Posted by delna on October 25, 2009, at 2:57:15
In reply to Re: Those who quit Parnate...what r u on now?, posted by bleauberry on October 24, 2009, at 17:59:12
Hey,
Thanks for the tips!!!
>
> When Parnate fails:
> Nardil
> Nortriptyline + Zoloft
> Reboxetine + Zoloft
> Amitriptyline
> Clomipramine
> Imipramine
> Sometimes the addition of an antipsychoticThanks for those suggestions! makes me feel more hopeful.
>
>Everything we do is experimental. My belief is that we should not limit our experiments to only things that look obvious.I agree to some extent that it is experimental especially when we pick out own drugs (or go to a pdoc like mine in India). BUT I do believe that a really good pdoc sometimes knows exactly what to give you.
For example when I presented to a NYC pdoc (who specializes in psychopharmacolgy) with tiredness and suicidal thoughts, he added Geodon to my concoction (much to my horror)! It made ZERO sense.I resisted it for days because it is sedating, if you read about it (although less so than other AP's) or talk to other patients about it ( who usually curse it).
Plus I was not psychotic in my opinion and I was also terrified of this class of drugs.
I also insisted that I wasn't depressed and that his diagnosis of BPI (I have always been seen as BPII or being somewhere on the BP spectrum) could not be right. Plus how can you give a sedating drug to an exhausted patient? It made no sense. To be honest I was really annoyed/angry.But he was so convinced, he just did not budge especially on his drug choice. I took it with great reluctance after he 'snapped' at me on the phone for not taking it (since I was suicidal).
To cut a long story short, within 2-3 doses, i leapt out of bed and felt like I had woken up from a long coma. It took care of EVERYTHING; exhaustion (wherein stimulants had failed), anxiety and also made me see that I had been very depressed and that I had been living in my own world. It also made me sharp and confident.
My point is simply that he KNEW it would work- he wasn't at all surprised. Really, he wasn't...
> if it was simply a neurotransmitter deficit, that would have already been fixed by now.
Actually, I was COMPLETELY fine and fully functional (and holding down a high stress job) on Geodon (plus other stuff) and so I do believe it is totally a neurotransmitter problem.
Unfortunately, I had to give Geodon up because I developed a 'possible' TD syndrome. I am still trying to find out if that was related to TD at all, because I want to go back on Geodon (ideally). It made me 100% fine and I was like that throughout the time I was on it (nearly 2 yrs). It's pathetic but I miss it and grieve/cry over it like people do over a lost loved-one ;)But for the moment, I cannot take any of the antipsychotics because of the fear.
Effexor has worked in the past but it was under different circumstances because I went high. I need to reassess if works with a mood stabilizer. (like I am on now). It had worked for all the various aspects of my problem like OCD, anxiety and depression/tiredness (but then I was high so I can't say how it will help depression/tireness now)
But the positive thing about Effexor is that, I need little help from my (idiotic) pdoc to titrate it or to augment it (unlike Parnate wherein I am so darn dependent on him)and I know the safe ways to augment it. If this fails I will go back to NYC or even to Dr Thase.
I'm sick of being given random drugs by dumb doctors. Sorry, but I do blame them- they are meant to know more than us.
>
> No matter what, there is no shortage of great ideas when Parnate fails. And you would not be the first one to fail Parnate and do great with a different approach.
well thank you so much for that positive spin on things. I really appreciate it alot.
Love D
poster:delna
thread:922132
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091021/msgs/922338.html