Posted by bleauberry on May 16, 2010, at 16:37:59
In reply to Re: Starting Milnacipran, posted by vic80 on May 16, 2010, at 11:57:58
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> firstly, theres no doubt that diff people react diff to meds, the mileage may vary etc etc, but how would you rate your experience over all?Except for the total inability to pee, very promising. At 2 weeks I was socially comfortable, waves of having more energy and endurance, slept good, breaking out of procrastination and starting to get things done, planning, but most importantly was showing a lot of interest in things I previously liked to do.
> How long did you take/ are taking MIL?
> and if you stopped what was the reason behind it?It was around the 2 week mark. I did feel an initial bump within 24 hours which was obviously the rapid elevation of NE and dopamine. That went away quickly as I awaited the downstream effects.
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> I have noticed tachycardia - pulse hasnt been below 96 since I started yesterday. And also I have found that I get a sense of uneasy calm - head-feels-blocked sort of calm - and theres increased irritability too.That to me says too much NE too fast. Again, I think the dosing is too aggressive as a blanket strategy for everyone. The starter pack begins with 12.5mg. For some people, in my opinion more than they think, it should probably stay there for at least a week or two. Some people, such as SLS, are able to handle large doses with hardly any effect. I think that is the exception rather than the norm. Just opinion. I could be wrong.
I think rapid elevation of NE is a totally different ballgame than rapid elevation of serotonin.
> would you know of any positive results in DP, assuming you must have researched into MIL while on it! I have been unusually unsuccessful with googling about it.I am not well informed on DP. I think I have probably experienced it, but I just don't know enough on that topic.
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> I think as you have pointed out apathy caused by high serotonin could also be because I am taking lexapro 7.5 mg (plus the build up of several weeks in my system) which is a seriously potent serotonin RI. The combined effect of MIL and Lex on Serotonin RI must be a cause of the mental deadness i felt.A pure instinctual hunch here based on your overall comments thus far. I wouldn't be surprised if something like a 2.5mg lex + 12.5mg miln might be good in your case. It sounds like you could have a narrow window where it is easy to overdose and easy to underdose. Or I could be totally off base. Just my thoughts.
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> I am a bit apprehensive about the mood and confidence elevation I have felt even though subtle in the past 2 days - it has been too sudden and feels a bit false. I guess Lex taper/withdrawal too could induce mild hypomania.Yeah. That phenomenon has been felt by some of us when getting off an ssri. I think it is the dopamine system coming back to life. Short lived until the feedback loops figure out what's going on, and then it's back to the old crap again. But then again, it could also be the rapid elevation of NE. I have felt both of those. The only difference was that the NE mood boost had more of an edgy nervous irritable kind of twist to it. Again, too much too fast. I think NE needs more time than serotonin when making changes, and that small steps makes that smoother. I mean, when you're messin with NE, you're messin with adrenals, thyroid, and stuff.
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> Did you experience any mood swings/hypomania or irritability on MIL?Yes. I lowered the dose to a tolerable level and proceeded. In my case that meant 6.25mg twice a day and then up to 6.25 three times a day. I've gotten pretty good at the art of making custom sized doses out of either tabs or capsules. For some of us in the sensitive crowd, there is no choice but to do that.
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> With a lot of difficulty I have reconciled to the fact that psychoactives arent a smooth ride after all but I am pinning a lot of hope on MIL.
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>The ones in clinical trials and at forums who have had the best success with miln were the ones that waited and endured patiently during a rough ride. I remember two striking examples. One experienced total remission of all psychiatric and physical symptoms, but not until 6 months. Another was 9 months. In both cases the only side effects at that point were blood pressures higher than where they started and more sweating. The only reason either of them stayed the course that long was because they were in a clinical trial. Pretty much all the rest of us would have given up by then.
poster:bleauberry
thread:947505
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100514/msgs/947621.html