Posted by Troy Hawkins on December 9, 2004, at 5:42:36
I never thought I'd find myself dabbling into the world of cosmetic pharmacology however, over the past three months I've had the opportunity to gain personal experince with Prozac, Adderall, and Klonopin in order to combat a severe case of social anxiety that I have been suffering with for as long as I can remember. All of these are wonderful drugs in their own right however, there are many peripheral side effects which one must take into account before taking on such a powerful concoction; respecting the unique properties of each drug and the connective and potentiating interelationship that each shares with one another. I experimented with the following combinations of Prozac + Klonopin + Adderall. Here are my experiences:
(Note: It is important to realize that the benefits of any individual drug are not fully understood until one stops taking the drug. It then becomes very apparent which aspects of your personality were being helped or hindered. Drug therapy is a timely process and takes patience!)
Initally Began:Prozac 10mg (alone)- Effect: (1)After 5 weeks I noticed a significant decrease in negative thought patterns and obsessive compulsive behavior. I began seeing the good in people and not obsessing as much about what other's were thinking; in particular of me.(2)Any sort of depression was relieved and upon waking in the morning, I felt invigorated. However, the prozac did nothing for my social anxiety. In fact, it heightened my anxiety levels-->slight night sweats, sexual dysfunction initially but that went away quickly and in fact my libido and sexual performance is stronger than ever;I also experienced difficulty looking people in the eye; a problem that was not nerely as severe before. I also dropped from 150 to 139 lbs in a month on this drug(not due to appetite supression but only eating when hungry instead of eating in response to stress).
Prozac + Klonopin: I then added klonopin to my daily menu; .5mg twice a day. This is quite an amazing little pill and completely eliminated any peripheral anxiety that I was experienceing from the prozac. I experimented with both brand name and generic and despite controversy, I found no difference between the two and would advise saving the extra 40 dollars. The klonopin also positively effected my libido for the good. I also had no trouble stopping this drug and haven't noticed any residual side effects that might be worrisome. The negative of course of Klonopin was the memory impairment; in particular episodic memories. I have trouble remembering anything that took place over the last 3 months. Suprisingly, my semantic memory was unfected and I had no trouble memorizing or remembering factual information for my exams. I didn't take the klonopin on big study days. The only other downer of klonopin is that it is quite disinhibiting and can lead you into some foolish situations. Lower the dose if this is the case.
Prozac 10mg + Klonopin 1mg + Adderall 20mg (daily)
The ultimate synergistic combination! Together these three drugs work wonders. Enhanced congintive ablity(straight A's this quarter), desire to talk, relaxed social manerisms, proper use of eye contact(it amazes me that the ability to look someone in the eye has nothing to do with social intelligence but rather is a chemically derived phenomena). No negative thoughts. Life is good. However, nothing is ever too good to be true and the potentiating effects of this drug combo can end up destroying you if not taking seriously. At times I felt manic, money hungry, extremley spendthrift. Most of the time I felt like God and even began wearing a t-shirt that said "I am God". My confidence skyrocketed into a different galaxy and I no longer felt human. Narcisstic qualities began to develop almost instantaneously with the introduction of Adderall. I also experienced extreme weight loss(although 3 modeling Scouts approached me and offered me work; so i don't know if this is good or bad; i do know that I was extremely emaciated and way under weight. Now many may think that these are all positive things but the bottom line is that I had cosmetically altered my personality; not for the better, for the worse. I stopped carrying about anyone but myself. My friends, family noticed the extreme change. I also lost another 10 pounds and am now down to 130 which amazes me because my caloric intake has more than doubled. I'm consuming around 3,500 calories per day(weight loss probably due to the CNS stimulating effects of Adderall). I lowered the doseages to 5 mg Prozac, .5mg Klonopin and 10 mg Adderall but the God like euphoria ceased to dissappear. Finally I stopped taking the klonopin.Prozace + Adderall: Feel good, but social anxiety returns. Difficulty looking one in the eye and extreme insomnia and heart palpatations. It seems the Klonopin was the key ingredient that binded these all together.
Adderall(alone): very motivated, very successful in school, however some peripheral anxiety (not as instense as when taken with prozac). Impossible to sleep. Eventually my body began to break down and I could no longer handle these drugs.
Stopped: intially very depressed, lethargic, difficulty breathing but all returned to normal after a week. Social anxiety symptoms returned but it does feel good to be drug free. I'm meeting with my doc next week and will discuss these issues with her and whether or not I will resume medication.
I'm curious about Nardil and whether or not anyone has had any success with the "new" Nardil for social phobia? As well, has anyone had success with dexedrine alone for social anxiety as I've heard it causes less anxiety? Also, when is the new EMSAM patch coming out as I'm curious to test this out?
Troy
poster:Troy Hawkins
thread:426595
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20041209/msgs/426595.html