![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Girlnterrupted78 on January 5, 2010, at 14:42:23
So I'm on Parnate 80mgs, Adderall 15mgs, and was on Nortriptyline 100mgs for about 3-4 weeks.
Nortriptyline did nothing for me at all except it took all the energy I was getting off the Parnate-Adderal combo. Whatever positive effect I was having on those two, I felt Nortriptyline just came to cancel them.
Besides, I began sleeping a LOT. On Parnate and Adderall I had some exacerbated insomnia--which wasn't such a bad thing because it seems like sleep deprivation aids in depression--or at least it did in my case. After 2 nights without sleep I felt very well.. but whenever I got sleep I always woke up crying and feeling miserable.. so for a while I kept going on 2 straight nights without sleep.. and the third night when I crashed I had to put 5 alarms because if I slept more than 12 hours I knew it would become nightmare on elm street.. it was awful how bad I felt upon waking.. I always cried for at least an hour,, and I had horrible thoughts bombard me.
One time I didn't even realize I had slept through a whole day and I kept thinking it was Monday, as I vividly remembered what I had done Sunday night.. turns out it was Tuesday.. and I felt like I was waking from a comma.. could do nothing but cry and didn't recognize my room or what was going on.
Anyway.. just wondering if anyone can tell me whether Nortriptyline gets worse before it gets better? I gave it up after I felt I had given it a long enough try and it made me even worse than before.. just felt more tired, less motivated, and even slightly more depressed on it.. I just hope I did the right thing.
Also, did anyone get severe carb cravings on it? I've gone on so many carb binges in the last few days, that I don't know if it's just me, or Nortriptyline had something to do with it.. I've always loved carbs, but I wonder if the med somehow exacerbated my cravings..
If anybody had a similar experience or knows how this works, I'd appreciate any info you can offer.
Thanks.
Posted by Phillipa on January 5, 2010, at 16:27:29
In reply to Got off Nortriptyline after reaching 100mg, posted by Girlnterrupted78 on January 5, 2010, at 14:42:23
Sorry about your experience. I once was on 10mg of pamelor same as nort I think. I too slept through a whole day and that was a very low dose. Also on benzos at time for sleep but still had insomnia. Hence tried the pamelor. Obligations to animals and such I couldn't afford to not be up. So went off it. Love Phillipa
Posted by Maxime on January 5, 2010, at 18:21:06
In reply to Got off Nortriptyline after reaching 100mg, posted by Girlnterrupted78 on January 5, 2010, at 14:42:23
Maybe your dosage is too high. Did you have a blood test done to measure the levels in your system?
I take 75 mg of Nortriptyline with my Parnate and the only ill effect I have had is that I can't taste anything, and everything tastes like metal.
Posted by ColoradoSnowflake on January 5, 2010, at 22:53:38
In reply to Re: Got off Nortriptyline after reaching 100mg » Girlnterrupted78, posted by Maxime on January 5, 2010, at 18:21:06
I take 5-10mg nortriptyline and that's enough to help me sleep and mellow out the parnate.
As Maxime suggested you might get your blood level done, or take a smaller amount and see how that does?
Hope you're doing well!!
g
Posted by polarbear206 on January 6, 2010, at 10:44:44
In reply to Got off Nortriptyline after reaching 100mg, posted by Girlnterrupted78 on January 5, 2010, at 14:42:23
> So I'm on Parnate 80mgs, Adderall 15mgs, and was on Nortriptyline 100mgs for about 3-4 weeks.
>
> Nortriptyline did nothing for me at all except it took all the energy I was getting off the Parnate-Adderal combo. Whatever positive effect I was having on those two, I felt Nortriptyline just came to cancel them.
>
> Besides, I began sleeping a LOT. On Parnate and Adderall I had some exacerbated insomnia--which wasn't such a bad thing because it seems like sleep deprivation aids in depression--or at least it did in my case. After 2 nights without sleep I felt very well.. but whenever I got sleep I always woke up crying and feeling miserable.. so for a while I kept going on 2 straight nights without sleep.. and the third night when I crashed I had to put 5 alarms because if I slept more than 12 hours I knew it would become nightmare on elm street.. it was awful how bad I felt upon waking.. I always cried for at least an hour,, and I had horrible thoughts bombard me.
>
> One time I didn't even realize I had slept through a whole day and I kept thinking it was Monday, as I vividly remembered what I had done Sunday night.. turns out it was Tuesday.. and I felt like I was waking from a comma.. could do nothing but cry and didn't recognize my room or what was going on.
>
> Anyway.. just wondering if anyone can tell me whether Nortriptyline gets worse before it gets better? I gave it up after I felt I had given it a long enough try and it made me even worse than before.. just felt more tired, less motivated, and even slightly more depressed on it.. I just hope I did the right thing.
>
> Also, did anyone get severe carb cravings on it? I've gone on so many carb binges in the last few days, that I don't know if it's just me, or Nortriptyline had something to do with it.. I've always loved carbs, but I wonder if the med somehow exacerbated my cravings..
>
> If anybody had a similar experience or knows how this works, I'd appreciate any info you can offer.
>
> Thanks.I find it hard to believe your doctor didn't monitor your nortrip blood levels, esp. when taking it with an MAOI. That's a high dose to be taking with Parnate. Have you ever trialed a mood stablizer?
Posted by SLS on January 6, 2010, at 11:04:42
In reply to Re: Got off Nortriptyline after reaching 100mg, posted by polarbear206 on January 6, 2010, at 10:44:44
> I find it hard to believe your doctor didn't monitor your nortrip blood levels, esp. when taking it with an MAOI. That's a high dose to be taking with Parnate.
If a person is a rapid metabolizer of tricyclics (P450 2D6), they might need up to 150mg. For me, I have found that I need the same dosage of nortriptyline to glean a therapeutic effect, whether it be used as monotherapy or combined with Parnate. Of course, this might not be the case with everyone.
- Scott
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.