnant (that's why we didn't try another mood stabilizer.)

But with a day like yesterday, I have no business being off meds with a toddler at home.

Thanks for the info. on Depakote -- it helps me understand why my doc would prescribe it.

I hope it doesn't make me too much of a zombie -- I tried Lithium once and it knocked me out.

Thanks again,
cindy


> > Well, everyone, thanks for your help.
> >
> > But I became so incredibly agitated as the morning wore on that I could barely function. I had not one ounce of patience or tolerance with my 2-year-old. I tried 1/2 a Klonapin tablet (I usually only need a 1/4), and it didn't TOUCH the agitation, so I took another half, and then I was a zombie. Once the Klonapin wore off, I was agitated again.
> >
> > Crazy -- the same reaction happened to me when I tried several years ago -- for some reason I thought this time would be different.
> >
> > My pdoc said to just stop it and not try to keep it up. Now she's thinking Depakote??? Anyone tried that route before?
> >
> > (P.S. I was on Lamictal 75 mg for several months, but stopped because I couldn't increase it due to side effects, and I wasn't able to augment it with anything -- side effects from other meds in combo with Lamictal were unbearable.)
> >
> > Okay. That's it for now!
> >
> > Thanks again,
> > cindy
>
> Cindy, obviously your dx is BP? Depakote is probably the best thing besides an antipsychotic for grouchiness/agitation/dysphoria/rage, etc. Lithium works fairly okeedokee for that, too. Maybe if you can get on a low-dose of Depakote and feel better you might be able to *retry* the nortrip. to help out depression, etc.
>
> Mitch


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