Posted by SLS on November 13, 2004, at 7:58:29
In reply to Re: High Parnate dosages » Chairman_MAO, posted by King Vultan on November 12, 2004, at 21:11:49
> > Why does going over 100mg/day increase the likelihood of abuse? I suppose we have to define what abuse is; it certainly can't be defined as going over 100mg/day for purposes of this discussion ... :) Does it really matter how much Parnate someone takes so long as they're not having any side effects?
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> > I agree with you about the [hypo]mania thing, more or less.
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> The higher the dosage, the more likely someone susceptible to Parnate's "amphetamine high" will experience this and be tempted to abuse it. The definition of abuse in "Essential Psychopharmacology" is defined as "the self-administration of any drug in a culturally disapproved manner that causes adverse consequences." I certainly don't think people need to stick to the measly 6 pills a day maximum in the PDR, but since the vast majority of Parnate users seem to do pretty well at dosages of 80 mg/day or less, and given that the drug has documented instances of abuse (fairly rare, though--approximately 18 reported cases through 1998), 100 mg/day seems to be a reasonable upper limit IMO, as a general rule. Of course, there may be some individual cases where it is justifiable to exceed that, but as in any situation where one is exceeding a drug's recommended dosage, it seems wise to observe prudence and caution.
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> Todd
Hi Todd.I was up to 150mg of Parnate for a few months, and never experienced a tendency to abuse it. Of course, I'm just one person. I'm still undecided as to whether or not Parnate is metabolized into amphetamine. The older literature says yes; the newer literature says no. When I discontinued the high-dosage Parnate treatment using a rapid taper, I experienced a profound fatigue that lasted at least one week. From what I can see, though, the potential benefits of using the high-dosage strategy in TRD outweighs the risk of abuse.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:414053
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/415383.html