Has anyone here taken nimodipine?

I'm thinking of asking my psychiatrist about nimodipine for my fatigue, hypersomnia, and related symptoms the next time I see him. The medication is a calcium-channel blocker, which, from what I understand can raise somatostatin levels (Pazzaglia et al., 1995), may be promising in treating affective disorders in which the patients have low somatostatin (Frye et al., 2003), and also may show some promise in treating bipolar patients with rapid cycling (Pazzaglia et al., 1993).

I responded to an IGF-1-containing supplement (deer antler velvet extract) for 40 days, and I wonder if one of the reasons why I responded to that supplement was because of IGF-1's ability to modulate (increase, I believe) somatostatin levels. Somatostatin then, if my understanding is correct, inhibits the release of growth hormone as part of the hormonal feedback system. A lot of the medications and supplements I've responded to temporarily actually seem to indirectly raise growth hormone levels, which would also boost IGF-1 and also somatostatin (if my understanding is correct). But then somatostatin inhibits the release of growth hormone, which reduces IGF-1 levels and ultimately brings somatostatin back down. So, I'm wondering if maybe my short-lived responses to medications and supplements might be caused by actually boosting somatostatin by increasing growth hormone and/or IGF-1, and then the somatostatin might be ultimately bringing its own level back down by inhibiting growth hormone release and consequently reducing IGF-1 levels. Some studies have implicated low somatostatin levels in depressive illness (Bissette & Myers 1992), so it might make sense that medications and supplements that raise growth hormone and/or IGF-1 levels might temporarily relieve symptoms of clinical depression by temporarily increasing somatostatin before the somatostatin eventually reduces its own level by inhibiting growth hormone release.

Of course, I don't know if my somatostatin level is low, despite the fact that I suspect that it might be based on my responses to certain medications and supplements. Even if my somatostatin level isn't low, I still think that nimodipine might be worth trying, since it has shown at least a little bit of promise as an antidepressant.

So, does anyone here have experience with nimodipine? I found some reports from Babblers who've taken the medication in the archives, but I'm wondering if anybody who's posting here now has taken the medication or has any thoughts on it.

Frye, M.A., Pazzaglia, P.J., George, M.S., Luckenbaugh, D.A., Vanderham, E., Davis, C.L., et al. (2003). Low CSF somatostatin associated with response to nimodipine in patients with affective illness. Biological Psychiatry, 53, 180-183. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12547475

Pazzaglia, P.J., George, M.S., Post, R.M., Rubinow, D.R., & Davis, C.L. (1995). Nimodipine increases CSF somatostatin in affectively ill patients. Neuropsychopharmacology, 13, 75-83. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8526973

Pazzaglia, P.J., Post, R.M., Kettler, T.A., George, M.S., & Marangell, L.B. (1993). Preliminary controlled trial of nimidipine in ultra-rapid cycling affective dysregulation. Psychiatry Research, 49, 257-272.

Conditions:
* chronic fatigue, hypersomnia, and related symptoms
* schizoaffective disorder

tomatheus.blogspot.com

Has anyone here taken nimodipine?

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