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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 16:28:48
...feel free to ask. Hopefully, I can help others on what to expect. I am just now noticing improvements. Others noticed improvements earlier.
Posted by rculater on December 30, 2010, at 16:47:51
In reply to If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 16:28:48
Posted by rculater on December 30, 2010, at 16:48:19
In reply to If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 16:28:48
How long has it been since you started ? Are you in the UK ? Silly question I know, but I was wondering the availability of this in UK. Did you try all SSRis before this ? can you tell much difference in startup S/Es ? Also if you don't mind me asking what is your diagnosis ?
Thank you for your time.
Posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 17:08:09
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by rculater on December 30, 2010, at 16:48:19
> How long has it been since you started ? Are you in the UK ? Silly question I know, but I was wondering the availability of this in UK. Did you try all SSRis before this ? can you tell much difference in startup S/Es ? Also if you don't mind me asking what is your diagnosis ?
>
> Thank you for your time.I was behind a dumpster with a gun to my head a month and a half ago. Before that incident. I was on celexa which made it worse. I ended up in a psych hospital. Got out they put me on seroquel, zoloft, lamictal. That combination proved to be almost fatal for me. I woke up one day feeling as if there was a poll driving down straight through my head. It wasn't a headache. It was a different sensation. I told myself this would be the day. Bought the gun put the bullets in and sat there for three hours. Went back home to sleep on it and it didn't get better. A family member found the gun and they took me to a second hospital for fourteen days. I was on cymbalta and zyprexa there along with some ativan. I was stable getting out but still didn't feel right. I wanted to do my own research and pick out the medication I thought was best for me. (more bang for my buck kind of medication).
I started Parnate exactly three weeks ago. Went to 20mg after day three and 30mg after 9 days. I was supposed to stay there for three weeks, but I knew this would not be enough for me. I upped it to 40mg on day 10, where I stayed for three weeks, minus a couple days experimenting at 50mg. I started out on this medication being extremely lethargic. I could sleep pretty well. I also had very bad orthostatic hypotension. I would literally pass out if I didn't sit back down quickly. During my two day experiment with 50mg, I tried to take all fifty at once and that landed me in the ER with a blood pressure of 220.120. When I took the 50mg all at once I knew I was in trouble after five minutes. Heart started to beat fast, started sweating, and then the headache. Along with the worst headache I have ever experienced, I had a stomach pain that made you want to rip your insides out. My mother drove me to ER. 4mg of morphine and nitropaste on my chest and I was all good.
Start up side affects for me with SSRIs is complete brain fog and anxiety. I didn't experience any of that with Parnate. I was fatigued early on and thought my body wouldn't adjust to the hypotension, but it has. Sexual side effects in the beginning but I am back to normal now. I had a slight decrease in appetite but nothing like the gut wrenching knotts you have upon starting up an SSRI. Now I am in the cycle where sleep is a little problematic. I am taking temezapam for that. Again, I am only at three weeks and currently taking 40mg. I hope this helps. If I can answer any other questions let me know. I am still early on and will update more.
I am in the US
Best Wishes,
jesse
Posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 17:08:51
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by rculater on December 30, 2010, at 16:48:19
> How long has it been since you started ? Are you in the UK ? Silly question I know, but I was wondering the availability of this in UK. Did you try all SSRis before this ? can you tell much difference in startup S/Es ? Also if you don't mind me asking what is your diagnosis ?
>
> Thank you for your time.My diagnosis was MDD recurrent.
Posted by henshaw75 on December 30, 2010, at 17:33:34
In reply to If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 16:28:48
I have taken MAOI's before for a lengthy period of time, my suggestion to anyone thinking about taking MAOI's is understand that these medications are very dangerous. Be sure you have taken other medications before going down this avenue. The side effects can be too overwelming.
Posted by emmanuel98 on December 30, 2010, at 20:14:11
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parnate.. » roscopeeco, posted by henshaw75 on December 30, 2010, at 17:33:34
I've been on parnate for a year-and-a-half. Only side effects were some orthostatic hypotension. The hall between my bedroom and bathroom goes by a set of stairs, so my husband put up a child guard over the stairs in case I fell. But that has stopped. I feel fine now when I get out of bed. Insomnia is a continuing problem with parnate, but I take trazadone and ativan and that puts me to sleep. Parnate worked for me within a few days at 30mg. I'm still taking 30mg.
Posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 21:27:25
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parnate.., posted by emmanuel98 on December 30, 2010, at 20:14:11
> I've been on parnate for a year-and-a-half. Only side effects were some orthostatic hypotension. The hall between my bedroom and bathroom goes by a set of stairs, so my husband put up a child guard over the stairs in case I fell. But that has stopped. I feel fine now when I get out of bed. Insomnia is a continuing problem with parnate, but I take trazadone and ativan and that puts me to sleep. Parnate worked for me within a few days at 30mg. I'm still taking 30mg.
When you got to 30mg and noticed it started working, was the antidepressant affect all at once or did it keep building after you noticed a change. I hope that question makes sense. What changes in depressive symptoms did you notice first. The reason why I ask is because some people describe it as a sudden change where depression is completed gone.
Posted by willyeeee on December 31, 2010, at 9:12:21
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parna, posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 21:27:25
Two things ive come to know about parnate.actualy 3,first it has a strong inial response,but this fades.
In long term,parnate usualy needs to be used at the higher doses,as well as augmented.good luck
Posted by roscopeeco on December 31, 2010, at 13:22:48
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parna, posted by willyeeee on December 31, 2010, at 9:12:21
Most of the anecdotal reports I have seen patients end up lowering the dose after a while.
Posted by emmanuel98 on December 31, 2010, at 20:25:11
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parna, posted by roscopeeco on December 30, 2010, at 21:27:25
> When you got to 30mg and noticed it started working, was the antidepressant affect all at once or did it keep building after you noticed a change. I hope that question makes sense. What changes in depressive symptoms did you notice first. The reason why I ask is because some people describe it as a sudden change where depression is completed gone.
>The effect was all at once. I hadn't been able to get out of bed for over two months except to make a suicide attempt, which landed me in the hospital. They tried different drugs but I couldn't respond to anyone. Couldn't eat, couldn't talk, couldn't read, couldn't really sleep but didn't want to get out of bed. Two days on parnate and I was up and exercising on the stationary bike on the ward. That depressive episode was the culmination of two years of worsening depression and suicidality. Haven't had a repeat since starting parnate.
Posted by roscopeeco on January 1, 2011, at 12:18:07
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parna » roscopeeco, posted by emmanuel98 on December 31, 2010, at 20:25:11
Wow. That is an amazing story. Only after three days of Parnate. I am on my third week and I am feeling better day by day. Maybe I will get an all of the sudden jolt that sends me into mania. I wonder if all of the sudden "kicking in" is the norm rather than the exception. I have felt a slow build since I hit the 3 week mark. I am now 3 weeks and 2 days.
I am extremely happy for you. I know what it feels like to be constantly thinking of killing yourself. It is absolutely awful
Posted by roscopeeco on January 2, 2011, at 11:08:22
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about starting parna » roscopeeco, posted by emmanuel98 on December 31, 2010, at 20:25:11
> > When you got to 30mg and noticed it started working, was the antidepressant affect all at once or did it keep building after you noticed a change. I hope that question makes sense. What changes in depressive symptoms did you notice first. The reason why I ask is because some people describe it as a sudden change where depression is completed gone.
> >
>
> The effect was all at once. I hadn't been able to get out of bed for over two months except to make a suicide attempt, which landed me in the hospital. They tried different drugs but I couldn't respond to anyone. Couldn't eat, couldn't talk, couldn't read, couldn't really sleep but didn't want to get out of bed. Two days on parnate and I was up and exercising on the stationary bike on the ward. That depressive episode was the culmination of two years of worsening depression and suicidality. Haven't had a repeat since starting parnate.Did you see any increasing beneficial effects of parnate after those three days?
Posted by emmanuel98 on January 3, 2011, at 21:36:44
In reply to Re: If you have any questions about...emmanuel98, posted by roscopeeco on January 2, 2011, at 11:08:22
> Did you see any increasing beneficial effects of parnate after those three days?
>
Nope. It worked and has worked well since. I have had some side effects, mostly orthostatic hypotension, but that went away pretty much after several months. Insomnia is an ongoing problem but I take trazadone and ativan and that combo puts me out. I had another bad bout of depression last summer but it was really situational, not the same kind of vegetative, biological depression I had had in the past. So parnate didn't resolve my psycho-social problems, but it did resolve the physiological depression.
This is the end of the thread.
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