Posted by Cece on March 17, 2001, at 0:46:02
In reply to Nortriptyline, posted by Margit on March 16, 2001, at 10:56:49
I don't really know the answers to your questions, but can tell you my experience and tips.
I take Nortriptyline also- 40mg/day, which is the smallest dose that I can take and get some AD effects and good sleep effects- below that I get depressed quickly, above that I get dry mouth that I cannot tolerate. The two things that I found helped with the dry mouth were drinking ice water with a piece of fresh lemon in it, and chewing on a clove.
If you are having high anxiety and panic attacks, you might also be breathing through your mouth a lot and not even realizing it. That can make dry mouth worse of course, and I found that I could control that habit with practice.
I also take mood stabilizers (I'm BP II), some of which have some AD effects, and I take thyroid supplement (T3 and T4) which have AD effects, so I'm okay with just the 40mg of Nort.
But everybody's different.
I had acid reflux before I even began meds,and it got worse. Zantac 150mg twice a day keeps it under control. You might want to try that if you haven't already.
Good luck,
Cece> I was wondering if all of the TCAs cause an increase in heart rate? I am taking right now 70mg of Nortrip (took my pdoc and me 3 month to titrate up to this amount). I suffer from PAD, mild OCD and depression. My depression is still not under control. I also have an acid reflux problem which acts up every time I relaps and the SSRIs seem to make it worse. I tried Remeron and Effexor which didn't work for me. I am a little frustrated because I feel I have little choices left. I know I need to increase the Nortrip, but right now my pulse is between 95-105. Also, my mouth is so dry that I actually have little cracks all over my tongue. I take Xanax and Neurontin for my PAD. But my anxiety isn't under control either. My reflux, thank God, has calmed down just a little now (I do take acid blockers though). It seems that the 5 HT3 serotonin receptor is responsible for adding to my reflux. I have lost weight because I don't feel like eating and when I eat I get the sour taste and my throat hurts. As I said this has improved a little. I was wondering if anybody had to battle similar problems and how you combatted it. We also tried Zyprexa, but it has anti-cholinergic side effects, which again work against my reflux (relaxes the muscle between esophagus and stomach). If anybody has any experience or advise, it would be greatly appriciated. Sorry for going on like that, but it feels good to get it of my chest.
> Thanks
> Margit
poster:Cece
thread:56657
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010310/msgs/56725.html