Posted by Elizabeth on July 27, 2001, at 17:30:25
In reply to Re: hand holding » Elizabeth, posted by Lorraine on July 27, 2001, at 10:36:23
> Hooray! You're back. Welcome.
Thanks :)
> I'm wondering if ketamine also makes you vaguely paranoid?
Dunno, I never tried it and don't know much about it. It's considered a "dissociative" anaesthetic. It acts as an antagonist at NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate -- not to be confused with the support group NDMDA < g >) receptors (one type of glutamate receptor). I think that some people have "out of body experiences" (depersonalisation) on it. Anybody know anything about that?
> > > > Not feeling like it's okay to trust your own perceptions is one of the many negative consequences of being mentally ill, I think.
>
> Well, now, that's an interesting way of looking at it. I didn't at the time think I was mentally ill (this was maybe 20 years before I was diagnosed). I knew that I had more than my fair share of "past" issues to resolve in talk therapy as a result of family dynamics that "discounted" pain and moved on.When you have a childhood history of having your feelings invalidated, I'd expect that you would be more sensitive to invalidation as an adult. And if other people view you as "mentally ill" (and therefore, it's often assumed, unable to have any rational perceptions or beliefs!), I can easily see how that would make you feel invalidated. A lot of people who spend time in psych hospitals come out feeling less sure of themselves, IMO because of the way they were treated in the hospital (as being unequal to the staff and not having what they say believed).
> Now you've motivated me to buy the PDR.
Uh-oh! Don't take the long lists of side effects too seriously! (IMO, the PDR is too expensive -- ask your doctor if s/he has any copies left over from recent years that s/he hasn't thrown out; it's updated annually.) The PDR is a good resource, but I'd try rxlist.com before you go out and spend a load of money on the PDR. A lot of monographs, especially for relatively new drugs, can be found on the pharmaceutical companies' web sites, too.
> I do find myself educating him from time to time.
Continuing education, even when it comes from seemingly unlikely sources, is an important part of practising medicine!
> It bothers me greatly though when I see someone who just blindly accepts their doctors word as gospel.
Me too. Doctors tend to know stuff we don't know, but that doesn't mean they're always right. A lot of people appeal to their authority in arguments when they don't understand what's going on (and may have misunderstood the doctor, anyway). This isn't a very good substitute for making a real argument, of course.
> Course, it gets a bit humorous when you add a drug and a side effect occurs and their response is that it's not a side effect, but something else larger and unrelated--"anxiety" in your case.
Exactly: that's one of the ways that doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, et al. can make psych patients feel invalidated.
> You have to chuckle sometimes when the obvious is dismissed for something less likely. This has to be a "frame of reference" issue--ie that's not what I expected, therefore it is not.
Huh. Interesting way of looking at it.
> > > > I would expect benzodiazepines or perhaps Neurontin to be helpful for this sort of anxiety.
>
> Well, I'm not happy with the concept of benzos as a long term solution to what appears to be an on-going problem. But, I may not get to "choose". I did try the Valium and found it increased my depression and, at the dose I was on (1-2mg) did not completely wipe out the panic.Xanax might be preferable, although taking that long-term is a PITA. Other high potency benzos (Ativan, Klonopin) might be better too. But see if the Neurontin helps.
> > > >I mentioned that I experienced something similar upon discontinuing Parnate; the Klonopin came in very handy.
>
> Yeah, sounds like "rebound" anxiety?One morning I didn't take my AM dose of Parnate -- I think I had put my medication organiser somewhere other than where it usually goes. I had terrible rebound symptoms: anxiety, agitated depression, extreme mood swings. (A lot like what happened when Nardil pooped out.) After a couple hours of this, it finally occurred to me that I hadn't taken my morning dose; when I did, I rapidly began to feel better. MAOI withdrawal symptoms are *bad*.
> I did decide that I need a benzo in my emergency kit generally.
< g > Yeah, me too. Just having a benzo handy can alleviate a lot of worry.
> Your Parnate withdrawal makes me a bit hopeful.
?
> Sounds like you need to be very careful. Your theraputic dose range is quite narrow?
I don't know. I've been taking it on the assumption that I metabolise it normally. The serum level check is to make sure that that's really true.
> Welcome home. Hope the desipramine holds.
Me too. Thanks.
-e
poster:Elizabeth
thread:67742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/72108.html