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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by babak on August 11, 2003, at 3:50:03
Hi
It is now my third week on this stuff (0.75mg) and I still haven't noticed anything positive.
Should I give it up now or wait until I am on 1mg next week, or go above 1mg?
I tried the other similar new drug whose name now scapes my mind. It was great stopped me over eating, gave me loads of energy but then it was also causing sudden sleep onsets and hallucination. So I had to stop taking it.
I am at the moment on seroxat(30mg) which has completely stopped my excess anxiety and panic attacks. On the downside it has also exaccerbated by anhedonia as well. I am not over eating but I am putting on weight because I don't do anything and feel tierd all the time.
I think I need some sort of stimulant, but which one?
Posted by crazychickuk on August 11, 2003, at 8:48:55
In reply to Ropinirole, posted by babak on August 11, 2003, at 3:50:03
Hi there, you are obviousley in the uk or i may be wrong, i said that cus you refer to seroxat well it is paxil in the usa.... and ropinirole is called Requip in other countrys to treat symptoms of parkinsons.. is that what you suffer with? or just been given it for anxiety symtoms? anyways i would wait till you up the dose... like me remeron (mirtazipane) i been taking for 3 weeks with no affects not even sleepyness, i feel lazy in the day thats it, dont knock me out at all.. so give it time and let me know how u get on....
Posted by babak on August 11, 2003, at 9:42:41
In reply to Re: Ropinirole, posted by crazychickuk on August 11, 2003, at 8:48:55
Yes I am in UK. Requip is supposed to counteract the side effect of Paroxetine. As I said I was taking Miapex before which worked very well but its side effects forced me to drop it.
I am not suffering Parkisons.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 11, 2003, at 14:06:19
In reply to Ropinirole, posted by babak on August 11, 2003, at 3:50:03
I'm thinking of going back on Mirapex myself, now that I'm taking an amphetamine. The sleep attacks were my reason for discontinuation as well, though I didn't have any hallucinations.
However, if you decide to raise the dose of Requip and find that it is helpful for you, I'd be interested to hear about it... I may want to try it instead.
Posted by babak on August 13, 2003, at 14:29:28
In reply to Re: Ropinirole » babak, posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 11, 2003, at 14:06:19
So have you had the same experience?
I was falling asleep behind the wheel that was really scarey. Hallucinations were probably more to do with the fact I was feeling so good that I was partying too much and exaggerating/twisting the effect of the drug with alchohol and C.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 13, 2003, at 19:16:35
In reply to Re: Ropinirole » Ame Sans Vie, posted by babak on August 13, 2003, at 14:29:28
I had some minor OEVs (tracers, flanging, loss of depth perception) and pretty severe CEVs (LSD-like: intricate geometric patterns and fractals, random detailed images of real-life things thrown together in some weird fashion that almost looked like cubist art) when I experimented one time taking 6mg of Mirapex all at once (and the experience was actually not at all unpleasant -- I wonder how long it'll take for the candy-kids of the world to figure out about Mirapex and claim it as their own? lol). The only other med I was on at the time was Klonopin. If the "C" in your post stands for coke, though, then that's surely what brought on the hallucinations for you. What was the highest dose you were on?
As I mentioned, I may want to try Mirapex again, now that I'm on Dexedrine Spansules -- maybe they'll ward off the sleep attacks. But I'm a bit worried that the Mirapex may worsen my OCD symptoms, which are under control entirely now with Ultram. Perhaps my fear of this is unfounded, but after reading and posting the article on here the other day that links Mirapex to compulsive gambling, I don't know if I should be taking any chances at this point.
Besides, as great a med as it is, I feel I'm 100% "normal", whatever that is, on my current med cocktail -- so I probably shouldn't mess with it. *But*, lol, I feel that with a dopamine agonist there's potential for me to maybe feel even *more* than 100% normal. Anything that may increase my confidence and motivation even further, I'm all for. So we'll see, I guess.
Posted by River1924 on August 16, 2003, at 13:16:03
In reply to Re: Ropinirole » babak, posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 13, 2003, at 19:16:35
That is the rub...what degree of discomfort is normal??? When does psychopharmacological meddling become obsessive itself?
And how do I remember how I felt on which drug regimen? And, has my body adapted and switched itself to a less comfortable state or is the "normal" I was so thrilled with last week suddenly all wrong or am I just nitpicking trying to find perfection through drugs? I feel tired of these cycles sometimes. I think my pdoc is, too.
Posted by babak on August 18, 2003, at 19:05:25
In reply to Re: Ropinirole, perfection thru drugs » Ame Sans Vie, posted by River1924 on August 16, 2003, at 13:16:03
This is bull shit. I don't know what Ame is trying to do by being more normal.
When I am not depressed which is not often it is perfectly obvious. It is so definite that it feels as if some one has just turned the light on. Sure I like to get high and would take Viagra to distort my "natural" senses for some specific or none specific gain. But that has absolutely nothing to do with depression. This is what drives me mad about doctors and other people who have the same argument. I suggest you go back to your memories and you might find a memory where you were happy, in a state of grace. My favorite one is: When I was fifteen on a summer day I fell asleep under the shadow of a tree and woke up feeling alive. I was aware of all the stimuli around me and yet I was relaxed. I was there inside myself sitting comfortably with no tension. I have gone days feeling like but days are too long for a specific memory of a feeling or a state of mind. This is why I go back to memories which lasted minutes or hours rather than days.I remember I had the same feeling when I first started on Mirtazapine & Venelafaxine. I think it was on the fourth day of adding Mirtazapine, I woke up in the morning, taking my morning medication (Effexor), I felt like: Hey why am I not feeling the usual hangover like feeling of other days. Slowly I noticed my body straightening up, my face feeling relaxed and I remember very clearly that I said in a loud voice: "Shit I feel fine". This is after some nine years of unremitting depression.
Unfortunately it didn’t last more then six weeks. Sure in between I got angry, anxious, sad and all sorts, but I was not depressed.
So please don't let pdocs get it wrong. I am not talking about feeling good and groovey, I am talking about not being depressed about being alive.
Posted by River1924 on August 18, 2003, at 21:52:43
In reply to Re: Ropinirole, perfection thru drugs » River1924, posted by babak on August 18, 2003, at 19:05:25
I apologize if I insulted you. I recall being depressed at age 11, looking out the back window of a car. But that is when I became aware of it. I've rarely been otherwise as far as I can recall...except for a few times when drugs or some mild bipolar gene switches on and I become distinctly another person, chatty and euphoric. My long term depression and anxiety has given me a kind of personal amnesia. I can't really remember much about my own life. I can't lean on them or use them for comfort or use them as a reference for "normal." All I can do is try meds that make life less painful. Recently my father died of a stroke. I feel a certain jealousy. I've always promised myself to stay alive until both of my parents died. Now I have one to go and then, perhaps, I'll be free.
Posted by Dr. Bob on August 19, 2003, at 17:29:13
In reply to Re: Ropinirole, perfection thru drugs » River1924, posted by babak on August 18, 2003, at 19:05:25
> This is bull sh*t.
You may not agree with someone, but please don't use language that could offend others, which at this time includes words and phrases considered often or usually disparaging, obscene, offensive, or vulgar by Merriam-Webster OnLine:
Thanks,
Bob
PS: Follow-ups regarding posting policies, and complaints about posts, should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration; otherwise, they may be deleted.
Posted by JahL on August 22, 2003, at 19:58:41
In reply to Re: Ropinirole, perfection thru drugs » River1924, posted by babak on August 18, 2003, at 19:05:25
> When I am not depressed which is not often it is perfectly obvious. It is so definite that it feels as if some one has just turned the light on.depression.
>
> Unfortunately it didn’t last more then six weeks. Sure in between I got angry, anxious, sad and all sorts, but I was not depressed.I had the same experience whilst on Paroxetine (and Prozac). Woke up one morning and I was 'cured'. I was *born* profoundly depressed and to suddenly experience euthymia was pretty-f***ing mind-blowing to say the least.
"Wow, is this how other people feel?"
I don't think normal, euthymic people can possibly appreciate just what they possess (i.e. a life). This is not a criticism. I live for the moment I feel euthymic again...if I don't go through with it.
On the question of Ropinirole; I'm UK and take 2 x 2mg daily (though it should be tid).I think, if memory serves me correctly (and it's just been wiped out by 14 ECT treatments), Ropinirole is more selective for D2 receptors, which are thought to be involved in motivation and drive, as opposed to mood. I think Pramipexole also has D3 action, which is considered to be involved with mood, thus accounting for its reported benefits for depressed people. Apologies if I'm repeating info; I've been away for a few months. When I tried Pramipexole it certainly took the edge off of my suicidal tendencies, though it didn't do a great deal beyond that.
I've been on Ropinirole for around two months now and though the benefits for mood are fairly minimal, there has been a discernable, if moderate improvement in motivation. After years away, I've been on the weights recently and the punchbag is seeing regular action.
Hope this helps.
Ta,
Jah.
>>>>>>>>> I am talking about not being depressed about being alive.
This is the end of the thread.
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