Posted by blueboy on August 20, 2007, at 12:47:46
In reply to Re: NARDIL is a miracle drug and saved my life » blueboy, posted by girlnterrupted78 on August 19, 2007, at 7:42:49
> Hi blueboy,
>> a) What version of Nardil were you taking? Was it the old version, or the 2003 reformulated version by Pfizer?
The reformulated version; I never took the old version.
> b) How were you able to function on Nardil, when it was causing you terrible insomnia? I usually can't function if I don't get any sleep, so I find it strange that you were so productive despite the bad insomnia (?) How did that happen?
Two things.
First, it was "activating", in shrink jargon, so when I woke up after 4 hours of sleep I was wide awake and rarin' to go. Or if I woke up in the middle of the night or couldn't go to sleep, I'd get up and work.I would crash and take a one-hour nap a lot of times. This was by no means perfect but I had good, long periods of full mental function a lot of days. Obviously, this would be a lot less effective, if not impossible, for someone with a "regular job", i.e. a set timeframe for work.
But I will say, usually, Nardil acts enough as an "upper" that even when exhausted, I could push myself to get work done. It's not a lot of fun but is still a lot better than serious depression, when I can't get ANYTHING done even if I don't feel particularly "sad" or whatever.
Second, I coped. I took a lot of chemical sleep aids such as Ambien, etc., and also infrequent doses of 2.5-3 mg of Klonopin. And like I said, I had the capability to push myself when I was quite tired.
> c) You mentioned a rash. What kind of rash did you have on Nardil? What parts of the body did it affect, and was it permanent?
It seemed to particularly affect my neck and sometimes face, but could pop up anywhere. It would be bright red and usually would itch.
I actually still have a lesser version of it since I went off Nardil. Partly it is a peculiar condition that my dermatologist knew about, where if you scratch your skin, you get an itching rash where you scratched.
What got me off Nardil was a one-time, still unexplained rash I got on vacation, including red bumps on most of my torso and limbs with some petichia, i.e. little red spots caused by baby hemorrhages. It didn't itch or hurt at all, it just scared me. Neither I nor my doctors have ever been able to figure out what caused it.
> I also had a few "rashes" while on Nardil, although I don't even know what it really was. It only lasted like 4 minutes, and appeared right after I took one of my doses. It didn't itch or hurt, it was just a temporary body discoloration that followed my doses, appearing 20 minutes after each dose of Nardil was taken.
Mine was unrelated to dosage time. They just came and went at apparent random times.
> d) Last but not least, did you ever suffer from blackouts (syncope) on Nardil? Apparently it's a common side effect.No, never. I would become dizzy sometimes from what I believe was postural hypotension, i.e. low blood pressure while standing.
I have never fainted in my life; I learned at an early age that when I start to feel faint, I should immediately kneel and put my head below my body. I don't know if I just learned to handle the situation better than other people, or whether I get more warning or have a natural ability to monitor light-headedness better than other people, or a combination of the two.
But I don't hesitate; if I feel light headed or dizzy, I take action ASAP, even if I'm standing in a tuxedo at the front of a church.
poster:blueboy
thread:776354
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070815/msgs/777372.html