Posted by JonW on January 22, 2003, at 22:24:34
In reply to 2 more Questions .... Thank You! » JonW, posted by Jumpy on January 22, 2003, at 18:07:14
> Two more questions if possible ...
> What about Nardil couldn't you "not tolerate"? What other medications does Dr. L. advocate for anxiety?Well, for one, the sexual side-effects were very frustrating -- complete impotence, anorgasmia, and increased libido just for shits and giggles. Dry mouth almost to the point where I couldn't swallow without water. Memory problems -- I told Dr. Liebowitz that Nardil made me forget my checkbook at one of our appointments... kind of funny how he agreed to change my prescription soon after that :) It's hard to explain, but it also made me breathe really heavy while I was at rest, kind of like I was really overweight but I'm not. The biggest problem of all was insomnia. We tried countless things and combinations of things to put me to sleep, but nothing worked. I initially was of the mindset that Nardil would have to be vastly superior to the SSRIs for me to put up with the restrictions and once I encountered all these side-effects it was a fairly easy decision to make to stop it. I've heard it said here that the side-effects take a long time to go away, but I just couldn't take it anymore after 10 weeks. I don't want to sound like I'm discouraging anyone from taking Nardil, but one thing to consider is the withdrawal if it doesn't work. I've been on Nearly all of the ADs and I never experienced withdrawal as bad as with Nardil. It's also frustrating to have to wait 2 weeks before and after it. All things to consider. Dr. Liebowitz is treating me for SP among other things so all I can say is what he thinks of meds for SP. I've gotten the impression that he likes Paxil, Zoloft, Klonopin, Nardil, and Neurontin best. Klonopin + an SSRI might be worth a try for you. It sounds like Nardil might suit you very well, though. If you've tried several other meds without success and are comfortable with the restrictions I would definitely recommend you talk with your pdoc about Nardil. Some people tolerate it OK, so don't let me scare you with the side-effects I experienced. You don't know until you try, but make sure you are ready to dive in. You have to consider the washout period before and after, possible withdrawal when you stop it (I tapered very slow and still had severe symptoms), and obviously the restrictions. If your pdoc does prescribe Nardil, make sure he also prescribes some nifedipine (sp?) to take in the event of a hypertensive crisis and I would purchase a blood pressure monitor from your pharmacy for peace of mind. This is nice to have in the begining and when you may have accidently eaten a forbidden food, etc. You would really have to ask Dr. L himself for his answer to your question, and you might want to do that. You can get his email from the NYSPI website. I'll paste the link to that site below:
http://www.nyspi.cpmc.columbia.edu/
Hang in there,
Jon
poster:JonW
thread:137051
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030119/msgs/137124.html