![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by paulb on July 14, 2008, at 8:42:59
in terms of their usefulness in treating anxiety is pregabalin better than gabapentin do you think
Posted by Marty on July 17, 2008, at 17:32:04
In reply to pregabalin better than gabapentin?, posted by paulb on July 14, 2008, at 8:42:59
> in terms of their usefulness in treating anxiety is pregabalin better than gabapentin do you think
Not a doubt in my mind. WAY better.. especially at high dose: 300mg 2x per day OR 600mg 2x per day if you feel 300mg BID isn't enough. Take note that the MORE you take, the LESS sedative it is ! A strange but true, almost unknown fact ...
/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 20, 2008, at 0:14:56
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » paulb, posted by Marty on July 17, 2008, at 17:32:04
> > in terms of their usefulness in treating anxiety is pregabalin better than gabapentin do you think
>
> Not a doubt in my mind. WAY better.. especially at high dose: 300mg 2x per day OR 600mg 2x per day if you feel 300mg BID isn't enough. Take note that the MORE you take, the LESS sedative it is ! A strange but true, almost unknown fact ...
>
> /\/\artyIt is from what I hear, I wish I could use it -- it caused a vision decline from like around 20/20 to 20/40 which is noted in side effects. But then some people say the same about Neurontin which I do use.
Posted by Marty on July 20, 2008, at 0:16:55
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin?, posted by yxibow on July 20, 2008, at 0:14:56
> I wish I could use it
---
Why can't you ?/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 20, 2008, at 2:49:01
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 20, 2008, at 0:16:55
> > I wish I could use it
> ---
> Why can't you ?
>
> /\/\arty
>The blurry vision I mentioned above. Going from 20/20 to 20/40 is Not a Good thing when one is already suffering from an incredibly rare psychiatric and psychological disorder affecting ones vision in the first place.
I tried it for at least a month I think and my distance vision was decreased -- I dont think it would lift if I did further. I think it's about 5% of people or so, but that's just off the top of my head.
-- Jay
Posted by Marty on July 20, 2008, at 8:38:40
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 20, 2008, at 2:49:01
> The blurry vision I mentioned above. Going from 20/20 to 20/40 is Not a Good thing when one is already suffering from an incredibly rare psychiatric and psychological disorder affecting ones vision in the first place.
---
I understand. What are your visual symptoms ?
> I tried it for at least a month I think and my distance vision was decreased -- I dont think it would lift if I did further. I think it's about 5% of people or so, but that's just off the top of my head.
---
I'm not sure I understand you.. What is it that is happening to only 5% of the people ?/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 21, 2008, at 2:18:15
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 20, 2008, at 8:38:40
> > The blurry vision I mentioned above. Going from 20/20 to 20/40 is Not a Good thing when one is already suffering from an incredibly rare psychiatric and psychological disorder affecting ones vision in the first place.
> ---
> I understand. What are your visual symptoms ?Too many to mention -- but basically since Nov 17, 2001 some inexplicable disorder has heightened my visual awareness (bright traffic lights, afterimages, etc) that other people might recognize but filter out instantaneously. It could have been precipitated by a massive amount of paranoia (which would have been natural, but more than my peers, after 9/11.
Or it could have come anyway. Its origin remains a mystery and to my dismay all of it baffles even neurologists. I also have a cluster of somatiform complaints which if I think about too much probably pop up now and then -- odd thirst things, and a random constellation of things.
I was hesitant at first and decided to take Luvox instead in the theory that it would reduce dopamine -- whether it did or not it helped a little. Accidentally because I couldn't sleep, Remeron was discovered as a more powerful agent but the weight gain was massive. Eventually I agreed to take Seroquel, which I have been on ever since, except for a request to change to Zyprexa because I was having more oral fasciculations.
Unfortunately it didn't have a lot of effect and dropping Cymbalta with the idea of starting Luvox again wasn't the best thing either. I now possibly have something akin or actually equal to tardive dystonia in my legs and arms as a result of stiffness encountered with Zyprexa, although the somatiform disorder may amplify my feelings of it. It nonetheless is very real, just like all the very real sensations that I feel every day.
Somatiform disorders are not made up -- not terribly often -- they are distressing to the sufferer and the most common form is pseudoseizure, where anxiety is converted into actual seizures, even when the patient is not epileptic. This is most seen in ERs.
I also have a bit of intolerance to auditory sensations but that comes and goes.
I no longer feel the same benefit since I dropped Seroquel again three times cold because of fear -- though I still take it because without it my current functionality would not be the same, even though it is likely the cause of a non tardive oral tic disorder (as extensively probed by a neurologist). The tic disorder is not entirely, but fairly tied to psychological distress, when it comes out.
>
> > I tried it for at least a month I think and my distance vision was decreased -- I dont think it would lift if I did further. I think it's about 5% of people or so, but that's just off the top of my head.
> ---
> I'm not sure I understand you.. What is it that is happening to only 5% of the people ?
>
> /\/\arty
>
I was saying that around 5% of people experience visual blurriness when taking Lyrica, give or take, I don't remember the prescribing information.
-- Jay
Posted by Marty on July 21, 2008, at 3:18:19
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 21, 2008, at 2:18:15
Hi Jay,
Is part of it 'Palinopsia' ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalinopsiaI've read that the part of the brain most responsible for sensorial habituation was the a subpart of the part that was 'defective' in Parkinson disease. I find this interesting and wonder what it says about which more off-label meds could be interesting to try. Did you try Dopamine agonist ? If guess it's not exactly good for you.
/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 3:28:54
In reply to Re: pregabalin better than gabapentin? » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 21, 2008, at 3:18:19
> Hi Jay,
>
> Is part of it 'Palinopsia' ?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palinopsia
>
> I've read that the part of the brain most responsible for sensorial habituation was the a subpart of the part that was 'defective' in Parkinson disease. I find this interesting and wonder what it says about which more off-label meds could be interesting to try. Did you try Dopamine agonist ? If guess it's not exactly good for you.
>
> /\/\artyNo its not palinopsia, but some of the symptoms can be mistaken for that. I did and do have snow, but its not the "visual snow" that is visible in the picture on Wikipedia. When it was worst, the snow would interfere with my ability to read text, and I also had incredible contrast problems, especially on a computer. Still, to this day I tend to avoid clothing with very flashy patterns.
No, I have never taken any defined illegal substances in my life, although I don't particularly care about people who use pot. Minor use of it is unlikely to lead to any major consequence except for giggling, munchies, and getting fat. Of course there is always the exception, and I don't advocate it for minors. Actually to tell you the truth I always wanted to "experiment" once in my life, but mental illness and medication kind of put the kibosh on that one. Anyhow, that's irrelevant. I believe there are true medical uses for it for people with MS and HIV.
But no -- this disorder has baffled neurologists, many things have been attempted by my psychiatrist who still has faith in seeing me through to as much happiness as possible through work that I do through my psychologist.I am fortunate to have a family that is able to support me, but that is also a pushbutton for me, because I want to break free and be my own person again after this unwanted 7 year vacation, and my family basically has been my best friends and most understanding of the illness outside of the aforementioned caregivers.
They're also a bit older than most parents which scares me too because I have no relatives on this side of the country and its hard to be the one that is taken care of by family rather than the other way around and I still don't see or want to see life beyond the real and inevitable.
There are a lot of psychological and psychodynamic issues attached to this disorder as well, and yes, I did have psychological testing which revealed some things already known and some things perhaps contributed.
Unfortunately for whatever reason the Seroquel, or my psychological makeup at this point, or whatever reason does not "work" like it was in 2003. At that point I drove 8000 miles to the Arctic Ocean and back (tracing my father's roots in his place in a sense) and I felt "on par" with people. Now there is a sense of confusion and disconnectedness with people, perhaps because of being on Valium for too long, perhaps for a lot of reasons. There was a short article but convincing enough to be on the dose of Valium that I was on, and it did contribute benefits (and some obvious problems). I am titrating down on it. I actually was supposed to go on Clozaril but that has never materialized.
A dopamine agonist would amplify my disorder -- it was a theory, and perhaps not 100% of everything that something, unknown, was raising my D2 level. At first I didnt want to take APs -- I did a trial of Risperdal and that was awful. So I went on Luvox on the theory that it downregulates dopamine -- whether that actually was the case or not, it did a notch. And as I mentioned before, for whatever reason (I think because high dose Remeron acts sort of like a antipsychotic without the D2 features, e.g. dopamine blockade) Remeron worked for a while. But then it raised my weight incredibly and I wasn't watching my intake.
Finally I went on Seroquel and it "worked" for about 5-6 years. I felt fully lucid, sure, it did not cover everything. I was able to finally not see 75hz and 60hz monitor flicker. For the first time I could see movies again without distress.
I was volunteering and I eventually got a paid position, which though it made me feel good, also probably scared me plenty because my fear of death is really a fear of living -- living on my own. And at the same time unfortunately I made a choice to drop the Cymbalta because I thought it was worsening my OCD thoughts and I would go onto Luvox. And then I went onto Zyprexa and I still have not gotten rid of the varying degrees of stiffness from it -- something akin to tardive dystonia.
Depression hit that year hard, I dropped Seroquel three times out of fear of side effects -- tried Lexapro which is supposed to be the cleanest SSRI and I puked and was nauseated for two weeks. Luvox would have been better.
A neurological condition was starting to develop, which would later be diagnosed as a non tardive oral tic.
It is very psychologically motivated and can be brought on at times by obsessing about it because it is distressing but there really isn't anything that can be done that wouldn't be worse than the condition (e.g. Botox A, tetrabenazine, dopamine agonists, etc.) Clozaril was a recommendation because it was thought that Seroquel was aggravating it (and I think caused it -- mind you a very rare thing just like the Zyprexa incident).
Today Seroquel maintains my "functionality". I am a bright individual, I will not be modest about that, caught inside a body and situation that I never intended to be in or deserve (not that anyone deserves to be caught in a biochemical imbalance). But it just doesnt "cover" things like they used to be. And now the disorder has morphed again, as it has changed over time -- motion is now an added component. Although I don't believe it, cars perpendicular to me appear to be going 20-30 miles an hour faster than they should in front of my visual field.
All that for someone who depends on discerning motion -- a trained video editor.
I am not nor have I ever been psychotic. Can any of these things be described as psychoses? Well, what is the definition of that and what is the definition of reality -- I'm sure someone's interpretation of the world is completely different than another's. I am acutely aware of my condition and what is going on -- perhaps a product of my intelligence and general knowledge of medication, perhaps a lot of psychiatric and psychological issues, some of which have predated this disorder.I did have a mysterious fever slightly more than one year the disorder started, for a year. It was retrograde (less than 100) and I did have bouts of sub-operable tonsillar activity, but I have a lower than normal body temperature anyhow. (98.6 is a myth -- people vary wildly and are usually lower in the morning and higher in the evening).
But through all of that, there were dozens of tests, Valley Fever, you name it. Lyme testing eventually too. And finally the MRI that I insisted upon (I did have a 'normal' neurological test by a GP so it wasn't normally a standard of practice) -- and it was normal, showing a typical pattern of sinusitis that an MRI would show, it would always show something benign.
It remains today a mystery and that makes me feel all the more alone in this disorder. Somatoform disorders are very real conditions that have symptoms that are very real -- they are real phenomenon in the brain (e.g. seizures, bowel distress, the list is endless). Prior psychiatry used to dismiss this condition as mostly factitious in nature but that is definitely no longer the case. Do I meet all the criterion in the DSM, no, so it is called "NOS", or not otherwise specified. E.g, you have to have 4 of this and 3 of that, etc. A number of diagnoses have "NOS" after them because they just don't fit in a box.
In the 6 or 7 odd years that I have been on and off the board I have only run into one other person who I believe was diagnosed with a somatoform condition.They are out there, but ones as complex as these are not common. And there may be some OCD in it as well as I have a history of OCD, which was my major psychiatric condition as a teenager -- but I fought that off and attended university, eventually transferring to a college I graduated in a place I still yearn to return to.
I guess if I could impart something that would be common to all psychiatric conditions, is that life and career oriented strategies, and the access to therapy, is something much missing in the mental health "system" that the US painfully falls short in. Focusing on a goal that interests you rather than the disorder itself may lessen the stress, pain, and ultimately unlock some of the keys to what ails you.I'm not saying that medication isn't part of the picture -- it certainly is and I have quite a list that is a slow dance to pare down.
-- tidingsJay
Posted by Marty on July 22, 2008, at 10:15:56
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 3:28:54
Hi Jay,Thanks for sharing your story.
>I did have a mysterious fever slightly more than one year the disorder started, for a year. It was retrograde (less than 100) and I did have bouts of sub-operable tonsillar activity, but I have a lower than normal body temperature anyhow.
---
The same happened to me also.. for one year. I wonder if having our immune system 'On' for so long wouldn't have induced some brain plasticity that would have started our disease because of all our predispositions (neurological/enviromental/psychological). Interactions between the immune system and brain are pretty complex and don't expect a general Pdoc or GP base is treatment on a immune disorder hypothesis .. that said I heard some were trying experimental stuff with antibiotics and other immune system 'modulator'. It's pretty harsh and often induce depression.>A number of diagnoses have "NOS" after them because they just don't fit in a box.
---
I seem to fall in that NOS box too but still has a couple year to go before it's officially Dx. Social Phobia NOS mainly because it comes and go.>Today Seroquel maintains my "functionality". I am a bright individual, I will not be modest about that,
---
I can sense that and so here's an interesting question: how do you keep your intellect at this level of functionnality ? I don't think your at your full potential but you seems less fogged than me (actually my intellect run at about 65%)... How's your memory and executive functions ? For about 2 weeks, Tianeptine eliminated the fog and memory problems .. I had forgot what it was like to be at this level (IQ between 145 and 160 depending on the test) and I realized how much more pleasurable my life was when I could play with my intellect... now that I'm back into the fog it makes me sad and I find the whole thing cruel, but I was please to know that my brain wasn't broken by the disorder and all the meds that I took and so there's hope that I get my brain back again in the future.>I am not nor have I ever been psychotic. Can any of these things be described as psychoses?
---
Well, as much as being color blind if you ask me. (No)>And there may be some OCD in it as well as I have a history of OCD
---
Which kind ? What was your symptoms ?
Have a nice day,
/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 20:13:42
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 22, 2008, at 10:15:56
>
> Hi Jay,
>
> Thanks for sharing your story.
>
> >I did have a mysterious fever slightly more than one year the disorder started, for a year. It was retrograde (less than 100) and I did have bouts of sub-operable tonsillar activity, but I have a lower than normal body temperature anyhow.
> ---
> The same happened to me also.. for one year. I wonder if having our immune system 'On' for so long wouldn't have induced some brain plasticity that would have started our disease because of all our predispositions (neurological/enviromental/psychological). Interactions between the immune system and brain are pretty complex and don't expect a general Pdoc or GP base is treatment on a immune disorder hypothesis .. that said I heard some were trying experimental stuff with antibiotics and other immune system 'modulator'. It's pretty harsh and often induce depression.Yes, I have read in some magazine that we get that there are possible links between the immune system and depression, through a complicated set of processes. Basically the immune system fights off an infection and in turn our own interferons and other agents can develop depression in some patients.
There have been experiments though with interferon to see if it actually helps depression as I recall -- I don't remember. I believe this was in Science News but my mind is fuzzy on that.
>
> >A number of diagnoses have "NOS" after them because they just don't fit in a box.
> ---
> I seem to fall in that NOS box too but still has a couple year to go before it's officially Dx. Social Phobia NOS mainly because it comes and go.Diagnoses aren't perfect and they shouldn't be taken as a label. Focusing on the label for the diagnosis just makes things worse psychologically. But yes, things don't always fit in neat packages in the DSM, DSM-V due to come out eventually. So you're right, a number of people are diagnosed as "NOS".
> >Today Seroquel maintains my "functionality". I am a bright individual, I will not be modest about that,
> ---
> I can sense that and so here's an interesting question: how do you keep your intellect at this level of functionnality ? I don't think your at your full potential but you seems less fogged than me (actually my intellect run at about 65%)...Well I won't take that as an insult, but yes, there is a mind waiting to be unleashed. It doesn't mean I have lost it, I am still very smart. And of course discussions of intelligence naturally will bring up thoughts possibly of others on the board that they don't meet up to a standard. IQ is really only one way of measuring things and people are skilled in one thing or another. Some are skilled at a lot of things, and I tend to fall between the middle of that. I am capable of understanding a number of things in the computer field, but I am not especially a high level computer coder, for example. So everybody has their own specialty and reason for it.
How's your memory and executive functions ? For about 2 weeks, Tianeptine eliminated the fog and memory problems .. I had forgot what it was like to be at this level (IQ between 145 and 160 depending on the test) and I realized how much more pleasurable my life was when I could play with my intellect... now that I'm back into the fog it makes me sad and I find the whole thing cruel, but I was please to know that my brain wasn't broken by the disorder and all the meds that I took and so there's hope that I get my brain back again in the future.Unfortunately tianeptine is a European medication, I don't know where you live. Like all medications, taking a pill won't necessarily make you smarter or reduce the fog or cure all panaceas. In fact, on the topic of "cure" -- most medications are palleatives. You have to continue to take the "cocktail" or polypharmacy which is the technical term to receive benefits for what is a moving target, a biochemical, genetic imbalance.
There are exceptions, simple infections can possibly be "cured" by antibiotics (yet 90% of the time they are viral which means that really only obvious cases, febrile, presenting pus, etc, should be treated aggressively) but there is an overuse of them which means more and more antibiotics have to be discovered before we run out of them.
>
> >I am not nor have I ever been psychotic. Can any of these things be described as psychoses?
> ---
> Well, as much as being color blind if you ask me. (No)Of course -- about 9-11% of males are color blind, and there are multiple varieties of it.
> >And there may be some OCD in it as well as I have a history of OCD
> ---
> Which kind ? What was your symptoms ?It varied a lot but the trigger was puberty and the discovery that I was gay. I had magical thinking that mm... well anyhow I won't go into details but that people at school could think I was fantasizing about men. There was a hoarding phase.
And finally there was a washing and showering phase which started with the "ick" thought of semen and eventually descended into all things toilet related, and that there was a spreading ick and touching doorknobs, and people and dropping things on the ground and all the rest eventually led to 7 hour showers by the time it was so bad and my hands were white.
I was hospitalized voluntarily for 2 months and was in a treatment program afterwards. From the treatment program I learned through CBT to manage my disorder and it descended from a YBOCS of about 39 to nearly 11, which is basically what everyone has to an extent about all things related. So that part of things disappeared really.
But it has come into the field again as mm... not exactly what doctors would describe as "Pure O", but I have a "full head syndrome" -- in essence when I get really anxious, random thoughts, words I've heard or seen flow through my mind and annoy me and distract me from what I am concentrating on. Its hard to "just let it flow" -- because it will just flow. So basically the tide ebbs and flows. Pure O would be exclusively one thought over and over and that isn't what is happening.>
> Have a nice day,
> /\/\artyYou too -- thanks for your interest in what is happening and going on with me, and I hope you also are receiving the treatment you deserve and the life that you wish.
-- tidings and cheers
Jay
Posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 20:39:45
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 20:13:42
> How's your memory and executive functions ? For about 2 weeks, Tianeptine eliminated the fog and memory problems .. I had forgot what it was like to be at this level (IQ between 145 and 160 depending on the test) and I realized how much more pleasurable my life was when I could play with my intellect... now that I'm back into the fog it makes me sad and I find the whole thing cruel, but I was please to know that my brain wasn't broken by the disorder and all the meds that I took and so there's hope that I get my brain back again in the future.
>
> Unfortunately tianeptine is a European medication, I don't know where you live. Like all medications, taking a pill won't necessarily make you smarter or reduce the fog or cure all panaceas.
My memory forgot to talk about my memory :) No, but seriously -- Valium had its place in the past -- it actually can alleviate psychoses as much as antipsychotics, in some cases.But now, yes, I am suffering from short term memory problems and I am dialing back on the Valium. Its a double edged sword at least -- because even though I dont feel at GABA any more the "zing" from drugs that affect it, it still does something for me, because when I come down on it, more confusion occurs.
Hopefully this will be a passing trend in the months that psychotropic drugs lag -- people tend to think that an agent will just enter quickly and exit, but the timeline is much more complicated.
I don't know how low I will be able to go -- the original idea was to go as low as possible so I could take Clozaril. That hasn't happened, and I want to maintain my day to day functionality, so I still take Seroquel.
I am taking a trial of Namenda (memantine) -- I still don't really know whether Valium reduction or memantine is doing anthing for me. I know that memantine isn't doing too much bad for me so far, mainly nausea at dose intervals which dissapear.
My doctor doesn't really like to do multiple things at the same time, and I can understand that -- as noted above, we can't really appreciate what is doing what in this situation but I do have to continue both things.
Taking 9 medications (1 not psychiatric) and trying eventually to consolidate things can be a burden itself, pharmacies, remembering with a memory fog to keep things together, stocking pill trays --- sigh --- but whether I don't have hope, my doctor(s) still do have hope for the future in me if I can just stay focused.
That's an important thing I think for anybody caught in a complex disorder is to stay focused on the main game in life, and for me, I tend to retreat into the "cocoon" when things get to me, and I have to fight that.
So long story short, I think that sort of explains where things lie in that area.
-- tidings
Jay
Posted by Marty on July 22, 2008, at 23:03:34
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 22, 2008, at 20:13:42
> I can sense that and so here's an interesting question: how do you keep your intellect at this level of functionnality ? I don't think your at your full potential but you seems less fogged than me (actually my intellect run at about 65%)...
>>Well I won't take that as an insult, but yes, >>there is a mind waiting to be unleashed.
---
Sorry if it wasn't very clear: What I tried to tell you is that "It easy to see that you are indeed a smart person." and that I thought your mind was in better shape than mine (at least at this precise time). Again sorry for the misunderstanding.
>Unfortunately tianeptine is a European medication, I don't know where you live.
---
Canada.>
> >I am not nor have I ever been psychotic. Can any of these things be described as psychoses?
> ---
> Well, as much as being color blind if you ask me. (No)>>> Of course -- about 9-11% of males are color >>> blind, and there are multiple varieties of it.
---
The point was that I dont see any psychosis in your vision systoms just like I dont see any in 'color blindness'. And the rarity of your case doesn't make your visual symptoms any more 'psychotic' than other visual disturbances.
Again I'm sorry if it wasn't clear. My primary language is french by the way.>but I have a "full head syndrome".
---
The way you describe it I think I got that kind of light OCD-like symptoms. The first mental illness manifestation I've suffered was that kind of symptoms... with intrusive and incontrolable thoughts with some light paranoia .. I wont enter into the details but it was ugly and humiliating yet somehow very bannal and even funny when I think about it (15 years later)>You too -- thanks for your interest in what is happening and going on with me, and I hope you also are receiving the treatment you deserve and the life that you wish.
---
Thanks.. one day we'll find. In my case even if it takes me 50 years I intend to win this battle.I also wish you the best Jay.
/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 23, 2008, at 0:35:15
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 22, 2008, at 23:03:34
> > I can sense that and so here's an interesting question: how do you keep your intellect at this level of functionnality ? I don't think your at your full potential but you seems less fogged than me (actually my intellect run at about 65%)...
>
> >>Well I won't take that as an insult, but yes, >>there is a mind waiting to be unleashed.
> ---
> Sorry if it wasn't very clear: What I tried to tell you is that "It easy to see that you are indeed a smart person." and that I thought your mind was in better shape than mine (at least at this precise time). Again sorry for the misunderstanding.De rien. :)
> >Unfortunately tianeptine is a European medication, I don't know where you live.
> ---
> Canada.Curious -- yes, Canada gets some medications that were never approved in the US and vice versa. Servier often just ignores trying to get some medications approved in the US because of the way the FDA judges efficacy and such. Tianeptine does work for some but not a large population.
> >
> > >I am not nor have I ever been psychotic. Can any of these things be described as psychoses?
> > ---
> > Well, as much as being color blind if you ask me. (No)
>
> >>> Of course -- about 9-11% of males are color >>> blind, and there are multiple varieties of it.
> ---
> The point was that I dont see any psychosis in your vision systoms just like I dont see any in 'color blindness'. And the rarity of your case doesn't make your visual symptoms any more 'psychotic' than other visual disturbances.
> Again I'm sorry if it wasn't clear. My primary language is french by the way.Mon language primaire c'est anglais :) J'ai pris deux ans a l'université et deux ans a l'ecole secondaire mais j'oublis presque tout. Si je lisais Le Monde et quelques choses je n'aurais besoin d'uitiliser un dictionnaire et un traducteur :)
14 years ago I could read the French on the Montreal subway and speak to the employee at McDonalds that I wanted mustard -- Je besoin de moutarde.... although I know she well knew what I was saying in English. :)
Its a nice city -- I'd like to visit again. I really do love Canada, its relatively cleaner and people don't stock up on weapons -- I've been to a fair bit of it but not the maritimes and deep prairies (except Edmonton/Calgary). I've been to Vancouver countless times.
-- Jay
Posted by Marty on July 23, 2008, at 10:19:20
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » Marty, posted by yxibow on July 23, 2008, at 0:35:15
> De rien. :)
---
Ahah> > Canada.
>
> Curious -- yes, Canada gets some medications that were never approved in the US and vice versa.
---
Tianeptine isn't approved in Canada neither. But it's not a controlled substance which it also the case in the US (depending on the source of information.. I didn't check the FDA)
> Mon language primaire c'est anglais :) J'ai pris deux ans a l'université et deux ans a l'ecole secondaire mais j'oublis presque tout. Si je lisais Le Monde et quelques choses je n'aurais besoin d'uitiliser un dictionnaire et un traducteur :)
---
I'm glad this gave you the chance to practice a little. You know what they say : "You use it or you lose it". It feels ackward to be answered in french at PBabble. lol> 14 years ago I could read the French on the Montreal subway and speak to the employee at McDonalds that I wanted mustard -- Je besoin de moutarde.... although I know she well knew what I was saying in English. :)
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The irony is that depending of where is the McDo/commerce you could be praticing your french with someone who speak english as his primarty language. Many places has concentration of english speaking people high enough that actually speak to you in english right away before knowing if you're speaking french.
> Its a nice city
---
Yes I think it is. Personally I prefer living in one of its suburban where it's more quiet and relax as it's suit me much better when I'm stressed/anxious.Btw, what does Mementine do ? noticed ANY changes at all ? mood, anxiety, stability, sex, cognitively etc ...
/\/\arty
Posted by yxibow on July 24, 2008, at 1:37:26
In reply to Re: Somatoform condition » yxibow, posted by Marty on July 23, 2008, at 10:19:20
> > De rien. :)
> ---
> Ahah
>
> > > Canada.
> >
> > Curious -- yes, Canada gets some medications that were never approved in the US and vice versa.
> ---
> Tianeptine isn't approved in Canada neither. But it's not a controlled substance which it also the case in the US (depending on the source of information.. I didn't check the FDA)
Yes, its not a controlled substance -- so it could theoretically be imported I suppose then from France, because it was quietly put into the Customs and Border Protection around Oct 2006... I digress...(good grief, our Homeland system and their renaming of things, when I was in Tok, Alaska at the LORAN station, it had a freshly painted renamed sign, it was hysterical -- I mean you could walk around the place and take pictures of this giant antenna and nobody blinked an eye -- anyhow, politics)
...that you could legally import non controlled substances into the US from legitimate pharmacies with a prescription for 90 days. It still isn't mentioned.
But its easier to import from properly regulated pharmacies in Canada (typically Manitoba).
Of course this all is taboo on here so I won't go further.
> > Mon language primaire c'est anglais :) J'ai pris deux ans a l'université et deux ans a l'ecole secondaire mais j'oublis presque tout. Si je lisais Le Monde et quelques choses je n'aurais besoin d'uitiliser un dictionnaire et un traducteur :)
> ---
> I'm glad this gave you the chance to practice a little. You know what they say : "You use it or you lose it". It feels ackward to be answered in french at PBabble. lol:) I like languages -- a number of people I've met over the years have been linguists or interested in linguistics, which is also a cornerstone of computer science.
> > 14 years ago I could read the French on the Montreal subway and speak to the employee at McDonalds that I wanted mustard -- Je besoin de moutarde.... although I know she well knew what I was saying in English. :)
> ---
> The irony is that depending of where is the McDo/commerce you could be praticing your french with someone who speak english as his primarty language. Many places has concentration of english speaking people high enough that actually speak to you in english right away before knowing if you're speaking french.Yes, Montreal is much more cosmopolitan and anglophone than Quebec City (which I haven't visited but I have heard that people expect and speak much more French).
> > Its a nice city
> ---
> Yes I think it is. Personally I prefer living in one of its suburban where it's more quiet and relax as it's suit me much better when I'm stressed/anxious.
I visited basically around the main Ile de Montreal and McGill (which I would have gone to had they liked my grades) There was some summer festival going on, a quintessentially French canard/joke thing, I forget. It was also gay pride at the time which I didn't know.
> Btw, what does Mementine do ? noticed ANY changes at all ? mood, anxiety, stability, sex, cognitively etc ...
>
> /\/\artyWell officially Namenda is an uncompetitive antagonist of the NMDA/glutamate transmitter system and officially an drug for improvement in cognition in Alzheimer's patients. It's degree of improvement in those patients is questioned, but any agent at the moment just as for cancer patients is likely to only prolong life and happiness for a smaller number of people than drugs for other disorders.
Opposite to that though are the NMDA antagonists which are dissociatives, one of the worst being PCP.
But memantine is used in the US "off label" in psychiatry for an attempt to improve memory with a complex system of agents that may produce haziness.
Is it doing anything for me? I don't know. I don't think it is doing anything against me at this point -- it is fairly well tolerated, just a mild bit of nausea at dose intervals. The primary reason I guess was to see if it could offset some of the Valium/Seroquel fog. But then I am also reducing my Valium, so which is doing what at the moment is unclear. I think that over the long run reducing my Valium may possibly reduce some confusion and forgetfulness caused by it, yet it is an unknown and scary prospect that the benefits I still gain from it could also increase symptoms, which ironically are confusion and difficulty in "separating the floodgate", that is -- the "too much input" problem.
Crowds of people, lines of food on shelves especially under fluorescent lights can, at times, when I am the most anxious, be disconcerting. (I'm not agoraphobic, the opposite, I desperately need social contact, and I miss the 'normality' of being 'on par' with people, e.g. going to the movies or remembering posessions, or all the visual symptoms that people take for granted.)
It may be a pushbutton for those who are fighting major depression, but if I "just had depression" and my neurological effects from medication, I could be a bit more content. Its everything all mixed together, flying car motion syndrome, "keeping up" with fast paced television and SFX that makes me feel alone. But I repeat myself.
Anyhow that is the Namenda story -- I am still going up to 20, possibly, the highest typical dose. And it may not do much for me, I must say -- I mean I don't want 25 medications on board and I dare say my doctor would agree, but if there is a combination that does something useful and the benefits definitely outweigh the risks, then so be.
I had gotten onto the Deplin train, which has been touted for depression, but while it is a prescription "medical food", it is not like Namenda, I believe -- it does have possible significant side effects for those prone to anxiety.And after a certain point, the anxiety came out in high blood pressure "pangs" related to psychological feelings, like getting ready to drive or something of the sort. I had to use propranolol and I eventually discarded the use. The 160/90 episodes stopped. Is it something I could revisit, who knows?
-- tidings
Jay
This is the end of the thread.
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