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Re: Parnate to Selegiline, last 5 months... Ed_uk » KaraS

Posted by Optimist on October 2, 2005, at 21:36:49

In reply to Re: DLPA in Oakville... » Optimist, posted by KaraS on September 30, 2005, at 20:17:19

Thanks Kara, it's been awhile. :)

The Selegiline plus DLPA is instead of the Parnate. I was doing quite well with the Parnate for a few weeks then seemed to have made a sharp downturn once may showed up. The downturn seemed to coincide with the seasonal allergies that I always seem to get every summer(may-august). That's also when I tend to get depressed, as well as the winter(november-february). Anti-histamines seem to help with my summer depressions for whatever reason. I've read a few theories on why this may be true, although they do not relieve my depressions fully by any means.

I also seemed to feel more flat when taking the parnate and was starting to have some sexual dysfunction(libido problems). It also seemed to be exacerbating my hypoglycemia which is a known side effect. Hypoglycemia tends to make me feel much worse so I decided to go off the parnate. I actually went on it a number of times throughout the summer due to wanting relief from my depression, but then going off it due to the hypoglycemia primarily.

I tend to be doing quite well now, even before the selegiline. September, and especially october seem to be good months for me. I don't feel I need any antidepressants now, but it worries me as november approaches. I know I usually feel like I've been hit by a train early november.

I'm seriously considering lithium at this point as I am pretty certain I have some kind of softer bipolar features, either cyclothymia, or some kind of cyclical depression.

The reason I decided upon selegiline and DLPA, is because I seem to get the most antidepressant response from a herb called Vitex. It's known to be a dopamine agonist, but it tends to poop out after awhile for me. I'm hoping that the selegiline will be able to sustain the type of dopamine response I am looking for. Vitex mostly helps me with energy, self-confidence, and sexual drive, as well as general motivation.

Caffeine is also a great antidepressant for me, but imperfect in a number of ways due to it's tolerance and energy and mood fluctuations it seems to cause me.

After taking the selegiline and DLPA the past couple days I have noticed an increase in anxiety, especially in social situations. I had to leave the bar early last night due to finding it too difficult to relax and stop thinking too much regarding what I was going to say, and concentrating too much on breathing deeply to calm down.

I don't think it's the selegiline so much as the DLPA, since I've had similar problems with tyrosine in the past. I took 2 grams of DLPA yesterday which may have been too much. Today I experimented with taking 5-HTP instead and I seem to feel better in terms of less anxiety. I'll have to play around with it a little to see what works best. I think I'll settle for 5mg of selegiline though, as I am not too concerned with playing around with the dosage. If I don't feel much from it I doubt I'll raise it. Regardless it seems like a good long term drug in terms of cognitive health, life-extension, etc... so I don't think it's something I'll readily abandon.

I still think that Parnate is a great AD. I also think that I probably would have felt good last april without the Parnate as it's a good time for me anyways, and AD's in general don't seem to prevent me from falling in to depressions during certain times of the year. I'll most likely start lithium therapy by the end of the month, probably starting with a lower dose and going from there.

Hope everything is going well with you.

Brian

> Hi Brian,
>
> Nice to see you back here.
>
> Is the selegiline plus DLPA in addition to the Parnate or instead of? If it's instead of, why did you go off of Parnate? I thought you were doing so well on it.
>
> Kara


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