Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 8994

Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

parnate and fatigue

Posted by Anne on July 20, 1999, at 18:31:45

Greetings MAOI friends,
I recently began taking Parnate in an effort to counter
weight gain with Nardil. (BTW, the most serious
weight gain I experienced was with Marplan.) 30 mgs.
Parnate for almost 2 wks. has had good AD effect, but
I'm struggling with fatigue and weakness that is most
intense in the afternoons. This is surprising since I was
expecting the touted amphetamine-like response. I'm curious
about whether anyone might know about the cause of this
side effect (too high or low a dose, body adjustment, not
enough time on the med, etc.), or suggest a treatment?

Many thanks for your time,
Anne

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Elizabeth on July 21, 1999, at 7:32:39

In reply to parnate and fatigue, posted by Anne on July 20, 1999, at 18:31:45

Anne,

When are you taking the Parnate, and on what dosing schedule?

The afternoon tiredness might actually be a rebound effect. I've experienced it too, though it's decreased over time.

BTW, have you ever tried taking actual amphetamine or other stimulants (Ritalin, Cylert) and if so, how was that?

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Robin on July 21, 1999, at 16:12:10

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by Elizabeth on July 21, 1999, at 7:32:39

> Anne,
>
> When are you taking the Parnate, and on what dosing schedule?
>
> The afternoon tiredness might actually be a rebound effect. I've experienced it too, though it's decreased over time.
>
> BTW, have you ever tried taking actual amphetamine or other stimulants (Ritalin, Cylert) and if so, how was that?

Elizabeth,

I have just started Marplan and its been one week and I can't stop eating. I was thinking about Parnate, but after I read this post I am wondering if Parnate would make me sleepy. Dexedrine, Ritalin put me right to sleep . Strange but true!

Robin

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Robin on July 21, 1999, at 16:15:22

In reply to parnate and fatigue, posted by Anne on July 20, 1999, at 18:31:45

> Greetings MAOI friends,
> I recently began taking Parnate in an effort to counter
> weight gain with Nardil. (BTW, the most serious
> weight gain I experienced was with Marplan.) 30 mgs.
> Parnate for almost 2 wks. has had good AD effect, but
> I'm struggling with fatigue and weakness that is most
> intense in the afternoons. This is surprising since I was
> expecting the touted amphetamine-like response. I'm curious
> about whether anyone might know about the cause of this
> side effect (too high or low a dose, body adjustment, not
> enough time on the med, etc.), or suggest a treatment?
>
> Many thanks for your time,
> Anne

Anne,

Did you have alot of fatigue when you were on Marplan?

Thank you,
Robin

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Anne on July 21, 1999, at 17:53:36

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by Robin on July 21, 1999, at 16:15:22

Robin and Elizabeth, in re Marplan & Parnate:

Robin, No fatigue on Marplan, and instead, that splendid presence of mind
that is, for me, unique to MAOIs. I did however gain 20 lbs
on Marplan, and I'm 5'2" so I looked and felt awful. Nardil
has gradually added 10 lbs, which is perhaps insignificant
when considering that these drugs has saved my life, but for a
dame with a past eating disorder, 10 lbs extra diminished
the quality of my life enough to want to give Parnate a try.

Which brings me to the fatigue problem and Elizabeth's questions
about dose, and also experience with amphets. As for the latter
the only experience I've had was with the illegal kind back
in the old days. The response was, shall we say, high-ly positive.
I'm curious about why you ask about this. As for dose: I take
30 mgs. a day, 10 mgs each at breakfast and lunch,
and 10 betwen 3-4 in the afternoon. The last one seems
not to ward off the weakness/sedation at all. Any thoughts
on all this are welcome. And for the record, after 2 weeks I
am beginning to slim down, and appetite is abated too, at least
for the time being.

Many thanks to all,
Anne

 

Re: Parnate and rebound effect

Posted by Anne on July 21, 1999, at 18:03:52

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by Elizabeth on July 21, 1999, at 7:32:39


> The afternoon tiredness might actually be a rebound effect.

Hi Elizabeth, Anne here. This notion of a "rebound effect"
is interesting. What do you mean, exactly?

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Elizabeth on July 22, 1999, at 1:07:35

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by Anne on July 21, 1999, at 17:53:36

> Robin, No fatigue on Marplan, and instead, that splendid presence of mind
> that is, for me, unique to MAOIs.

This is interesting; can you describe more what you mean by "that splendid presence of mind?" (I think it's a wonderful expression BTW :-)

>I did however gain 20 lbs
> on Marplan, and I'm 5'2" so I looked and felt awful.

Uh-oh. (I'm 5'3", gained *50* lbs on Nardil!)

>Nardil
> has gradually added 10 lbs, which is perhaps insignificant
> when considering that these drugs has saved my life, but for a
> dame with a past eating disorder, 10 lbs extra diminished
> the quality of my life enough to want to give Parnate a try.

Don't give up on it, then. I found it tremendously hard to control my weight while on Nardil, even after it pooped out and I started getting depressed again!

> Which brings me to the fatigue problem and Elizabeth's questions
> about dose, and also experience with amphets. As for the latter
> the only experience I've had was with the illegal kind back
> in the old days. The response was, shall we say, high-ly positive.

*chuckle*

> I'm curious about why you ask about this.

Umm, lessee, why did I ask about it? Ahh yes: you mentioned amphetamine in your original post, and I know that some of the same people who respond to MAOIs (especially those who had some symptoms of ADHD, "hyperkinesis," or "minimal brain dysfunction" (my personal favorite) as children) respond well to amphetamines also. (Or perhaps a different antidepressant in combination with a stimulant.)

>As for dose: I take
> 30 mgs. a day, 10 mgs each at breakfast and lunch,
> and 10 betwen 3-4 in the afternoon. The last one seems
> not to ward off the weakness/sedation at all.

Huh. When does the fatigue thing start exactly?

By "rebound effect" I mean that sometimes when a dose of a drug wears off, people will get effects that are opposite those of the drug (e.g., nervousness when a dose of Xanax wears off, or moodiness and fatigue when a dose of Ritalin wears off).

> Any thoughts
> on all this are welcome. And for the record, after 2 weeks I
> am beginning to slim down, and appetite is abated too, at least
> for the time being.

Hey, congratulations. I lost the weight from Nardil using the "depression diet plan" (i.e. I stopped taking it and stopped eating). (Needless to say I do not recommend this method.)

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by anita on July 22, 1999, at 23:49:14

In reply to parnate and fatigue, posted by Anne on July 20, 1999, at 18:31:45

Hi Anne,

I had terrible fatigue with Parnate, which I found very confusing too since
I read it usually had an energizing effect. My fatigue did lessen over time (8 wks)
and at a very high dose (80mg), but then I got toxic and had to discontinue it. When I
restarted it at a lower dose (30mg), it made me a little hyper, but then later in the day
I'd crash. The roller-coaster effect (which I get with any amphetamine-like drug). So finally
I just gave up.

You might want to ask your pdoc about adding a little Wellbutrin to Parnate. It's a risky combo,
but if you do it slowly, monitor your BP and side effects, etc., it might help. In my experience,
Wellbutrin is the only "energizing" med that doesn't have that roller-coaster effect for me, tho it
does cause insomnia. Just a suggestion :-)

good luck,
anita

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by Elizabeth on July 23, 1999, at 11:21:56

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by anita on July 22, 1999, at 23:49:14

> The roller-coaster effect (which I get with any amphetamine-like drug).

Hi Anita. I'm wondering: have you ever tried the sustained-release preparation of Dexedrine ("spansules")? Supposedly it's less of a roller coaster. Ritalin, amphetamine, and Parnate are all pretty short-acting so it's easy to see how they could do this to a person.

> You might want to ask your pdoc about adding a little Wellbutrin to Parnate. It's a risky combo,
> but if you do it slowly, monitor your BP and side effects, etc., it might help.

Is this *really* a risky combo? I've never heard of an interaction. Perhaps WB would also help people on MAOIs who have that pesky sexual problem.

 

Re: parnate and fatigue

Posted by anita on July 24, 1999, at 22:45:41

In reply to Re: parnate and fatigue, posted by Elizabeth on July 23, 1999, at 11:21:56

> > The roller-coaster effect (which I get with any amphetamine-like drug).
>
> Hi Anita. I'm wondering: have you ever tried the sustained-release preparation of Dexedrine ("spansules")? Supposedly it's less of a roller coaster. Ritalin, amphetamine, and Parnate are all pretty short-acting so it's easy to see how they could do this to a person.
>
> > You might want to ask your pdoc about adding a little Wellbutrin to Parnate. It's a risky combo,
> > but if you do it slowly, monitor your BP and side effects, etc., it might help.
>
> Is this *really* a risky combo? I've never heard of an interaction. Perhaps WB would also help people on MAOIs who have that pesky sexual problem.

Howdy Elizabeth,

Well, I was just keeping with the party line. I've never heard of any dangerous interactions either, but all the literature on MAOIs still say
you shouldn't use bupropion with them.

No, I haven't tried the dexedrine spansules, but I did try Adderall a while back, and oddly it wasn't
very helpful. Wellbutrin's keeping me awake for now :-)

anita


This is the end of the thread.


Show another thread

URL of post in thread:


Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ


[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org

Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.