Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 106624

Shown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP

Posted by tinker on May 16, 2002, at 8:20:53

Has anyone used imipramine? What experiences did you have.

 

Re: IMPRAMINE- (tinker)

Posted by johnj on May 16, 2002, at 20:37:28

In reply to IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by tinker on May 16, 2002, at 8:20:53

Hi,
I just started imipramine about 2 weeks ago. I also take nortryptline, but want to switch due to the belief(mine) that it interferes with excercise. I have only been taking 20 mg. I did well the first week or so when I was getting off remeron, but have had the "jitters" for a few days. I did not sleep one wink last night, but the good news is my mood was not destroyed, just dog tired. I have had some nausea which is somewhat troublesome and really sweated last night. I don't know how much this is related to imipramine so don't read too much into what I say. I have significant agitation/anxiety with my depression and am going to hit the doc up for a benzo tomorrow to help me sleep. I don't know if I will ask for xananx or klonipin. Do you have any experience with either of those? Let me know what you decide to do. take care
Johnj

 

Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP » tinker

Posted by IsoM on May 17, 2002, at 2:17:24

In reply to IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by tinker on May 16, 2002, at 8:20:53

Tinker, imipramine was the first AD I ever used & it worked very well for me. The problem for me was its side-effects - dry mouth (bearable), severe constipation (not quite as bearable), & tachycardia, or fast heart rate. I had a resting rate of 110 beats per minute & normal exertion would send it far too high. I never felt any problems with such a rapid heart rate but felt it wasn't good as I am a very active person.

To reach the level of AD needed for a good response, I had to add amoxepine to the imipramine. My pdoc at the time told me it took about three weeks before I'd feel a response. Unexpectantly, I woke one morning around 6:00 AM (unusual for me) & couldn't go back to sleep. But I felt a quiet deep happiness & didn't care I was awake so early. When I got up & checked my calendar, it was exactly day 21. The change in mood was that noticable for me. Life started looking so much better & I remember feeling so much pleasure from simple things again.

If a person can tolerte the side-effects, most tricyclics are very effective ADs.

 

Re: IMPRAMINE- (tinker)

Posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 7:06:11

In reply to Re: IMPRAMINE- (tinker), posted by johnj on May 16, 2002, at 20:37:28

Hi Johnj, THANK YOU for writing back. I have had success with clonazepam. It lasts longer than most benzo's and can be quite calming. I was concerned about your jitters, as I was thinking of asking for imapramine, can you keep me posted how you make out next week. Thanks

 

Re: Thanks » IsoM

Posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 7:10:27

In reply to Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP » tinker, posted by IsoM on May 17, 2002, at 2:17:24

Thanks for your post. I really appreciate your input. Out of curosity what other ad have your tried and been successful or unsuccessful with.
Thanks again-Tinker

 

Other ADs » tinker

Posted by IsoM on May 17, 2002, at 12:12:27

In reply to Re: Thanks » IsoM, posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 7:10:27

Been on ADs for about 15 years now & have used:
imipramine- already explained
amoxepine - that explained too
desipramine - didn't work
Prozac - just nausea, didn't work, even after 2 months
Luvox - worked for 4 years then pooped out
Effexor - made me severely anorexia & had to quit
Zoloft - threw up each dose within 1/2 hr of taking it
Paxil - worked well but hated the withdrawal effects from even being late with the daily dosing
Buspar - gave me terrible jitters
Wellbutrin - didn't work
Manerix - made me angrier & more bleak
Celexa - now on 40 mg dose along with "my" life-saver, adrafinil which has the most benefit for me.

 

Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP

Posted by waterlily on May 17, 2002, at 16:04:26

In reply to IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by tinker on May 16, 2002, at 8:20:53

I was on imipramine for about a year. It was added to the Wellbutrin I was already on in order to decrease generalized anxiety. It worked to an extent, but not as much as I wanted it to. I stopped taking it several months ago because 1)I was getting braces and could not put up with the dry mouth with all the hardware in there, 2) I wanted to see if something else would work better, and 3) even though I was on a low dose (75 mg, I think) my levels of imipramine were always close to toxic.

I do not think my experience was typical, so give it a shot if you think it may work out for you.

 

Thanks (nm) » waterlily

Posted by tinker on May 17, 2002, at 20:23:49

In reply to Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by waterlily on May 17, 2002, at 16:04:26

 

Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP

Posted by Lia Mason on May 21, 2002, at 9:03:19

In reply to IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by tinker on May 16, 2002, at 8:20:53

I'm on imipramine 150 and doing well (I take sam-e and a tiny bit of effexor with it) I actually went on the imipramine for pain but it's helped my depression.

My experience with side effects has been good. I got them, but for the most part they went away. The orthostatic hypotension is very slight now. I don't really notice dry mouth and the constipation I can control with diet--it's not severe. I was initially sedated but that wore off. I'm surprised at how well I'm tolerating it because I was on Nortriptyline previously and couldn't handle it--too spaced out and fatigued.

The frustration with imipramine--for me--is how slowly I had to titrate up (to avoid side effects) and consequently, how long it took for an anti depressant effect.

I hope this helps.

Lia

 

Lia Please read this- Re Amitriptyline

Posted by tinker on May 21, 2002, at 19:03:36

In reply to Re: IMPRAMINE- EXPERIENCES WANTED PLEASE HELP, posted by Lia Mason on May 21, 2002, at 9:03:19

Hi Lia, thanks for posting. Did you ever try amitriptyline? My psydoc is afraid to let me try imapramine due to the dryness. I had a terrible time with that when trying amitriptyline, and couldnt pass urine for 14 hours which really scared me. I am hopeful imapramine might work for me because it is not too high in the seratonin levels. What dosage are you on, and did you experience alot of dry mouth? Thanks again- Tinker

 

Re: Lia Please read this- Re (tinker and Iso)

Posted by johnj on May 21, 2002, at 22:12:34

In reply to Lia Please read this- Re Amitriptyline, posted by tinker on May 21, 2002, at 19:03:36

Hi, just thought I would add my two cents in since I know a little about imipramine.

I just dropped my 20 mg of imipramine and now am back down to 50 mg of nortryptline. I was trying to get a high enough dose and then ease of nortryptline since I have some theories on problems it might be causing me. One reason is I seemed to have a rebound in anxiety after about 10 days and had a sudden onset of dry mouth and sweating that kept me up one night. I often wonder which AD is causing the side effects when I am taking both, but one never knows. I had to go back and add 7.5 mg of tranzene to my current night dose of 7.5 mg. Acutally, I take half of the 7.5 mg at noon and the other around 5 pm. I am totally confused on how to "switch" from one AD to another, especically from one TCA to another??? From what I have read imipramine does have a good track record, but takes some time to get going, and helps with panic and anxiety.

 

Re: Lia Please read this- Re Amitriptyline

Posted by Lia Mason on May 22, 2002, at 8:12:03

In reply to Lia Please read this- Re Amitriptyline, posted by tinker on May 21, 2002, at 19:03:36

Hi,

No, I never tried amitriptyline. I'm very sensitive to sedation and my doc thought it would be too sedating for me. I had only a little dry mouth on imipramine and it seems to have passed. I don't notice it now and I'm at 150. Interesting thing... I had urinary retention--not bad, but annoying--on nortriptyline, but not imipramine.

I hope things work out for you.

Lia


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.