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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 11:09:22
Well, I just decided today that on my next visit to my pdoc I'm going to discontinue the 10mg b.i.d. Inderal I've been on, as it seems to make me somewhat depressed and lethargic at times. Also, I've only been taking it for anger management-- 20mg / day just isn't enough for me. We've tried pushing it higher, but I immediately fell into a deep depression upon even a slight increase in dose.
I currently take Provigil, 150mg b.i.d. (which I plan on having raised to 200mg b.i.d.) as well as Klonopin, 2mg b.i.d. for avoidant personality disorder + 1mg h.s. for RLS and bruxism, primarily. Although my pdoc is willing, I'm somewhat wary about raising my Klonopin dosage, as I've had benzo addiction problems in the past.
I've tried practically everything I and my psychiatrist have been able to come up with, but now I have several options open to me at this point. As an addition to the Provigil/Klonopin combo, I've been considering Riluzole, Sabril, Parnate, Lamictal, or high-dose Depakote. Right now, I'm leaning toward Lamictal, unless someone else here can persuade me otherwise. :-)
Anyway, I was wondering what people's experiences have been with Lamictal for AvPD or SP, and in particular, a combination of Lamictal and Klonopin (I believe I read a thread on here that demonstrated a possibility of synergism between Lamictal and Klonopin?). Thanks in advance for any insight. :-)
~ Aadika
Posted by chad_3 on December 28, 2002, at 12:16:37
In reply to Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences?, posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 11:09:22
Your considering everything but the single med that is probably going to work really well for you ... that is Nardil....
Posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 12:28:54
In reply to Re: Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences?, posted by chad_3 on December 28, 2002, at 12:16:37
Well, presuming that you read my response to you in the thread above, let me ask you this-- considering my complete lack of response to Nardil, would you say that Parnate should even be taken into consideration? I mean, at 135mg I experienced no symptom relief and unbearable side effects which didn't diminish even after six months at that dosage.
~ Aadika
Posted by Jumpy on December 28, 2002, at 22:17:16
In reply to Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences?, posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 11:09:22
Hey there,
I have severe depression and panic disorder (some might say social phobia). I found lamictal to work very similar to any of the SSRIs. It was somewhat stimulating/energizing. It helped very mildly with social interaction and social avoidance ... for me about the same degree as zoloft and prozac. It virtually had no side effects.
I did respond to nardil, so my response to lamictal maybe very different then you might have.
Jumpy
Posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 22:30:12
In reply to Re: Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences? » Aadika, posted by Jumpy on December 28, 2002, at 22:17:16
Thanks for your input, it sounds like I'll definitely make this the next med to try. I responded fairly well to SSRIs in the past, but found the side effects far too intolerable. And I've seen many people on this forum refer to Lamictal as "activating" or "stimulating"... maybe I'll be able to ditch the Provigil. Hopefully this will be what I'm looking for... running out of options.
Thanks again,
~ Aadika
Posted by chad_3 on December 29, 2002, at 16:08:56
In reply to Re: Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences? » chad_3, posted by Aadika on December 28, 2002, at 12:28:54
Hi Aadika -
I saw your other post that you did not respond to ultra high dose of Nardil.
I would think Parnate is a must try - might help. Is significantly more activating and stimulating than Nardil. It has stimulant like properties. It like Nardil reduces fear and interpersonal sesnsitivity.
Also - maybe people differ substantially on this but I found Provigil + Klonopin to make me extremely "wired" totally, extremely over-activating for me, unlike Nardil which is activating yet axiolytic for me.
Anyway - the subjective feel I get from Provigil + Klonopin - and if you benefit there I think Parnate and Parnate + Klonopin are definites to try considering the other stuff you went through.
Lamictal is pretty cool. It starts off stimulating sometimes and stays that way until the dose levels out after a few months - then it often loses the extra activating feeling. Or it may not feel that activating for some initially. It is hard to start and stop - taper up is a few months I think and probably just as slow going down.
Lamictal might augment the Prov + K, Parnate, Parnate + K.
Sounds like you know what you are doing - I do think they are both worth trying out - but I definitely suggest trying Parnate.
Chad
http://www.socialfear.com/
> Well, presuming that you read my response to you in the thread above, let me ask you this-- considering my complete lack of response to Nardil, would you say that Parnate should even be taken into consideration? I mean, at 135mg I experienced no symptom relief and unbearable side effects which didn't diminish even after six months at that dosage.
>
> ~ Aadika
Posted by Aadika on December 30, 2002, at 1:05:03
In reply to Re: Considering Lamictal for AvPD/SP... experiences?, posted by chad_3 on December 29, 2002, at 16:08:56
Chad,
Thanks so much for your input. I've been absolutely frantic all day trying to decide what changes I was going to make to my medications tomorrow, but I think you've convinced me. I have read about the "stimulating" quality that Parnate is said to possess, as well as come across other literature which demonstrated a rather large contrast in HOW Nardil and Parnate work, yet made a point of mentioning the striking similarity they ultimately exhibit in their effects on social inhibition. I do wish I could find that article again... it was extremely interesting...
Anyway, I guess I'm going to try just adding the Parnate for the time being... as time passes I'll see if the effects of the Parnate necessitate that I lower my dose of Provigil. Provigil is one drug I absolutely refuse to stop taking altogether, though... I find that after years of heavy drug abuse, the Provigil restores my intellect to full function. Ever since the "dope days", as I refer to that period in my life, I've noticed a substantial decrease in cognition, reaction time, short-term memory loss, hell, I've even had extreme difficulty speaking French, a language I'm fluent in! My IQ test scores reflected all of this, of course... I became very depressed when I tested at 127, whereas my former scores exceeded 160. I tested again recently, having been on the Provigil for several months, and my score was right back up to par. Needless to say, I found this absolutely astonishing. So I decided to take it a step further and retake the SAT... I had scored a 1040 previously; this time I was able to get that up to 1390. Thank God for Provigil. And Klonopin too... no sense playing favorites. LOL
~ Aadika
This is the end of the thread.
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