![[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 kakalak on October 28, 2011, at 1:22:35
9/29 I started 10mgs Parnate for 1 week, 20mgs second week. I felt OK in the morning but by the evening I was a wreck. My mood has never been so unstable before. Pdoc said take another 10mgs at 2pm. That's when the insomnia really kicked in. Now I take Ambien every night. 10mgs doesn't work but 20 make me hallucinate. So 15mgs it is. I get headaches several times throughout the day and still feel crappy in the evening. I'm very sensitive to foods on the restriction list. Most of my research said newer studies showed low levels in tyramine in certain things so I've been trying them. No crisis yet buy my bp does go up and I get another headache. Things like bananas, peanut butter, Campbell's soup (msg?). Even the tiniest bit of tytamine makes me feel yucky.
I'm really disappointed. I hoped Parnate would be the best option for me and I think I may have made a poor decision and made my life more difficult. I'm really losing hope and just want to feel better.
It's been a month. How long was it before you started feeling better? Any success stories?
Posted by SLS on October 28, 2011, at 6:10:58
In reply to Is it working yet? Parnate, posted by kakalak on October 28, 2011, at 1:22:35
> I'm really disappointed. I hoped Parnate would be the best option for me and I think I may have made a poor decision
I doubt there was anything poor about your decision. It was probably very sound. Parnate might not work out for you, but even doctors are without crystal balls. Don't judge yourself and your decision harshly.
Most people don't receive an antidepressant response from Parnate until a dosage of 40mg is reached. For now, I don't think it makes sense to be playing around with foods.
- Scott
Posted by emmanuel98 on October 28, 2011, at 19:06:25
In reply to Re: Is it working yet? Parnate » kakalak, posted by SLS on October 28, 2011, at 6:10:58
I started on 30mg parnate and have stuck there. It made me feel better within days. I have been on it two and a half years and, while I have had periods of deep depression, I have never had a period like I had before parnate -- two months in bed, unable to get up, function, sleeping all the time.
Posted by kakalak on November 2, 2011, at 9:08:27
In reply to Re: Is it working yet? Parnate, posted by emmanuel98 on October 28, 2011, at 19:06:25
That's awesome it's working for you. I haven't had the same luck.
I'm on the same dosage as you and have severe insomnia (I guess it's all severe when you're not sleeping)from Parnate. I have to take Ambien to sleep and if I don't take it the minute I get in bed I miss the "sleep window" and will be up all night. Also, if I have to get up during the night for longer than 20 minutes, I can't get back to sleep. Because I have a baby and have been having blackout moments I'm not comfortable taking it anymore.
Rather than switch the sleep meds, my pdoc wants me to switch from Parnate to Nardil. He hopes the insomnia won't be so bad for me with Nardil.
I really hope it works. I've only slept a few hours in the past 48 and can't afford to miss anymore work. I'm a mess.
Posted by Seige on November 2, 2011, at 10:22:40
In reply to Switching from Parnate to Nardil, posted by kakalak on November 2, 2011, at 9:08:27
Hey kakalak,
Parnate actually *makes me depressed* until a week after I hit the 60mg mark. And yeah, the initial insomnia and feeling sick was *massive*.
But if you be careful with your food, I think its worth sticking through it and steadily working your way up at least to 60mg. Also note the food thing isn't a definite, I could eat anything even at 150mg Parnate.
Good luck, Parnate can be incredibly powerful when it works!
Posted by Chairman_MAO on November 14, 2011, at 20:21:15
In reply to Re: Switching from Parnate to Nardil, posted by Seige on November 2, 2011, at 10:22:40
I'm not sure that it's the best thing for sleep architecture, but FWIW I had good luck using clonidine with a hypnotic (like ambien, etc.). It counteracts the sympathetic activation.
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.