![[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 Mike_H on June 22, 2011, at 19:07:32
Help!
SO, I started Nardil about a week and a half ago. I started at 15mg, and upped my dose to 30mg after five days. Everything went great the first week. I felt a bit manic, but nothing serious. I actually felt a lot less anxious.
Since then I've been in like a zombie-state. I'm exhausted all the time, and I haven't been sleeping well.
I don't trust that my doc knows enough about this med as he hasn't prescribed it in 20 years. I need advice.
I am super-sensitive to medication. ~5mg of Zoloft made me feel like a zombie. I couldn't get past 10mg of Lexapro. I feel 1mg of Lexapro every time I take it. I notice my blood pressure drop when I took 10mg of Propranolol. Hell, sometimes I even feel Tylenol. I'm wondering if it's necessary for me to get up to 60mg or so?
Should I at least wait until the side-effects wear off at 30mg before moving up to 45mg?
Honestly, I'd just like to go back down to 15mg.
HELP!
Posted by zonked on June 22, 2011, at 21:30:58
In reply to nardil HELP!, posted by Mike_H on June 22, 2011, at 19:07:32
> Help!
>
> SO, I started Nardil about a week and a half ago. I started at 15mg, and upped my dose to 30mg after five days. Everything went great the first week. I felt a bit manic, but nothing serious. I actually felt a lot less anxious.Pretty typical =) Hypomania when starting Nardil is VERY common, and when it does happen, it may be transient. Jedi's written pretty extensively about this.
> Since then I've been in like a zombie-state. I'm exhausted all the time, and I haven't been sleeping well.
Nardil can cause pretty awful mid-day fatigue, as well as insomnia or sleep that feels, well, unresetful. I've learned to accept these side effects because this drug enables me to live a normal life.
I manage the mid-day fatigue by forcing myself to go out walking around 2-4ish (so I'm not tempted to fall asleep), and occasionally with an afternoon caffeinated soda, or two.
> I don't trust that my doc knows enough about this med as he hasn't prescribed it in 20 years. I need advice.
You've come to the right place. Hopefully other Nardilers will weigh in as well.
> I'm wondering if it's necessary for me to get up to 60mg or so?Usually, you need at least 45mg. I've never heard of a sustained response from lower dosages but it's probably not impossible.
1mg of Nardil per kg of body weight is a measure some people use, but in my case I don't need that much. I personally have found that with higher doses the side effects are a bit more pronounced, though that may not be true of others. YMMV...
> Should I at least wait until the side-effects wear off at 30mg before moving up to 45mg?I wish I could tell ya.
> Honestly, I'd just like to go back down to 15mg.While I understand your frustration, I have yet to hear of a case of someone doing well on only 15mg of Nardil per day. The "usual starting dose", in fact, is 15mg 3 times a day (which is more than what you're taking.)
Nardil's side effects are annoying. But you may get used to them, or they may lessen in severity over time.
As someone has said on another forum, getting a doctor to even prescribe a MAOI is half the battle - some docs refuse to touch them period, even for treatment-resistant patients. Hang in there!!
-z
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 23, 2011, at 19:43:14
In reply to Re: nardil HELP! » Mike_H, posted by zonked on June 22, 2011, at 21:30:58
Given that you're so sensetive to med side effects, perhaps Nardil isnt the drug for you?
Sometimes you have to tough it out, put up with the side effects initialy because of the long term good the drug can bring. Side effects oftn fade/you get used to them with time, it might just be a matter of sucking it up for 4 weeks or so.
When you say you can "feel" Tylenol, what exactly do you mean? It is generaly felt to have no cognitive side effects at all, and indeed, virtualy no side effects at all in normal doses.
Posted by sigismund on June 23, 2011, at 21:08:04
In reply to nardil HELP!, posted by Mike_H on June 22, 2011, at 19:07:32
>Honestly, I'd just like to go back down to 15mg.
Why not?
In due course you will no doubt increase the dose as you get used to it.
Posted by Mike_H on June 23, 2011, at 21:39:31
In reply to Re: nardil HELP!, posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 23, 2011, at 19:43:14
> Given that you're so sensetive to med side effects, perhaps Nardil isnt the drug for you?
>Well I suffer from social anxiety, and nothing has worked so far. I need something to ease the anxiety so I can function in everyday social situations to help build my confidence. I'm tired of getting on medication and finding it doesn't help. Nardil, from what I've heard, is the gold standard treatment for social anxiety. We'll see, I guess.
> Sometimes you have to tough it out, put up with the side effects initialy because of the long term good the drug can bring. Side effects oftn fade/you get used to them with time, it might just be a matter of sucking it up for 4 weeks or so.
>I agree.
> When you say you can "feel" Tylenol, what exactly do you mean? It is generaly felt to have no cognitive side effects at all, and indeed, virtualy no side effects at all in normal doses.
I feel a bit like I've had a half a beer. I feel calm and slightly euphoric.
Posted by zonked on June 24, 2011, at 10:32:24
In reply to Re: nardil HELP!, posted by Mike_H on June 23, 2011, at 21:39:31
> > Sometimes you have to tough it out, put up with the side effects initialy because of the long term good the drug can bring. Side effects oftn fade/you get used to them with time, it might just be a matter of sucking it up for 4 weeks or so.
> >
>
> I agree.Stick with it - I agree as well. :-)
> > When you say you can "feel" Tylenol, what exactly do you mean? It is generaly felt to have no cognitive side effects at all, and indeed, virtualy no side effects at all in normal doses.
>
> I feel a bit like I've had a half a beer. I feel calm and slightly euphoric.If only Tylenol did that for the rest of us, it'd make a great "rescue" med. That's interesting. :-)
-z
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.