Posted by Elizabeth on July 19, 2001, at 12:28:35
In reply to Re: Thorazine and brain damage, posted by MB on July 18, 2001, at 21:14:49
> Here are the antihistaminic drugs I've tried: amitryptaline, nortryptaline, olanzapine, thorazine (in my aforementioned act of recreational stupidity < g >), and Remeron. How do those compare to the drugs you mentioned above in terms of antihistaminic action?
In order of sedation, I'd say that olanzapine > thorazine > amitriptyline > nortriptyline.
Remeron can be very sedating at low doses (7.5-15 mg) but becomes less so at higher doses (30 mg or more).
I'd like it if there were a tricyclic that was an antihistamine without having anticholinergic effects. Those two seem to be tied up together, though.
> I have a feeling I'll need to see a pdoc soon for medication (as much as I hate meds, it's been six months off of them, and I've held on as long as I think I can), and might consider the drugs you mentioned (that is, if the doc insists on a tricyclic or neuroleptic).
I think some of the other atypical antipsychotics, like Seroquel and Geodon, are less sedating than Zyprexa (olanzapine). Those are probably better to try than older drugs like Haldol and Moban, which carry an increased risk of movement disorders.
> I started at 15mg and moved up to 30mg. Probably not enough for the noradrenergic effect to cancel the antihistamine effect, but I was so zombified from the 30mg that I was scared to go any higher.
Going higher makes it *less* sedating. Personally I had no problem with 30-75 mg, but some people are more sensitive to antihistamine sedation than others.
> Also, I was too fatigued to make the twice daily trips to the grocery store necessary to keep my kitchen stocked with food < g >.
I'm less clear on this, but I think the appetite stimulation from Remeron might decrease with increasing doses, too. I didn't gain any weight or experience an increase in appetite on Remeron. (This was a bad thing, since I was very depressed and hadn't been eating.)
> "Got so high, I scratched 'til I bled...," Kurt Cobain.
Exactly! And it's even weirder: some addicts *like* the itching because they associate it with the heroin rush.
I'd sort of be interested in treating drug addicts if I ever get my act together and get through medical school. Addiction is weird in an ineresting way, and I know it's hard for addicts to find doctors (or anyone else) who don't regard them as the scum of the earth and don't believe in making them suffer as much as possible.
> Yeah, just whining as usual...
I'm hardly in any position to criticise you for whining. :)
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:69927
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010714/msgs/70861.html