Posted by shrimp on June 18, 2003, at 17:46:06
In reply to Re: nardil fainting wellbutrin, posted by indivmed on June 15, 2003, at 1:41:55
> > Rick,
> > I have taken Parnate, and it made me that tired as well, but at the same time i was shaky. I would crash particularly hard around 4 pm. I've always had the sleepy lethargic depression, so my p-doc kept me on 400mg of W and added the Nardil. I was at 45, last week upped to 60mg.
> > I became very agitated and anxious about a week later, so we have decided to lower the W to 300mg., as i felt like i was twitching uncontrollably and having mini seizures at night, which hopefully will slow down as the W leaves my system. I did try Provigil, didn't do anything. I can say that since i've been on the Nardil for about 5 weeks, the sleepiness has remissed somewhat, and that may be due to the wellbutrin i am taking with it. I had bad hypotension on Parnate, it's bad on the Nardil as well. If i were you, i would try adding a low dose of W to the Parnate, if your p-doc will let you. I was not getting results from anything, zoloft, parnate, paxil, etc. and this combination, after going through about a month of miserable side effects, finally seems to be working, outside of the speedy felling on 300mg. In my experience, dopaminergic agents have been key to clearing up some of my mental fog, so i think that the Wellbutrin is a good addition. Have you tried Nardil? Don't know if you can augment Parnate with it. Also on the Parnate, extreme cold sensitivity, bloating, fainting, insomnia. May i ask how many mg. of W and Parnate are you on, and how long you have been taking them? Then i can give you some more information on what to expect not expect. I am atypical, and you are bipolar, so take that into account when comparing our experiences. If you have any questions, please let me know.
> > Shrimp
> >
> Shrimp--
>
> Thank you so much for the input--I tend to hate the "build-up" to a therapeutic dose and will pretty much get there as quick as possible regardless of the side effects. I started on 30 mg Parnate two weeks ago with no Wellbutrin, then went up to 60 mg Parnate and added 300 mg Wellbutrin. I like the fact that I can sit down and do a lot of work and am very concentrated, but I do have significant anxiety and feel somewhat sketchy at times. Sometimes the speedy feeling can be overwhelming but part of me is like, "just stay with it, side effects will disappear." I thought I was starting to get manic so I decided to go back on my Depakote--was already taking Neurontin--which probably has an effect on the lethargy.
>
> The Parnate (alone) side effects were awful--I would get out of bed just to walk to the couch and go back to sleep. I didn't go to the university (I'm a grad student in chemistry) and do work...just watched TV and napped. I usually did make it to the gym just because it's such an integral part of my day (unlike work :))--but come to think of it, that happens around 6:30 PM so I think the last dose was wearing off (or the blood levels were dropping--I read the half-life is very short)--hence, a little more energetic at 6:30 (my last dose was at 3:00 PM).
>
> My depressions are very lethargic--I lay around and have hypersomnia--and because I miss appointments, don't go to work, miss the gym, I start hating myself and then I want to lay around and sleep more. So I needed to be on something that was slightly stimulating--the problem is that I used to be a substance abuser so I can't really take anything other than Wellbutrin--and it wasn't working as monotherapy.
>
> With the Parnate, I feel that I have more clarity--I feel like I have a better grasp on what is going on in my life, what I need to do, and I am able to sort out the reality of who I am versus the negative/depressive idea of who I am (I hope that made sense). Adding the wellbutrin gave me the motivation to go from thinking it to doing it--they gave each other a significant boost.
>
> Okay, so my problem is that Parnate causes spontaneous hypertension (which is actually NOT exacerbated by the Wellbutrin) and I'm thinking it is just because I went to 60 mg/day so fast...I'm thinking it will go back down after a few weeks or so. I may be wrong...high BP is an issue in my family. Do you know of anyone that takes BP medication with Parnate?
>
> So that is my experience so far--two weeks on Parnate, with the 2nd week augmenting with Wellbutrin. It's a huge jolt to the system but taking the Depakote takes some of the edge off (which I should be taking anyway since I'm bipolar and am on the Parnate and Wellbutrin) and the Neurontin helps with anxiety also, but I will have to drop that as my insurance won't kick in for a while and I have no money.
>
> Any suggestions on any of this? I'm pretty bad at rambling after drinking Red Bull!
>
> Thanks!
> Rick
>
Rick, how are you doing on the Parnate? I am finally starting to improve on the nardil, which i started (30mg) in late April, so try to hang in there. I'm not okay yet my any means, and i am dealing with all kinds of bizarre side effects, but there has been improvement. My weakness has pretty much gone away, so don't worry about that. I would forget exercising until the weakness fades, it just made me feel like s**t. Did you find a new doctor yet? Let me know how it goes.
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poster:shrimp
thread:232905
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/234881.html