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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Trevpr on November 25, 2012, at 20:13:23
Hey everyone, I will most likely be going on Parnate during the following weeks due to my depression which manifests itself only as apathy/ emotional blunting and extremely low libido (and I'm young; too young for these problems).
Does anyone have any advice before I go on it? What's it like? Any experiences? Can it cure my apathy/low libido?
So far I've tried many, many meds, and they have almpst all felt like sugar pills. Do you actually FEEL normal on it? Or do you feel better, but in a different way?
I heard that initially it feels like a stimulant, but that goes away after a few days, then it feels like an antidepressant. I'm afraid that after the stimulation goes away, that "antidepressant" feeling will disappoint me, because on other meds that "feeling" has been nothing at all.
I don't know, anyone have anything to say about it?
Posted by SLS on December 3, 2012, at 9:51:31
In reply to About to begin PARNATE, posted by Trevpr on November 25, 2012, at 20:13:23
Hi.
I'm sorry that you haven't received any responses to your post. You ask a lot of great questions. I don't know how to best answer them, though. People's reactions to Parnate are quite variable. It would be difficult to predict how you as an individual will respond to Parnate.
> Does anyone have any advice before I go on it? What's it like? Any experiences? Can it cure my apathy/low libido?
Your symptoms are often treated succesfully with Parnate. However, if you fail to respond to Parnate, that does not mean that you would fail to respond to Nardil as well.
> So far I've tried many, many meds, and they have almpst all felt like sugar pills. Do you actually FEEL normal on it? Or do you feel better, but in a different way?
It has been my experience that when I respond well to a drug treatment, I feel completely cured. I feel well in every way.
> I heard that initially it feels like a stimulant, but that goes away after a few days,
This is true.
> then it feels like an antidepressant.
Hopefully. However, it can take 4 weeks or more to respond to Parnete once you reach the right dosage. The key phrase is "once you reach the right dosage". It might take your doctor a few months to hunt for the right dosage. Personally, I think that most people with a biologically-driven depressive disorder respond to a dosage range of 40 - 80 mg/day.
> I'm afraid that after the stimulation goes away, that "antidepressant" feeling will disappoint me, because on other meds that "feeling" has been nothing at all.
>
> I don't know, anyone have anything to say about it?You might consider that your illness has a bipolar component, even if you have never experienced mania. This would open up a different approach towards treatment that would include the use of mood stabilizers.
Does mental illness exist in your family? If so, what diagnoses have been assigned to different family members?
How old were you when your condition first appeared?
- Scott
Posted by ikasug on December 11, 2012, at 11:58:59
In reply to Re: About to begin PARNATE » Trevpr, posted by SLS on December 3, 2012, at 9:51:31
I responded to Parnate when I tried it this summer, but unfortunately, I was not able to continue increasing the dose past the FDA limit of 60mg.
Initially it did feel stimulating, but not especially so. It was more like a lot of caffeine, or night-before-the-big-day jitters than a heavy stimulant.
The antidepressant effect did not kick in for almost a month. When it did kick in, I felt noticeably more competent and confident, followed by a sense of palpable well-being. If you pay lots attention to how a drug feels in your body, as if you were expecting a 'high,' there is definitely a change. It is not intense, though I had a few days of self-induced euphoria when I noticed that I was not nearly as depressed as I had been.
Unfortunately I still felt mostly down, but it was able to bring me out of one of the worst periods of my life. It made itself known mostly by the weight loss (a good thing, I lost 70 lbs in about 4 months after a disastrous run on Remeron) and by how much I got accomplished. Unfortunately Parnate did not do much for my anxiety and seemed to have pooped out after a while at the 60mg FDA limit (pdoc would not increase past this limit).
As far as side effects, the only one I really had was unbelievable orthostatic hypotension. It made itself apparent immediately as soon as I titrated to 30mg, though I did a speedy titration. Even when I was at 60mg for over a month I was still dizzy standing up. This has not happened to nearly the same extent on Nardil.
I find that on MAOIs if I eat too much of a no-no food I do not have a full-blown blood pressure reaction, but the boost in NE becomes stimulating. Something to watch out for.
Posted by elanor roosevelt on December 15, 2012, at 19:34:39
In reply to Re: About to begin PARNATE, posted by ikasug on December 11, 2012, at 11:58:59
I am wondering if you did start the Parnate. I haven't been on the board recently and I am a 2-time Parnate guinea pig. Let me know if you still have questions. If not, I will spare you my details.
This is the end of the thread.
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