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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 18:06:51
Hi Everyone -- Long story short, after trying a host of medications over the years (and having had decent success with Wellbutrin until it pooped out on me a couple of years ago), I've finally decided to go the MAOI route and started Parnate yesterday.
As many of you know, this was a somewhat agonizing decision, given the restrictions it comes with, but I had an amazing reaction to some supplements about 6 weeks ago that showed me what COMPLETE REMISSION felt like and I realized I no longer want to go on living life halfway -- the way I have been for years since the primary benefits of the Wellbutrin wore off. The effects from the ingested supplements lasted only 3 days (no matter how much I increased the dose, I was unable to extend the relief), but that showed me that my brain WAS capable of feeling good -- really good -- and I decided if I had to give up some cheese and Chinese to regain that feeling, it would be so worth it.
I'm posting here partially just to have someone to share my experiences with, but also to hopefully get some positive feedback from people who've had success with Parnate (taking name brand, btw). I'm looking for reinforcement, I guess, because during my 2 week wash-out after the Wellbutrin, I ready probably 200 posts on this site about MAOI's in general and many about Parnate specifically and while I certainly remember reading posts about people having great success with Parnate, I also see many of the same names posting here who are currently trying other meds who seemed to be enjoying much success with Parnate in the past.
So...if you've had success with Parnate in the past, could you tell me about your experience? How long did it take for you to reach remission? To feel significant improvement? I just started taking it yesterday (20mg/day) and after the 2nd 10mg dose both days, I do believe I started feeling just a little better -- a tiny bit less anxious and maybe just a little brighter, but it's really hard to tell about the possibly mood-brightening...I may just be feeling relieved to not be experiencing as much anxiety. My primary diagnosis is MDD with a good dose of anxiety thrown in for good measure, though it's hard to say how much of the anxiety is from the Nuvigil and/or caffeine I consume to try to motivate myself or whether that's there all by itself. In any event, I'm trying to relieve both symptoms.
My Dr. is willing to prescribe Nuvigil w/the Parnate (which I understand is rare) and I have a couple left over from when I took them for a while w/the Wellbutrin, so I took half of one today with my first dose of Parnate because I seemed a little groggier when I awoke this morning than normal...still felt overall less anxious today, despite adding 1/2 a Nuvigil.
I'm rambling here about myself, when what I'd really like is some encouragement that I might be on the right path. I've read so many amazing things on AskaPatient and I want those things to be true for me too, but the (seemingly) limited success experienced by many here on this board has me a bit discouraged. Your thoughts?
Posted by emmanuel98 on November 16, 2010, at 19:47:49
In reply to Parnate Hope??, posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 18:17:03
I've been taking parnate for over a year and, when I started it, was in a severe vegetative depression and hadn't gotten out of bed in weeks. Within 48 hours, I felt competely better. I was in the hospital and got up and started exercising on this stationary bike they had. I hadn't moved in nearly two months, had attempted suicide, was in complete despair, had tried a bunch of SSRIs, SNRIs and AAPs. The AAPs had helped me but made me gain a lot of weight. The parnate to me was a godsend. I have been depressed since, but it was situational, not vegetative like before. The only side effects I had were (1) postural hypotension, which went away after a few months and (2) insomnia, which I still have but I treat with trazadone and ativan, successfully. I generally sleep 8-9 hours and feel wide awake the next day. To me it was a miracle drug. I take 30mg - 10 mg 3X a day and have stayed at that dose from the begining.
Hope you are as lucky as I was.
Posted by Tomatheus on November 16, 2010, at 19:55:38
In reply to Parnate Hope?, posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 18:06:51
MissThang,
Thank you for your in-depth and well-written post, and welcome to Psycho-Babble. I've had some success with Parnate in the past, most of which was on the version of the medication marketed in the U.K. by Goldshield, but I've also taken the American GlaxoSmithKline version. Basically what happened when I tried the GlaxoSmithKline version of Parnate was that I noticed a definite stimulating effect right after I took my first tablet. Unfortunately, I also felt a strong urge to sleep later that afternoon after the stimulating effect wore off. After a few days, I seemed to have developed a tolerance to the stimulation that I experienced on day one of Parnate, but the sleepiness that I felt midday continued. I got up to 20 mg, but after about two weeks on the medication, I stopped taking it because the midday sleepiness was interfering with my ability to attend afternoon and evening classes that I was taking at the time.
My experience with the U.K. Goldshield version of Parnate (which, if my understanding is correct, is technically generic tranylcypromine) was much different from my experience with the GlaxoSmithKline version of the drug. As the case was with the supplement that you described taking in your post, all of my depressive symptoms (lack of energy, psychomotor retardation, hypersomnia, anhedonia, and difficulty concentrating, in my case) went into full remission on this Goldshield tranylcypromine for about three days before the medication's benefits faded. Increasing the dose to 20 mg led me to experience remission for three days once again, but once again I was left with little-to-no antidepressant benefits from the Goldshield tranylcypromine after those first three days at 20 mg. I eventually ended up adding SAMe to the Goldshield tranylcypromine that I was taking (which I wouldn't recommend, considering that the two substances are contraindicated) and experienced partial-but-consistent antidepressant benefits from the combination. I stopped the tranylcypromine after being on it with SAMe for about three months -- after I developed psychotic symptoms that seemed to be triggered by taking aminoguanidine with my combo.
So, I kind of have a long and complicated history with Parnate, some of which was good, but a lot of which wasn't so good. That's just my experience with the medication, though, and I don't think that it should necessarily be used to predict how somebody else might respond to the drug. As you said from having read reviews on Parnate on the AskaPatient site, a lot of people respond favorably and consistently to Parnate -- even the GlaxoSmithKline version of the medication. So, I would give it a chance, but also approach the trial not knowing what to expect, because anything from a negative reaction to full remission may occur.
I wish you luck in your quest to get back to experiencing full remission from your symptoms. I too have had the problem of experiencing remission (or at least a very strong response) on medications and supplements for only three days, but I did manage to experience remission for longer when I took Nardil. Unfortunately, my trial with Nardil ended badly, and now, having a permanent psychosis, I seriously doubt that I'll ever get back to the remission that I experienced on Nardil. I've pretty much come to accept that the 70 percent remission that I'm currently experiencing from my depressive symptoms may be the closest to remission that I'll get again. I do, however, think that there's a good possibility that you'll be able to achieve a long-lasting remission with the right medication, supplement, or combination thereof.
Good luck,
Tomatheus
Posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 20:47:26
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope?, posted by Tomatheus on November 16, 2010, at 19:55:38
Thank you for your input, T. I do hope I'm one of those people who can soon rave about Parnate on AskaPatient and not be tempted again by just a few days of remission which only reminds me about what I'm missing.
Good luck in your continued search!
Posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 20:58:06
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by emmanuel98 on November 16, 2010, at 19:47:49
Emmanual -- Thank you so much for your encouraging post. 48 hours, huh? That's amazing! I'd read a few stories about reaching remission that quickly, but thought perhaps I was being overly hopeful about my timeline. I'm willing to give this drug a fair trial, and I do hope the minor tinges of good mood I believe I'm perceiving are real and not placebo-based, but I guess only time will tell.
Your post has left me very encouraged, though...one whole year of being (mostly) undepressed -- what heaven that would be! I can only imagine how much I will get accomplished during such an extended period if I get the opportuity.
How long were the depressive episodes you experienced this past year? I understand that it's normal to feel some depression based on situations that arise and I really think I'd be ok with that on occasion if I knew that it wasn't the start of another decade of feeling that way, you know?
Posted by emmanuel98 on November 17, 2010, at 19:15:42
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by MissThang on November 16, 2010, at 20:58:06
The depression I had this year lasted a couple of months, but it was nothing like the depression I had before I started parnate. At that time, I was virtually catatonic. This summer, I went through some very hard times emotionally and I admit to having some f**ked up emotional issues which I needed to work on in therapy, but I had quit therapy since I was feeling better. The depression I felt was entirely emotional -- lots of negative self-talk, feeling lonely and abandoned, stuff like that. I got over it after getting back in therapy again.
Posted by MissThang on November 17, 2010, at 19:26:31
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by emmanuel98 on November 16, 2010, at 19:47:49
Well, so far, I'm just on 20mg, but am hoping to go up to 30mg tomorrow. Today was pretty rough though...had pretty severe blood pressure spikes most of the afternoon...hoping it's just cause I took 1/2 a Nuvigil and perhaps that, combined with some posssible stimulent type effects of the Parnate caused the spikes...if I don't take the Nuvigil tomorrow and my pressure stays fairly steady to low, I'll add a 3rd 10mg dose tomorrow and hope it'll bring me up to a moderately therapeutic level.
So glad to hear you're doing so well. Do you agument with anything other than your sleep meds?
Posted by emmanuel98 on November 18, 2010, at 18:56:52
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by MissThang on November 17, 2010, at 19:26:31
>
> So glad to hear you're doing so well. Do you agument with anything other than your sleep meds?Since this summer, I have been taking lamictal. I don't think it really does much for me, but I don't have any side effects from it so my p-doc would just as soon keep me on it.
Good luck. I hope parnate works for you.
Posted by MissThang on November 18, 2010, at 20:31:58
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by emmanuel98 on November 18, 2010, at 18:56:52
Emmanual -- For the last 2 years I was on Wellbutrin, I augmented with Abilify. I found it to be slightly activating with a slight increase in my libido and sexual responsiveness. I know Abilify is also one of the ones that's safe to take with Parnate...if the Lamictal isn't helping any, perhaps you may want to give it a try?
Posted by emmanuel98 on November 18, 2010, at 23:12:37
In reply to Re: Parnate Hope??, posted by MissThang on November 18, 2010, at 20:31:58
Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I had used abilify in the past and it was a miracle drug for me, like parnate -- 10 mg and within 48 hours I felt fine. But I gained so much weight from it.... Most people don't gain weight on abilify, but if they do, it's fast and sudden. So I can't take abilify anymore. Anyway, I'm good. The lamictal doesn't help, really, but doesn't hurt and my p-doc is big on lamictal. I don't really need and adjunct to the parnate anyway, except for sleep aids.
This is the end of the thread.
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