Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 87346

Shown: posts 1 to 24 of 24. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Parnate -- Time to Kick In?

Posted by Seamus2 on December 18, 2001, at 21:24:20

I was on the stuff for 7 years and Nardil for another 7 before that.

I stopped a year or so ago when I started taking testosterone. But that's another story.

But for the life of me, I can't remember how long it takes to kick in!

Yes, I've read the usual details about "may take three to four weeks" but what I want to know are personal experiences.

I've gone into a real tailspin and realized it's depression (D'oh!). So I pulled out the Parnate and started 10 mg TID yesterday.

It works pretty darn well for me, but HOW LONG UNTIL IT KICKED IN FOR YOU?

 

Re: Parnate -- Time to Kick In? » Seamus2

Posted by bob on December 18, 2001, at 21:50:34

In reply to Parnate -- Time to Kick In?, posted by Seamus2 on December 18, 2001, at 21:24:20

Sorry I can't tell you what you want to know, but I'm really curious: did you try testosterone as a treatment for depression?

It sounds like the MAOIs have worked well for you. Are you bipolar at all?

 

Re: Parnate -- Time to Kick In? » Seamus2

Posted by Elizabeth on December 28, 2001, at 12:34:47

In reply to Parnate -- Time to Kick In?, posted by Seamus2 on December 18, 2001, at 21:24:20

For me, Parnate started showing signs of working within a week or two. I think that MAOIs often (but not always) work faster than other ADs.

So, are you taking testosterone replacement therapy, or is there some other reasoning behind that? What effect, if any, do you think it's having on your mood?

-elizabeth

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by spike4848 on December 29, 2001, at 16:28:15

In reply to Re: Parnate -- Time to Kick In? » Seamus2, posted by Elizabeth on December 28, 2001, at 12:34:47

Anything for insomnia from Parnate? How are you doing Seamus?

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by Seamus2 on December 30, 2001, at 9:42:02

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by spike4848 on December 29, 2001, at 16:28:15

> Anything for insomnia from Parnate? How are you doing Seamus?


Day 12 and it's kicking in quite well. I'd forgotten just how effective it was.

As a rule, I don't get insomnia w/ Parnate; it's caffeine that's the culprit. I don't drink coffee aafter 2 PM.

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by Elizabeth on December 30, 2001, at 17:02:43

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by spike4848 on December 29, 2001, at 16:28:15

> Anything for insomnia from Parnate?

I found Ambien helpful for insomnia on Nardil, Parnate, and Marplan. It would be nice if Ambien lasted longer, but I would wake up after five hours or so feeling rested. I was able to take Ambien for a couple of years or more and it never stopped working.

-elizabeth

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Elizabeth

Posted by spike4848 on January 1, 2002, at 20:06:25

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by Elizabeth on December 30, 2001, at 17:02:43

Alright Guys,

Last Medication trial ... I am going to start Parnate today ... fingers crossed

Spike

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848

Posted by bob on January 1, 2002, at 22:20:34

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Elizabeth, posted by spike4848 on January 1, 2002, at 20:06:25

Why is it your "last" medication trial? What comes after that???

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848

Posted by christophrejmc on January 1, 2002, at 22:38:54

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Elizabeth, posted by spike4848 on January 1, 2002, at 20:06:25

> Alright Guys,
>
> Last Medication trial ... I am going to start Parnate today ... fingers crossed
>
> Spike

You're stopping Nardil to try Parnate and I'm stopping Parnate to try Nardil. Good luck, etc.

My main problem with Parnate was that I couldn't tolerate taking more than 10mg at one time, so I couldn't reach a level equiv. to the dosage I needed with Nardil. Please let us know if you notice any similarities/differences between the two.

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » christophrejmc

Posted by bob on January 1, 2002, at 22:51:21

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848, posted by christophrejmc on January 1, 2002, at 22:38:54

Why couldn't you tolerate more than 10 mg at one time? What would happen?

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by Seamus2 on January 2, 2002, at 0:30:38

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Elizabeth, posted by spike4848 on January 1, 2002, at 20:06:25

> Alright Guys,
>
> Last Medication trial ... I am going to start Parnate today ... fingers crossed
>
> Spike

Well good. I hope you as snappy a response as I have had. Started Dec 18 and already feel SO much better. I'd forgotten just how effective it is, for me. YMMV.

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » bob

Posted by spike4848 on January 2, 2002, at 0:36:15

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848, posted by bob on January 1, 2002, at 22:20:34

> Why is it your "last" medication trial? What comes after that???

going back to nardil ..... after all my trials, I will stick to nardil and just live life ..... until the next new fad drug comes out .... lol. But seriously, my trials have really gone to far. I was even on the mail order site for adrafinil tonight. Let the healing begin.

Spike

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848

Posted by bob on January 2, 2002, at 0:52:28

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » bob, posted by spike4848 on January 2, 2002, at 0:36:15

Isn't it amazingly difficult to "just live life" with these treatments being the sad compromises that they are? At first you're just glad to be relieved of your symptoms, but inevitably, the medecine itself becomes the problem. What a tragic irony.

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Seamus2

Posted by spike4848 on January 2, 2002, at 13:12:07

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by Seamus2 on January 2, 2002, at 0:30:38

> Well good. I hope you as snappy a response as I have had. Started Dec 18 and already feel SO much better. I'd forgotten just how effective it is, for me. YMMV.

Seamus,

I have depression with panic disorder. I responded well to nardil for four years ..... but on my 30th birthday decided to I wanted a med without the weight gain, sexual side effects, memory difficulties. So in comes Parnate ... out goes Nardil.

Would you mind if I asked you a few question to help me out? Of course you don't have to answer any of them, they are personal ....

Have you tried nardil?
What was you response?
Do you have depression and panic like myself?
Do you take any other meds (I need klonopin for panic)?

Thanks,

Glad your back into life ... enjoying the world

Spike

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » bob

Posted by christophrejmc on January 2, 2002, at 22:25:29

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » christophrejmc, posted by bob on January 1, 2002, at 22:51:21

> Why couldn't you tolerate more than 10 mg at one time? What would happen?

my bp shoots to about 160/100 from 110/70. Right now, I'm taking four pills a day spaced about 3 hours apart to avoid this.

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by Seamus2 on January 3, 2002, at 10:57:46

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » Seamus2, posted by spike4848 on January 2, 2002, at 13:12:07

> Have you tried nardil?
Nardil worked well for me for years. I switched because of the anorgasmia. I did have carbo cravings, but didn't gain much weight.

One thing I discovered about the dosing: I had to ramp up to about 5 tablets a day for a week or so and then decrease to 3 tablets to get maximum effect.

> What was you response?
> Do you have depression and panic like myself?

Just recurrent major depression.
> Do you take any other meds (I need klonopin for panic)?

I'd take Xanax occasionally; added WEllbutrin for a while but it made me too agitated.


 

Re: Parnate dosing » christophrejmc

Posted by Elizabeth on January 5, 2002, at 2:13:23

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » bob, posted by christophrejmc on January 2, 2002, at 22:25:29

> > Why couldn't you tolerate more than 10 mg at one time? What would happen?
>
> my bp shoots to about 160/100 from 110/70. Right now, I'm taking four pills a day spaced about 3 hours apart to avoid this.

I had the same problem: couldn't take more than 10 mg in a single dose of Parnate because it would make my BP spike. (My baseline BP on Parnate was around 100/60; 20 mg of Parnate would send it upwards of 180/110). My BP still went up about a half hour after each 10 mg dose, but not nearly as much.

I got up to 60 mg/day of Parnate (yes, 10 mg six times a day) but it wasn't enough and I was starting to have trouble taking all those separate doses. So then I tried desipramine, which worked about equally well but no better and would have required therapeutic serum level monitoring (I don't metabolize it normally). So now I'm giving Effexor another chance, and still sticking with the buprenorphine (along with Trileptal to prevent seizures and the occasional Xanax for anxiety/panic/jitters).

Do you find 40 mg/day adequate? I found that spacing them just two hours apart was enough.

-elizabeth

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » bob

Posted by Elizabeth on January 5, 2002, at 2:17:24

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia? » spike4848, posted by bob on January 2, 2002, at 0:52:28

> Isn't it amazingly difficult to "just live life" with these treatments being the sad compromises that they are? At first you're just glad to be relieved of your symptoms, but inevitably, the medecine itself becomes the problem. What a tragic irony.

I think it's a question of what's worse -- putting up with the side effects, or trying to live with the symptoms? That's a decision for every individual to make him- or herself. It can become frustrating, of course, if you know that medication can help you but can't seem to find one that you can tolerate. That's a problem that a lot of people here seem to have.

-elizabeth

 

Re: Parnate dosing » Elizabeth

Posted by christophrejmc on January 5, 2002, at 14:39:36

In reply to Re: Parnate dosing » christophrejmc, posted by Elizabeth on January 5, 2002, at 2:13:23

> I had the same problem: couldn't take more than 10 mg in a single dose of Parnate because it would make my BP spike. (My baseline BP on Parnate was around 100/60; 20 mg of Parnate would send it upwards of 180/110). My BP still went up about a half hour after each 10 mg dose, but not nearly as much.

I notice the same thing (I'm usually a bit hypotensive off Parnate, so it's not much of a problem).

> I got up to 60 mg/day of Parnate (yes, 10 mg six times a day) but it wasn't enough and I was starting to have trouble taking all those separate doses. So then I tried desipramine, which worked about equally well but no better and would have required therapeutic serum level monitoring (I don't metabolize it normally). So now I'm giving Effexor another chance, and still sticking with the buprenorphine (along with Trileptal to prevent seizures and the occasional Xanax for anxiety/panic/jitters).

Do you mean you added desipramine to the Parnate, or took it alone? Desipramine (monotherapy) took a long time to kick in for me, but it seemed to make my depression worse (possibly because there was much to be unhappy about in my life at the time). MAOI+TCA is something I've been considering, but my doc is quite wimpy so I'm not sure if it'll ever happen.

> Do you find 40 mg/day adequate? I found that spacing them just two hours apart was enough.

I doubt it's doing much for me; I needed to get to a pretty high Nardil dose before noticing any effect, so I'm not sure I'll ever know if Parnate works for me. I don't think I want to try two hours apart -- I might be tempted to raise the dose + the number of effing pills I have to swallow.

Christophre.

 

Re: Parnate dosing » christophrejmc

Posted by Elizabeth on January 6, 2002, at 22:12:54

In reply to Re: Parnate dosing » Elizabeth, posted by christophrejmc on January 5, 2002, at 14:39:36

> Do you mean you added desipramine to the Parnate, or took it alone?

I switched to desipramine, without the Parnate. It seemed to work about as well as the Parnate had, but I was looking for something that would help more. Plus the serum level monitoring would have been too much of a pain (and too expensive, more importantly!).

> MAOI+TCA is something I've been considering, but my doc is quite wimpy so I'm not sure if it'll ever happen.

Supposedly, the combination is seldom better than one of the two types of ADs alone is. It does help people every now and then, tho'.

> > Do you find 40 mg/day adequate? I found that spacing them just two hours apart was enough.
>
> I doubt it's doing much for me; I needed to get to a pretty high Nardil dose before noticing any effect, so I'm not sure I'll ever know if Parnate works for me.

How high a dose of Nardil were you on? My problem with Nardil was poopout, and increasing the dose didn't make it start working again.

> I don't think I want to try two hours apart -- I might be tempted to raise the dose + the number of effing pills I have to swallow.

The whole point of it would be so that you could raise the dose! Like I said, I managed to get up to six times a day. That might turn out to be enough for you, I don't know.

-elizabeth

 

Parnate and insomnia .... you bet!

Posted by spike4848 on January 13, 2002, at 3:02:09

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by spike4848 on December 29, 2001, at 16:28:15

Day 10 of parnate ... let the side effect parade begin. Currently 3:49 AM and just spent the last 4 hours tossing and turning WIDE AWAKE. But that is fine because my erectile dysfunction and heart palpations are taking my mind off the insomnia. And also wondering when my medicalert bracelet will come in the mail so I don't DYE from a demerol injection in the ER. To top it off .... I am still completely depressed .... all the side effects/none of the benefits. Figures.

Spike

Sorry had to get that off my chest

"So now my buddy's out of work. He can't afford to drive, so he's walking to the f#ckin' job interviews, which sucks because the shrapnel in his ass is giving him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starving 'cuz every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're serving is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holding out for something better,"

Will from Good Will Hunting.

 

Re: Parnate dosing

Posted by mixedstates on March 24, 2002, at 14:15:46

In reply to Re: Parnate dosing » christophrejmc, posted by Elizabeth on January 5, 2002, at 2:13:23

I also experienced rapid pulse and higher blood pressure problems when taking more than 10mg of parnate at a time. Like Elizabeth I also take 60mg of parnate and I believe the med peaks aprox 2 hours after injesting it. I take my doses every 2 hours trying to gget my first dose in as early as possible. Hope this helps. Mixedstates999@msn.com

 

Re: Parnate and insomnia .... you bet!

Posted by mixedstates on March 24, 2002, at 14:46:30

In reply to Parnate and insomnia .... you bet!, posted by spike4848 on January 13, 2002, at 3:02:09

> Day 10 of parnate ... let the side effect parade begin. Currently 3:49 AM and just spent the last 4 hours tossing and turning WIDE AWAKE. But that is fine because my erectile dysfunction and heart palpations are taking my mind off the insomnia. And also wondering when my medicalert bracelet will come in the mail so I don't DYE from a demerol injection in the ER. To top it off .... I am still completely depressed .... all the side effects/none of the benefits. Figures.
>
> Spike
>
> Sorry had to get that off my chest
>
> "So now my buddy's out of work. He can't afford to drive, so he's walking to the f#ckin' job interviews, which sucks because the shrapnel in his ass is giving him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starving 'cuz every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're serving is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holding out for something better,"
>
> Will from Good Will Hunting.

From Mixedstates,
Sorry to hear that you are having negative experiences with parnate. I can say for me that after attemting countless med cocktails that parnate has been truly a ssavior for me. It worked even better after combined with lamictal.
As far as side affects I have found them to be minimal,sure there are extensive food and drugs that are containdicated but for me that is a smal price to pay for such an effective drug such as parnate. With regard to insomnia that has been a problem with me,I would encourage you to discuss this with your pdoc as there are alternatives to help this benzos,ambien(at 20 mg for me to work) and when the ambien does not(usually when mood is extra manic)I take zyprexa and restful sleep is achieved for me. You have not taken parnate for long give it some time,work with your pdoc and seriosly understand the lifestyle modifications that are required when taking an maoi. Best of Luck, Mixedstates999@msn.com

 

Re: Parnate -- insomnia?

Posted by mixedstates on March 24, 2002, at 14:56:09

In reply to Re: Parnate -- insomnia?, posted by spike4848 on December 29, 2001, at 16:28:15

Like Elizabeth,Ambien worked well for me 90% of the time but only at a 20mg dose. The other 10% of the time it was necessary to add Zyprexa. I usually was able to sleep for 6 or 7 hours and felt well rested. Mixedstates999@msn.com


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