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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by europerep on September 21, 2013, at 14:52:28
Hello all,
I think it's been a while since I last opened a thread, and I just have relatively simple, if maybe unusual, question.
I have been taking nortriptyline (along with some other meds) for a while now, with relatively decent results. What I have observed, however, is that I am very sensitive to even very small dose increases or decreases. I've been experimenting with differing doses of nortriptyline, along with differing doses of the other meds, and I've made good progress by just slightly tweaking the amounts I take.
When I wanted to adjust the amounts of other meds I take, I simply got capsules with beads inside that I could count, in order to then adjust the dose by taking out a fixed number of beads. (Sounds tedious, and it is, but it works very well.) The problem is that, in my country, nortriptyline is only available as 10mg and 25mg tablets, so the smallest dose that I can reliably reproduce is 2.5mg, because splitting a tiny pill into 1/8ths or even less is basically impossible.
So, what I am looking for is nortriptyline in capsule form with beads inside that I can count. I managed to obtain a foreign nortriptyline brand that comes in capsules, but there is powder inside the capsules instead of beads (never seen that before).
So, I would like to ask those members here who are currently taking nortriptyline, or have taken it: does pr did your product come as capsules with beads inside? If you have capsules but don't know what exactly is inside, just take a capsule and shake it. If there are beads inside it'll make a rattling noise, whereas powder-filles capsules don't make a sound at all.
I'd greatly appreciate any help!
Thanks,ER
Posted by doxogenic boy on September 22, 2013, at 15:42:17
In reply to Q for those taking (or having taken) nortriptyline, posted by europerep on September 21, 2013, at 14:52:28
>
> So, I would like to ask those members here who are currently taking nortriptyline, or have taken it: does pr did your product come as capsules with beads inside? If you have capsules but don't know what exactly is inside, just take a capsule and shake it. If there are beads inside it'll make a rattling noise, whereas powder-filles capsules don't make a sound at all.
-------------
I took Noritren, branded nortriptyline in 2001. It was and still is in 10 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg tablets in Norway. Noritren didn't work as good as SSRIs against anxiety but it probably had an antidepressant effect. When I stopped it abruptly, I got hypomanic.Have you measured blood levels of nortriptyline, and have you tested if you are a slow metabolizer? I used from 50 to 150 mg Noritren. On 150 mg, my blood levels were three times as high as the top of the normal range. 50 mg was enough for me to be within the therapeutic window, and I am a slow metabolizer.
I found something about nortriptyline capsules here:
http://www.rxlist.com/nortriptyline-hydrochloride-drug.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nortriptyline
Quote:
"Dosage availability is 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 75 mg capsules (Sandoz/Mallinckrodt Pharm)."- doxogenic
Posted by europerep on September 22, 2013, at 16:22:04
In reply to Re: Q for those taking (or having taken) nortriptyline » europerep, posted by doxogenic boy on September 22, 2013, at 15:42:17
> I took Noritren, branded nortriptyline in 2001. It was and still is in 10 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg tablets in Norway.
Ah, so Noritren is Norwegian. I've seen that brand name across the internet, but I never knew where it's actually from.
> Have you measured blood levels of nortriptyline, and have you tested if you are a slow metabolizer? I used from 50 to 150 mg Noritren. On 150 mg, my blood levels were three times as high as the top of the normal range. 50 mg was enough for me to be within the therapeutic window, and I am a slow metabolizer.
I've never had my blood levels of nortriptyline checked, but I don't think that would make much sense. I have a history of responding to "weird" amounts of drugs. Plus, if I raise or lower my current nortriptyline dose by just 2.5mg, I notice clear differences, and I'm not sure whether blood levels would be sufficiently precise and reproduceable to have them guide my search for the ideal dose.
> "Dosage availability is 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 75 mg capsules (Sandoz/Mallinckrodt Pharm)."
Yes, I was hoping someone here took those nortriptyline brands and could therefore answer my question. Although I think Mallinckrodt is the manufacturer of Pamelor, which is *ridiculously* expensive (I've found prices up to $1000 for a box of 30 capsules), so that one is out of consideration anyway.
Thanks for your reply!
Posted by doxogenic boy on September 22, 2013, at 17:15:51
In reply to Re: Q for those taking (or having taken) nortriptyline » doxogenic boy, posted by europerep on September 22, 2013, at 16:22:04
> > I took Noritren, branded nortriptyline in 2001. It was and still is in 10 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg tablets in Norway.
>
> Ah, so Noritren is Norwegian. I've seen that brand name across the internet, but I never knew where it's actually from.There is Noritren in other countries too, this is a great source of information about psychotropic drugs, such as brand names, formulas and other things:
http://www.psychotropics.dk/It is Lundbeck, the manufacturer of Noritren that have made "Psychotropics". I have the paper version from 2002/2003, and it is a comprehensive overview of psychotropic drugs. I have got a lot of ideas from there, and found drugs there that I have never heard of. :)
I hope you find the nortriptyline capsules that you are looking for. I experienced somehting similar with escitalopram (Cipralex) in 2006, when my anxiety levels were extremely high. I could react with more anxiety with a dose of(about) just 1,25 mg escitalopram. Then I had to split the tablets in a lot of pieces, but the doses couldn't be exactly the same each time.
I have also experienced this with mianserin (Tolvon), I think it was doses below 10 mg, which made me extremely tired. I have taken up to 180 mg mianserin, without this extreme tiredness.
So in different mental states, I can react to extremely low doses, but also tolerate heavy doses of the same drug in another state of mind and another combo.
- doxogenic
Posted by bleauberry on September 29, 2013, at 17:55:37
In reply to Q for those taking (or having taken) nortriptyline, posted by europerep on September 21, 2013, at 14:52:28
I had nortriptyline from two different companies but both were white powder inside the capsules. I used to make custom doses all the time. My best dose was actually only 7.5mg per day. lol
This is the end of the thread.
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