Posted by Judy on December 18, 1999, at 14:19:35
I've been taking Selegiline since the first week in November. I titrated up to 60 mg/day and have been there for almost three weeks. For the past several days, I've begun experiencing terrible sleep problems. I fall asleep easily enough at bedtime (with the help of 1 mg Xanax) but I seem to awaken an hour or so later and then I'm aware of every passing hour on my digital clock for the rest of the night. What little sleep I do get is of the doze-type during which I dream that I'm at work or at home trying to solve impossible tasks. (The next day, I'm not sure whether I actually finished a project at work or if I just dreamed it - they're that realistic). Unlike taking Nardil, when I only slept a few hours a night but didn't miss the extra sleep at all, I'm exhausted. This onset of sleep disturbance makes me wonder if I've hit "therapeutic" dose and that things are as good as they're going to get.
I have no other bad side effects at 60 mg/day of Selegiline - a moot point if it's not an effective AD for me, I suppose. My depression HAS been lifted from "black" to "blue" (some days are better than others and I seem to be prone to crying jags lately); and I'm not feeling any relief from anxiety without the help of .5 mg of Xanax with each dose of Selegiline. BUT, there ARE some benefits. My cognitive functions are vastly improved; my sexual response is fantastic (Adam - if you're reading this - it IS magical!) although there is not much of a libido boost to compliment the mechanical improvement; and interestingly, my skin (which had become dry and basically old looking over the past year of failures on four other AD's) looks like it's regenerating! Perhaps there IS something to the rumor of Selegiline's anti-aging/free-radical roundup properties.
My questions are these: After three weeks at 60 mg/day, is this as good as it's going to get? Given the new sleep problems, increasing my dosage doesn't seem like it would be helpful (and I don't think there's any literature recommending doses above 60 mg). I feel like I'm right on the edge of something good, but it just doesn't seem to be kicking in. Is more time needed at 60 mg for me to see something more beneficial? Is there something I could augment with that would effect a kick-in or at least a bit more mood elevation?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm at the bottom of the AD barrel here. There's nothing left that I haven't tried. I'm feeling terribly desperate!
Judy
poster:Judy
thread:17103
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991212/msgs/17103.html