Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 9384

Shown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Re: Marplan doseage

Posted by Robin on July 30, 1999, at 9:26:19

Judy, I don't know what to think of Marplan. 2 weeks on 20mgs. I can't sleep and I am dizzy at times. Did you experience this ? My big problem is Food, I can't stop eating. The positive thing is my depression has lifted a little. I have gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks.

Have you tried Parnate?

Robin

 

Re: Marplan doseage

Posted by Judy on July 30, 1999, at 10:45:30

In reply to Re: Marplan doseage, posted by Robin on July 30, 1999, at 9:26:19

Robin,

It's WAY to early for either of us to make a decision about Marplan and we might not even be at our most beneficial dosages yes. Some of what we're feeling right now - my headaches, your dizziness - may be *early* side effects that will disappear in time (maybe tomorrow, maybe in a month...). If you feel a lessening of your depression, consider that a very good sign! You can work on the side effects along the way - perhaps dosage changes or supplementing with other meds.

It seems all MAOI's have some common, very prominent side effects. From my *vast* experience with Nardil, I can tell you that the disturbed sleep stage lasts quite a while, but I was able to live with it by taking .50 to 1 mg of Xanax before going to bed. After several months, I didn't need the Xanax anymore and slept well.

Since Marplan and Nardil are similar in chemical make-up, I can already tell that we are probably dealng with a weight-gain side effect, which never dissipated for me on Nardil. The only advice I can give you there is TRY and TRY AGAIN not to indulge your cravings!!! I know so well that eating becomes almost a 'religious experience' when taking an MAOI and snacking on frozen grapes just doesn't cut it when all you can think about is a hot fudge sundae with a dozen brownies for dessert! It's a demon you have to fight continuously or it will snowball out of control, trust me on this.

I did try Parnate once for a very brief period. For me it was much too enervating - like living in a constant anxiety attack. I think Parnate's amphetimine-like attributes might help avoid the weight gain, but I can't imagine ever getting a night's sleep while taking it. But that's me...

Try to be patient with the Marplan for a while longer, stay in touch with your doctor about what you're feeling AND watch out for those sweets/carbo cravings (suck on ice chips to numb your taste buds and clean out a drawer or something!).

Judy


> Judy, I don't know what to think of Marplan. 2 weeks on 20mgs. I can't sleep and I am dizzy at times. Did you experience this ? My big problem is Food, I can't stop eating. The positive thing is my depression has lifted a little. I have gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks.
>
> Have you tried Parnate?
>
> Robin

 

Re: Marplan

Posted by Robin on July 30, 1999, at 19:37:38

In reply to Re: Marplan doseage, posted by Judy on July 30, 1999, at 10:45:30

> Robin,
>
> It's WAY to early for either of us to make a decision about Marplan and we might not even be at our most beneficial dosages yes. Some of what we're feeling right now - my headaches, your dizziness - may be *early* side effects that will disappear in time (maybe tomorrow, maybe in a month...). If you feel a lessening of your depression, consider that a very good sign! You can work on the side effects along the way - perhaps dosage changes or supplementing with other meds.
>
> It seems all MAOI's have some common, very prominent side effects. From my *vast* experience with Nardil, I can tell you that the disturbed sleep stage lasts quite a while, but I was able to live with it by taking .50 to 1 mg of Xanax before going to bed. After several months, I didn't need the Xanax anymore and slept well.
>
> Since Marplan and Nardil are similar in chemical make-up, I can already tell that we are probably dealng with a weight-gain side effect, which never dissipated for me on Nardil. The only advice I can give you there is TRY and TRY AGAIN not to indulge your cravings!!! I know so well that eating becomes almost a 'religious experience' when taking an MAOI and snacking on frozen grapes just doesn't cut it when all you can think about is a hot fudge sundae with a dozen brownies for dessert! It's a demon you have to fight continuously or it will snowball out of control, trust me on this.
>
> I did try Parnate once for a very brief period. For me it was much too enervating - like living in a constant anxiety attack. I think Parnate's amphetimine-like attributes might help avoid the weight gain, but I can't imagine ever getting a night's sleep while taking it. But that's me...
>
> Try to be patient with the Marplan for a while longer, stay in touch with your doctor about what you're feeling AND watch out for those sweets/carbo cravings (suck on ice chips to numb your taste buds and clean out a drawer or something!).
>
> Judy
>
>
> > Judy, I don't know what to think of Marplan. 2 weeks on 20mgs. I can't sleep and I am dizzy at times. Did you experience this ? My big problem is Food, I can't stop eating. The positive thing is my depression has lifted a little. I have gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks.
> >
> > Have you tried Parnate?
> >
> > Robin

Judy, Thank you so much for the information. This is my first time on a Maoi. I wont give up on this drug yet! I am taking Marplan for Social Phobia, Atypical depression. I also have ADD I was on Dexedrine for 4 years and many other AD medications.So far Marplan seems to be the most promising for me and I've tried alot of the other meds. Thanks Again for your time.
Robin

 

Re: Marplan doseage

Posted by Elizabeth on July 30, 1999, at 19:38:14

In reply to Re: Marplan doseage, posted by Judy on July 30, 1999, at 10:45:30

> Try to be patient with the Marplan for a while longer, stay in touch with your doctor about what you're feeling AND watch out for those sweets/carbo cravings (suck on ice chips to numb your taste buds and clean out a drawer or something!).

I don't think it's your taste buds that you'd want to numb; I think it's your hypothalamus.

But anyway, this is pretty distressing for me to hear. I am not particularly sensitive to the "activating" effects of Parnate, but I am very sensitive to the cardiovascular effects. For example, I had a mini-hypertensive episode today (went up to 160/100ish; I took a Procardia) for no particular reason (I mean, it was because of the Parnate: I had taken one of my doses about an hour before, I think - but I hadn't eaten *anything*). I don't want to have to live with this fear, but I don't want to live with the risks of being overweight (health problems, social problems, having to buy new clothes), either. (From my experience with Nardil, "diet and exercise" is not a viable solution for me.) So I had been hoping that Marplan might offer an alternative. I'd been considering a tricyclic, but most of them have anticholinergic effects that I can't tolerate.

One thing about the sweets cravings: you're going to hate me for saying this, but you probably should just avoid sweets altogether, because once you start, you might not be able to stop. The reason you eat so damned much is because you don't know that you're full.

You might also try complex carbohydrates - pasta, baked potatoes, etc. I can't remember whether that helps any.

BTW the Parnate doesn't keep me from sleeping (my sleep's not great but it's a hell of a lot better than when I was depressed - also, my dad has the same chronic insomnia (though he doesn't share my other sleep anomalies, as far as I know), and he doesn't take ADs, so it's probably not caused by the Parnate anyway). It did when I was taking it later in the day, though. Now I'm back to my "default" sleep pattern (i.e., same as no depression and no meds): get to sleep easily enough, but can't stay asleep for more than a couple hours at a time.

 

Re: Marplan and washout

Posted by Robin on July 31, 1999, at 9:32:13

In reply to Re: Marplan , posted by Robin on July 30, 1999, at 19:37:38

> > Robin,
> >
> > It's WAY to early for either of us to make a decision about Marplan and we might not even be at our most beneficial dosages yes. Some of what we're feeling right now - my headaches, your dizziness - may be *early* side effects that will disappear in time (maybe tomorrow, maybe in a month...). If you feel a lessening of your depression, consider that a very good sign! You can work on the side effects along the way - perhaps dosage changes or supplementing with other meds.
> >
> > It seems all MAOI's have some common, very prominent side effects. From my *vast* experience with Nardil, I can tell you that the disturbed sleep stage lasts quite a while, but I was able to live with it by taking .50 to 1 mg of Xanax before going to bed. After several months, I didn't need the Xanax anymore and slept well.
> >
> > Since Marplan and Nardil are similar in chemical make-up, I can already tell that we are probably dealng with a weight-gain side effect, which never dissipated for me on Nardil. The only advice I can give you there is TRY and TRY AGAIN not to indulge your cravings!!! I know so well that eating becomes almost a 'religious experience' when taking an MAOI and snacking on frozen grapes just doesn't cut it when all you can think about is a hot fudge sundae with a dozen brownies for dessert! It's a demon you have to fight continuously or it will snowball out of control, trust me on this.
> >
> > I did try Parnate once for a very brief period. For me it was much too enervating - like living in a constant anxiety attack. I think Parnate's amphetimine-like attributes might help avoid the weight gain, but I can't imagine ever getting a night's sleep while taking it. But that's me...
> >
> > Try to be patient with the Marplan for a while longer, stay in touch with your doctor about what you're feeling AND watch out for those sweets/carbo cravings (suck on ice chips to numb your taste buds and clean out a drawer or something!).
> >
> > Judy
> >
> >
> > > Judy, I don't know what to think of Marplan. 2 weeks on 20mgs. I can't sleep and I am dizzy at times. Did you experience this ? My big problem is Food, I can't stop eating. The positive thing is my depression has lifted a little. I have gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks.
> > >
> > > Have you tried Parnate?
> > >
> > > Robin
>
> Judy, Thank you so much for the information. This is my first time on a Maoi. I wont give up on this drug yet! I am taking Marplan for Social Phobia, Atypical depression. I also have ADD I was on Dexedrine for 4 years and many other AD medications.So far Marplan seems to be the most promising for me and I've tried alot of the other meds. Thanks Again for your time.
> Robin

Hi Judy, If I do decide to switch from Marplan to Parnate do I have to have a washout period ?
Thanks,
Robin

 

Re: Marplan and washout

Posted by Judy on July 31, 1999, at 11:10:42

In reply to Re: Marplan and washout, posted by Robin on July 31, 1999, at 9:32:13

Hi Robin,

Yes - the Marplan website suggests one week of washout before switching to another MAOI - my doctor insisted on two weeks.

If you decide to make the switch, post your findings!

Judy


> Hi Judy, If I do decide to switch from Marplan to Parnate do I have to have a washout period ?
> Thanks,
> Robin

 

Re: Marplan and washout

Posted by Elizabeth on July 31, 1999, at 13:15:09

In reply to Re: Marplan and washout, posted by Robin on July 31, 1999, at 9:32:13

> Hi Judy, If I do decide to switch from Marplan to Parnate do I have to have a washout period ?
> Thanks,
> Robin

Robin, I'm not Judy :-), but the answer is, unfortunately, yes.

(Apologies if this posts twice.)

 

Dopamine? for Elizabeth

Posted by MAOI monster on August 11, 1999, at 8:56:33

In reply to Re: Marplan and washout, posted by Elizabeth on July 31, 1999, at 13:15:09

I love this stuff. If you take enough you get some pretty cool hypomania effects. I can write better, ideas come faster, argue better, etc. But I can't sleep, stay up for days. If you combine it with tons of coffee and cigarettes you don't gain so much weight. On the SSRIs I had no desire to smoke; on Nardil I can't get enough. Why is that? It seems a bit odd to me seeing as the MAOIs have the net effect of boosting dopamine --along with sero. and norep.. And that's what Nicotine does, too, right? I mean isn't that why wellbutrin helps people quit? I've thought about trying wellbutrin because I've been under the suspicion that dopamine is the real culprit in my atypical depression. Question is: if both Nardil and Wellbutrin affect dopamine levels do they work on different receptors. I mean D2 D3 or whatever. or do they work in different parts of the brain? I have mild spasmodic dysphonia which they now supspect has something to do with dopamine disregulation in the basal ganglia. (that's also the suspicion with suttering and tourettes, I hear) So Elizabeth, a.k.a, the psychopharmacological goddess, what's the scoop here?

 

Re: Dopamine? for Elizabeth

Posted by anita on August 13, 1999, at 12:18:42

In reply to Dopamine? for Elizabeth, posted by MAOI monster on August 11, 1999, at 8:56:33

Hi MAOI monster :-),

Well, from my understanding, I think that Wellbutrin, if it does affect dopamine,
inhibits the reuptake of dopamine (as well as noradrenaline), while MAOIs increase the
general availability of dopamine in the brain, and/or decrease its degradation by MAO.
So, different mechanisms could be at work.

For me, Wellbutrin made cigarettes taste yucky, so I cut down, but that effect
didn't last more than a month. Nardil and Parnate didn't affect my ciggie smoking at all,
as far as I recall.

anita

 

Re: Marplan & sleep, for Elizabeth

Posted by anita on August 13, 1999, at 12:21:41

In reply to Re: Marplan doseage, posted by Elizabeth on July 30, 1999, at 19:38:14


> BTW the Parnate doesn't keep me from sleeping (my sleep's not great but it's a hell of a lot better than when I was depressed - also, my dad has the same chronic insomnia (though he doesn't share my other sleep anomalies, as far as I know), and he doesn't take ADs, so it's probably not caused by the Parnate anyway). It did when I was taking it later in the day, though. Now I'm back to my "default" sleep pattern (i.e., same as no depression and no meds): get to sleep easily enough, but can't stay asleep for more than a couple hours at a time.

Hey Elizabeth,

I just read something about a new sleep med for middle-of-the-night awakenings has either been approved or is on
the market. Can't remember where I saw it, but if you want I'll look for you.

cheers,
anita

 

Sonata - Anita

Posted by Elizabeth on August 13, 1999, at 18:49:50

In reply to Re: Marplan & sleep, for Elizabeth, posted by anita on August 13, 1999, at 12:21:41

It's zapelon (Sonata), basically an ultra-short-acting version of Ambien. I'd rather have a *longer*-acting version!


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