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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by joy on October 21, 2002, at 20:21:38
My Neuro has me on Nortriptylene for migraines [and for help with anxiety and depression]. I started at 10 mgs and now am at 20 mgs. I also started to take Prozac in the a.m. to try to get additiional AD benefits. Has anybody been successful on Nortriptyline for headaches? depression? anxiety?
Thanks.
Joy
Posted by 2sense on October 22, 2002, at 8:38:53
In reply to Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene????????, posted by joy on October 21, 2002, at 20:21:38
> My Neuro has me on Nortriptylene for migraines [and for help with anxiety and depression]. I started at 10 mgs and now am at 20 mgs. I also started to take Prozac in the a.m. to try to get additiional AD benefits. Has anybody been successful on Nortriptyline for headaches? depression? anxiety?
> Thanks.
> Joy
> My Neuro has me on Nortriptylene for migraines [and for help with anxiety and depression]. I started at 10 mgs and now am at 20 mgs. I also started to take Prozac in the a.m. to try to get additiional AD benefits. Has anybody been successful on Nortriptyline for headaches? depression? anxiety?
> Thanks.
> JoyI am very interested in this medication also. I am on Wellbutrin SR 150 mg 2X a day. The new psych doc started me on Effexor XR. After 3 days at 37.5 mg., the sexual side effects were there, no doubt. We discussed Pamelor (generic => Noritriptyline), but I didn't want an AD that was going to cause weight gain (e.g. Remeron, Depakote <-- mood stabilizer) plus I have trouble sleeping and he has me on Ambien which is sort of hit and miss at 10 mg. and at 20 mg. sometimes I conk out and have amnesia (a side effect on doses such as 20 mg.). The Pamelor was suggested if the Effexor XR played out as it did, we did discuss the "new" Celexa (Lexapro) but he said it really isn't all that it is billed to be. The worst of it is, in talking with him (I got his ear one on one in his office for 2 1/2 hours) is that the depression seems to be more situational than biochemical since if I am not doing the at home mom thing for the 1st grader and two trying teens (we are a family, myself and hubby included of AD/HD -- it is real, and without carefully monitored doses of Ritalin I cannot imagine life -- but one can't continuous (i.e., 24/7) be on any form of AD/HD med). I know how my body reacts to meds and was relieved we recently a medical research group reported it requires 20% more anesthetic to effectively "knock out" natural red-heads, which I am -- but no longer carrot-red as I was as a child :-) -- this explained a lot through the years. If I am out of the house and doing "stuff" -- I need to go back to work but that is another story ... I am perfectly fine. If there is a family crisis I pop into solution mode and there is no problem. The situation at home is depressing in a comprehensive way and is being dealt with but I believe I need to get out of the house. Since it is not feasible to do this on a regular basis in the near future -- I don't want to go through another holiday season with my kids feeling down in the dumps. For 7 years, I have had all sorts of surgeries and stuff .... Sort of a living and breathing example of Murphy's Law and/or pulling the short straw for nearly 40 years .... I told my psych doc that life has to get better. I said that 2 years ago and at that point I felt like a boxer in a ring, untrained but sparring anyway. The problem was everyone in audience had left, the guy who rang the bell to stop a round was gone, the lights were turned off and a metaphoric 2X4 would hit me when I had just recovered from the last “one”, and was emotionally and physically standing up and attempting to move on. Unfortunately, over the last 18 -24 months it seems like there is more than one 2X4 every time I attempt to get up -- again this is an analogy but a fitting one. So we're figuring an AD will expedite the situation ... but finding the right one --- well that is rub, as "they" say ... whoever they are.
2sense ... in need of a $'s worth of info :-) Thanks in advance I know one or more of you will have excellent input and/or direction .... Since stumbling across this site, I've never known anything different...
Posted by NervousDon on October 22, 2002, at 9:37:23
In reply to Re: Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene???????? » joy, posted by 2sense on October 22, 2002, at 8:38:53
I am on Nortriptylene - 125mg!! Plus I am on Zoloft at 200 mg. Psych is switching me from zoloft to Lexapro. I take the Nortriptylene at night, he also has me take 2 3mg Melatonin and 3 calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets at bedtime as well. I sleep like a rock. I don't even hear my wife get up with our 2 month old at night - I would swear she was sleeping through the night since she was born!
Nortriptylene and Zoloft were prescribed for Anxiety. Am hopeful that the Lexapro works better than the Zoloft. From the way it was described to me, the Nortrip and zoloft/Lexapro both work on different parts of the brain.
Posted by 2sense on October 22, 2002, at 9:52:33
In reply to Re: Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene????????, posted by NervousDon on October 22, 2002, at 9:37:23
> I am on Nortriptylene - 125mg!! Plus I am on Zoloft at 200 mg. Psych is switching me from zoloft to Lexapro. I take the Nortriptylene at night, he also has me take 2 3mg Melatonin and 3 calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets at bedtime as well. I sleep like a rock. I don't even hear my wife get up with our 2 month old at night - I would swear she was sleeping through the night since she was born!
> Nortriptylene and Zoloft were prescribed for Anxiety. Am hopeful that the Lexapro works better than the Zoloft. From the way it was described to me, the Nortrip and zoloft/Lexapro both work on different parts of the brain.Thanks for the quick response! Since Zoloft is an SSRI and known for the sexual side effects, and though Lexapro is supposed to be 'better' if not superior to Celexa (but the verdict is truly out on that one) and the working on two sides of the brain is one of the things the pdoc and I discussed .... have you experienced the problems with the sexual dysfunction?
Also, if you don't mind answering, how long have you been on different things? I know everyone's body is * SO * different ... mine is super sensitive to the sexual dysfunction. When the SSRI's hit the market in the early 1990's (Sleep with Prozac, etc.) I was battling anorexia and was put on all of them at one time or another over about 18 months. Since the docs have learned that sexual dysfunction and SSRI's are not limited to just men (it was how they tested original to get it to market), that SSRI's don't have the desired effect on the brain with regard to all eating disorders, e.g., they can and have helped many bulimics, and everyone's sensitivity level is vastly different. As you can see I am trying hard to figure this out, thanks for your input, truly and anything you can add ... 2sense
Posted by Ritch on October 22, 2002, at 10:21:11
In reply to Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene????????, posted by joy on October 21, 2002, at 20:21:38
> My Neuro has me on Nortriptylene for migraines [and for help with anxiety and depression]. I started at 10 mgs and now am at 20 mgs. I also started to take Prozac in the a.m. to try to get additiional AD benefits. Has anybody been successful on Nortriptyline for headaches? depression? anxiety?
> Thanks.
> JoyNortriptyline was the only tricyclic that I could tolerate taking during the daytime. It didn't work by itself very well at the dosage I was willing to take (no more than 30mgs/day). It worked quite well with low-dose Zoloft (12.5mg/day). It seems to work best with an SSRI. You should get a good response with the Prozac addition. I read a post here about taking it with Effexor with good success as well. I'm taking Effexor+Wellbutrin (AD-wise), and the WB is just a little too nerve-wracking. I think the nortriptyline's cotton mouth would be preferable.
Posted by cab on October 22, 2002, at 11:33:11
In reply to Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene????????, posted by joy on October 21, 2002, at 20:21:38
I took Pamelor when I was 15, for depression. It worked well. I took it again for two years starting when I was 18, for anxiety and depression (75 mg), and got a partial response. The side effects went away after a couple of months. (I couldn't drink alcohol with it, though; the combination gave me terrible heartburn.) I'd say that in my experience it's about comparable to SSRI's, in terms of both effectiveness and severity of side effects.
Posted by meow mary on October 22, 2002, at 14:18:30
In reply to Re: Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene????????, posted by cab on October 22, 2002, at 11:33:11
I was on Pamelor for a few months. I may not be the best person to respond because I have such a hard time with meds, but I will anyway. The adjustment period was very hard for me-- I felt really amplified fear and emotional states. Once I got over that I found it to be far superior to SSRI's. Also it helped with my fibromyalgia symptoms. Unfortunately, once I got up to a therapeutic dose I developed tachycardia. My resting pulse was 130 beats per minute, and I had to stop the day my doctor discovered it. I sat crying in his office because I thought I had finally found something that worked and had gone through such a harrowing adjustment period. I think I was at 75mgs. Anyway, as you say, everyone is so different, and you might have a very positive experience with it. And once it started working for me, it worked well (despite the minor distraction that I felt like I has having a never ending heart attack). One reason I took it in the first place is that it worked very well for my mother. Still does, and has for years.
Posted by nervousdon on October 22, 2002, at 16:58:59
In reply to Re: Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene???????? » NervousDon, posted by 2sense on October 22, 2002, at 9:52:33
Yes, I have had sexual dysfunction since taking zoloft. Total lack of sex drive and inability to achieve orgasm easier. Luckily my loving wife very understanding. I wish I didn'y have to take anything~!~!
Posted by Dave1 on October 22, 2002, at 23:56:56
In reply to Re: Anybody have experience with Nortriptylene???????? » NervousDon, posted by 2sense on October 22, 2002, at 9:52:33
nortriptyline + LITHIUM is what they are using to prevent relapse after ECTS - interesting point.
dave
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